Bridgerton season 2, episode 5 recap: An Unthinkable Fate

Bridgerton season 2 episode 5 “An Unthinkable Fate” puts more pressure on Kate to tell Edwina the truth while the Featheringtons’ and Eloise Bridgerton harbor their own secrets. Will the truth be revealed for all parties involved and if so what kind of damage will it cause?

Bridgerton Season 2 Episode 5 recap – Eloise’s Secret

Eloise Bridgerton is headstrong and stubborn when it comes to her interests. She easily lies to her family about attending flower arranging classes with Penelope.

Instead, she is going back to the market to attend meetings about women’s rights. The room is full of many individuals including the young man she previously met at the printing press.

He introduces himself as Theo Sharpe and the two immediately form a friendship. Eloise isn’t the only one pursuing her interests.

Benedict’s art classes have begun at the Royal Academy of the Arts. He has an instant connection to one of the female nude models, Tessa.

By the end of the episode, they have become romantically involved. The question is how will the family react?

Will we be seeing a repeat of Anthony’s actions from season 1?

Bridgerton Season 2 Episode 5 recap – The Featherington Scheme

Now that it has been revealed that Cousin Jack has no fortune, Portia is desperate to find a means of solving the problem without calling off the wedding. She and Cousin Jack cannot seem to see eye to eye on the matter.

If Penelope knew the truth she could easily write as Lady Whistledown and still keep her sister’s image intact. But as always, Portia has a plan.

She presents a very large and glamorous necklace to a jeweler to see if it is worth any money. He seems to think so.

What the jeweler didn’t notice was that the necklace was a fake. She proposes that Prudence should wear the jewelry as a means of showing off the jewels that they will claim comes from Cousin Jack’s mines in America.

Then he could obtain investors. Cousin Jack is afraid that this will not work but decides to go along with it.

At the park, he meets and speaks with several distinguished men including Mr. Mondrich. Mr. Mondrich is in need of more members to join his gentlemen’s club, but he seems to be a little untrustworthy of Cousin Jack.

Meanwhile Penelope uses every opportunity to speak with Colin. He feels lost, as Anthony will be married, and Benedict has his art.

Penelope is sure he will find his purpose soon too. When she asks him where Eloise is, he said that she will be going with her to a flower arranging class.

Penelope, unaware of where Eloise is actually going, saves face and claims she merely forgot. When Penelope does meet with Eloise later, she doesn’t tell Penelope the truth.

Penelope cleverly finds out from one of the maids where Eloise has been running off to. Turns out Eloise is attending secret meetings about women’s rights and is becoming quite close to Theo Sharpe.

Bridgerton Season 2 Episode 5 recap – A dinner worth forgetting

So, we’ve seen what the Featheringtons’ and Eloise in particular are up to but how about Anthony and Edwina? Well, Queen Charlotte herself wants to oversee the wedding.

What she doesn’t tell them is that by doing so she hopes to get the upper hand on Lady Whistledown. The next awkward moment happens when Anthony invites the jeweler while waiting for Edwina to arrive.

Kate mistakenly enters the room and shares a rather tense conversation with Anthony about everything that has been happening between them. To make the situation even more awkward, Kate’s finger is the same size as Edwina’s and the ring fits!

Not enough awkwardness? How about the fact Lady Danbury invited the Sheffields’ over for dinner?

Surely they won’t reveal to everyone that they are paying Edwina’s dowry as long as she marries a man they approve of? Right?

Oh dear viewers, what transpires is perhaps the most uncomfortable, sad, yet perfectly acted dinner scene I have ever seen on television. But we’ll get to that momentarily.

First we have to talk about how obviously jealous Anthony becomes with he sees Kate enjoying herself with Mr. Dorset. The two share a pleasant boat ride on the lake at the park amongst other couples.

Kate reveals that she will be returning to India after Edwina marries. Mr. Dorset, saddened to hear the news does mention that he’d be visiting India.

Once the boat ride is over, Edwina and Anthony are waiting for them at the dock. As Anthony helps Kate out of the boat, he trips over her Corgi Newton resulting in both he and Mr. Dorset falling into the water.

Both Edwina and Kate have a hard time looking away from the soaked Viscount. Now back to the dinner worth forgetting.

Yes, the truth that Kate and Lady Danbury had been keeping secret is revealed. It seems the Sheffields’ are terrible people indeed.

Even though it has been many years since they last spoke to their daughter, it is obvious they are still angered with her decision to marry for love over status. Lady Mary Sheffield Sharma defends her actions and her daughters, but Anthony steals the show by asking the Sheffields’ to leave.

The dinner is ruined but what about the wedding? Distraught over what has happened Kate begs Anthony to speak with her.

She confesses that Edwina never knew the truth about the dowry and that once they are married, she’ll return to India. Anthony finally confesses that he has feelings for her that will not and cannot go away.

He is waiting for Kate to confess how she feels about him, but she can’t. Because of that Anthony will still marry Edwina as soon as possible.

This is good news even though Edwina is crushed that Kate never told her the truth. She only wants the two of them to be open and honest with each other.

If Edwina was this upset over the dowry, how will she react when she finds out that Kate and Anthony are secretly in love with each other? Has Lady Danbury ended a rather close friendship with Lady Bridgerton over this secret?

Bridgerton Season 2, Episode 5 review

Finally, Anthony and Kate acknowledge their feelings for each other but even still Anthony can’t cancel the wedding without tarnishing Edwina. Edwina will have to be the one to call off the wedding.

But will she? She loves Anthony so much and can’t see how he affects her sister.

There are only three episodes left of season 2, and we know that Anthony and Kate will get together. But how?

As much as I enjoy watching Eloise following her heart, I worry that her running off to the markets and conversing with Theo will place her in a dangerous position. Same can be said of Benedict.

It’s wonderful to see him continuing with his passions but Tessa may not be welcomed into the Bridgerton family. I suppose she could be just a pursuit of pleasure at the moment but what if it turns into something more?

I also worry about Cousin Jack as Mr. Mondrich does not seem to buy his lies. Will he meet a similar fate to that of Portia’s husband?

For his sake, I certainly hope not.

What did you think of Bridgerton season 2, episode 5? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.