Jonathan Bailey

The star of “Bridgerton” season two is thrilled to explore his beloved character over eight episodes.

Unlike Daphne and Simon — where Simon was the one who had all the information in terms of a sexual relationship, of love, and what it is to be a man and a woman in a relationship, and Daphne was learning and trying to come to terms with it — the amazing thing about Kanthony is that they’re worldly, and they’ve both experienced a lot. And my competitiveness can get me to the final, but then I always blow it in the end. I said, “Look, I think this could be really amazing in terms of the story and the characters’ development to remind the viewers that in order to talk about grief, you have to have dealt with it.” The whole point with Anthony is that he can’t talk about it, and he buried it so deep that it’s coming out in all these controlling and toxic mannerisms. The problem is, when you’re acting and fall in love with someone, you’re looking them in the eyes — the eyes are the way into the soul, and that is brilliant to explore that. There’s this scene in the last episode, which, actually, I’d talked to Chris about and asked him if we could have a scene with Anthony and Gregory Bridgerton. It came from wanting to show that Anthony has come to a place where he’s starting to deal with his long-buried grief over the death of his father. And what was so clever about including Anthony’s relationship with Siena [Sabrina Bartlett] in the first season is that it showed his head and his heart, but in a more visceral way, where at the end of it, when she rejects him, it’s as close to rock bottom as he gets in terms of his evidence to reinforce his suspicion that he’s broken, or that he is invalid. I think that was key for these characters, for us to work on it individually and then leave it to the day. Anthony is really complicated, and that’s why I was really drawn to him. You need a really clear thought and to know exactly what you’re trying to do and what your character is trying to achieve in a scene. He was always there, so he was sort of a theater director in a sense and could cinch it in at the waist when it needed to be. But he’s doing the best with what he’s been given, and what he’s been given is so much less and more complicated than what the siblings were given, and he protected them from that. When it comes to film and TV, you can do that, but there’s a leanness to the time you’ve got and an economy.

'It's a different love story this season,' showrunner Chris Van Dusen tells ET.

Bailey agreed, "I think so too and the toolkit, you know, it's quite pragmatic and it has to be in order for it to feel safe." But the toolkit is ever-expanding and it's the difference between series 1 and 2, and I'm sure going forward the industry will be more and more resourceful." And the amount of sexual tension that happens this season you see it build and build from scene to scene to episode to episode and the payoff is well worth it, I think." And I do think that the anticipation that builds is very hot and steamy, and sort of gets you ready for what's to come." We had to take it seriously in order to have fun with it on the day and I think we did a good job with that." The actors shared that when it came time to film Anthony and Kate's first sex scene in episode 7, it was all done with care and consideration. "We never do a sex scene for the sake of doing a sex scene. It's amazing what you can achieve with a robotic horse," Ashley said, sharing that she personally enjoyed "filming the mud scene" where Kate and Anthony get stuck at the beginning of the season. But his unromantic answer about them being proper matches due to their "places" in society and Kate, a "thorn" to be removed from their future, seals the deal for Edwina, who decides -- of her own free will -- not to marry him and tells them both in the deserted chapel. And, as she says goodbye to Anthony, Kate closes the distance between them and share a steamy kiss. Their moment comes after Anthony and Kate imagine their own wedding while he's about to wed Edwina. (Slow burns and unresolved sexual tension are a signature of romance novels, after all.) But it's clear over the course of the season, he's unable to escape Kate's orbit.