Does Anthony Bridgerton Secretly Want to Bone His Sister? An Investigation
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In basically every way, I am Bridgerton’s target viewer. I like period pieces. I enjoy romance understood first and foremost as strategy; young women whispering nasty things to one another across ballrooms; Ariana Grande hits played by string quartets. But as Bridgerton unfurled, one question threatened to ruin my life (my life is watching Netflix). Does Anthony Bridgerton want to bone his own sister?
On the surface, it seems impossible. Aside from his affair with an opera singer (possibly the most interesting thing about him), Anthony Bridgerton is respectability itself, passionate about enforcing social norms. The last thing he would ever do is be hopelessly attracted to his sister. And yet! I'm here to lay out all the receipts for this take that no one asked for but I feel strongly about nonetheless.
Exhibit A: the first name conundrum
One thing you might notice while watching Bridgerton is how allergic Anthony and Daphne are to using each other’s names. Like, they never refer to each other by their actual names. We get a lot of, “I am here, sister," and “I have acted in your best interests, sister.” “Look, brother,” Daphne says, gesturing prettily at the wonder of electric lights strung above them. Sister, sister, brother, brother, over and over, for eight episodes straight. It’s almost as if the screenwriters think there’s a good chance you might forget who they are to each other. Hmm!
Exhibit B: Anthony's rejection of all Daphne's suitors
If Anthony does not, in fact, like-like his sister, why does he reject a handful of bachelors as possible suitors for Daphne for the flimsiest possible reasons (unpaid debts at the club, dubious parentage, poet, eccentric)? And why does he say, at one point: “My word! If the only upstanding gentlemen present this evening are your brothers, then we’re in a great deal of trouble indeed!” Are we in trouble, Anthony? Are you very afraid of the trouble of being the only London gentleman of sufficient lineage and fortune to marry your sister?
Exhibit C: that boxing scene
Ah, yes. During the boxing ring scene, after Anthony learns that the Duke and his sister are courting, Anthony leaps into the ring and attempts to punch the Duke. In response, the Duke puts a reasonable question to Anthony: “Should I not be courting your sister?” Anthony is outraged, claims there are “dozens” of reasons why the Duke should not. It turns out he can only think of three. Because Daphne’s his sister…because she’s engaged to be married…also, because she’s his sister. So mainly: because Daphne’s his sister. INTERESTING.
Exhibit D: a quick vibe check
Let's face it. There is rom-com electricity between Anthony and Daphne, who are always bickering and then gazing up at each other from beneath their eyelashes for a beat or two too long! This is confusing, because this is basically the exact same energy that exists between Daphne and the Duke. Who are we rooting for, again?
Exhibit E: the other brothers
Okay, this doesn't directly correlate to the case I'm making about Anthony and Daphne, but it does speak to a larger narrative of weirdness. Remember when Benedict and Colin had that strange spat over who should be allowed to fetch Daphne from her room? And then they argued about who Daphne likes best? That scene felt so far removed from any brother-sister relationship I have ever seen that it may or may not have been penned by aliens. There's also—god help us all—Eloise and Benedict’s covert late night smoking-and-flirting in the garden scenes, where Benedict also starts “sister”-ing Eloise. It all comes back around, baby.
In conclusion
Do I have a good explanation for any of this? No. I'm just spit-balling here, and I'm not a therapist, but maybe the untimely death of their father has led to something weird in the Bridgerton residence. Maybe this is the logical conclusion of the Bridgerton family’s exacting standards for romantic partners, a satire of the British aristocracy’s suspicion of outsiders. Or maybe, just maybe, it’s nothing more complicated than this: Anthony Bridgerton is desperate to have sex with his sister.
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