‘Bridgerton’ Author Julia Quinn Promises a Key Scene From ‘The Viscount Who Loved Me’ Is in Season 2
What’s a little friendly competition among family? Bridgerton Season 2 arrives on Netflix on March 25, and viewers who are familiar with the books that serve as the source material for the series have been wondering what elements of author Julia Quinn’s novel The Viscount Who Loved Me will make it into the finished episodes. While fans will have to wait and see exactly which plot details made the cut, Quinn has promised that one memorable scene definitely will be in the new season.
[Warning: This article contains possible spoilers for Bridgerton Season 2.]
Anthony Bridgerton falls for Kate Sharma in ‘Bridgerton’ Season 2
Bridgerton’s second season – and The Viscount Who Loved Me – focuses on eldest Bridgerton sibling Anthony (Jonathan Bailey). The rakish Anthony has decided it’s time to settle down, get married, and produce an heir. He sets his sights on Edwina Sharma (Charithra Chandran), who’s just made her debut in London society. But to get to Edwina, Anthony will have to charm her older half-sister Kate (Simone Ashley), who makes it clear she’s less than impressed with Anthony.
As Anthony pursues Edwina, he grows closer to Kate. Eventually, he starts to fall for the older sister, perhaps against his better judgment. Meanwhile, Kate gradually realizes that she may have been too quick to judge Anthony. A turning point in their relationship happens when Kate joins Anthony and several of his siblings for an intense game of pall-mall, a croquet-esque lawn game.
Julia Quinn says she insisted on including the Bridgerton pall-mall game in season 2
The pall-mall scene is a favorite for many book readers as well as for Quinn, who serves as a consultant on the Netflix series. In fact, in a recent interview with Seattle Met, she said that she had only one specific demand for Bridgerton’s second season.
“I’m a consultant, and I’m pretty hands-off, but if there was no pall-mall, I was going to consult the hell out of the show,” she said.
Why is the pall-mall scene so critical? For one, it’s incredibly funny. But, it’s also the moment when Kate discovers more about who Anthony really is, as Quinn explained on her website.
“I needed to add a scene in which Kate realized that Anthony wasn’t such a bad guy, and the best way to do that would be to show him interacting with his family,” she shared. “And thus the Pall Mall game (and the Mallet of Death!) was born.”
The pall-mall scene almost didn’t make it into ‘The Viscount Who Loved Me’
Quinn has written more than two dozen novels. But out of all of her books, the pall-mall scene from The Viscount Who Loved Me has generated the biggest response from readers. However, the scene almost wasn’t included in the final novel.
“[T]his famous scene almost never happened,” she wrote on her website. “I was about 2/3 into the book when I realized that everything seemed to be happening too fast. Specifically, Kate and Anthony seemed to have gone from dislike to admiration too quickly.”
That led her to come up with the idea for the game, which is a Bridgerton family tradition. However, she admits that the game as described in the book might not resemble the one actually played in Regency England.
“Pall Mall … was indeed the name for croquet at the time, or at least the closest thing I could find to it,” she wrote. “I don’t believe that the rules were the same as they are today, but then again, I’ve never played croquet by the official rules.”
Bridgerton Season 2 is streaming on Netflix beginning March 25.
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