Bridgerton's Charithra Chandran talks internet haters, making Edwina more than a plot device

Warning: This article contains spoilers about Bridgerton season 2.

Fandom has its pros and cons.

After Bridgerton became a mega-hit in December 2020, it was inevitable that the steamy period drama would garner fans with strong opinions. When Charithra Chandran joined season 2, she found herself in the crosshairs of those opinions after reports that her character, Edwina Sharma, would feature in a love triangle with her older sister, Kate (Simone Ashley), and Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey).

Chandran, who elevates the character of Edwina from her role in source material The Viscount Who Loved Me, was bombarded with questions and hate from internet trolls. Many perceived her as a threat to Kate and Anthony's season 2 love story, while others feared it would lead to a catfight energy between the two sisters, who share a strong bond on the page (after watching the season, it's obvious neither is true). Some fans even went so far as to photoshop Chandran out of Bridgerton key art that featured the central trio.

"It's been difficult," she confesses to EW, addressing the barrage of heated reactions from fans who hadn't even yet seen the season. "Of course, it's a bit disappointing, but I'm also like, 'How can one comment and have such extreme emotions about something they don't know?' I don't know what to say, like, I can't lie. Edwina is in love with Anthony in the show. It's true. They do have a connection. But also, that doesn't mean there's a catfight between the sisters, and it's more complicated than that."

"The reality is, the TV show is so nuanced," she adds. "It's so complicated and you don't see a catfight between the sisters. You see Edwina being hostile with Kate because she loves Kate more. By the end of episode 6, she's like Anthony, 'You're trash and I can do better, just go away.' Right? That's my reaction. It's like, 'I don't care about you anymore. Just go away.' Whereas with Kate, it's a more painful situation because they are closer. It's a product of love, not a product of hate."

One can only hope that Chandran will now receive the love she deserves for her nuanced portrayal of Edwina that takes a character who is rather secondary in the novel and transforms her into someone compelling with a juicy character arc. We talked to the actress about ensuring that would be Edwina's destiny, how she built such a strong bond with Ashley, and more.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: They've given Edwina a much meatier and more direct role here than she had in the book. Was that a pleasant surprise to you coming in?

CHARITHRA CHANDRAN: One hundred percent. The one thing that I said to [creator] Chris Van Dusen before filming started was, "I don't want Edwina to simply be a plot device for someone else's story or a vehicle for the story to progress. I want her to be her own person and to have her own plot and narrative." And I'm so grateful to Chris and the writers for giving me as rich a story as they ended up giving me.

Why do you think Edwina is so blind initially to Kate and Anthony's attraction to each other?

The only way I can describe it is, I would never think my dad would do anything to break my heart. Like, it wouldn't even occur to me that my dad would behave in a way that would hurt me. It's the same situation. It wouldn't even occur to Edwina that Kate would be in love with the same person she's in love with. It wouldn't register. You don't look for something that you think is impossible. I don't look for elephants to be able to fly, right? I's the impossible, so why would she observe it?

Episode 6, with the wedding, feels like we get to see Edwina come into her own. Was that empowering for you to film? How did you navigate the emotional gauntlet of that episode?

Taking it day by day honestly. Firstly, I was just so excited because I was like, "Oh my God, there's some incredible scenes." I wasn't nervous at all. Mainly excited. But I think really being prepared and having a clear narrative structure for what's happening at each moment, what are Edwina's thought processes? Tom Verica, who directed that episode, is so great to work with. He really held my hand through it.

Another really touching scene in that episode is when King George [James Fleet] comes in and Edwina talks him down through his confusion. Was that always a part of the script? Or how did it come to be, and what was filming that like?

That was one of my favorite scenes to film. Because you really see Edwina's power, her goodness, her strength. I always really think of that as the turning point, because in my head when Edwina comes into the room to talk to the queen with Mary (Shelley Conn), she's about to tell the queen that the wedding will go on — that the wedding will continue and she'll marry Anthony. It's only when she sees the love between the queen and the king, where she goes, "Oh my god, this is true love, and I will never have this if I go through with this wedding." It's such a pivotal moment in the love story because it's that moment where she decides, "Actually no, I can't accept this. This is beneath me."

Do you think she also realizes that her connection with Anthony is maybe less about love and more about fitting this box of what she's always been expected to be?

There's a part of it that's that. It would be the fairy tale — the diamond marries the Viscount — and she loves the idea of it. But we have to remember that Edwina loves Anthony because Anthony has pretended to be Edwina's perfect man. He's put on this show so that Edwina will fall in love with him. So, of course she does. He's perfectly curated for her.

I'm so touched by the bond between the sisters throughout the season. How did you develop that with Simone, but then also really toe that line of this betrayal that comes from this love that is so entrenched?

Simone and I were really lucky — and Shelley Conn, who plays Mary, our mom, as well — in that our chemistry was really natural. We didn't have to work at it too much. It just naturally flowed. In terms of the balance, I internalized all these feelings and remembering that it comes from a place of love all the time. You can only feel these things so deeply because it comes from love. The foundation is always the same.

In the book, Edwina gets a chance to bond more with Penelope (Nicola Coughlan) and Eloise (Claudia Jessie). Did you miss having some of that here?

For sure, just because I would have loved to spend more time with Nic and Clauds. I would have loved to have more scenes with them. Maybe in the future, who knows? But I get it, because there are so many stories that have to be filled. The writers have such a tough job.

What was the most challenging scene for you to shoot?

I found episode 1 and 2 Edwina harder because she's so much more different to me. And it was about, how do you make this very buoyant, angelic, princess-y type character feel quite real and grounded? Because she could have easily just become quite vapid and a caricature. That was hard, and hopefully, I've done a good job. And then, the scene in episode 8 where she forgives Kate, that was also a hard thing because in many ways, it's not a massively realistic forgiveness. Of course, she's so happy and she's so grateful that her sister's alive, but she is clearly processing a lot of trauma and a lot of betrayal very quickly because there are eight episodes in a season. It was about making that conversation feel real even though it's pretty unrealistic for that to happen so quickly.

This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.

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