Oscar Wilde said in his 1889 essay, The Decay of Lying, that “life imitates art far more than art imitates life.” As true as that is, we far more often see art imitating other art than anything else. If we’re to look at patterns, then we find more Renaissance and Shakespearean era connections in the latest Netflix shows than ever. Archive 81, for example, is based on Dante’s Inferno. Another unlikely connection that we’ve made is between season 2 of Bridgerton and William Shakespeare’s classical comedy The Taming of the Shrew.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYNCws-a6CQ

Before we delve into the details of it, notice the Easter egg the creators of Bridgerton slipped in the trailer? “Any suitor wishing to gain an audience with Miss Edwina Sharma must first tame her sister”. If that isn’t the definition of sneaky, we’re not quite sure what is.

What is The Taming of the Shrew about?

The play begins with two daughters of a wealthy lord in the city of Padua. The younger, Bianca, is the talk of the town with a line of suitors willing to marry her. However, the issue is her older sister, Katherina. As accomplished as Katherina is, her assertive and willful nature was too much to handle for a man in the 1590s.

Through the course of the play, we watch Petruchio, try to make a match with Katherina. The conversion of Katherina from a “shrew” into an amiable young woman is something he takes as a challenge. With both of them being equally domineering, the play ends with a “tamed” Katherina and the two in a seemingly happy marriage.

How does it relate to Bridgerton season 2?

As remarkable as Shakespeare was, one cannot just ignore the sexist undertones of his play. Bridgertonbrings to viewers a more feminist version of the same. While The Taming of the Shrew focuses on domesticating Katherina, we watch a less dark and more fun version of the story in Bridgerton.

Both Anthony and Kate are equally assertive but they are about to see just how similar they are. But, by the end, they might learn to appreciate their similarity instead of changing their disposition. With all of this said and done, here are the two major Shakespearean Easter eggs we found in the trailer of the Netflix Original.

The names of the characters

The older, overbearing sister is called Kate in Bridgerton and Katherina in the play. Then there are Edwina and Bianca. Coincidence? I think not.

The plot of Bridgerton season 2

The plot of Bridgerton season 2 focuses on Anthony and his to-be-wife, who he hasn’t chosen yet. While Anthony is clearly interested in Edwina, he finds himself drawn towards Kate. Contrary to his attraction, he intends to take Edwina as his wife but must convince her elder sister, Kate, first. It is clear from the trailer that those two will end up together, although the journey might take some unexpected turns.

Stream Bridgertonseason 2 on March 25, only on Netflix!