"Much Ado About Nothing" is Shakespeare's classic enemies-to-lovers romantic comedy. It stars Beatrice and Benedick, who trade witty barbs back and forth, not realising they're just masking the love they have for each other. Anthony and Kate's own bickering and the underlying tension mirrors theirs.
But perhaps the biggest homage to "Much Ado About Nothing" comes in episode six, with Anthony and Edwina's failed wedding. A similar failed wedding happens in "Much Ado About Nothing," when Beatrice's cousin Hero is jilted at the altar by her fiancé Claudio, who accuses her of cheating. In "Bridgerton," it's Edwina who leaves Anthony at the altar alone.
In "Much Ado About Nothing," Beatrice and Benedick finally confess their feelings in the aftermath of the dramatic wedding. The scene was beautifully done in 1993's "Much Ado About Nothing," starring Emma Thompson and Kenneth Branagh (who also wrote and directed the film). The pair profess their love and kiss right in front of a cross on the wall.
Kate and Anthony share a steamy, intense kiss on the altar after everyone else has gone, also framed by the splendor of the church.