While Netflix’s Bridgerton season 1 focused on Daphne Bridgerton (Phoebe Dynevor) and Simon Basset (Regé-Jean Page) as a couple, the rest do not, raising the question of what happens to Simon after season 1. Each season focuses squarely on a different Bridgerton sibling and love interest, but other family members are part of their respective seasons. So, when it was announcedPage would not return to Bridgerton and that Dynevor would guest star in season 2 (but not season 3), fans might have been surprised, but those who read the books could have expected it, as Simon is only mentioned in other Bridgerton novels.

Among the many things that captured the attention of viewers, making Bridgerton the most-watched show in the first four weeks of its Netflix release, was the chemistry and centrality of Daphne and Simon. The TV show did some things differently from the series’ first book, including sometimes shifting focus from Simon and Daphne to other characters like Benedict (Luke Thompson), Eloise (Claudia Jessie), or Penelope (Nicola Coughlan), which arguably works better on screen than just concentrating on two characters. As each book’s main focus had always been on a different Bridgerton sibling, Page’s absence will mirror Simon’s in the books.

Where Simon Is During Bridgerton Season 2

Simon Remains At The Family Home

Just because Page will not appear as Simon again does not mean the Duke of Hastings’ name will never be uttered again in the subsequent Bridgerton seasons, as Simon was not only mentioned in the rest of the books but also briefly appeared in some of them. While his story is not examined thoroughly in Bridgerton season 2 nor the rest of the show, what happens to Simon can actually be filled in by the books.

Bridgerton season 1 ended with Simon and Daphne welcoming their first child to the world, differently from The Duke and I’s epilogue, where the two could be seen discussing how Lady Whistledown discovered the name they wished to give to their fourth and latest child. In fact, the nature of Simon’s sparse appearances in subsequent Bridgerton books emphasizes how, despite the ups and downs of the first season, Simon clearly remains devoted to his family throughout the burgeoning Bridgerton saga.

Bridgerton season 2 explains that Simon Bassett is taking care of his own affairs and at home with his and Daphne’s baby. Regé-Jean Page only agreed to appear in Bridgerton season 1, as he wanted to have enough time to devote to other projects, so the Duke of Hastings has been written off the show and exists off-screen only. That doesn’t mean Simon is dead or that something drastic has befallen the character.

Rather, when Daphne returns to the Bridgerton home to help her family during their season 2 scandal, she mentions that Simon is at home taking care of their newborn and that they’re still very much in love. As much as Simon will be missed by the show’s audience, his absence is for the best. Anthony is the main character of Bridgerton season 2. Anthony needs his own character arc, and Simon’s being away helps this aspect of the narrative move forward.

Simon reappears in Julia Quinn’s second Bridgerton novel, The Viscount Who Loved Me, which focuses on the firstborn Anthony (Jonathan Bailey), and on which Bridgerton season 2 is based. In it, Simon is described as still besotted with his wife Daphne, and he could be seen trying his hand at the Bridgerton family game of Pall Mall for the first time.

That game is instrumental in introducing one half of the second book’s main couple, Anthony’s love interest Kate, to the rest of the Bridgerton siblings. And just like it was Simon’s first time at Pall Mall, the same was true for Kate. This is changed for the Netflix series as Kate, Edwina, and Daphne join the family, but Simon isn’t particularly missed in the sequence since the focus is on the dynamic between Kate and Anthony and his younger siblings teasing him.

While Simon is almost entirely absent from the latter four Bridgerton novels, he is again mentioned in An Offer from a Gentleman as part of a playful exchange between Daphne and Benedict. Benedict declared he knew what Daphne’s announcement would have been about, having already guessed they were to announce they were expecting another child. Benedict’s season has yet to stream, but the single exchange doesn’t require him to appear, and really, Daphne’s moment doesn’t contribute significantly to Benedict’s story.

Simon finally appears in Quinn’s fourth Bridgerton novel, Romancing Mister Bridgerton, which inspires Bridgerton season 3. He can be seen as part of Colin’s ambitious ploy to uncover the truth about Lady Whistledown, along with the rest of the Bridgerton family. Colin’s quest to unmask Lady Whistledown doesn’t need Simon in the Netflix series either, especially since so much of Colin’s story has been changed for the screen while still having the spirit of the books.

Will Simon Ever Return In Bridgerton?

Netflix’s Bridgerton Does Not Need Simon After Season 1

 

It’s unlikely that Bridgerton will stray from the books to include more of Regé-Jean Page’s Simon in the future, especially after the news of Page not reprising the role. If the writers and producers decided to bring Simon back to the screen, they would need to recast the character for future seasons. That seems like an unnecessary step to take when Simon and Daphne no longer live in the Bridgerton home and don’t have huge impacts on many of the future storylines.

Simon’s absence will not be felt as sorely as someone like Anthony’s would be. Anthony’s love story may have played out in season 2, but as the head of the Bridgerton family, he is the one who runs the finances of the Bridgerton estate and the one responsible for seeing each of his younger siblings debut successfully in society. He has to be included in their stories, if even far on the sidelines. Simon and Daphne, however, do not. Their absence keeps the focus on the couple of the season and allows other characters in the ensemble to shine.

Nevertheless, the books can offer an insight into Simon’s future. And although they may not be able to see Page’s Simon on the screen in Bridgerton, viewers can still be glad to know that the character they admired lived his life staying loyal to and adoring the family he created with Daphne.