Jonathan Bailey Says That Kate's Past WILL Be Explored In 'Bridgerton' Season 3!

Actor Jonathan Bailey is spilling even more details about his "Bridgerton" character, Viscount Anthony Bridgerton. In season 2, Anthony finally made a love match of his own when he married Kate Sharma (Simone Ashley).

Bailey recently sat down with Harper's Bazaar to talk about what's ahead for season 3 and fans are excited to get to see even more of Kate's backstory!

When asked about where their characters will be by the time the third season returns, Bailey revealed that seeing the new couple in "the honeymoon phase is essential."

"I think Kate’s gonna have a shock," he admitted. "She’s had a lot of responsibility within her family, but she knows nothing [about how] to head up the Bridgerton family. She is now gonna be the viscountess, so that’s gonna be an interesting balance between her taking over from Lady Violet (Ruth Gemmell)."

Fans were frustrated that most of Kate's past, like her fear of thunderstorms, was explored in-depth in the books but cut from the show.

"And there’s a lot, still, in the books that I know will be stitched into their relationship going forward—about her past, about their shared grief and sense of mortality," he added. "But then, my God, for them to have their firstborn, Edmund, is gonna be incredibly moving, especially because both of their relationships with their parents have been so complicated. I think they’ll really come together to be incredible, loving parents, and that’s gonna be joyful to see."

Before their final dance of the season, Anthony jokingly asks Kate how many fingers he's holding up. When asked if it was "intentional" to have the number of fingers match the number of kids Kate and Anthony have in the books, Bailey replied, "Yeah, of course."

He then backtracked and said, "But maybe it’s the number of seasons that they’ll be in. You never know! We’ll have to wait and see."

The Netflix period drama wouldn't be what it is without its lavish balls. Bailey opened up about how he and Ashley worked with choreographer Jack Murphy to deepen their connection on the dance floor.

"With Kate and Anthony, I think the secret to their chemistry is that they’re always asking, but they’re asking with their bodies, with their breath, with their eyes, and there’s a hunger for truth," Bailey explained.

"That’s what made him and Kate so compelling, and that’s why they’re incredibly vulnerable—they are hungry beyond the limitations that they put on themselves," he continued. "The dances were really the moment where they could put into their bodies what is going on in their heads. There’s something amazing about the Regency ballroom, because you cannot hide when you’re up there dancing and [there’s] that excruciating tension when they’re dancing in front of Edwina and they start talking."

"I think the hunger and the need to know that [Kate] is gonna be there for him is in that final dance as well," he went on. "There’s nothing more romantic and, really, sort of upsetting than a last dance."

"We spoke to Jack and also to Cheryl [Dunye], who directed those last two episodes, about how the stakes had to be so high—it was gonna really be the last time that they would set eyes on each other," he revealed. "And that only really earns the declaration of love, because it’s so important that he needed to go beyond the dance, and obviously the dance only happened because of Edwina. It’s so brilliant the way it’s constructed."

When asked about filming their intimate scenes, Bailey said, "I think there’s something incredibly sexy about consent generally."

"It wasn’t scripted, [the line where] Anthony is saying to her, 'I will stop, I will stop.' And that’s something that we put in the sex scene, because I think it’s really important that he is respectful and is understanding of the female, and there’s never going to be a moment where that isn’t the most important narrative point," Bailey explained. "He is obsessed with her all the way through the series, so it makes sense that it’s all about Kate’s pleasure, and it always has been, really. He sort of wants to devour her."

"To be really, really honest, there was a lot more that we explored, and I think, initially, the first edit was a lot longer, and obviously there was more intimate stuff in Episode 8," he continued. "But I think it’s perfect the way that it’s earned. [Bridgerton] is sex-positive—it’s got incredible characters that are groundbreaking and empowering—and to be able to be a part of a sex scene that is highly erotic, but also completely consented to and balanced, is what it’s all about."

He added that "It was nice, conversely to Series 1, to show a story of two people who were maybe slightly more worldly and more in control and command of their sexual wants and needs. To make Kate someone who knew what she wanted was genius. It shows who these two characters are, and it sets them apart from the first couple. And long may Bridgerton continue to show different ways in which people can emotionally connect and physically connect because I think that’s what the romance genre is all about."

All eight episodes of "Bridgerton" season 2 are currently available to stream on Netflix.