Tread carefully, for this article is thorny with Bridgerton Season 2 spoilers.
If Bridgerton Season 2 taught us anything, it’s that there is absolutely no limit to a) how much sexual tension can be crammed into a game of pall-mall, or b) the sheer number of will-they-won’t-they-kiss scenes that can be breathily shoe-horned into a script.
Now, after a full eight-episode soundtrack of Anthony Bridgerton whisper-panting into our collective ears, it’s time to revisit the best of them.
Will it be the time Anthony (Jonathan Bailey) and Kate (Simone Ashley) almost kissed after she got stung by that bee? The time they almost kissed while she was about to shoot that deer? You’ll just have to read on to find out…
6. After the failed wedding (episode 6)
Credit: Netflix
Key dialogue: “You should not be here.”
Interrupted by: Kate’s guilt.
This is both a) the last time Anthony and Kate have a near-kiss (they properly devour each other’s faces later in the same episode), and b) the worst near-kiss on the list. Why? Because it barely even qualifies as a near-kiss. Sure, there’s some tense hand-holding and eye contact, and yes, it gets some points for the sheer level of scandal involved (they’re in a cupboard in the Queen’s own house shortly after Anthony was supposed to have married Kate’s sister, for goodness sake), but compared to the other entries it simply can’t compete.
5. The library (episode 4)
Credit: Netflix
Key dialogue: “It is the storm…I have always found them unsettling.”
Interrupted by: Thunder.
In episode 4, a chance night-time meeting in the library isn’t far from cascading into kiss territory before Anthony and Kate are rudely interrupted by a loud clap of thunder. This one has plenty of tension, but loses points for the fact that, again, they don’t really get that close to kissing.
4. The hunt (episode 4)
Credit: Netflix
Key dialogue: “Just hold it…exhales…like this.”
Interrupted by: The rest of the hunting party.
This one gets points for its rifle-based double entendres, but loses points because it’s really more of an ear-whisper than a near-kiss.
3. The library, round two (episode 4)
Credit: Netflix
Key dialogue: “I am a gentleman.”
Interrupted by: Anthony’s sister.
This is a very strong near-kiss scene, partly due to the dialogue (at one point Anthony spits out the words “You hate me” to which Kate responds “Yes. I do. I hate you.”) but mainly due to the very dramatic interruption from Anthony’s sister Daphne (which marks the first time Anthony and Kate’s shocking secret has been discovered).
2. After dinner with the Sheffields (episode 5)
Credit: Netflix
Key dialogue: “You are the bane of my existence…and the object of all my desires.”
Interrupted by: Anthony’s guilt.
You have to give the actors credit here. By this point they’re on near-kiss number five, and they’re clearly plumbing the depths of just how close two people can get to kissing without actually touching lips (a case in point being the screenshot above, where Anthony is squashing his nose so hard into Kate’s cheek that it’s almost folded in half). This one gets extra points for the dialogue, which includes such gems as the aforementioned “bane” line, “My father raised me to act with honour, but that honour is hanging by a thread,” and “Do you think there is a corner of this Earth you could travel to far away enough to free me from this torment?”
1. The bee sting
Credit: Netflix
Key dialogue: “It was just…deep breath… a bee.”
Interrupted by: A horse whinnying.
Oh, you didn’t think bee stings could be sexy? Well think again! The scene that first ramped up the tension between Anthony and Kate pretty much had to be number one on this list, partly because it’s the first domino that sets off all the rest in the season, but mainly because the whole thing is just so wonderfully ridiculous. A casual bee triggering traumatic memories and setting off a love triangle between a Lord and two sisters? Peak Bridgerton.
