Bridgerton Season 2 Episode 8 Recap – The Viscount Who Loved Me

Anthony rushes to get to Kate and finds her unconscious. He grows even more worried when he sees blood. He brings her home and gets overly involved in her care, so much so that the surgeon tells him to back off. Edwina is in tears, and Lady Mary is equally worried. He blames himself for what happened.

The members of the ton miss Lady Whistledown as she has not published anything new for a week.

Portia decides to throw a ball so that the people of the ton will see how great they are finally doing. She forbids Pen to visit the Bridgertons.

At Bridgerton House, Anthony rants about not being informed that they have lost three staff members or that Colin has taken out a large sum of money from their accounts. Violet tells him that he should visit Kate. A package arrives for Eloise – it is a book containing a note from Theo, saying that Lady Whistledown is indeed using their shop to print her scandal sheet.

Eloise comes barging into the shop, confronting Theo about not telling her about what he knows sooner. Theo tells her that he cannot inform her immediately because Lady Whistledown has been watching him closely, and he does not want her to write cruelly about Eloise. He apologizes and asks for his help to help her find the author. He tells her that the manuscripts come early morning, sewn into silks.

Jack expects to finally close a deal for Colin’s investment in his business, so he arranges for them to meet at Mr. Mondrich’s bar. However, while they are there, Mr. Mondrich tells Colin not to do business with Jack because he is a swindler. He says that he should consider it unusual that the Featheringtons are throwing a lavish ball despite what they have just been through. The mention of the Featherington name enrages Colin, who tells Mr. Mondrich that he should be careful about making accusations against such a fine family. He leaves with Jack.

Jack tells Portia that Colin has taken their bait. He says that they have exhausted the ton for their investments and that sooner or later, they will be asking for returns. He tells her their escape plan is to leave London and travel to the Americas. Portia does not like the idea, but Jack tells her they can be an even better team out there, where they are free from society’s restrictions. He gets close to Portia so much so that she expects a kiss on the lips, but he does not do it.

Kate is yet to wake up. Edwina begs at her bedside for her to wake up and not leave her. To Edwina’s surprise, Kate responds and calls her name. It is the first time she has woken up in weeks. She asks if Anthony has come to see her, but when she learns he did not, she gets sad and says she needs to rest.

Violet tells Anthony that Kate has woken up. Anthony breathes a sigh of relief and tries hard to hold back tears, but he fails. Violet says she’s sorry that it was Anthony who was with Edmund when he died and for how she acted during the days that followed. She explains that losing Edmund was the most painful that has happened to her, but she knows that if she is ever to go back, she will still choose to love him despite knowing that she will endure the same pain from losing him. She says that real, true love is worth it. She tells Anthony not to lose Kate.

Eloise comes to Madame Delacroix’s shop and accuses her of working with Lady Whistledown. Madame Delacroix profusely denies this and tells Eloise that she would be a fool to associate herself with a scandalous person as Eloise is a fool to come barging into her shop after what Lady Whistledown has written about her. Their conversation gets interrupted when the Featheringtons arrive.

Eloise asks Pen to meet her at the back. She tells Pen that Theo has told her everything and that she is close to finding out who the real Lady Whistledown is. Pen tells Eloise that there is gossip about her and Theo. She tells Eloise to stop pursuing Lady Whistledown to not cause more trouble to her family. She says she does not wish to speak about Lady Whistelwdon anymore and assures Eloise that the scandal about her will soon pass.

Benedict learns that the only reason he got admitted to the Academy is that Anthony has donated significantly to secure his place.

Anthony finally visits Kate. He tells her that he called on her the morning of her accident to apologize for taking liberties with her. He reveals that he called on her to propose to her, as he also proposes at present. He presents the ring to Kate, but she tells him she is returning to India as planned. She says that Kady Danbury has agreed to host her sister for another season, so their financial affairs are in order. She tells him to go.

Eloise meets with Theo once again. While discussing theories about Madame Delacroix’s involvement, they find themselves near. Eloise backs off and tells Theo that they cannot meet again. She says that she cares for him, so she does not want to continue meeting if that means he will have to suffer the consequences. Theo tells her that she is no different from the other ladies who merely try to make themselves feel better about their privilege by associating with him. He walks away.

Kate tells Edwina she will do whatever it takes to earn her trust again. Edwina tells her that she does have questions. Edwina asks her if there has always been something between her and Anthony. Kate tells her that there might have been something all along, but she did not know about it until it was too late. She says that she did not tell Edwina about it because she thought that she could deny her feelings. Edwina tells her that from then on, she wants to know who they truly are because she is done playing a part. She asks Kate for them to bring their new, truthful selves to the Featherington ball.

Lady Mary comes to Kate’s room and sees her packing her things. Kate tells her that she has not decided yet if she would like to attend the ball. Lady Mary says she hopes that Kate’s return to India is not her way of escaping her difficult situation. This brings Kate to tears. She tells Lady Mary that she is to be blamed for everything that has happened and that she made things worst for Edwina when she was supposed to help her. Lady Mary tells her that she should have been responsible for them and not the other way around. She tells Kate that she never has to earn her place in their family because she is her daughter. She says that it pains her that Kate does not think she deserves to be loved.

Kate tells Lady Mary that Anthony was supposed to propose to her. She says that he is doing it out of mere obligation, so she could not allow it.

Portia nearly swoons when the queen attends their ball. Eloise approaches Pen and tells her that she is correct about Theo. She says that she now knows that associating with him was a mistake, so she ended things with him. She thanks Pen for protecting her and tells her that her search for Lady Whisteldown is over. Pen decides to tell Eloise about what she heard from the servants – Lord Fife recently spent a good deal of time with Miss Goring in a closet. Eloise stares at Pen for a long time upon hearing this from her.

Lady Danbury and the Sharmas come, and they get the same disapproving looks. Edwina asks her to dance, and she agrees. This brings more attention to them, but they don’t mind.

Penelope looks distraught as she watches Colin dance with Cressida. Little does she know that Colin was only dancing with her because he wanted a closer look at the necklace Jack had given her. Colin manages to get a hold of the necklace, and when he does, he takes Pen by the hand and leads her into an empty room.

Colin tells Pen that there are no gemstone mines in Georgia and that Jack is a charlatan. Pen gets confused, but before Colin can explain, Jack and Portia come into the room. Seeing that Colin and Pen are alone, Portia asks what is happening. Colin smashes Cressida’s necklace with a knife, and it breaks into pieces. “This necklace is a fraud, made of glass,” he tells them. He tells Jack he is taking advantage of the Featherington ladies, knowing they don’t have husbands or a father to protect them. He says that it is only because he cares for the Featherington reputation that he will not tell anyone about what he has discovered, but he expects him to return the funds he has collected from everyone and to leave town at once.

Portia pretends that she does not know about the truth and thanks Colin for enlightening them. Pen walks out, and once Portia and Jack are alone, Jack tells Portia that they should leave London that very night and send for her daughters after. He tells her that she can look at it as a relief. He says that he won’t have to marry Prudence anymore, so there will be room for other possibilities in the future. He kisses Portia on the lips.

Colin asks Pen for a dance. Pen thanks him for looking after them. “I will always look after you, Penelope. You are special to me.”, he says. Pen tells him that he is special to her too.

Seeing Kate looking at Anthony, Edwina tells her to be unafraid to follow her heart. She leaves Kate alone for Anthony to find. Anthony approaches Kate. They dance, and when the other couples on the dance floor realize they share the dance floor with Kate and Anthony, they stop dancing, leaving the two dancing alone. The queen sees this and smiles.

“What a scandal,” Lady Cowper says. Another asks if they are the reason why the wedding was called off. The queen hears this and defends them. The queen says that the wedding did not take place because she changed her mind. She agrees when Edwina says that Anthony and Kate look beautiful together and asks why nobody else is dancing. The other couples return to the dance floor when they hear their queen say this. The queen tells Edwina about her nephew, the prince, and she says he is available.

Once the dance has finished, Portia instructs all her guests to go outside for a surprise.

Pen heads to her room, still beaming from her dance with Colin. To her surprise, Eloise is there, and she has discovered the funds she stashed on her floorboard. Eloise tells her that the way she told the gossip about Lord Fife sounded too familiar because it was almost as if it was written. Pen tries to deny it, but Eloise deduces that Lady Whistledown disavowed the practice of naming the season diamond right after she expressed her dislike for the tradition. She also notices that Pen is one of the only people who could know about Marina’s pregnancy. Pen cries as she apologizes to Eloise and says that she wrote about her only to convince the queen that Lady Whistledwon is not her. She says that the only person Pen is interested in saving is herself so she can keep earning money at the expense of the people around her. Pen tells her that it was horrible for her to keep Whistledown a secret from her. She says that Whistledown was all she had and has given it up for Eloise. “I do not even know you,” Eloise tells her. She says that Pen is indeed an insipid wallflower who writes because she is too afraid to stand for herself in reality. This angers Pen, so she tells Eloise that all she ever does is talk about doing something and that she is mad at her because she cannot stand that she actually did something. Eloise tells her that she does not want to see her ever again.

Portia tells Jack that she has told the maids to pack his things. Portia asks him not to touch her again because it is clear that he does not care for her children. He says that the scheme was also Portia’s idea, if not more of hers. But Portia tells him that the ton will not believe that such a capable man would rely on a woman to come up with such a plan. She even tells Jack that she has asked Mrs. Varley to forge a document saying that as soon as one of her daughters bears a son, the son will inherit the Featherington estate.

Pen tries to look for Eloise in the garden, but she finds Colin instead. Colin is talking to other gentlemen who are teasing him about having danced with Penelope, and they ask him if he is courting Pen, to which he responds that he will never dream of courting her. Disappointed about what she heard, Pen runs back inside, crying.

Anthony sees Kate alone in the gardens. He approaches her and asks her to marry him, saying that he loves her and has loved her ever since they first saw each other. He says he cannot imagine life without her. She says she loves him too, and they kiss as the fireworks go off.

Colin goes to visit Mr. Mondrich in his club. He apologizes for how he has acted before and says he is right about Jack. He is still talking to Colin when he sees customers pouring in. Colin says he told them that the place is run by an honorable man, so they demanded to come.

Benedict closes his painting kit as he decides to leave the Academy in light of what he learned about his acceptance.
Fresh from crying, Pen picks up her quill and decides to write again.

Our Thoughts

Wow. That was a rollercoaster ride! We are sad that the friendship between Eloise and Penelope has ended and broken both their hearts. We certainly look forward to the day when they can go back to being friends again. Yet again, Portia’s smart moves never failed to amaze us. How she was able to send Jack away with such grace and skill is simply brilliant. That kiss JAck and Portia shared made us cringe, though.

Of course, we are so happy that Edwina has finally forgiven Kate and that she and Anthony can truly be free to love each other. A happy ending, nevertheless. With this season, the show maintained its standing- truly superb and engaging.