Anthony’s gift of tulips in Bridgerton season 2 means more than you think. Based on a popular series of novels by author Julia Quinn, Bridgerton is set in a fantastical version of Regency London. Part of the show’s magic lies in the tremendous attention to detail, notably in costuming and set design.

Bridgerton season 2 is full of Easter eggs, many of which serve as references to Jane Austen. One detail has stood out to many viewers, though, as a nod to season 1; the fact Anthony brings Kate a bouquet of tulips when he’s paying her a visit after her concussion in episode 8. On the face of it, this seems like an explicit nod to a scene where Lady Bridgerton told Anthony tulips were her favorite flowers, because they symbolize passion. Anthony has no shortage of passion for Kate – he’s literally turned up with the intention of asking her to marry him – so this would seem quite appropriate. But, in reality, the tulips Anthony has brought carry a lot more meaning than just that.

Anthony has chosen his bouquet of tulips carefully. They’re a mix of different colors, including pink, white and orange. Pink tulips historically symbolize attachment and good wishes, orange convey a sense of appreciation and understanding, and white represents forgiveness. Taken together, the colors in this bouquet perfectly represent his emotions in this moment; Anthony wishes to say how much Kate means to him, to state his belief they truly understand and appreciate one another, and to ask for forgiveness for how he has treated Kate in the past.

The irony, of course, is that Anthony’s love interest Kate understands him better than he thinks. When he proposes, she knows it is done out of a sense of duty – because he feels he has shamed himself, and brought shame in turn upon the woman he loves. Kate turns him down, and it is only later, when he finally proposes not out of duty, but out of love, that she finally accepts. Ironically, there is a sense in which Anthony’s proposal gives Kate another reason to have to forgive him, for he should have known she did indeed deserve better than a proposal under those circumstances.

The tulips work on another level, too. In the original novel that inspired Bridgerton season 2, The Viscount Who Loved Me, there is a crucial scene where Anthony plucks a tulip from his mother’s garden to offer to Kate as a token of his love. As with so many details in Bridgerton, these flowers show just how much thought has really been put into every detail.