Bridgerton's Bee Ending Secretly Hinted Benedict Is Season 2's Star
The bee at the end of Bridgerton season 1 was thought to foreshadow Anthony's story, but season 2 could change things up to focus on Benedict instead.
Season 1 of Bridgerton ended with a bee resting on a window, but it may be hinting that Benedict Bridgerton, and not Anthony, will be the focus of season 2. Bridgerton is littered with clues and meaning. Even the color of the characters’ clothing in Bridgerton signified something deeper about their emotional state and the story at large. While the bee at the end was likely meant to foreshadow Anthony’s story in season 2, it’s possible it instead indicates Benedict may take center stage in the next installment.
The season 1 finale of Bridgerton saw Daphne and Simon Basset welcoming a new baby. After the camera lingered on them for a moment, it panned to the window where a bee had taken up a spot at the window. The camera lingered on the bee, clearly drawing audience attention to it. In the Bridgerton books by Julia Quinn, Lord Edmund Bridgerton is said to have been killed after being stung by a bee at the age of 38. The circumstances of his death greatly affect Anthony, his eldest son, and he becomes deathly afraid of bees thereafter. This, paired with his fears about dying young, plays a big role in the second novel, titled The Viscount Who Loved Me.
While Bridgerton season 1 followed the events of Quinn’s first novel in the series, Bridgerton’s future seasons won't necessarily follow the same order as the books — and a bee emblem on Benedict's collar in season 1 suggests the show will depart from the books going forward. Similar to how the color of the characters’ costumes symbolized something specific, Benedict’s waistcoat collar may have clued fans in on what’s to come next: An eagle-eyed reddit user spotted the bee during a scene in which Benedict is speaking with his brother Colin, and suggests it is a clue about the next season. The insect’s body is facing upward so that it looks like Benedict is about to be stung by it. This begs the question: why would Benedict wear a garment that would remind him and his siblings of the fact that their father died from an allergic reaction?
One possible answer is that the bee on the collar and the bee in the Bridgerton season 1 finale both set up Benedict's season 2 arc: there’s a chance that Benedict will either play a big role in season 2 or that he will replace Anthony as its main character. If the bee represents Benedict, the final image shifting from Daphne and Simon over to the Bee could signify that the story will shift in the next season. This opens up various possibilities for why Benedict is being compared to the insect: are the writers making a comment about community, or perhaps setting up Benedict to be a dangerous force going forward?
The bee backstory isn’t introduced until the second book, but Benedict’s novel, An Offer from a Gentleman, is third in the series. It could be assumed that the showrunners will flip things around for the sake of the story, using material from An Offer from a Gentleman for season 2. After all, Anthony played a significant role in season 1 despite Daphne being the main character, whereas Benedict didn’t have very much to do and appeared in brief moments nearer to the back half of the season. The audience knows very little about him thus far and Bridgerton season 2 could explore his backstory in a more meaningful and significant way. It could all start with a bee.