‘Bridgerton’ Season 2: Phoebe Dynevor Said Charithra Chandran Was the Best Pall Mall Player
Much of the discussion around the Netflix series Bridgerton centers around its Regency-era romances, female-centric sex scenes, and elaborate costumes. Many viewers and fans of the books, though, were thinking ahead to season two with the Bridgertons’ pall-mall game in mind, complete with wickets, mallets, and wooden balls.
When Netflix consulted Julia Quinn for the production of Bridgerton season 2, the one thing she apparently insisted upon was the inclusion of the Pall Mall scene. The pivotal sequence, in which Kate and Edwina Sharma join the Bridgerton siblings in a game akin to croquet, was shot brilliantly, and did not disappoint viewers of Netflix’s original series.
The Pall Mall scene
The Pall Mall sequence in Season 2 of Bridgerton is both a hilarious addition to the show and a touching tribute to book readers everywhere. The Pall Mall chapters in Julia Quinn’s The Viscount Who Loved Me are among the series’ most cherished reading experiences for fans of the Bridgerton books.
Anthony tries to be nice to Edwina, but he can’t help but flirt with her older sister, Kate. Things grow even more wonderfully chaotic when four of Anthony’s siblings—Daphne, Benedict, Colin, and Eloise—join in on the fun.
In attendance to observe the competition are the Sharmas’ season sponsor, Lady Danbury, Kate and Edwina’s mother, Lady Mary, and the Dowager Viscountess, Lady Violet Bridgerton. Players playing pall mall use mallets to hit balls through hoops, much like in croquet, and the Bridgertons will do everything to win. In fact, stopping your siblings from winning Pall Mall is more crucial than winning it yourself.
The Pall Mall scene is the culmination of Bridgerton’s two greatest strengths: its unabashed love of sexual tension and its even greater love of the relationships inside the Bridgerton family.
Phoebe Dynevor said Charithra Chandran was the best Pall Mall player
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Bridgerton series creator Van Dusen and other cast members discussed the challenges of portraying Pall Mall on camera and how those experiences informed Season 2. Although Bailey (Anthony Bridgerton) calls it a “wild, relentless, buckaroo sequence,” Dusen characterizes it as “quintessential Bridgerton.”
Actor Claudia Jessie, who portrays Eloise Bridgerton, said that Luke Thompson, who plays her on-screen brother Benedict, smashed two mallets on the set. The cast said that the Pall Mall sequences were as much fun to perform as they are to watch on TV or read about in the book. The comedic moments we see on screen are actually what really went down behind the scenes.
And while the actors had a great time playing together, they had to remember to incorporate the dynamics of their characters in the game. Talking about shooting the Pall Mall scene, Dynevor, who plays Daphne, expressed how Charithra Chandran was so good at playing the game. She said,
“Daphne’s meant to be the best player; I was probably the worst player. Charithra is meant to be the worst player and was by far the best player. She had to pretend to hit balls in the wrong direction, and they’d go straight in. She was really bad at being crap at pall mall.”
What do fans have to say about the Pall Mall scene?
Fans were excited to see what the Bridgerton siblings had in store for them when Season 2 of Bridgerton premiered on Netflix in March. After watching, viewers flooded social media to discuss their impressions of the show. The majority of viewers used humorous GIFs to describe how they had to stay up late to watch the new season.
One Reddit user commented about the Pall Mall scene, “Can I just say how much I loved the Pall Mall games and the Black Mallet of Death? Thank you, Julia Quinn!”
A Twitter user said, “The Bridgerton Pall Mall scene is perfect. Bravo. Did the books justice and more. My favorite thing about Bridgerton is the sibling rapport. So accurate and so relatable, always.”
Overall, Season 2 of Bridgerton delivered on the promise of romance, drama, and chemistry, and viewers were not disappointed.
