Bridgerton season 1 recap: What happened at end of the Netflix series?

Debutante Daphne Bridgerton, the eldest daughter in the family, caught everyone’s eye when she was presented in front of Queen Charlotte for the first time at the start of the series.

While her older brother Anthony Bridgerton strived to find her a good match, settling on Lord Berbrooke, Daphne was not happy with the arrangement.

Therefore, she and desirable bachelor Simon Basset, the Duke of Hastings – who was intent on never marrying, despite the prying eyes of the women in society – struck a deal.

They decided that they would make it appear as though they were courting so that the women would leave Simon alone and the men would want Daphne even more. What could possibly go wrong?

Lady Whistledown grips the ton

As the new social season got off to a tantalising start, everyone was constantly keeping their eyes peeled for the latest pamphlets released by Lady Whistledown, a wordsmith who appeared to somehow know everyone’s business.

At the start of the series, Lady Whistledown’s identity remained a firm secret, a mystery that became of particular interest to Eloise Bridgerton and the Queen, who even enlisted Eloise’s help to try and discover who was behind the quill.

Marina Thompson joins the Featherington household

The Featherington family, whose matriarch, Portia Featherington, was determined to find her daughters husbands who would raise their standing in society, welcomed a new member to their household in the form of cousin Marina Thompson.

However, complications quickly followed when Baroness Featherington discovered that Marina was pregnant with her lover’s child, a secret that they could only keep hidden for so long.

All is fair in love and war for Anthony Bridgerton

In the very first episode of Bridgerton, it was revealed that Anthony, who became the Viscount following his father Edmund’s death, was having a passionate affair with opera singer Siena Rosso.

While he broke things off with his mistress, their relationship continued to sizzle as the series went on, with Siena eventually being the one to tell Anthony to move on, despite his continued affection for her.

Daphne becomes conflicted over her feelings for Simon

While the conditions of Daphne’s deal with Simon were clear, that they would pretend they were courting until Daphne found a match, the pair couldn’t help but develop feelings for each other.

Despite Daphne attracting the attention of the Queen’s nephew, Prince Friedrich, her connection with Simon came to a head when they were caught kissing passionately by Anthony, who demanded that they marry due to the compromising position they’d been found in.

However, Simon refused, resulting in Anthony challenging him to a duel.

In the end, Daphne put an end to the duel by announcing that she and Simon would marry, despite the Duke telling her that the reason he couldn’t wed was because he could not sire any children – a promise he previously made to his father as a form of revenge for his cruel treatment as a child.

When the time came to consummate their marriage, Daphne and Simon realised the extent to which they were both deeply in love with and ‘burning’ for one another.

Another member of the Bridgerton clan gets engaged

Throughout the series, Penelope Featherington pined for Colin Bridgerton’s affections, despite his eyes being focused solely on her cousin, Marina.

While Baroness Featherington attempted to marry Marina off to an older suitor, Colin, who was besotted by Marina, announced that they had become engaged, much to the disappointment of his family.

However, another spanner was thrown in the works when Lady Whistledown revealed Marina’s secret to the masses.

While Marina tried to end her pregnancy herself, she was unsuccessful, and in the end, Sir Phillip Crane – the brother of her lover George, who it turned out had died in battle – offered to marry her instead.

Meanwhile, the patriarch of the Featherington household, Archibald Featherington, was killed after arranging for boxer Will Mondrich – a close friend of the Duke’s – to throw a fight in exchange for big winnings.

Daphne and Simon’s love veers from heaven to heartbreak

After enjoying many romantic trysts on their estate following their nuptials, Daphne discovered after speaking to a maid that it wasn’t that Simon couldn’t have children, but that he had decided not to.

She therefore decided to take matters into her own hands, assaulting him while they were having sex in an attempt to become pregnant, much to his shock.

While it appeared as though there was no repairing their fractured relationship after Daphne found out she was not pregnant, Simon later assessed what he wanted in life after spending time with Daphne’s younger siblings.

In the end, Daphne and Simon reconciled, much to the delight of audiences, with Daphne bearing a son.

Lady Whistledown’s identity is revealed

In the books, Lady Whistledown’s identity wasn’t revealed until the fourth instalment in the series.

It therefore came as a huge surprise to viewers and book readers alike when in the final moments of season one, it was revealed that Penelope was the woman behind the words.