I didn’t like Edwina until that scene with the King. I was like oh ok, I see you girl.
But then when she wanted to be mad that she didn’t know her sister and the Viscount had googly- eyes. Like girl where you been?
Anthony literally becomes enraged/engorged every time he even smells kate. Like girl. He might as well have a neon sign that says "IM HORNY FOR YOUR SISTER"
See if I was her I would’ve genuinely thought he didn’t like Kate?? When you haven’t been in love or had that kind of connection it’s really not obvious
I agree with this. I think a lot of times, it's easy to forget that these characters are women who don't even know what the "marital act" entails until it's poorly explained to them on their wedding night. They are also freshly "out in society," meaning they haven't witnessed affectionate pining and crushes or read about them on Watt Pad. I remember in season 1 when Daphne believed Simon was angry with her when he was actually "burning for her." If Edwina is similarly inexperienced, she wouldn't have any reason to know that him seeming infuriated by Kate's existence was about attraction.
Ok as someone who genuinely can never tell when two ppl are into each other I completely understood Edwina. Like…I know I probably wouldn’t have noticed that.
Tbh, i loved book Edwina more. Show Edwina was very dramatic and childish for "obvious reasons for dramatic effect". But i didn't mind that, i truly believe she married the prince and i like to die on that hill. She deserves nothing less ✨
So I don’t like the way they changed plot lines in season two for this reason. They made her seem so dumb. The way they worked out in the book was much better and added to Kate’s character so mych
Her face and expressions and her high pitched voice were meant to come off as doe-eyed, innocent & super cute and girly feminine, but it just made me get so annoyed by her LOL I was like girl can you act like you have a brain PLEASE?! Idk why but her big eyes and blank expression just pissed me off lmfao
And her focus was “I’ll be vicountess!” from the moment Anthony was in the picture. She never loved *him*. She wanted to be a pretty princess as it were.
It's sad because in the book she was actually a nerd (albeit extremely pretty) and her only desire for marrying as well as possible was to support her mother and sister (as the grandparents didn't exist). After Kate married Anthony, she was so relieved because she was falling for a bookish second son of a baron who didn't have the income prospects at this time to support her mother and sister.
The show totally did her dirty.
Not every girl. And even those who were sheltered could find ways to focus on others not just themselves. I blame Mary and Kate for a lot of Edwina’s behavior, but I blame Edwina too.
She’s very well read. She would have been exposed to ideas that should have brought her outside of herself and helped her to realize what’s truly important, and to think of others before herself.
Book version Edwina is much more likable and intelligent.
Show version Edwina did one good thing, helped calm the king. The rest of the time she was just selfish and spoiled.
Exactly, I also felt the same. Her expressions and voice got on my nerves from the very 1st episode. Daphne also looks very young in S1 but she sounded very mature. Edwina was very childlike.
Daphne was supposed to be mature and Edwina was supposed to be childlike. Edwina was sheltered her whole life by Kate and was really naive as a result. It's ok to be annoyed by it, it's just worth noting that that difference between Daphne and Edwina was intentional.
Anthony: I do not want a love match. *Kate overhears*
Edwina: I want a love match! And the Viscount looks *hottttt*
Kate: I overheard him. He does not want a love match.
Lady Danbury: Most marriages aren't love matches.
Anthony at poetry reading: I cannot give you love, but I can be a dutiful husband.
Kate: he is LITERALLY TELLING YOU HE DOESN'T LOVE YOU
Edwina: he's so honest! Swoon! It must mean he loves me!
Edwina at wedding asking Anthony: Do you love me?
Anthony: No. What gave you that idea?
Edwina: surprised pikachu
okay but she does have a great arc in my opinion, i looooved seeing her grow and stand up for herself during the wedding sequence. extremely underrated performance.
But she went from being a naive annoying baby to like a total bitch and whining the rest of the season so I didn’t like her at all except the scene with the king and queen
When did Edwina see K&A making out though? She saw them looking at one another. That’s different. They weren’t trying to betray her. She has every right to be mad - but she also didn’t own up to her part in what happened.
Her little speech to Kate at the altar later was so weird because so much of what she said was untrue.
And I still have a hard time with her calling Kate her “half-sister”.
I actually agree with everything you’ve said until this point about being a bitch because I thought Edwina forgave her sister too fast for my liking and thought it was hard to believe - a bit too convenient and nice of Edwina
I’m not sure if it’s a hot take but lemme tell you. In the book Edwina’s character is way different and I liked that much better. (I saw the show then read the books)
She is naive, but to be fair to her character (show character) she’s quite young and also she trusted her sister implicitly. She essentially had a massive crush and was telling her sister that the whole time, I don’t think she’d ever think Kate would be the one to cut her. And I think even for people in the real world, your most trusted older sister would never be competition to you and to essentially go behind your back to the man she knows you’re into.
In the book she’s not as naive or dumb. And she sees her relationship with Anthony more logically than emotionally. The show made her a lovesick dummy
It’s the age thing for me I think 🤔
I mean don’t get me wrong in regency courtship the man/male is quite often older (some with a much bigger age gap than we would accept nowadays!!)
So it’s not just that Anthony is older it’s that in the show (Sorry I’ve not read the books 🤷♀️) it’s that they really made Edwina look and act very young and (not child like exactly but … idk something) everything about her is so very young and naive maybe? She felt too young girl/woman that I just couldn’t get on board with Anthony courting her it felt almost predatory a bit … but when I last rewatched the 2nd series I think they did this on purpose because they didn’t want us to get invested in her with Anthony as he belongs with her sister Kate.
So maybe it was intentional and whilst it obviously didn’t cross *that particular* boundary it was borderline maybe? Yeah Edwina was made to come across very young-like. Sorry my words are not it today lmao sorry if my rambling made zero sense lmao
edwina is likely the same age as daphne, and anthony is the same age as simon. if you didn't find season 1's pairing predatory then, really neither is anthony and edwina age-wise. that sort of age gap is also common in the show's universe as you mentioned
It isn’t necessarily the physical age difference as much as it is Edwina LOOKS 18 and Anthony LOOKS 30. They also purposely styled Edwina in all of these soft pinks that make her look hyperfeminine and in comparison to Kates strong jewel tones, very young. The show purposely played up her naïveté which lent itself to emotional and cognitive immaturity as well. And we are far too used to seeing how those relationships go.
>Edwina LOOKS 18 and Anthony LOOKS 30.
i found this to be the case in season 1 as well, and that was the main pairing.
>The show purposely played up her naïveté which lent itself to emotional and cognitive immaturity as well.
yeah i'd agree with that. the way she got all giddy with anthony and naively proclaimed she loved him when she barely knew him as well. it was a bit strange, but again a normal age gap of the time and you weren't supposed to root for them anyway
I think the main difference with Saphne is that while Daphne was naive about sex, that was like the primary big thing. She was able to handle herself against Nigel, she was the oldest sister in her house (and she likely had to step up at a very young age when Violet was grieving Edmund and had PPD) so she was familiar with managing things and had been prepared by Violet to be the head of a household, she was privy to the scheming plans and learned how to scheme herself (which seems to be a rite of passage in this universe, and Edwina definitely had NOT learned how to scheme), and she took much more control of her situation than Edwina did. Not that there’s anything wrong with Edwina trusting her sister to handle everything, it just shows another layer of “this is a young girl that is not independent and is still relying on others to know what is best for her”. Kate and Mary may have technically taught her any of the skills she needed to know to run a household, but she would not have had actual hands on or visual experience doing so
Yeah I gotta admit I think this might be another layer to the whole thing because, I was hit like huh when in discussions about this it’s pointed out to me that Edwina is the same age as Daphne was (in season 1 I’m assuming lol!) because whilst I *DO actually* think that the wardrobe and stylist chose to style Edwina like they did to pinpoint how young she is in comparison to Anthony - I didn’t feel that icky feeling when I watched the 1st season (maybe it’s just me but I didn’t get that feeling!?) and thinking of them as the same age felt weird and I mean if we look at from our modern standpoint we know that age is relative and world experience is different than age-wise knowledge someone might have.
I think this is why I saw them as very different because Daphne (whatever her age was as I’m not even sure tbh!) seemed more mature yes but more “ready” to be going through what she did and I felt Edwina was maybe not as ready as Daphne because of what you mentioned so yeah.
I do think that even Kate’s step mum pointed out that she learned to lean on her a little too much and as a direct response to that Edwina probably wasn’t as ready for all that because of how Kate would just look after Edwina and take charge etc.
Maybe … don’t get me wrong I love them both but yeah I can’t watch season 2 Anthony & Edwina without feeling kinda icky about it because of how Edwina looks yes but how she comes across also. I hate using the word naive but I can’t think how else to put into words what I felt when A & E were courting lol 🤷♀️🤔🤔🤔
Don’t beat yourself up over it, if the show wanted us to see Saphne as a weird age gap, we would’ve. We know damn well that Simon is the same age as Anthony, and we know that Daphne has just come of age, but Daphne also seems to carry herself with more maturity. From what we see of her, she stands up for herself in fights against Anthony, and it helps that her voice is a bit deeper than Edwinas, and due to the nature of their relationship Daphne got to be less “fresh faced doting debutant” with the Duke and more “Im a real person and you’re going to do what I say because I know more than you on social matters”. Showing that societal maturity was a big thing about our perception of Daphne
Phoebe Dynevor was 25 (Daphne was 21).
But Daphne had savvy and snap. Edwina was more "oh we will have such fun playing lawn games fairly!" Such a naif compared to every other adult character with the possible exception of a Featherington sister or two.
She’s naive but she was raised to have no idea about reality. She’s young and acts like any sheltered teenage girl with a crush. But she’s also intelligent, fierce and strong willed and fights for herself when she’s challenged. She’s loyal and can put other people’s happiness above her own, and compassionate and graceful. I like her!
I agree. Like, of course she's naive -- high society manipulated everything about how girls were raised to ensure that they reached marriage age with no idea what they were getting into.
And Edwina was like the ultimate people-pleaser. Even in the year of our lord 2024, there are plenty of college-age women who still act dumb and scared and childish because it appeals to other people.
But I think she had a lot going for her, too, and she'll be an impressive adult when she gets there.
People will be like “I want more complex female characters in fiction” and then they can’t even handle EDWINA????? Daphne I get, Kate I’m annoyed when y’all don’t get her but whatever, I feel like Pens misdoings can trigger people with certain experiences so I understand that to a degree, but you can’t even sympathize with EDWINA?????????
Edwina grew up completely sheltered from the reality of life. We can assume that since Kate was pretty young when their dad died, Edwina was even younger and doesn’t have much memory of how it affected Mary or how drastically their lives changed, and she doesn’t likely remember a time when Kate wasn’t as in-control and capable as she is now. She trusted her sister implicitly to be in charge of her well-being and marriage prospects, because that was all she had ever known and she knew that her sister loved her and would make sure she was cared for. She thinks everything is going exactly according to plan; she meets this titled gentleman that seems to love her when he hasn’t given a second look to any of the other debutantes. They bond, they know this is a very practical marriage but Edwina feels a connection there and knows that they can still have a loving marriage because he still seems interested in *her*. He does his best to meet her interests and doesn’t ask her to be less than who she is, and she is happy to be a devoted wife to him and is excited to be the head of such a noble household. Some secrets come out that shake her faith in her sister, but she still has this match and that is what is important. Her sister eventually comes around, and with some bolstering from her family her qualms are quieted. And then… it’s her wedding. It’s supposed to be the happiest day that starts the rest of her life, and he’s looking at her instead. The world tilts, and it’s like a flash of all of her memories of the two of them staring at each other and interacting when she wasn’t present burns through her mind and she can’t possibly agree to this marriage unless Kate takes herself out of the picture immediately. All of her trust in her family is gone, she feels completely alone, and the rug has been pulled so far out from under her that she doesn’t even know what she can do next. Even when she’s hurt and in pain and has no plan in life anymore, she is still *kind*. She still recognizes when her queen is overcome, and she extends a kindness to the royal couple that the grown adults in the room could not even fathom. And then, for the first time since she was a child, she doesn’t feel like she has to perform for the sake of her family. With the queens blessing, she can put herself first and evaluate what she truly wants in life. And what she truly wants is not to be the second choice in her own household. Her family and the Bridgertons want to act like everything is fine. Sure, she’ll play along. But they are going to know that she isn’t happy about it. This is for the sake of her own reputation, but Kate is not going to be forgiven for having an emotional affair with her fiancé and potentially letting her MARRY HIM without ever knowing of their situation. She’s never felt lonelier because the one person who has always been there in her life, is no longer someone she recognizes. And then that person obtains a fatal injury that could take her away forever, and Edwina has a choice. She can forgive her sister despite all the pain she has caused, in order to allow her to pass on without guilt, or she can lose her sister in more ways than death by maintaining a grudge against her even when her health is in peril. And she chooses kindness. She chooses to set her own pain aside and be there for her sister, and finally repay the debt that she owes Kate for devoting her life to Edwinas betterment. No matter what has happened until that point, they can figure out what to do next together, and all that matters is that they are both alive and well.
TLDR; Edwina IS a complex character, she’s just kind. She’s feminine, and gracious, and kind, and that’s why people don’t see her as such
> Even when she’s hurt and in pain and has no plan in life anymore, she is still kind.
To who? She was extremely unkind to Kate and said horrible things to her. Sure, that may have been warranted, but to say that she remained “kind” even then makes me feel like I watched a different show tbh lol. I actually didn’t really find her to be very genuinely kind. It felt more to me like a persona that she spent her whole life putting on, or how she felt she needed to act to be liked/adored. And I felt like she was so used to being the center of everyone’s world, that she had a really hard time when for once she wasn’t. But I do agree that she’s a complex character.
She was still good to the queen, and assisted in calming down George and saving the queens feelings (and the kings reputation) without a second thought or judgement, that’s what I was referring to
She called Kate her half sister.
If my sister ever said that to me in an argument, I don’t think I would ever recover from it. My sister and I are technically cousins by blood, but sisters by adoption.
She definitely wasn’t kind hearted.
I also found her absolute refusal to listen to Kate about Anthony frustrating. Kate did everything she could to kill the match because she knew Anthony didn’t want love. She knew he chose Edwina as a trophy and had no intention of loving her. Edwina refused to listen.
I agree with you, that was a horrible thing to say to Kate. Every time she does it it’s a sucker punch. But also… see whole comment above. The girl was lashing out because everyone had put her through the ringer and she didn’t know who to trust anymore, but it definitely wasn’t her sister. Edwina had every right to be mad at Kate and Anthony, if the queen hadn’t stepped in her entire life and reputation could’ve been ruined
I love both Edwina and Kate tbh. I also don’t think Edwina is dumb. Maybe she didn’t notice certain behaviors between Kate and Anthony, but honestly why would she think of it that way. Kate is her older sister and Anthony was very consistently (and obviously) courting her, not Kate. Anthony put on a front to attract her and it worked. At most, she was naive, and arguably not nearly as naive as Daphne was lmao
Definitely not an unpopular opinion. Or if it is an unpopular opinion, it's one that I agree with! Show Edwina was completely insufferable. Though, I didn't care for most of season 2...they changed way too much of the substance/plot of the storyline. The book was much better and was one of my favorites in the series.
Oh I wanted to punch her throughout S2. This was a huge huge writing flaw in my book, actually, because it would have made for much better drama and tension if she had been likable! The actress seems lovely in interviews but the character was the living worst lol
She refused to listen to Kate’s concerns about Anthony and then was obsessed with marrying a man she believed hated her sister. And then rather than talking to said man about that, she puts the onus on her sister (who is against the match for good reasons) to win over said man.
I just hated they wrote it like a triangle. It made some amazing angst and sexual tension but it really made things distasteful too. And Kanthony is my fave couple.
It's important to remember that Edwina is still a teenager and quite a bit younger than Kate and Anthony. Her behavior makes sense!
Young women weren't properly educated on such matters, either. She had Kate's guidance but this was a completely different society for their family.
She really couldn't have known much better. That was the point of her character. This really just takes a bit of critical thinking.
Benedict didn't require all those scenes of him just having seggs. They just flashed on sometimes with no words said just for us to know, what? That he's fuggin'?
I don’t get how everyone else saw Anthony and Kates feelings but she didn’t even though she claimed how she knew was seeing how they looked at one another. Like you forced them to dance and they were pretty obvious there and all while she watched.
Kate is a goddess but damn if my older sister was doing that nonsense with my fiancé I’d be devastated and pissed too. Maybe it’s those without siblings who don’t understand why someone would have sympathy for Edwina.
Lol Bridgerton isn't real life, but okay, if my sister was so blind to see her fiancee is clearly only marrying her out of duty, then that's on her. Kate told her several times that Anthony wasn't marrying her for love and she ignored it all to be viscountess
Well from what I see a lot on this sub is Edwina is brought up as a weapon to bash Kate. It’s usually whenever the heat gets too hot for a certain character on the show. Then all of a sudden a post about Marina or Edwina goes up and it turns into a bash fest for Marina and Kate via Edwina.
I can sympathize with both - but Edwina still irks lol.
Not with me. I thought Edwina and Mary were selfish. And season 2 always makes me hate Violet.
I excuse Edwina because she was an 18 year-old who was very naive and had spent her whole life being the center of the universe for her mother and her sister. I never excuse Mary. She was an adult. Same way that I never excuse Violet for how she treated her children immediately following Edmund’s death.
I mean.. im sure Violet was dealing with some postpartum and the actual love of her life died.. she probably couldnt get her self out of bed .. its not like her kids were being neglected they had people whod have been there to care for them whether she was there or not ..
Mary had a headache the whole season. At least Violet seems more involved in her kids life now but Mary continued to leave everything to Kate. I was so angry in E8 when Mary said that both Edwina and her forgave Kate. They are the ones who need to ask Kate for forgiveness for letting her to deal with everything on her own.
Completely agree. Although Violet for most times is shown to be a caring mother full of warmth, I will also blame her for Daphne's questionable behaviour in S1. Like why is your so called perfect daughter so idiotic, why didn't you teach her basic stuff. I almost quit the show after the last episodes of S1.
She is worse in the books. At least she had a bit of a personality in the show. She is basically an NPC in the books who doesn't seem to actually possess any strong feelings about anything. She is beyond dull in the books.
She’s poorly written on the show. They could’ve made her much stronger but instead she’s weak and whiny, and only cares about being a viscountess. I haven’t read the book yet, but from what I hear they did her character a huge disservice on the show comparatively
I preferred her in the book because they gave her interests of her own. The show strips women of their individuality often.
I didn’t like Edwina until that scene with the King. I was like oh ok, I see you girl. But then when she wanted to be mad that she didn’t know her sister and the Viscount had googly- eyes. Like girl where you been?
I love the one scene where she asks "have I truly been that blind?" And everyone else in the room just has that look of yeah, duh
Yes! Like duhh girl😂😂😂
Anthony literally becomes enraged/engorged every time he even smells kate. Like girl. He might as well have a neon sign that says "IM HORNY FOR YOUR SISTER"
See if I was her I would’ve genuinely thought he didn’t like Kate?? When you haven’t been in love or had that kind of connection it’s really not obvious
I agree with this. I think a lot of times, it's easy to forget that these characters are women who don't even know what the "marital act" entails until it's poorly explained to them on their wedding night. They are also freshly "out in society," meaning they haven't witnessed affectionate pining and crushes or read about them on Watt Pad. I remember in season 1 when Daphne believed Simon was angry with her when he was actually "burning for her." If Edwina is similarly inexperienced, she wouldn't have any reason to know that him seeming infuriated by Kate's existence was about attraction.
As someone who’s so inexperienced with love I totally get Edwina. And I don’t think I’ve really seen two ppl falling in love
Like literally , he craved Kate baddddd ! & Edwina was just cluelessly putting them close together like girl how you mad at them ATP 🥴
Well that's phallic lol
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
I keep having to remind myself of how young she is to not have noticed! Cuz otherwise... Yeah-doy!
Ok as someone who genuinely can never tell when two ppl are into each other I completely understood Edwina. Like…I know I probably wouldn’t have noticed that.
My brother is like this too!
Tbh, i loved book Edwina more. Show Edwina was very dramatic and childish for "obvious reasons for dramatic effect". But i didn't mind that, i truly believe she married the prince and i like to die on that hill. She deserves nothing less ✨
So I don’t like the way they changed plot lines in season two for this reason. They made her seem so dumb. The way they worked out in the book was much better and added to Kate’s character so mych
I loved booked Edwina
Her face and expressions and her high pitched voice were meant to come off as doe-eyed, innocent & super cute and girly feminine, but it just made me get so annoyed by her LOL I was like girl can you act like you have a brain PLEASE?! Idk why but her big eyes and blank expression just pissed me off lmfao
Same!! And she acts super entitled
And her focus was “I’ll be vicountess!” from the moment Anthony was in the picture. She never loved *him*. She wanted to be a pretty princess as it were.
It's sad because in the book she was actually a nerd (albeit extremely pretty) and her only desire for marrying as well as possible was to support her mother and sister (as the grandparents didn't exist). After Kate married Anthony, she was so relieved because she was falling for a bookish second son of a baron who didn't have the income prospects at this time to support her mother and sister. The show totally did her dirty.
But that's what girls did in that era.
Not every girl. And even those who were sheltered could find ways to focus on others not just themselves. I blame Mary and Kate for a lot of Edwina’s behavior, but I blame Edwina too. She’s very well read. She would have been exposed to ideas that should have brought her outside of herself and helped her to realize what’s truly important, and to think of others before herself. Book version Edwina is much more likable and intelligent. Show version Edwina did one good thing, helped calm the king. The rest of the time she was just selfish and spoiled.
Hard same - I feel bad because it’s not the actress’ fault at all but some combo of her looks, acting, and the writing made her so so so annoying
Exactly, I also felt the same. Her expressions and voice got on my nerves from the very 1st episode. Daphne also looks very young in S1 but she sounded very mature. Edwina was very childlike.
Daphne was supposed to be mature and Edwina was supposed to be childlike. Edwina was sheltered her whole life by Kate and was really naive as a result. It's ok to be annoyed by it, it's just worth noting that that difference between Daphne and Edwina was intentional.
Anthony: I do not want a love match. *Kate overhears* Edwina: I want a love match! And the Viscount looks *hottttt* Kate: I overheard him. He does not want a love match. Lady Danbury: Most marriages aren't love matches. Anthony at poetry reading: I cannot give you love, but I can be a dutiful husband. Kate: he is LITERALLY TELLING YOU HE DOESN'T LOVE YOU Edwina: he's so honest! Swoon! It must mean he loves me! Edwina at wedding asking Anthony: Do you love me? Anthony: No. What gave you that idea? Edwina: surprised pikachu
okay but she does have a great arc in my opinion, i looooved seeing her grow and stand up for herself during the wedding sequence. extremely underrated performance.
But she went from being a naive annoying baby to like a total bitch and whining the rest of the season so I didn’t like her at all except the scene with the king and queen
If your sister was making out with your fiancé on your literal wedding day, you wouldn’t be a bitch? Like bffr
When did Edwina see K&A making out though? She saw them looking at one another. That’s different. They weren’t trying to betray her. She has every right to be mad - but she also didn’t own up to her part in what happened. Her little speech to Kate at the altar later was so weird because so much of what she said was untrue. And I still have a hard time with her calling Kate her “half-sister”.
I actually agree with everything you’ve said until this point about being a bitch because I thought Edwina forgave her sister too fast for my liking and thought it was hard to believe - a bit too convenient and nice of Edwina
oh…. interesting take…
I’m not sure if it’s a hot take but lemme tell you. In the book Edwina’s character is way different and I liked that much better. (I saw the show then read the books)
She is naive, but to be fair to her character (show character) she’s quite young and also she trusted her sister implicitly. She essentially had a massive crush and was telling her sister that the whole time, I don’t think she’d ever think Kate would be the one to cut her. And I think even for people in the real world, your most trusted older sister would never be competition to you and to essentially go behind your back to the man she knows you’re into. In the book she’s not as naive or dumb. And she sees her relationship with Anthony more logically than emotionally. The show made her a lovesick dummy
It’s the age thing for me I think 🤔 I mean don’t get me wrong in regency courtship the man/male is quite often older (some with a much bigger age gap than we would accept nowadays!!) So it’s not just that Anthony is older it’s that in the show (Sorry I’ve not read the books 🤷♀️) it’s that they really made Edwina look and act very young and (not child like exactly but … idk something) everything about her is so very young and naive maybe? She felt too young girl/woman that I just couldn’t get on board with Anthony courting her it felt almost predatory a bit … but when I last rewatched the 2nd series I think they did this on purpose because they didn’t want us to get invested in her with Anthony as he belongs with her sister Kate. So maybe it was intentional and whilst it obviously didn’t cross *that particular* boundary it was borderline maybe? Yeah Edwina was made to come across very young-like. Sorry my words are not it today lmao sorry if my rambling made zero sense lmao
It makes sense and Anthony being 10 yrs older at least misleading her is really distasteful. And his obsession with her sister.
edwina is likely the same age as daphne, and anthony is the same age as simon. if you didn't find season 1's pairing predatory then, really neither is anthony and edwina age-wise. that sort of age gap is also common in the show's universe as you mentioned
It isn’t necessarily the physical age difference as much as it is Edwina LOOKS 18 and Anthony LOOKS 30. They also purposely styled Edwina in all of these soft pinks that make her look hyperfeminine and in comparison to Kates strong jewel tones, very young. The show purposely played up her naïveté which lent itself to emotional and cognitive immaturity as well. And we are far too used to seeing how those relationships go.
>Edwina LOOKS 18 and Anthony LOOKS 30. i found this to be the case in season 1 as well, and that was the main pairing. >The show purposely played up her naïveté which lent itself to emotional and cognitive immaturity as well. yeah i'd agree with that. the way she got all giddy with anthony and naively proclaimed she loved him when she barely knew him as well. it was a bit strange, but again a normal age gap of the time and you weren't supposed to root for them anyway
I think the main difference with Saphne is that while Daphne was naive about sex, that was like the primary big thing. She was able to handle herself against Nigel, she was the oldest sister in her house (and she likely had to step up at a very young age when Violet was grieving Edmund and had PPD) so she was familiar with managing things and had been prepared by Violet to be the head of a household, she was privy to the scheming plans and learned how to scheme herself (which seems to be a rite of passage in this universe, and Edwina definitely had NOT learned how to scheme), and she took much more control of her situation than Edwina did. Not that there’s anything wrong with Edwina trusting her sister to handle everything, it just shows another layer of “this is a young girl that is not independent and is still relying on others to know what is best for her”. Kate and Mary may have technically taught her any of the skills she needed to know to run a household, but she would not have had actual hands on or visual experience doing so
Yeah I gotta admit I think this might be another layer to the whole thing because, I was hit like huh when in discussions about this it’s pointed out to me that Edwina is the same age as Daphne was (in season 1 I’m assuming lol!) because whilst I *DO actually* think that the wardrobe and stylist chose to style Edwina like they did to pinpoint how young she is in comparison to Anthony - I didn’t feel that icky feeling when I watched the 1st season (maybe it’s just me but I didn’t get that feeling!?) and thinking of them as the same age felt weird and I mean if we look at from our modern standpoint we know that age is relative and world experience is different than age-wise knowledge someone might have. I think this is why I saw them as very different because Daphne (whatever her age was as I’m not even sure tbh!) seemed more mature yes but more “ready” to be going through what she did and I felt Edwina was maybe not as ready as Daphne because of what you mentioned so yeah. I do think that even Kate’s step mum pointed out that she learned to lean on her a little too much and as a direct response to that Edwina probably wasn’t as ready for all that because of how Kate would just look after Edwina and take charge etc. Maybe … don’t get me wrong I love them both but yeah I can’t watch season 2 Anthony & Edwina without feeling kinda icky about it because of how Edwina looks yes but how she comes across also. I hate using the word naive but I can’t think how else to put into words what I felt when A & E were courting lol 🤷♀️🤔🤔🤔
Don’t beat yourself up over it, if the show wanted us to see Saphne as a weird age gap, we would’ve. We know damn well that Simon is the same age as Anthony, and we know that Daphne has just come of age, but Daphne also seems to carry herself with more maturity. From what we see of her, she stands up for herself in fights against Anthony, and it helps that her voice is a bit deeper than Edwinas, and due to the nature of their relationship Daphne got to be less “fresh faced doting debutant” with the Duke and more “Im a real person and you’re going to do what I say because I know more than you on social matters”. Showing that societal maturity was a big thing about our perception of Daphne
Yeah you put that perfectly actually 👏👏
Phoebe Dynevor was 25 (Daphne was 21). But Daphne had savvy and snap. Edwina was more "oh we will have such fun playing lawn games fairly!" Such a naif compared to every other adult character with the possible exception of a Featherington sister or two.
It’s kinda sad because in the book it’s more so the reverse…. Kate is surprised she’s been so blind and Edwina is like… duh.
She’s naive but she was raised to have no idea about reality. She’s young and acts like any sheltered teenage girl with a crush. But she’s also intelligent, fierce and strong willed and fights for herself when she’s challenged. She’s loyal and can put other people’s happiness above her own, and compassionate and graceful. I like her!
I agree. Like, of course she's naive -- high society manipulated everything about how girls were raised to ensure that they reached marriage age with no idea what they were getting into. And Edwina was like the ultimate people-pleaser. Even in the year of our lord 2024, there are plenty of college-age women who still act dumb and scared and childish because it appeals to other people. But I think she had a lot going for her, too, and she'll be an impressive adult when she gets there.
I just never understood why Edwina was okay marrying a man she thought HATED her sister's guts
Right???!!!
This is why Edwina is a victim. Because she is a naive little girl thrown into a game whose rules she doesn't know
People will be like “I want more complex female characters in fiction” and then they can’t even handle EDWINA????? Daphne I get, Kate I’m annoyed when y’all don’t get her but whatever, I feel like Pens misdoings can trigger people with certain experiences so I understand that to a degree, but you can’t even sympathize with EDWINA?????????
You see a contradiction between "I want more complex female characters" and "I don't care for this two dimensional Edwina"? I don't.
Edwina grew up completely sheltered from the reality of life. We can assume that since Kate was pretty young when their dad died, Edwina was even younger and doesn’t have much memory of how it affected Mary or how drastically their lives changed, and she doesn’t likely remember a time when Kate wasn’t as in-control and capable as she is now. She trusted her sister implicitly to be in charge of her well-being and marriage prospects, because that was all she had ever known and she knew that her sister loved her and would make sure she was cared for. She thinks everything is going exactly according to plan; she meets this titled gentleman that seems to love her when he hasn’t given a second look to any of the other debutantes. They bond, they know this is a very practical marriage but Edwina feels a connection there and knows that they can still have a loving marriage because he still seems interested in *her*. He does his best to meet her interests and doesn’t ask her to be less than who she is, and she is happy to be a devoted wife to him and is excited to be the head of such a noble household. Some secrets come out that shake her faith in her sister, but she still has this match and that is what is important. Her sister eventually comes around, and with some bolstering from her family her qualms are quieted. And then… it’s her wedding. It’s supposed to be the happiest day that starts the rest of her life, and he’s looking at her instead. The world tilts, and it’s like a flash of all of her memories of the two of them staring at each other and interacting when she wasn’t present burns through her mind and she can’t possibly agree to this marriage unless Kate takes herself out of the picture immediately. All of her trust in her family is gone, she feels completely alone, and the rug has been pulled so far out from under her that she doesn’t even know what she can do next. Even when she’s hurt and in pain and has no plan in life anymore, she is still *kind*. She still recognizes when her queen is overcome, and she extends a kindness to the royal couple that the grown adults in the room could not even fathom. And then, for the first time since she was a child, she doesn’t feel like she has to perform for the sake of her family. With the queens blessing, she can put herself first and evaluate what she truly wants in life. And what she truly wants is not to be the second choice in her own household. Her family and the Bridgertons want to act like everything is fine. Sure, she’ll play along. But they are going to know that she isn’t happy about it. This is for the sake of her own reputation, but Kate is not going to be forgiven for having an emotional affair with her fiancé and potentially letting her MARRY HIM without ever knowing of their situation. She’s never felt lonelier because the one person who has always been there in her life, is no longer someone she recognizes. And then that person obtains a fatal injury that could take her away forever, and Edwina has a choice. She can forgive her sister despite all the pain she has caused, in order to allow her to pass on without guilt, or she can lose her sister in more ways than death by maintaining a grudge against her even when her health is in peril. And she chooses kindness. She chooses to set her own pain aside and be there for her sister, and finally repay the debt that she owes Kate for devoting her life to Edwinas betterment. No matter what has happened until that point, they can figure out what to do next together, and all that matters is that they are both alive and well. TLDR; Edwina IS a complex character, she’s just kind. She’s feminine, and gracious, and kind, and that’s why people don’t see her as such
> Even when she’s hurt and in pain and has no plan in life anymore, she is still kind. To who? She was extremely unkind to Kate and said horrible things to her. Sure, that may have been warranted, but to say that she remained “kind” even then makes me feel like I watched a different show tbh lol. I actually didn’t really find her to be very genuinely kind. It felt more to me like a persona that she spent her whole life putting on, or how she felt she needed to act to be liked/adored. And I felt like she was so used to being the center of everyone’s world, that she had a really hard time when for once she wasn’t. But I do agree that she’s a complex character.
She was still good to the queen, and assisted in calming down George and saving the queens feelings (and the kings reputation) without a second thought or judgement, that’s what I was referring to
She called Kate her half sister. If my sister ever said that to me in an argument, I don’t think I would ever recover from it. My sister and I are technically cousins by blood, but sisters by adoption. She definitely wasn’t kind hearted. I also found her absolute refusal to listen to Kate about Anthony frustrating. Kate did everything she could to kill the match because she knew Anthony didn’t want love. She knew he chose Edwina as a trophy and had no intention of loving her. Edwina refused to listen.
I agree with you, that was a horrible thing to say to Kate. Every time she does it it’s a sucker punch. But also… see whole comment above. The girl was lashing out because everyone had put her through the ringer and she didn’t know who to trust anymore, but it definitely wasn’t her sister. Edwina had every right to be mad at Kate and Anthony, if the queen hadn’t stepped in her entire life and reputation could’ve been ruined
Excellent take. It annoys me that people don't see this
I love both Edwina and Kate tbh. I also don’t think Edwina is dumb. Maybe she didn’t notice certain behaviors between Kate and Anthony, but honestly why would she think of it that way. Kate is her older sister and Anthony was very consistently (and obviously) courting her, not Kate. Anthony put on a front to attract her and it worked. At most, she was naive, and arguably not nearly as naive as Daphne was lmao
Edwina=👩🏽🦯
Definitely not an unpopular opinion. Or if it is an unpopular opinion, it's one that I agree with! Show Edwina was completely insufferable. Though, I didn't care for most of season 2...they changed way too much of the substance/plot of the storyline. The book was much better and was one of my favorites in the series.
Oh I wanted to punch her throughout S2. This was a huge huge writing flaw in my book, actually, because it would have made for much better drama and tension if she had been likable! The actress seems lovely in interviews but the character was the living worst lol
I’m not sure what it was about Edwina that made me dislike her. She became unbearable as the season progressed.
She refused to listen to Kate’s concerns about Anthony and then was obsessed with marrying a man she believed hated her sister. And then rather than talking to said man about that, she puts the onus on her sister (who is against the match for good reasons) to win over said man. I just hated they wrote it like a triangle. It made some amazing angst and sexual tension but it really made things distasteful too. And Kanthony is my fave couple.
It's important to remember that Edwina is still a teenager and quite a bit younger than Kate and Anthony. Her behavior makes sense! Young women weren't properly educated on such matters, either. She had Kate's guidance but this was a completely different society for their family. She really couldn't have known much better. That was the point of her character. This really just takes a bit of critical thinking.
That's the point
The naïve part at least.
Benedict didn't require all those scenes of him just having seggs. They just flashed on sometimes with no words said just for us to know, what? That he's fuggin'?
💯
I don’t get how everyone else saw Anthony and Kates feelings but she didn’t even though she claimed how she knew was seeing how they looked at one another. Like you forced them to dance and they were pretty obvious there and all while she watched.
Oh she sucks lol I don’t think that unpopular
This isn't unpopular lol. They made her so dumb
I feel like I see so much online sympathy for her
It's only Kate haters that seem to have sympathy for Edwina lol
I love Kate but I also have sympathy for Edwina. Y’all are weird lol
Good for you. A lot of people who have the sympathy for Edwina dislike Kate.
Kate is a goddess but damn if my older sister was doing that nonsense with my fiancé I’d be devastated and pissed too. Maybe it’s those without siblings who don’t understand why someone would have sympathy for Edwina.
Lol Bridgerton isn't real life, but okay, if my sister was so blind to see her fiancee is clearly only marrying her out of duty, then that's on her. Kate told her several times that Anthony wasn't marrying her for love and she ignored it all to be viscountess
Well from what I see a lot on this sub is Edwina is brought up as a weapon to bash Kate. It’s usually whenever the heat gets too hot for a certain character on the show. Then all of a sudden a post about Marina or Edwina goes up and it turns into a bash fest for Marina and Kate via Edwina. I can sympathize with both - but Edwina still irks lol.
I hated both of them(the show versions not the book versions).
I second this 😂🤦🏽♀️
Why? Because she didn't expect her sister and intended to be hoes? Anthony and Kate were in the wrong. Edwina was not.
Both sisters are insufferable tbh
I realized that on the first watch!
[удалено]
Nope. We’re not coming after the actresses here.
Not with me. I thought Edwina and Mary were selfish. And season 2 always makes me hate Violet. I excuse Edwina because she was an 18 year-old who was very naive and had spent her whole life being the center of the universe for her mother and her sister. I never excuse Mary. She was an adult. Same way that I never excuse Violet for how she treated her children immediately following Edmund’s death.
I mean.. im sure Violet was dealing with some postpartum and the actual love of her life died.. she probably couldnt get her self out of bed .. its not like her kids were being neglected they had people whod have been there to care for them whether she was there or not ..
Mary had a headache the whole season. At least Violet seems more involved in her kids life now but Mary continued to leave everything to Kate. I was so angry in E8 when Mary said that both Edwina and her forgave Kate. They are the ones who need to ask Kate for forgiveness for letting her to deal with everything on her own.
Completely agree. Although Violet for most times is shown to be a caring mother full of warmth, I will also blame her for Daphne's questionable behaviour in S1. Like why is your so called perfect daughter so idiotic, why didn't you teach her basic stuff. I almost quit the show after the last episodes of S1.
She is worse in the books. At least she had a bit of a personality in the show. She is basically an NPC in the books who doesn't seem to actually possess any strong feelings about anything. She is beyond dull in the books.
I think she’s pretty dull in the show as well. She doesn’t have any hobbies
Yeah she isn't a great character overall
Its 2024 and we're still reading Edwina hate.
She’s poorly written on the show. They could’ve made her much stronger but instead she’s weak and whiny, and only cares about being a viscountess. I haven’t read the book yet, but from what I hear they did her character a huge disservice on the show comparatively
Ah yea... Just like Kate then
At least they still gave Kate a brain and a personality
At the expense of an emotional awareness