"Bridgerton" [1] star Charithra Chandran is opening up about the part of joining season two [2] of the hit show that was less than magical. When the season two trailer and posters [3] debuted, some fans were upset that Chandran's character, Edwina, was keeping apart Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey [4]) and her sister Kate (Simone Ashley) [5]. Some fans even edited Edwina out of the poster. According to Chandran, it was hard to deal with.
"It's been difficult," she told Entertainment Weekly [6]. "Of course, it's a bit disappointing, but I'm also like, 'How can one comment and have such extreme emotions about something they don't know?' I don't know what to say, like, I can't lie. Edwina is in love with Anthony in the show. It's true. They do have a connection. But also, that doesn't mean there's a catfight between the sisters, and it's more complicated than that."
"The reality is, the TV show is so nuanced," the actress explained. "It's so complicated and you don't see a catfight between the sisters. You see Edwina being hostile with Kate because she loves Kate more. By the end of episode 6, she's like Anthony, 'You're trash and I can do better, just go away.' Right? That's my reaction. It's like, 'I don't care about you anymore. Just go away.' Whereas with Kate, it's a more painful situation because they are closer. It's a product of love, not a product of hate."
Chandran said it was important to her that Edwina felt like a fully fleshed-out character on the hit show — which wasn't exactly the case in the book, "The Viscount Who Loved Me." [8] She explained, "The one thing that I said to [creator] Chris Van Dusen before filming started was, 'I don't want Edwina to simply be a plot device for someone else's story or a vehicle for the story to progress. I want her to be her own person and to have her own plot and narrative.' And I'm so grateful to Chris and the writers for giving me as rich a story as they ended up giving me." Season two ended up making many big changes to the plot of the book [9].
The mystery that remains is what will happen to Edwina in season three [10]. With her sister happily married, hopefully Edwina can step into her own love story and find a happily ever after all her own.