The first season of “Bridgerton” was over-the-top ludicrous, shallow, and cliched, yet I found it to be a fast-paced diversion with considerable eclat. It will not surprise you to learn that Season 2 is exactly the same. Now we watch the second of the populous Bridgerton clan (we are, it seems, destined for a season to drop every year for a decade), Anthony, calculatingly strivs to wed a pretty Indian woman while reluctantly subsiding into love for his fiancée’s sister. Even more so than Season I, the plot backbone is a classic romance one, and every standard plot device from the romance genre is unfurled. Luckily, the engaging subplot of Lady Whistledown, an anonymous gossip purveyor, has carried over and certainly offers relief from the saccharine tedium. Jonathan Bailey and Kate Ashley, perfectly cast, sparkle in their key roles, and the large supporting cast remains strong. As in Season 1, half the scenes of Bridgerton’s return season set one cringing; luckily the other half work as fizzy eye candy.
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