Claudia Jessie Talks The ‘Bridgerton’ Kiss That Almost Was

Actress Claudia Jessie almost had her own romance in season 2 of “Bridgerton.”

Although the love story of the season focused on that of her older brother, Viscount Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey), her character of Eloise Bridgerton found her own budding romance with Theo (Calam Lynch) in season 2 of the Netflix period drama.

Jessie sat down with Entertainment Weekly to discuss the kiss that was sadly not to be.

“The only reason they don't kiss ... is because Eloise has Penelope in the back of her mind,” Jessie explained. “Like she says in the fight, 'I let go of the only good thing going on in my life all because of your self-serving manipulation.' Penelope really gaslit her into believing that that was a bad thing to do.”

She also wishes that Eloise had been open with Theo about her reason for leaving.

“More than anything, I would have loved if they could have had an honest moment where she could have been like, 'This is what's going on,'” Jessie continued. “Because he's left thinking that's it to do with class, and then he's like, 'Oh, okay, so the idea of me is great, but the reality of me is not so great.' That's what I'd want them to clear up more than anything. Eloise would want that so much. It's a lot to go through. Eloise loses her best mate and a potential partner all in one season.”

However, that’s not to say that Theo is gone from the story together. When asked if there was a possibility that Eloise could go back to him, Jessie replied, “I would love if that was the case. I hope so. That would be amazing. Calam was great. He was really beautiful to work with.”

“It'd be quite cool just to see her date. She could just date people,” Jessie said. “If anyone can get away with it, it's Eloise. Wouldn't it be cool to see her maybe date someone, and then maybe date someone else? That can happen, that happens in life all the time. I'd love to see that pushed across on the screen.”

“I'd love if Eloise could just change the mold a bit and just have a boyfriend,” she added. “It may not be because they're going to get married, but Eloise just be the person that introduces the concept of the partner. Like just the boyfriend or the girlfriend, rather than here's your suitor, now you get married in a week. I'd love if Eloise could just be like, 'Oh yeah, I'm dating this guy, Theo Sharpe, pretty cool.’”

That being said, she would also love to explore a non-heterosexual romance. “It's really interesting that people sense that in her,” she said. “People sense a real queer spirit ... and that's really beautiful. I really enjoy how that's happening. I'd love to explore that.”

“They both just desire other,” Jessie said of Eloise’s relationship with her brother, Benedict.

“They want something other than what they're experiencing and what they're forced to be a part of. There are expectations on both of them, and they charm each other and they really get along,” she continued. “They can be playful and make fun of each other.”

“We both pushed for more of our little swing scenes and stuff. We both were missing those,” she added. “We were like, ‘When are we going to get together again?’ They're my favorite scenes to shoot. I love being with Luke Thompson. He's a beautiful person. And I love that also, at balls, Benedict will be the first one to be like, ‘Let's go check out the biscuits,’ and get rid of this situation for Eloise. He really backs her up, which is adorable.”

Her falling out with her best friend Penelope is also going to shape Eloise’s story going forward.

“At first, she might find it lonely and quite shocking. But it will only then become her greatest gift because it's from there you then find out who you are and what you want to be and what you want to show to the world and what you want your contribution to be,” she said. “Because Penelope has a point when she's like, ‘You talk about things all the time, but I'm the one who did it.’ Eloise talks all the time. She constantly talks, and actually being able to see her take action would be really great.”

Season 2 of “Bridgerton” is available to stream on Netflix.