Executive producer Shonda Rhimes, who is known to kill off a main character or two, was actually “really shocked” by the huge response to Rege-Jean Page’s exit from the show, saying, “We gave them their happily ever after!”
Lady Danbury gives a similar reasoning that the Duke himself gave for his exit from Bridgerton, which is that it was just part of “the arc of the show.”
According to Adjoa Andoh, the show will follow the trajectory of Julia Quinn’s eight novels and reaffirmed that Season 2 needs to focus on the next of the Bridgerton children, Anthony (played by Jonathan Bailey).