How now? Did your ears perk up at the mere mention of Anthony's "lucky mallet" in the Season 1 finale of Bridgerton? The quick reference to the cherished Bridgerton family pastime (and source of friendly competition) was a blink-and-you-miss-it nod that many of us might not have picked up on, at least on the first watch.However, for fans who have also read Julia Quinn's novels the series is based on, this Bridgerton Easter egg was a very exciting teaser for what's to come in Season 2. *Light book spoilers to follow*
The moment in the show comes in "After the Rain" with the Bridgerton family sitting around the salon in their stately London mansion. Sweet little Hyacinth musters up the courage to ask Anthony if she might be able to join in on the fun at Aubrey Hall in the summer, too, and the Viscount, absorbed in his pangs for his secret love Siena, stops his pining for a moment to agree it would be a fine idea... "provided you stay clear of my lucky mallet."
In the second book of the series, The Viscount Who Loved Me, the Bridgertons engage in a very spirited game of croquet, better known as "pall-mall" back in the Regency era. Anthony is well known amongst his siblings for his penchant for his lucky mallet, the black mallet out of the color-coded set.
But one particular game at their country estate of Aubrey Hall involving Anthony's new love interest, Kate Sharma, and her sister, Edwina, is considered a fan favorite and is actually the scene author Julia Quinn hears about the most from her readers.
In the book, the scene sees Colin offer up Anthony's black mallet to Kate, leaving the pink mallet for the Viscount. A rather muddy game ensues, landing a certain ball in the lake in need of fishing out... and teeing up a rather drenched-blouse Colin Firth moment.
As Quinn shared on her website for the novel, "I realized I needed to add a scene in which Kate realized that Anthony wasn’t such a bad guy, and the best way to do that would be to show him interacting with his family. And thus the Pall Mall game (and the Mallet of Death!) was born."
Jonathan Bailey, who plays Viscount Anthony Bridgerton, also teased how he's brushing up his croquet skills ahead of the spring production of Season 2. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, he again referred to the Mallet of Death, hinting at how "I've brought my lucky mallet, so I've been working on that."
Well, one thing's for sure. All signs point to a mighty fine game of pall-mall in Season 2, with falling in love as a conceivable, albeit not guaranteed, outcome for the winner.
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Image: Netflix