With Kate and Edwina Sharma, 'Bridgerton' has deviated from its previous season by acknowledging Indian culture and colonialism. Here’s where the show succeeded and failed.
Shelley Conn as Mary Sharma, Charithra Chandran as Edwina Sharma and Simone Ashley as Kate Sharma in "Bridgerton."In a quiet room, tucked away from the prying eyes and gossip of British high society, Kate Sharma massages oil into her little sister’s thick, black hair.
Harleen Singh, associate professor of women’s studies and South Asian history at Brandeis University, said the inclusion of brown-skinned actresses such as Ashley and Chandran was significant in itself, and some of the cultural moments hit home. But with an under-researched use of language and a half-in, half-out approach to addressing race, there were areas where the new season fell short.
The show doesn’t entirely shy away from addressing interactions between Brits and Indians on the subcontinent. Mary Sharma, played by Anglo Indian actress Shelley Conn, was notably rejected from English society after she married a poor Indian clerk.Shelley Conn as Mary Sharma and Charithra Chandran as Edwina Sharma in "Bridgerton."“I think it’s greatly flattened out,” Singh said. “During the Regency period that ‘Bridgerton’ is set in, the East India Company is in India.
“These relationships existed, but Indians within high society in England — conversing, traversing, moving in the same way, being a part of society, being debutantes — I find that highly unrealistic,” she said. “They would have faced an upheaval of racist and cultural stereotypes. They would not have been so easily accepted.”
“Shows like this, they’re relying on a particular righteousness,” she said. “‘We’re doing the right thing, the right kind of representation.’ And if you’re going to do that, do the research.”For Singh, the most touching moments in the second season of “Bridgerton” didn’t come from the dramatic love triangle between Anthony Bridgerton and the Sharma sisters, but in the smaller glimpses into the lives of each character.
Charithra Chandran as Edwina Sharma, Simone Ashley as Kate Sharma and Shelley Conn as Mary Sharma in "Bridgerton."The most prominent moment came in episode six, with the three Indian women sitting together and participating in a traditional pre-wedding haldi ceremony. Mary and Kate apply a turmeric paste to Edwina’s face on the eve of her big day, a ritual that’s meant to bless the bride before her marriage.
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