Dearest Gentle Reader,
Let me preface this by acknowledging that I am very, very late to the party. I finally got around to watching the first three seasons of Bridgerton, and I had a great time. Going into it, I knew there was a somewhat diverse cast, and once I watched it I found out the in-universe explanation, which is that racial equality became a thing once King George III married Queen Charlotte, who is said to have some African heritage irl. It’s really nice getting to see people of color participating in high society in a time when Black and brown people in that country had nothing and were treated like nothing. Black people were around during the regency era; they just didn’t get to wear the fancy gowns and attend the balls.
I loved the story arc of Penelope as Lady Whistledown- how even though to most it was “just a gossip column”, she didn’t want to let it go because as a woman it was really her only opportunity to be a published author in her time. I do wonder, though, how the previous seasons are going to be if she’s not writing her column anymore. Lady Whistledown provided a nice narrative frame for the story and without her I feel like the show fundamentally changes. That doesn’t necessarily have to be a bad thing, of course, but I guess we’ll see in season 4.
I think my favorite pairing so far is Kate and Anthony, the tension and drama between them was top tier. I really enjoyed the dynamic between Simon and Daphne as well, but I hate miscommunication tropes in media, and it definitely got to a point between them where it was unbelievable that he wouldn’t just explain his feelings to her. I also loved Colin and Penelope, but them getting together felt kind of sudden and didn’t get a lot of time to develop. I saw someone online say that they only got like 25 minutes of screentime total in a season that was supposed to be about them!
On that note, season 3 was definitely overloaded with subplots. I think that season 1 could have used a bit more going on, season 2 was balanced, but season 3 had a bit too much going on. I have a lot of thoughts about the Francesca and John storyline specifically.
First of all, I absolutely loved them together. I saw some people who didn’t feel like they had any chemistry at all, but other people who thought they are neurodivergent, and so they show love differently. Some people were saying they’re just introverts. I definitely read them as being ND, and I really loved them together. The way they didn’t talk too much, but John showed he understood her by bringing her (imo) the most thoughtful and romantic gift ever? Yeah, I was giggling and kicking my feet.
I thought the point of the two of them was that love doesn’t have to be this big intense chaotic thing for everyone, and that Francesca and John are just as in love as any of the other couples, they just show it differently. Violet even apologizes for doubting that Francesca loved him! But then. THEN. The look on Francesca’s face when they kissed AT THEIR WEDDING? My heart shattered, ngl. Like what do you mean??? She was in love with him up till now…? Then Francesca meets John’s cousin, Michaela, and has a ‘love at first sight’ kind of reaction like Violet described. So… what was the point?
Apparently, in the books, John and Francesca are in love. Francesca meets John’s cousin, who is male in the books and named Michael, but does not have feelings for him at first. John ends up passing away and AFTER his death, Francesca falls in love with Michael. So she has to deal with the guilt of loving someone else, let alone someone close to him, and she comes to terms with having two true loves, neither of which negates the other. But… apparently Miss Shonda missed the memo. I don’t have any issue with Francesca liking girls, but what was the point of wasting our time getting us invested in the ship? What was the point of having Francesca convince her mother that she really does love John, even though it looks different from other people’s relationships? I genuinely feel like I was slapped in the face and reprimanded for believing that a love like theirs could be real. How disappointing.
Also… in regards to a gay Bridgerton… Benedict is RIGHT THERE! They’re playing in our face!
Anyway, let’s talk about Queen Charlotte before I crash out. I absolutely adored it. The acting and writing was phenomenal. I loved every scene between Charlotte and George. I definitely shed a few tears towards the end. I saw someone online say that Bridgerton is more like a “romance”, while Queen Charlotte was more like a “love story”, and I definitely agree. Queen Charlotte allowed us to be simultaneously in awe of the love the two share and the devotion Charlotte had for her husband and devastated by the circumstances. It’s incredibly sad thinking about how people with mental illnesses suffered without access to the treatment options we have today. It’s bad enough now, I can’t even imagine what people went through. If the King of England himself had to resort to literal torture methods, imagine what kind of life the average person with mental illness lived.
I loved Brimsley and Reynolds’ romance. Any secret romance that involves sneaking around is gonna be entertaining, but it’s simultaneously really sad when you think about the fact that all queer people had to live like that, regardless of job, wealth, or status. The scene of Brimsley dancing at the end was so sad.
Side note, I watched season 3 before Queen Charlotte, because I didn’t know that I was supposed to watch Queen Charlotte after season 2, so I was really confused when Lady Danbury was trying to apologize to Violet about something regarding her father. I suspected, but was still shocked to watch Queen Charlotte and find out what it was.
I can’t believe I took this long to come around, but also, I can, because I always do this, and will definitely do it again. Unfortunately, no matter how good a piece of media looks to me, I sometimes get this mental block that stops me from watching it immediately. It’s not up to me, apparently. Anyway, I anxiously await the release of season 4!