What You Didn't Notice About Kate And Anthony's Relationship In Bridgerton

"Bridgerton" is nothing short of a cultural phenomenon. When the first season was released on Netflix in 2020, it quickly became Netflix's biggest series ever. Viewers were, it seems, instantly hooked by the steamy Regency-era relationship between Daphne and Simon, the Duke of Hastings. And Season 2, which dropped in March 2022, seems to be just as popular.

In Season 2, we follow Anthony Bridgerton, Daphne's brother, as he attempts to leave behind his days of debauchery and finally find a wife. When sisters Kate and Edwina Sharma come to town, Anthony finds that Edwina has all of the qualities he's looking for in a wife — the only problem is, he soon develops feelings for her older sister. The eight-episode season was packed with desire, longing stares, and will-they-won't-they tension. It was the perfect enemies-to-lovers journey, and fans loved every second of it.

But even the most eagle-eyed fans may have missed a few key moments — here are the things you didn't notice about Kate and Anthony's relationship in "Bridgerton" Season 2.

In the world of "Bridgerton," couples rarely experience love at first sight — more often, they experience something closer to hatred at first sight. After all, both Simon and Daphne and Kate and Anthony followed the classic enemies-to-lovers trajectory. But look a little closer and you'll realize that even though Anthony and Kate were butting heads from the very beginning, there was also a clear spark of attraction between them, too. It may be brief, but there's a clear smirk and glint in each of their eyes. They both realize pretty quickly that their competitive, adventurous personalities mirror each other perfectly — and, of course, they both notice just how attractive the other is, too!

By the sounds of things, the actors loved doing that first scene as much as we loved watching it. "I love any scene with Kate and Anthony riding their horses," actress Ashley Simone told "Today." "Those were some of my favorite days filming on set with Johnny. And just bringing this love story to life with him. It really, truly was such a joy."

Kate and Anthony don't exactly start things off on the best foot. After hearing Anthony discussing marriage like a business contract with his friends, Kate decides he's a terrible match for her sister. And, after Kate tries to get the way of his pursuit of Edwina, Anthony becomes pretty frosty to her, too. In some ways, they seem like polar opposites — however, if you look more closely, you'll see that they have loads of similarities.

They're both stubborn, competitive, strong-willed, a little wild, outspoken, bad at managing or understanding their emotions, fiercely protective of their families — and the list goes on.

"Anthony and Kate are mirrors for each other," creator Chris Van Dusen said to The Wrap. "And I think seeing someone else going through the very thing that you're going through is affirming in a lot of ways and they have that commonality and that bond between them that grows throughout the season." Sounds like there's a deeper emotional reason why these two just couldn't stay away from each other.

One of the first scenes where Kate and Anthony succumb to their growing feelings is the infamous bee scene. The scene occurs in the third episode of Season 2 — after Kate is stung by a bee, Anthony panics and starts to hyperventilate because his father was killed by a bee sting. Kate brings his hand to her chest where he was stung, saying, "I am unharmed. It was just a bee." In the heat of the moment, they almost end up kissing, but swiftly pull away from each other at the last moment.

While this scene may have seemed seriously steamy, many viewers may not have realized that in the original book, the scene was even more intense. In the novel, Anthony decides that he actually needs to suck out the bee venom. "He'd tipped her chin back and his head was closing the distance between them, almost as if he meant to kiss her. 'I'm going to have to suck the venom out,' he said grimly. 'Just hold still,'" the novel reads. When the pair are caught in what looks like an embrace, their mothers force them to marry (via Slate). So, the bee scene could have looked very different — and lead to a totally different plot!

Some "Bridgerton" fans may have been disappointed to find that Daphne, the lead character in Season 1 of "Bridgerton," has a much smaller role in Season 2. However, even though Daphne took a backseat this season, she had a more important role in Kate and Anthony's relationship than you may have realized.

In fact, she seems to be the only person who sees just how well-suited Kate and Anthony really are. When she first meets Kate, for instance, she assumes that she is Edwina. Clearly, she spots their natural chemistry. Then, during the croquet match between the Bridgertons and the Sharmas, she can't help but throw Anthony some questioning looks when he and Kate keep bickering like an old married couple. Eventually, it's Daphne who hints to her brother that his affections may lie with Kate rather than her sister.

Clearly, Daphne's romance in Season 1 taught her a few things about the nature of love.

So, why are Kate and Anthony always so drawn to each other? Is it because of physical attraction? Forbidden love? Or is it something deeper. As one viewer pointed out in CBR, their passion grows over time because they develop emotional intimacy.

Looking back at their relationship, it's true that Kate and Anthony get glimpses into each other's inner lives time and time again. Without meaning to, they are both vulnerable with each other — and they can't help but be drawn together because of it. Just think of the time they end up falling in the mud because of their competitive natures. Or the time in the library when Kate and Anthony both confess how the desire to protect their families has driven them throughout their lives. In almost all of their meetings, these two reveal something that few other people would know — no wonder this season of "Bridgerton" feels so romantic!

Back in the Regency era, men and women were pretty much never allowed to be alone together — like, ever. If a man and woman wanted to have a private conversation, they would need to be chaperoned. If they happened to meet in public, it was proper for them to stay in public places within full view of other people.

Other couples in the "Bridgerton" universe abide by these rules. When Anthony and Edwina want a conversation, they are chaperoned by their mothers. When Lord Featherington is found alone with his cousin during a ball, he is forced to marry her.

And yet, despite these strict rules, Anthony and Kate end up alone together way too often. First, they're alone while riding in the woods. Then, they end up alone outside a ball. They're also alone in a garden, in a library, in a gazebo, and the list goes on. We bet Lady Whistledown would love to get her hands on this shocking gossip!

If you're a fan of period dramas, you may have already realized that there are loads of familiar moments in Season 2 of "Bridgerton." And that's because the show's creator, Chris Van Dusen, was inspired by a bunch of different classic period dramas himself — as he told Entertainment Weekly, he even borrowed some iconic images from them and put them straight into "Bridgerton."

First of all, when Anthony falls in the lake and emerges in a see-through wet shirt, this is a direct reference to the 1995 "Pride and Prejudice" adaptation, when Colin Firth famously comes across Jennifer Ehle's Elizabeth Bennet while soaking wet after diving into a pond. Then, there's the moment when Anthony saves Kate from her fall, carrying her home in the rain — this scene mirrors two very similar scenes in the 1995 "Sense and Sensibility." Talk about romance déjà vu!

On your first watch of "Bridgerton" Season 2, you probably noticed a few familiar songs — as classical, instrumental covers, of course. But you may not have realized just how meaningful those song choices were — and how much they conveyed about our favorite Regency-era couple.

One important song is "Wrecking Ball," which plays as the couple dances in the final episode. "The song definitely inspired that scene," creator Chris Van Dusen told The Wrap. Apparently, he wrote the season while listening to music — when "Wrecking Ball" came on, he was inspired. In fact, the song became hugely meaningful to Kate and Anthony's relationship as a whole. "The lyrics just, I think they just, you know, permeated my brain and just stayed with me and it really was so fitting for what was happening with Kate and Anthony all season as far as taking the wrecking ball down to each other's issues," he explained. "And culminating in that final dance between them I think is really magical." We never expected Miley Cyrus to be the perfect singer to underscore a period drama romance — but Van Dusen was right. This song, with this couple, is total magic.

Okay, let's talk about Anthony and Kate's first sex scene. Unlike Season 1 of "Bridgerton," this couple doesn't have nearly as many sex scenes. However, we would argue that their first sex scene is still way more shocking. Unlike Simon and Daphne, Anthony and Kate have sex before they are married. Gasp!

While this is pretty commonplace these days, sex before marriage in the 1800s was probably one of the most shocking things you could do. Remember "Les Miserables?" Or "The Scarlet Letter?" Or even Marina in Season 1 of "Bridgerton?" The moral of all of these stories is, if you had sex and didn't marry, you would be outcast from society and probably doomed to a life of poverty.

So, it's seriously shocking that Kate and Anthony succumb to their passion and have sex when they're not even engaged. Especially after Anthony was so offended to find the Duke and Daphne alone in the garden in Season 1 — and they were only kissing!

We know that relationships in the 1800s were very, very different from relationships today, but even so, married couples probably did discuss certain private things with each other. However, in "Bridgerton" Season 2, there is one thing that Kate and Anthony never discuss — their previous relationships.

Fans of the show will remember that in Season 1, Anthony was practically in love with Siena, an opera singer — so in love that he almost ran away with her. However, throughout all of Season 2, he never mentions Siena to Kate or, for that matter, to anyone else.

And Kate is also very private about her past romances. She does reveal that she has been more focused on finding her sister a husband than on finding one for herself, but it's still possible that she had a crush or two back in India. By the sounds of things, though, Anthony will never know about them!

Back in the 1800s, medicine wasn't nearly as advanced as it is today. So, when Kate falls from her horse, cuts her head, and falls unconscious, it's actually very, very serious. In fact, she very likely could have died.

As one study explained, brain surgery didn't even begin to be developed until the 1700s, so by the 1800s, head trauma was still a serious issue. Another study showed that concussions were still not fully understood in the 19th century.

Plus, Kate needed stitches, as Anthony said when he brought her home. According to Johnson & Johnson, it wasn't until the 1800s that surgeons began sterilizing their equipment — so, depending on Kate's doctor, she could have had a pretty grueling and dangerous surgery! In fact, if anything had gone wrong, she could very easily have died. It's a good thing Anthony was there to rush her home!

After a lot of will-they-won't-they drama, Kate and Anthony finally agree to tie the knot in the final episode. It's a beautiful moment. "I cannot imagine my life without you and that is why I wish to marry you," Anthony tells her. "You do know that there will never be a day that you do not vex me," she replies. "Is that a promise, Kathani Sharma?" he says, as fireworks go off in the background. Finally, Kate says yes.

Some viewers may have wondered at the name — after all, throughout the entire season, Kate is known as, well, Kate. However, it turns out, Kathani is her real Indian name, as explained by The Wrap. And what could be more romantic than Anthony using her full name? It's intimate, sweet, and, we're willing to bet, left viewers swooning.

The creator of "Bridgerton," Chris Van Dusen, seems to love putting thoughtful little details and Easter eggs into the show. And the final sex scene between Kate and Anthony is no exception. Most fans probably missed it, but as Cosmopolitan noted, a few keen fans spotted it and took to Twitter. During the scene, Anthony kisses Kate on the neck — right where she was stung by a bee earlier in the season! It's a really lovely detail considering the fact that the bee scene was the first time the pair almost let their desire get the better of them.

With this little detail, Van Dusen hints at the fact that Anthony has never stopped thinking about that moment in the garden after the bee sting — that he's been wanting to kiss that spot ever since. A sign of true love? We definitely think so!

By the end of the second season of "Bridgerton," Kate and Anthony are married and living happily ever after with the other Bridgertons. You may not have realized it, but if you look back to the beginning of the show, you'll notice that both characters have practically transformed — in a good way!

"I think they've grown immensely over the course of the season," creator Chris Van Dusen told The Wrap. "They do have a full circle arc." Perhaps what's most moving about this couple is that despite their bickering and stubbornness, they ultimately change each other for the better. "By the end of the season, this journey that we're on with the two characters, they realize that they're capable of loving and being loved, and I think that's a really special thing," Van Dusen said. Well, gentle reader, we have to agree!