Bridgerton Season 2: How Did Edmund Bridgerton Die?
When Netflix first released Bridgerton in 2020 viewers were introduced to Lady Violet Bridgerton and her eight children. However, the children’s father was nowhere to be seen. It became clear that the patriarch of the family, Edmund Bridgerton, died prior to the start of the show. Bridgerton Season 2 revealed the manner of his death.
[Warning: This article contains spoilers for Bridgerton Season 2]
Edmund Bridgerton died from an allergic reaction to a bee sting
Bridgerton Season 2 Episode 3 is titled “A Bee in Your Bonnet” for good reason. The episode flashes back to the day of Edmund Bridgerton’s death. He and his eldest son Anthony go hunting in the woods. As they return home, Edmund stops to pick flowers for his wife. Suddenly a bee stings Edmund.
For a moment nothing happens. Then Edmund begins to gasp as his throat closes up from an allergic reaction to the bee sting. He dies of anaphylactic shock in moments. Anthony desperately calls for help, but he doesn’t understand what is happening to his father. Bridgerton takes place during the Regency Era before life-saving epinephrine entered medical use.
‘Bridgerton’ Season 2 explores Edmund’s death and its effects on Anthony
The death of Edmund Bridgerton had a profound effect on Anthony, who according to Popsugar was just 18 years old at the time. Still shocked and grieving, Bridgerton Season 2 shows Anthony taking over the role of Viscount when he is hardly more than a child. He is faced with heavy decisions, especially when Violet has difficulties giving birth to Hyacinth. Anthony is told he must choose whether to prioritize his mother’s life or the baby’s.
Edmund’s death also affects Antony in terms of love. Bridgerton Season 2 is based on the novel The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn. According to Popsugar, the book explains that Edmund’s death has a huge role in Anthony’s decision to seek a loveless marriage. Edmund dies at only 38 years old, and Anthony becomes convinced that he will not live longer than his father.
As Anthony grows older, he decides he must marry and begin to produce heirs before it is too late. In Bridgerton Season 2, Anthony also remarks about how intensely his mother grieved in the wake of Edmund’s death. Anthony hopes for a loveless marriage so that he won’t leave his wife devastated after his death.
Anthony Bridgerton marries Kate for love
Of course, things don’t go as planned for Anthony. Ironically it is a bee that first causes a romantic moment between himself and Kate Sharma in Bridgerton Season 2. When Kate is stung by a bee in the garden, Anthony panics, remembering what happened to his father. Kate tries to calm him down by pressing his hand to the sting on her chest, assuring him that she is fine.
Luckily it appears that Kate is not allergic to bees as Edmund was and does not die from the bee sting. Instead, Kate and Anthony find themselves undeniably drawn together, and Anthony’s quest for a loveless marriage is thankfully foiled.
All episodes of Bridgerton Season 2 are currently streaming on Netflix.
