Since starring in Bridgerton season 1, Daphne’s role has been reduced and she will not be appearing in season 3, but Bridgerton can easily continue.
Daphne will not be appearing in Bridgerton season 3, but the Netflix show will survive her absence. Daphne, as the eldest Bridgerton daughter, was the first to lead the cast in season 1 as her turbulent relationship with Simon Basset was explored. Bridgerton season 1 ended with Daphne and Simon happily married with a child and the Bridgerton story moved on to Anthony’s romance with Kate. Phoebe Dynevor (Daphne) and Regé-Jean Page (Simon) shot to fame with the success of Bridgerton at the same time their Bridgerton roles were set to be reduced. Page ended up not appearing in Bridgerton season 2 at all, whereas Dynevor had a minor role.
Bridgerton’s success has continued to soar with Kate and Anthony’s forbidden love story. Once again, the stars of Bridgerton season 2 have skyrocketed to success with Simone Ashley (Kate) recently appearing in the live-action The Little Mermaid and Jonathan Bailey (Anthony) soon to be starring in Wicked. Although the season 2 leads have gone on to more success, they will still be returning for Bridgerton season 3. Unfortunately, their co-star Charithra Chandran, who plays Edwina, will not be returning for Bridgerton season 3 just like Dynevor. However, Edwina’s story in Bridgerton has ended so her absence will not be as noticeable as Dynevor’s Daphne.
Simon’s Absence Proves Bridgerton Season 3 Will Work Without Daphne
A major concern for Bridgerton season 2 was how they were going to deal with Simon’s exit from the Netflix show, especially with how fast he became a fan favorite. However, despite the concerns, Bridgerton handled Simon’s exit without any issues. The focus had already shifted away from Daphne and her relationship, and Daphne was used more as a supportive sister for Anthony than expanding her story more. Even towards the end of season 2, Daphne was featured less and less as Anthony became less dependent on her advice and the story continued smoothly.
Daphne was great in season 2, and her relationship with Anthony was utilized well, but Daphne does not have the same relationship with Colin, who Bridgerton season 3 will focus on. Colin has often been dependent on Penelope for advice and friendship and their season will focus on how this turns into romance. Plus, Benedicts will presumably lead season 4 of Bridgerton and he is much closer to Eloise than to Daphne. Daphne is a great part of the Bridgerton story but she is not needed as much anymore, so Bridgerton will easily survive despite Dynevor’s departure.
Cast Exits May Be Increasingly Inevitable For Bridgerton
Dynevor’s exit is sad for Bridgerton but it is good for the series to prepare for these departures. Bridgerton will focus on a different sibling each season, for 8 whole seasons. The popularity of Bridgerton means it is inevitable their cast members will want to move onto new things, unfortunately leading to more departures. It’s a lot of actors rising to fame to then hang around for much smaller roles and Bridgerton will not be able to avoid losing some major cast. Dealing with Dynevor’s exit smoothly will be essential to showing how Bridgerton will survive these future departures and continue to be a success.
Cast exits may even be beneficial for Bridgerton as it will mean there is no pressure to include the older cast members just because they are popular. Forcing a lot of the first seasons’ actors into stories could take away from the younger Bridgerton siblings’ development and mean their stories lack depth. Bridgerton has the chance to show just how strong it is as a show to be able to keep building new actors, and their stories, to the same level as the first couple of Bridgerton seasons.
