Netflix’s official Bridgerton trailer finally answers a nagging Lady Whistledown mystery ahead of season 2. First released on February 14th, 2022, the Bridgerton season 2 trailer confirms several new plotlines for the series, including a salacious-looking new love interest for Anthony, Viscount Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey). The teaser also reaffirms Bridgerton season 1‘s bombshell reveal that Penelope (Nicola Coughlan) is Lady Whistledown, with her clandestine newsletter column set to stoke more scandal in Regency-era London.
First debuting on December 25, 2020, Bridgerton became the most-watched series on Netflix at the time with a staggering viewership of 82 million households across its first 30-day span on the platform. These prolific viewing numbers, coupled with the series reaching number one in 76 countries on Netflix by January 2021, meant the series was renewed for a second season in very short order. Set to premiere on March 25, 2022, Bridgerton season 2 is a highly anticipated affair, with Chris Van Dusen’s series continuing to follow its Julia Quinn source materials by drawing on her second novel’s story The Viscount Who Loved Me.
In this way, Bridgerton‘s season 2 trailer answers a long-standing Lady Whisteldown mystery leftover from season 1, episode 8. After Phoebe’s reveal as the gossip columnist, audiences were left to wonder if her character would take over narration duties from the incomparable Julie Andrews, who voices an older Whistledown across season 1. The Bridgerton season 2 trailer, therefore, confirms not only Andrew’s return as the narrator but also Phoebe’s ability to speak as Whistledown as evidenced by the final trailer shot.
Bringing back Julie Andrews’ Whistledown is a smart move by the Netflix series, with the English-born actress’ voice pitch-perfect for the role. Her commentary has quickly become synonymous with the series, so much so that it would have been jarring to switch from Andrews’ dulcet tones to Phoebe’s far less mature voice for season 2. This way, Bridgerton retains the best of both worlds by keeping Whistledown’s narration as a recollection from the future as opposed to switching to Phoebe’s present-day perspective.
The end of Bridgerton‘s season 2 trailer also reveals Phoebe’s ability to speak as Whisteldown on-screen, something season 1 did not touch upon. The teaser seems to suggest Phoebe can invoke Whistledown’s voice when writing the newsletter under her mysterious pseudonym, allowing her writing persona to merge with her real self. This could be a particularly useful narrative device as Bridgerton moves into its third and fourth seasons, confirmed by Van Dusen in April 2021, as Phoebe grows older and becomes closer to the narration style of Julie Andrews’ Lady Whistledown portrayal.
If this proves to be the case, this will be an expertly navigated character arc, with Whistledown confirming via the season 2 trailer she has been sharpening her skills as a writer in order to deliver more scandal to the ruling class of London. With seven Julia Quinn novels set in the Ton Regency-era still to be adapted, giving Phoebe’s active voice as a writer a zenith to scale towards remains key for Bridgerton‘s longer-term streaming plans. Bridgerton‘s season 2 trailer finally answered one Lady Whistledown mystery, but many more lay right around the corner for the youngest Featherington daughter-turned whistleblower.
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