“Bridgerton” star Charithra Chandran is opening up about the part of joining season two of the hit show that was less than magical. When the season two trailer and posters debuted, some fans were upset that Chandran’s character, Edwina, was keeping apart Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey) and her sister Kate (Simone Ashley). 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. “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.” 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.
The mystery that remains is what will happen to Edwina in season three. With her sister happily married, hopefully Edwina can step into her own love story and find a happily ever after all her own.
