Bridgerton Season 2 Episode 2 Recap – Off To The Races

Lady Whistledown writes that whoever wishes to have an audience with Edwina must first please her sister, which proves to be a difficult task.

Kate prepares a list of prospects for Edwina. She puts Lord Lumley atop the list and purposely leaves off Anthony. She says that he does not believe in love at all, and only wants a marriage of convenience so he is not for Edwina but Lady Danbury reminds her that most marriages of the ton are purely business and not about love.

Callers queue up for a time with Edwina, but Kate ensures that Lord Lumley spends the most time with her. Anthony comes and tries to ask to be Edwina’s escort to the races, but Kate tells him that she already has an escort.

At the Bridgerton House, Eloise reads the latest copy of the Whistledown and tells Pen that if she just knew who Lady Whistledown was, maybe she can convince her to change her writing style and do so much more. Violet butts in and tells her that what she should be concerned about is finding happiness. Colin arrives and takes everyone by surprise because he has not been home since he left after the previous social season. Anthony comes and tells them to get ready because they will be going to the races as a family.

The Featheringtons try to come to terms with their new Lord’s dubious tastes as he redecorates the estate.

At the Royal Races, members of the ton have started to gather. Philippa boasts about her upcoming wedding, while Lord Lumley tries to get to know more about Edwina. Mr. Thomas Dorset asks Lady Danbury to introduce him to the Sharma sisters and tells Kate that he wants to be her escort. Mr. Mondrich tells the Bridgerton brothers that he is set to open a gentleman’s club the following night and invites them all. Violet tells Eloise to try to find a partner, like what Anthony is doing. However, Eloise is more interested in a particular pamphlet she sees rather than in what her mother is saying.

Edwina, Lord Lumley, Kate, and Mr. Dorset are already in their seats. Mr. Dorset seems to impress Kate with stories from his travels. Anthony comes and Kate is immediately annoyed by his presence. He tells Edwina that he was supposed to call on her that morning, but he promised breakfast with his family so he was not able to come. He points to where the Bridgertons are sitting, hoping to make them see how close he is to his family. He manages to send Lord Lumley off to get refreshments and takes that opportunity to sit beside Edwina.

Penelope tries to have a conversation with Colin, but as usual, Eloise comes in her way with a new discovery about Lady Whistledown. She believes she found a pamphlet that uses the same paper stock as that of Lady Whistledown.

Kate tries to discredit Anthony’s choice of horse, saying that he just chose the horse that everybody else has chosen when there are clearly lots of other factors to consider.

Lady Danbury tells Violet that Kate is against Anthony and Edwina’s match because Edwina wants a love match, but clearly, Anthony doesn’t, given his many requirements for a bride. Lady Danbury tells Violet that she might be able to change Edwina’s mind, and Violet says she’ll do the same to Anthony.

The race comes to an end and Kate’s bet wins. Anthony takes Edwina to see a horse up-close since she said that it reminds her of a horse she used to adore. Mr. Dorset asks Kate why she dislikes Anthony. She tells him that it is her duty to shake him up if he is really serious about Edwina. Mr. Dorset tells her that Anthony didn’t like to lose, saying that he’s never stomached it even back at Oxford. Kate figures out that Mr. Dorset was sent by Anthony to distract her so that he can get close to Kate. This enrages Kate, so she tells Edwina they should leave and tells Anthony not to talk to them ever again.

Eloise goes to the publishing house where she thinks Lady Whistledown does business. She sees that the door is locked so she proceeds to the back and meets an apprentice, Theo. He refuses to talk to her about Lady Whistledown and instead gives her another pamphlet to read, one that is his own writing.

Philippa and Mr. Finch finally wed. The Finches are dying to meet the new Lord Featherington, but he is busy dealing with the late Featherington’s book of accounts. Portia tries to convince him to let her in on his plans, but he seems to like to keep things private.

Lady Danbury, Kate, and Edwina get invited by the queen for a tour of her estate. The queen instructs her to keep her informed of any people trying to break into their inner circle. This is her way of trying to use Edwina to reveal Lady Whistledown’s identity. This does not go unnoticed by Lady Danbury, who figures out that the queen chose Edwina as her diamond because she is someone she could trust.

Lady Danbury decides to throw a soiree that evening so that Edwina will have a chance to get to know her suitors more. Kate tells them they should be judicious with their guest list as she sees that Anthony has arrived downstairs. Kate confronts Anthony for still coming after she has told him not to. Anthony tells her to reconsider because lots of ladies are vying for the kind of marriage he offers and that he might be what Edwina wants, regardless of what Kate has overheard previously.

Violet, Eloise, and Colin are about to leave for Lady Danbury’s soiree when Anthony gets a hold of them. Apparently, Kate made sure he would not get an invitation so he didn’t know about the soiree. Violet tells him to be more careful with his words, saying that other suitors are reading poetry at the soiree.

At the soiree, Kate meets Eloise and says that she thinks better of Anthony upon knowing that she is his sister. Penelope also gets acquainted with Edwina, but quickly pulls away from her when she sees Colin. She tries to pry for information about Colin’s love interest while he was on his travels, but she is not expecting Colin to find out that he used his time also to get to know himself better. Lady Cowper informs Portia that the new Lord Featherington called on Cressida and gave her an exquisite necklace.

Benedict comes to Mr. Mondrich’s club and there, he gets introduced to a fellow artist, Mr. Cruikshank. Just as they were getting into a deeper conversation about their same interests, Anthony comes and asks Benedict to help him write a poem for Edwina.

Back at the soiree, Lady Danbury was about to conclude the evening when Anthony barges in and tries to present his poem, claiming Benedict’s words as his own. Kate initially tells him that it’s too late, but Edwina permits him to present. He recites the poem and finds himself distracted when he glances at Kate. He stutters and stops reciting the poem entirely. He says that he is not a man of poetry and while poems are beautiful and sweet, he believes they are hollow unless accompanied by action. “I may not be able to offer the display of passion that you truly deserve, but I assure you that when it comes to action and duty, I shall never be found lacking”, he declares. This impresses Edwina so much that even when Kate tries to stop her from talking to Anthony, she still chooses to do so.

Kate goes to her room for a bit and Lady Danbury quickly follows her. Kate tells her that the viscount is not for her sister and that she will make Edwina see it one way or another. Lady Danbury tells her to try and focus on her own needs instead of frustrating herself with her sister’s matching. Kate tells her that she does not care about herself because she’ll be going home once Edwina is married. Lady Danbury says that she can’t be serious when she says that she wants to be alone for the rest of her life when she’s just 26.

Eloise thinks she has found another similarity between Lady Whistledown’s writing and the pamphlet she got – the shape of the letter K. Pen tells her they should observe the next issue to see if the same letter K appears, then they will be certain.

Pen goes to the market near the printer’s shop to buy a new letter K for the press. On her way home, Madam Delacroix spots her. She panics and runs in the other direction.

Brimsley presents the queen with a set of portraits. Apparently, they have been observing who has been talking to Edwina, because they know that Lady Whistledown will try to get close to her. Among the many portraits is one of Penelope’s.

Our Thoughts

The queen seems close to finding out Lady Whisteldown’s identity. We do not know if we label her as smart as she tries different ways to trap Lady Whistledown, or if we can call her obsessed given that she has been at it since Season 1. Speaking of obsession, Eloise’s search for Lady Whistledown might also prove to be one as she seems more concerned about the author instead of finding a match.

Anthony proves to be persistent and serious about wooing Edwina. It is just sad that he wants nothing to do with love. We get that there is a lot on him given his duty to his family, but we think that marriage is a serious commitment that should not be done solely out of duty. On the other hand, Kate surely knows how to play the game dirty as he excludes Anthony from the soiree. At this point, we really are not sure if she is doing what she is doing simply to get Anthony to stop courting Edwina, or because she wants Anthony for herself. I guess we’ll all find out!