This Season of 'Bridgerton' Stresses The Power Of Motherhood Even More Than The First - By Letting Mothers Fail

Season 2 of Bridgerton is finally almost here, and of course it's bringing with it all of the lust, longing, secrets, and scandal of the first season. The themes of love over duty and the examination of how Regency citizens navigated a system designed to exploit them all for either work or entertainment are all still there, strong as ever - but there's one theme that, we think, has come back even stronger.

The strength of the bond between Lady Violet Bridgerton and her daughter Daphne was clearly strong in the first season, but the second casts a light on the love of mothers of all kinds - and how absolutely badass it can be.

Lady Featherington may not be the most conventional of mothers, or even the warmest one, but she clearly does everything that she does for her daughters - and she makes that even clearer this season. While it'd be a tall order for this woman to give up her desire to be on top, or the schemes and secrets she utilizes to get there, it's nothing at all to ask her to turn them to help - or protect - her girls. We get to see a whole new side of Lady F this season, and surprisingly, it's actually a somewhat attractive one.

Then there's the mother of our new characters, Kate and Edwina Sharma. Lady Mary Sharma is a mother and stepmother, and there is a beautiful moment at the very end of the season where she gets to make a speech to her stepdaughter about how she never had to earn her place in her own family; she loved her the day she met her.

We love the inclusion of this specific detail - it shows audiences who may never have had to think about the concept of stepmotherhood versus motherhood that, in the end, biological relation is just a happenstance; it's not the only thing that can make someone your mother, not by a long shot.

Even the Queen seems to be searching for something to replace the daughter she never had - as you may recall from last season, she and King George had a daughter who fell ill and died in childhood.

Queen Charlotte's constant seeking and following of a Diamond each season begins to feel even more like projection this time around, watching again as she becomes even more overly involved in the love life of a new and different debutante, in a way she will never get to for her own daughter.

And then, of course, there's Lady Bridgerton herself - whose very role as Lady Bridgerton will technically be over after this season, as whoever Anthony takes as his wife will become the new one. (Don't worry, we're sure she'll still be around.)

Lady Bridgerton naturally gets many beautiful moments this season - but perhaps more importantly, we see more moments where she fails.

All of the women, this season, are depicted as fallable creatures, and it is done in the most beautiful way possible. The moments in which we see them let their children down - be it out of fear or out of obligation or simply out of misplaced love - make them so much more human, which makes it all the more beautiful to see them shine when they do.

Parents are often placed on a pedestal in media, especially mothers. It makes sense - it's easy to slip into black and white mindsets in life, and when it comes to the women who raised us, any nod to their fallability might feel like it's an insult or a censure. In reality, however, seeing these women grapple with their weaknesses - weaknesses like Violet's fear of saying the wrong thing to her children, or Lady Featherington's desire for power and status - only makes it all the more impressive to watch them overcome them out of love for their children.

You can see all the badass moms of the 'Ton back on screen when Bridgerton hits Netflix this Friday - and don't forget to listen or watch along with our podcast, Whistledown, Pinkies Up, where my coworker Carly Polistina and I break down each episode of Season 2!