Rege-Jean Page is a god. That is all. If you don’t know who Rege is, then you have obviously been sleeping over the holidays. Rege plays the deliciously hot Simon, Duke of Hastings, in Shondaland’s new Netflix series, Bridgerton. I spent all day Saturday binge watching this raunchy, sassy, trolling-the-royal-family show and I was not disappointed. I couldn’t stop watching it. I sat on my sofa like a massive couch potato until midnight and ended up binge watching it twice. The draw wasn’t just the Jane Austen meets Gossip Girl meets The Tudors plot or the compelling characters, it was the hot AF Duke of Hastings. He’s the quasi-suiter of the main character with the tragic baby bangs, Daphne Bridgerton.
Did I mention that there is a lot of sex? Like a lot. It was sweaty, raunchy, earthy and sexy. There were times I had hot flashes watching those scenes. The sweat dripped down my heaving bosom, ok no, I can’t. Speaking of bosoms and corsets, Bridgerton had several corset ripping scenes, but I’ll get to that later. Bridgerton also had gossiping biddies (the courtiers), unfashionable bumbling, sometimes jealous redheaded sisters a la the Yorks and Middletons, and a social climbing mother sort of like Carole Middleton. There was also a grifting father, an heir afraid to strike out on his own, and a manipulative monarch. What I liked the most about Bridgerton was how the writers were able to make each episode feel like its own short movie in an eight part series. Each episode takes you on a drunken ride and by the end of it, you are hungover and cannot wait to watch the next one. Below are a few quotes about the show from Linda Holmes from NPR who explains everything I felt about Bridgerton but better:
Are parts of this show silly? Of course. Are some of these brothers dull? So far, yes. But let us not linger on details. Let us not fuss over where, exactly, the orgy question arises. Let us simply celebrate good television, made by a shop run by a woman who loves good television and written by people who are experienced in television.
Shondaland makes television and makes it well. There are eight episodes of Bridgerton, and they all have endings that are like chapters in a good book: They leave you in a spot where you just want to read one more chapter before you turn off the light for the night. The end of the season concludes several stories, teases several more and has a couple of delicious mic-drop moments.
It’s made with wit (several classical arrangements of pop songs are used in the score), with flair (the duke’s mother figure, Lady Danbury, marvelously played by Adjoa Andoh, has the most fabulous hats) and with an earthy kind of abandon. (There is … a lot of sex. If you are the kind of person who is uncomfortable watching enthusiastic sex scenes with members of your family, be forewarned about a holiday sit-down with this one. Let it be known I warned you about all the butts, if this causes problems with your household.)
In closing, Lady Whistledown has cleared me to share the following scandalous tale in case it is of use: This reviewer began watching Bridgerton at 4:30 on a Saturday afternoon and did not stop until she, normally an early-to-bed, early-to-rise type, finished it at 1 in the morning.
Bridgerton proves to us again the magic that is the mind of Shonda Rhimes, although she is not the showrunner, that’s Chris Van Dusen. Needless to say, ABC/Disney lost out when they lost Shonda over a damn Disneyland ticket. I am excited that she has moved over to Netflix because there are things you can do with materials on streaming services that you can’t do on network television.
Bridgerton does not disappoint and if you are looking for frivolous, riotous fun, this is definitely the show for you. I have yet to see a bad tweet about Bridgerton. Like I said, I personally have binge watched Bridgerton twice over the weekend and I’ll probably watch it again. It’s that good. My favorite scene in the entire series is when Simon, Duke of Hastings, explains how to masturbate to Daphne. Ya’ll that sh*t was sexy AF. I also enjoyed the fact that Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg was depicted accurately as a mixed race woman with some African ancestry. It also shows that the aristocratic court during the reign of King George III was a bit more diverse than we are lead to believe, but maybe not AS diverse as depicted by the show.
Even if you are not a fan of period dramas, Bridgerton feels refreshingly modern. The characters, as ridiculous as they were in many instances, remind me of people I’ve known. I cannot wait until Season 2. But while I wait for a second season to be confirmed and begin filming, I just may go find the book series Regency by Julia Quinn. Despite several questionable situations, my only critique of the show are those horrible bangs that the women had. Particularly the lead character Daphne. Those damn bangs were driving me mad the entire series.
Photos credit: Liam Daniel/ Netflix © 2020
Yes this show is fabulous! I sat down on Saturday and turned on one episode and watched the all 8 episodes as well. I love a good period drama and this one was worth losing a whole day over lol.
I binged the show non stop too but on Friday. I hope there is a second season.
Polly Walker as Lady Featherton steals the show IMHO. I have been a huge fan of Polly Walker since Caprica on SiFy 10 years ago.
Polly Walker is so good
Polly Walker shines in Enchanted April and steals every single scene in Rome. She’s fun in this.
One good thing about being alone for Christmas was I got to watch it on Friday.
I hated it with every fiber of my being and was angry that I wasted eight hours of my life on the same old boring: ball, gossip, missed love connection, repeat, tripe.
Why did you watch all the episodes if you hated it so much, though?
@Evenstar The sunk cost fallacy.
I didn’t make it through the first episode. Although sometimes a good show takes me a couple tries before I really get into it. Depends on my mood and my mood was not buying Daphne and the duke together at all.
I read The Duke and I, the first book in preparation for this and didn’t make it through the first episode either. The book is tongue in cheek and frothy but has much more depth and humour – and pathos – than the TV adaptation. The latter jumps around like a frog with ADHD. The visuals are stunning but I gave up, bored before the end. The book sets everything up beautifully – I don’t know why the hell the TV writers felt the need to diverge so far from it – or introduce random, unneeded, new characters. I may give it another go but it’s tricky when Mr Hench, secretly a huge fan of all the Jane Austen adaptations, declared it ‘meh’ and doesn’t want to watch any more and we only have one TV…
Guilty, five episodes last night. But Oya, you summed the show up well. And Page is perfection. At first I tuned in to see what all the buzz was about – Queen Charlotte being portrayed of mixed race (which is interesting and I believe to be true). And then I got sucked in – like I said five episodes. And while it may not portray England’s society accurately for that time period, I have Jane Austen for that.
I added this to my list as soon as it was announced. I’ve been a fan of historical romances for years and I’m pretty certain I read the series this was based on years ago. The only thing I’ve longed for (which this series delivers) is more diversity in the characters and storylines.
I loved it. The costuming. The duke. The take on the music. The duke. The hats. THE DUKE! He looks like a younger version of my husband so the hot and heavy scenes made me especially giddy.
The only concern I have for future seasons is that none of Daphne’s brothers have ANYTHING on the duke so …. they’re going to have to find some stunning stories to tell around them to keep me engaged.
Also, Daphne was meh. The only thing truly interesting about her was THE DUKE!
I liked Daphne’s blue eyes and trying to figure out if I thought she was as good looking as everyone touted
Thanks for describing the primary thoughts in my head as I watch this. Daphne is a plum role and I’m wondering why this actress caught the casting director’s eye. The actress who plays Eloise, on the other hand, has all the star quality IMO.
LOVING it right now! Four episodes last night. I agree with you on Daphne though. meh.
Agreed. The Duke is what made the show and relationship work. Daphne on her own was very unremarkable and flat as a character, but the two actors together had great chemistry. The actress who plays Daphne is stunning in real life, but for some reason, that beauty didn’t translate to the regency era costuming and her hair was terrible. Some people can’t pull off period looks and some people look like they stepped out of that historical period perfectly.
I am honestly not interested in the other Bridgerton siblings beyond Eloise for the reason you specified: the duke is a tall order to follow up from and the white brothers don’t cut it. I couldn’t even tell them apart until near the end of the season.
The accent of the actress that plays Daphne was getting on my last nerve. I couldn’t tell if it was fake or not. It reminded me of Keira Knightley but without the overbite. I kept waiting for her to stick her lower jaw out.
Do the Duke and the lead actress look more age related in the show? Based on the promo photos and trailer, she reads as 15-17 to me, where as he looks like he’s mid-twenties.
@Yup Me. Amen!!! The Duke of Hastings was AMAZING!!! This is the most satisfying thing on TV or streaming right now IMO. I am embarrassed to say I have binged it 4 times already. I adore Lady Danbury, her beautiful voice, her hats and her fashion. Did I mention the Duke of Hastings is brooding, interesting, gorgeous and charismatic. Unfortunately, I fail to see how any of the Bridgerton brothers are going to be this interesting in the future. Daphne was certainly meh.
I loved this show. It was ridiculous and over the top and exactly the distraction I needed. Personally, Anthony Bridgerton and his sweeping hair kept me coming back for more. lol
I would take Jonathan Bailey (Anthony) over any other guy in there any day of the week. Damn!! @Chlo if you haven’t already watched it, I highly recommend Crashing (written by Fleabag ..PWB, who also stars in it). Great for watching over the holidays too 🙂
I think Anthony is VERY handsome as well. Not in the same smoldery way as RJP but I like the actor so I’m up for a romance for him.
YES–love the silly, elegant naughtiness of this show!
Agree about the bangs.
Rege-Jean Page has just repaired and re-stolen my virginity.
“ re-stolen and repaired” .. You gave me life,this morning!
For some reason, the writing in this show didn’t click with me. Maybe I just wasn’t in the right mood to watch it. In my opinion, the Hulu series Harlots was much better.
Same. I couldn’t get past the first two episodes. The Duke is very pleasing on the eyes though.
MTE! Harlots was so good, from the casting to the script, and worthy of another season (or two). Between Daph’s bangs and Anthony’s dumbassery, I could hardly pay attention to this one.
Harlots is AMAZING! I’m so sad it’s not coming back for another season.
I loved Harlots, though I thought the third season was a let-down. Despite having some very stagey moments, it is more substantive than Bridgerton and more feminist, too. The characters were very compelling, and overall more well-acted. Charlotte is my favorite. But I like Bridgerton too. It’s fun.
I love Julia Quinn and read all these Bridgerton books years ago. It’s great this series seems to be successful, looking forward to getting more seasons focused on the other siblings. I’d really love to see them make a series about another Quinn character (Bridgerton-adjacent, Bevelstoke series), Sebastian Gray. He is by far my favorite Julia Quinn creation.
My son’s girlfriend told me about this yesterday. She said they both love it, and as she’s on school holidays (teacher, not pupil), she intended to binge every bit of it.
Came for one episode and stayed for all. It was the perfect antidote for 2020 shitfestest.Fun, silly and sexy and music was excellent.
Yes, Twitter came for this show yesterday and think pieces have begun. However, Iwas surprised by comments.. “If you used period dramas as a pattern for your relationship model,it’s not us with the problem, it’s you who need a shrink”
I’ve read the book and I hated the main heroine, Daphne. So self-centered, so… pushy, so concentrated on her own feelings and interests. I didn’t like how she trapped the Duke into marriage to save her own reputation though she knew that his intentions were not be married and definitely not having kids. The Bridgerton screen version is changing some accents, at least IMO the antipathetic character of Daphne is less prominent, maybe because she is lovely looking. Though the most problematic scene (some even called it rape) in the book remains in the screen version – the scene where Daphne forced Simon to finish the sex act in order to get pregnant despite his discomfort and clear objection and hurt. As act of sexual violence, that scene was outrageous, at least I felt so.
I blame the book. This was one of main points of the plot: Daphne deceived her husband and forced him a to do as she wished without taking his feeling into consideration – in very important for him matter, that was known for her from the beginning.
As about serial in general – I enjoyed it. Well written and well filmed. Apart from flawed relationships of the main pair – many enjoyable moments. And the sex scenes were filmed tastefully, IMO. And the Duke! Rege-Jean Page is a god indeed. So sexy!
I was wondering how the show was going to address THAT scene, in the book it was flat out rape she took advantage of him when he was drunk but the show made it seem like he just gave in to the pleasure a bit and forgot himself, he could have easily flipped her off of him as we’ve seen him hoist her around several times before but we also know her intentions so it was still wrong. The books often make me want to throw them against the wall the dialogue, characters and plot are so ridiculous and all the characters need individual and couples therapy lol, but in the show as well after they make it all seem like it’s the duke’s fault therefore his transgressions/lies were far worse and her behavior that night was dismissed and not seen as a problem. Still think it could have been handled better maybe with them not rushing back to bed together on screen but now realizing they love each other and he wants to be with her they just have to figure out how together kind of leaving it open that they will work through it together (also could have left more opportunities to see them in future series I don’t know how they’re going to integrate their characters into a series 2 if the it follows the books and their focus is now on Anthony) because as it stands the series left their story line tied up in a pretty perfect little box and I want to see more of the duke in a season 2 lol
Pity we don’t have the “like” button here.
I do think they played that better in the show than the book but it was still super uncomfortable. In the show she didn’t yet know that he didn’t want children, only that he’d said he couldn’t have them and she only kind of knew what she was doing. Still wrong though. In the book, he has already told her everything, he’s half drunk and mostly asleep. That was very much rape. I downloaded the 1st 3 books after binging the show and honestly hated them. The writing was terrible and the sequel was just so profoundly stupid. The show is way better than the books. I am curious how they’re going to adapt the second book into something good because it is so damned stupid.
Also, I suspect the bad bangs were to hide the lace front of her terrible wig. That awful wig was driving me nuts the whole time!
Agree with you that the novel suffered from terrible writing. They were all dialogue. The series really helps fill in the landscape and the description that were lacking.
The Duke and Daphne were terrible to each other. That needs to be acknowledged on both sides.
I hope they keep weaving in the other character’s storylines to make up for the weaker Anthony narrative.
Seeing as I don’t think they will get eight seasons, one for each book, I expect that next season will weave in two plots, likely Anthony and then perhaps Benedict or Colin.
Very much I’m agreement with your comment re: the problematic scene, Gina. They changed elements of it from the book, but felt it was very clumsily handled. It’s not even that the event happens that’s problematic. It’s that the rest of the show is filmed in a way that’s almost trying to gaslight the audience about whether Daphne was even in the wrong.
It’s disappointing because I genuinely loved the rest of the show for the frothy, escapist fun that it is, but wish they had handled that scene and the fallout related to it more deftly. I think they were trying to stay light, but…you can’t just pretend something isn’t sexual assault/intimate partner abuse.
I agree, she was in the wrong and the show tried to tell us otherwise. I hate that. She should have asked him WHY he didn’t want kids, not just be angry about it and force him to try to make one.
I loved it! such a fun show to binge over the holidays. Also was so thrilled to see the colour-conscious casting! People of colour playing all kinds of roles, I hope this continues.
Me, too! I didn’t realize how much my concept of what history looked like was based on (extremely white) BBC movies. Of course people of colour existed in history – it’s lovely to see them represented at all different social levels. I’m really enjoying this trend towards inclusive casting and I hope it continues. Next I’d like to see a mix of less traditionally attractive people 🙂
I loved it, I already watched it twice and I can’t wait for the next season.
I was thoroughly enjoying the show until the wedding and the second half of the show was me just thinking “these two are a terrible match and just lie to each other.” It kind of ruined it for me.
But, yeah, Simon, The Duke of Hastings is FOINE! 😘😘😘🥵
Same here. Though I think I’ll rewatch it anyway. 🙂
I loved watching this! It was frivolous, distracting, sexy and great escapism. Loved the color blind casting. I wish more fictional shows would do this…. makes things more interesting. The classical pop music is something I never knew I needed. And the Duke of Hastings…yes, I would take the 5 minutes alone in the drawing room.
I’ve read some comments elsewhere that were critical and seemed to be overthinking and taking this show too seriously. It’s escapism. Nothing more. It’s not meant to be analyzed and picked apart. It’s meant to be simply enjoyed for what it is.
Highly watchable and just what I needed over the quarantine holidays
The Duke of Hastings is dishy indeed. But I was distracted by the almost constant ‘I just smelled a fart’ expression on his face, also sported by Jason Momoa. I imagine what they’re going for is ‘smouldering’ but it just ends up looking like there’s a curious smell in the room.
My favorite was when he was riding his horse to the duel. His face and posture made me laugh so loudly my husband made me rewind it so he could see.
I just saw the Twitter thread where Kaiser said Anthony is objectively hotter than the Duke and it’s the most hilarious thing. People are very adamant about their positions which really shows the success of this show.
I had read the books a while back and found this was a fun watch.
The mutton chops did Jonathan Bailey no favours, hopefully he’ll have a makeover for season 2 because Anthony and Kate are far superior pairing to Daphne and Simon.
Regé is gorgeous and smolders so well, but I thought he was a little one note. He should be top of the list in all further discussions on who the next Bond will be.
I agree. He didn’t have much to work with but in the second episode where they show his upbringing he was pretty good and I can see him having the chops for Bond.
Everyone is SLEEPING on Benedict Bridgerton!!!!!
I enjoyed it up until the assault scene (where he basically tells her to stop and she doesn’t) and then I had to turn it off soon after. Oh but he came around on kids because she assaulted him! *eye roll* It felt very 70s regressive. I hadn’t read the book so I had no idea that was going to happen
Costuming and casting was great.
OMGGGG YESSSSSS. It was my husbands idea to watch it because he said it looked like my type. Needless to say we binged in Saturday night it was so good. I couldn’t decide if it was a comedy or what at first but it was a good watch. Daphne Bridgerton reminds me sooo much of Keira Knightley.
Interesting @Dani. Daphne Bridgerton reminded me so much of a paler Dakota Johnson
It was amazing! The books are great too. Yes there is an assault/rape scene but it tells a story. Not all stories are pg13, not all stores are neat and tidy sometimes they are messy and that makes them interesting and true to life.
I stayed up until almost 2 finishing it this weekend, and I regret nothing. It was delightful, and I hope future seasons get the same promotion, press, and anticipation as the Crown. The writing is better, and less male-focused, that’s for sure.
Watched the whole thing in one sitting with a bottle of prosecco and some homemade gingerbread and I’m not sure which one of the three was the most delicious. Loved it.
I actually fast forwarded some of the sex scenes because blah blah blah-let’s get to more of Lady Danbury or Mrs. Featherington and their great dialogue.
I was torn. The series really jettisoned my favorite aspects of the series (frothy banter – as somebody else noted, the books are almost all dialogue, which I love – and the Bridgerton clan all being goofy siblings together in a room) in favor of expanding the scope of the story. Queen Charlotte is a big part of the show, the Featheringtons are much expanded, Simon’s friendship with the boxing champ and his wife is entirely new. They imported the Marina character from a different book. These aren’t bad things, but they aren’t the things I was looking forward to seeing. They also really changed the character of Daphne (in the books she’s every guy’s pal but not especially alluring and that’s why it’s so hard for her to get married, in the series I found her prim and humorless and brittle). And they made the oldest brother, Anthony, into a real tool, whereas in the book he was very sympathetic to Daphne’s situation. They really leaned into the romantic drama aspect and smothered the comedy. (Also, and I know this is petty, Colin is my favorite Bridgerton and I didn’t like the actor or the characterization in the show.)
There was some good stuff. In particular, the actors playing Simon, Eloise and Benedict were all terrific. And if you’re not attached to the book series, you’ll probably enjoy it more. I don’t regret watching it, but I doubt I’ll watch it again.
I have such a hard time with adaptations from books I love. It’s a holdover from when I was a kid-I swear I was the only girl I knew who hated the Little House on the Prairie tv show because it deviated so much from the book series.
I bought the first 5 books when I heard about the television show. Do you think I should read book 1 first or is different enough that I could watch the show first and still enjoy the book?
I was getting nervous with people saying they found the books boring and slow going because I bought FIVE of them, but if the issue is just that the books are mostly dialogue, and comedic dialogue, I think I’ll be fine with that. I feel like a lot of Austen novels are mostly dialogue. And I really enjoy the “art of conversation” and quick wit that people used to have because the practiced so much.
Jesse, as a fellow book reader this comment is so spot on!! I wish they had shown how funny and mischievous Colin is!!
So much this. As a book fan, I hated it. I stretched it out over 2 days, could barely watch the assassination of favorite characters like Anthony, Penelope, Eloise smoking cigars (WHAT?). There was so much bad in this, that not even the gorgeousness of Regé-Jean could save. I wanted to love it, I came away feeling deeply disappointed.
I’ve watched the series twice and while some of the themes made me uncomfortable the Duke went a loooong way towards helping me overcome the discomfort
I’ve recommended it to a ton of people and fully expect to get back mixed reviews . For me it was the perfect antidote to 2020 as I’m all about escapism til Jan 20!
Binged all day Sunday. Yep. Totally silly, sexy, self-aware well-made fun.
Rege-Jean Page is HOTT. Good grief. That face, those clothes, the lighting… I went into this prepared to heave my bosom (so to speak) over Jonathan Bailey (Anthony Bridgerton) but Rege-Jean Page stole the show.
Apparently he’s also in a new movie called “Sylvie’s Love” on Amazon Prime that’s getting good reviews, so I know what I’ll be watching this weekend.
I’ll be happy with a prequel series starring Adjoa Andoh as Lady Danbury — her clothes! Her hats! — solving crimes or something. Maybe costarring Queen Charlotte (the clothes! THOSE WIGS!) Golda Rosheuval was a find.
The final thing that happens (no spoilers) didn’t track for me at all, based on how the character was written and presented. And it seemed like the Bridgerton brother who longed for a more bohemian life was getting a gay love interest, but that storyline went away (the actor was charming). And their explanation for the racially diverse court and society was fascinating as an alternate history, but that was dropped, too.
(I will also pay good money if anyone can explain why bangs on a woman makes so many people see red.)
The diverse casting was great, so was seeing PoC as active and respected participants in all corners of society – also the real powerful ones.
Beyond the fun and entertainment, I have my issues with the show and the sexual assault and how the show failed to tackle it more thoroughly was one of them.
But clearly, Regé-Jean as the Duke is deserving of every synonym I can think of for gorgeous. And Jonathan as Anthony was hot too. I also liked Benedict, but Colin looked like he’s in the wrong family and could re-join the Jonas Brothers anytime soon.
Unfortunately, Phoebe Dynevor as Daphne is so extremely bland, I had already seen her on Younger and she’s dull and forgettable there as well.
I’m with Pulplove. Colin looks like an adult version of Dennis the Menace with his little turned-up baby nose & Daphne is no beauty. Other than a tiny chin & horrible bangs, she isn’t noteworthy. I’m a huge fan of Younger & “Claire” is unnoticeable & unrecognizable. The pretty Bridgerton girl is Eloise, unless we wait for Hyacinth to grow up.
Simon is hot & Anthony might be with a good shave.
I’m dead at dennis the menace. I told my brother he reminds me of Kevin Jonas lmao
Good catch with Dennis the Menace, vertes!
I enjoy Younger so much, just not Claire. I didn’t even recognize the actress on this show at first, only after looking at this cast’s bios.
And I agree, Hyacinth is a cutie, and Eloise is the interesting one, clever, charismatic, pretty.
Yes! This show is so good and the Duke (Rege) is gorgeous! I’ve already watched it twice since Christmas and cannot wait for season two, which I assume based off the responses, Netflix will announce soon. It’s literally everything I love in a costume drama, but the addition of blind casting and seeing black people as royalty was a huge bonus!
I’ve watched 6 episodes so far. It’s really good and I like the characters so far. I love how all the older women are portrayed, the mothers and Queen. This covers all the Regency romance tropes, very fluffy and hot sex scenes. I was distracted by Daphne’s bangs as well, especially since women would have curled them in the time period. Her character is a little bland but she has good chemistry with the Duke of Hastings character. That guy is gorgeous. Wasn’t crazy about his acting in first 2 episodes but he got better. I also want the plump Featherington girl to find love. I’m not familiar with the books but because of all the different characters, they can get lots of story lines and seasons out of it. My only problem with these period dramas is they make everything too clean and shiny. Also the colors of the gowns are too bright and look like they’re made of synthetic dyes, which weren’t in wide use until later in the century with industrialization. I love the men’s and boys costumes, but they need a bit more peacock like touches. Anyway, a fun show and nice escapism.
Loved it. Pure escapism. I read the books years ago and preferred not to go back to them but just watch the series otherwise I would keep comparing. The Duke, Anthony and Benedict are gorgeous. Loved Penelope…was confused by Eloise…she seemed to be much older than the character is supposed to be. Loved Mrs Featheringron and Mrs Bridgerton. Hope they get another season.
Also second watching Sylvie’s Love on Amazon. Simply beautiful old school drama. Tessa Thompson is a relevation…and the male lead (Kerry Washington’s husband) was impressive. I had not seen him in anything before.
I loved it and cannot wait for the second season. I binged it all weekend. My husband who usually never goes for this sort of thing also got super into it! We both really liked Penelope.
Let me address the nightmare of bangs. I am a person with a very high forehead. I look bald without bangs but they are an absolute pain. I adore it when a character has bangs. I thought hers were pretty. It is hard to rock cute hairstyles when you have to always have bangs. So you go Daphne!
I was going to watch it with my husband, but boy was I glad I binged it alone. Too many sexy men and I wouldn’t have enjoyed it as much if he watched it with me 🤣. The Duke can take me into the bedroom anytime!
Jane Austen’s novels are full of “ambitious mammas” and jealous sisters. Like Austen, Julia Quinn (The series is based on her books) writes about the regency period. It’s Jane Austen but with sexy sex. It’s not a jab at Carole Middleton or anyone in the current BRF. Quinn started to write this series in 2000 before Kate and William were even together and the York girls were still children. Not everything has to do with the current BRF.
PS – I don’t even like the Cambridge’s or anyone in the BRF save the Sussexes and Anne. It’s just this story has nothing to do with them. It’s not a “trolling-the-royal-family show.” It’s just a romance novel brought to life.
THANK you!!
I read these books years ago. I love a good bodice ripper every now and then. The actress playing Daphne looks a little like a young kate winslet.
Ooh yes – good call! Kate Winslet is *exactly* who she reminded me of.
I hated the show and only made it through the first 10-15 minutes, but I don’t necessarily think it was a bad show. I thought it lost some of the depth of the books, but it kind of had to be, to fit the medium of Netflix. I hated that they changed the setup for Daphne’s story. In the book, she had only received proposals from crappy guys. She needed help and Simon offered. It was a reasonable setup. The whole nonsense with her being marked as favored by the queen was stupid. It didn’t add anything to the plot and it was a replacement for a perfectly good setup that also served the dual purpose of introducing Lady Whistledown.
I also hated the casting. In the books, they made a big deal of the fact that all of the Bridgertons looked very alike. Brown hair/brown eyes (except for Colin, who had green eyes). And this was actually a part of the story. Daphne wasn’t the ideal coloring for a young English rose, which was part of why she didn’t receive very many marriage proposals. In Benedict’s story, it actually informs his attraction to the heroine. He feels like nobody bothers to tell him apart from his brothers because they only care about his about his connections and his fortune.
And I know a lot of you found it steamy, but I didn’t. I didn’t see any point to introducing Anthony by showing him screwing that girl up against a tree while his servants just stood there. I thought it was gratuitous and didn’t do anything to further the story or Anthony’s character.
Overall I didn’t like it because it wasn’t what I was looking for. I didn’t click with the super high-drama pace because it didn’t give me any time to invest in the characters.
This is a lot of critique for only watching less than half of one episode lol
If I’m going to dislike something I’m going to be specific.
It was a great show! I watched it with my sister and mom and yes, we fast-forwarded the sex scenes and did finish it on one day.
I just started, watched 1-3 last night. So far, there aren’t that may sex scenes but I guess that will happen later (which I will fast forward through – not a fan of those scenes regardless of how they are done).
One of my issues is how naive these ladies are about how babies are made, sex, and masturbation. Women talk, even in 1813, women talked about these sort of things.
I would say that *married women* talked. But once you’re married, you’ve had sex, so you would know at least what sex was and the conversation about pleasure or baby making could be had with a more experienced woman. But unmarried women of a certain class would have governesses and mothers and aunts and chaperones accompany them everywhere so that there wouldn’t be any of the teenage girl sex talk that takes place nowadays. And even if some unmarried girls were all together without chaperones, they wouldn’t know the details of sex so they couldn’t really talk about it. And an unmarried girl was rarely ever alone with a married woman who wasn’t related to her (and thus had an incentive to keep her “unsullied” to protect her reputation) because unmarried girls didn’t really go out to pay calls on their own—specifically to preserve their innocence and ensure they weren’t having inappropriate conversations about sex or masturbation or how to make a baby. So even if you had a friend who was close in age and who had gotten married and was having sex now, you probably wouldn’t be going to see her on your own so you wouldn’t really have the chance to talk privately. I suppose there could be letters written, but I think the expectation that no one would talk about sex with unmarried girls was pretty strong because no one wanted to be responsible for “corrupting” or even scaring their unmarried friends. Lots of women didn’t even know what their period was or that they would get one until they got it.
In the days before internet, when girls were schooled at home and chaperoned every moment, it’s absolutely plausible girls knew nothing before marriage. I grew up in the 50’s, and some sheltered girls back then truly knew very little. In my repressive Catholic family, neither my mother nor my 2 older sisters even told me about menstruation. I learned from a health teacher in school, thank God.
I tried to like it because so many people raved about it, but was bored with it by episode 3. I did eventually finish it bit by bit, skipping through parts. Big plus for me was the costuming and the diversity of casting. I liked Benedict and yeah, found the possible gay storyline for him more interesting, and to have him suddenly with the modiste seemed to come out of nowhere. It also seemed his character switched from easy acceptance to being mildly judgemental about the artist’s life choices, around the same time, and I didn’t get it. Eloise, Penelope and the Queen were fun. Lots of sex scenes and pretty people aren’t enough to keep me engaged for 8 episodes, especially if the main characters, Daphne and Anthony in particular, are pretty dull and selfcentred and the plot dragged whenever they were agonising about not getting what they wanted. I probably enjoyed the silly KFC movie more, to be honest. I just felt this was going for witty, wicked and slightly campy tongue-in-cheek, but missed the mark.
I LOVE it, but then I’ve read Julia Quinn and I’ve been a fan of regency romance junk since I was a teen…it’s a nice escape. And that Duke….yum!
Yep. Binged twice already. Silly fun the whole way. More please.
I’m tired of Black men on screen lusting after white women. Shonda Rhimes can really do better. For all the Blind casting it apparently doesn’t extend to Black women. And the cousin character was biracial FYI. I’m talking about Black women without the proximity to whiteness. So tired of the invisibility. Every commercial, every tv show,movie. So sick of it.
I will say that’s something that stood out to me and did note while watching it. It almost felt like it wasn’t diversified enough (if it’s set in Britain, why not have more West Asian faces, for instance?), and I really noticed it among the women. There’s a really startling lack of darker skinned women in lead roles, especially where romance is concerned. There was a missed opportunity to make at least one of the large families POC, which would have been quite a casting statement. If nothing else, I almost felt like flipping the racial casting of Hastings and Daphne would have been the more interesting and radical choice. It’s way ahead of its peers in a lot of ways, but it highlights that there’s a lot of progress to go in normalizing non-white faces in casting.
YES. Of course the only darker skinned black women (who was AMAZING) has no love interest.
I was considering watching this but when I noticed the erasure I couldn’t. Much more powerful story for Black couple to be represented.
I loved the books and adored the show and I can’t wait for season two.
That being said, this show has had A LOT of negative chatter on Twitter and Romancelandia forums. Specifically because of the original rape scene, the additional complications of making the Duke a black man experiencing sexual assault from a white woman on the show, and the previous rather racist comments from book author Julia Quinn regarding why did not include diverse or POC characters in her novels. The chatter and drama has been going on from even BEFORE the show premiered. People have unfollowed and blocked each other on Twitter, screen shots have been taken, people canceled left and right…
Still love the show though. LOL
I haven’t been aware of that but is it comparable to the racist brouhaha with the RWA against Courtney Milan? Because I never realized how bad the racism in parts of that industry was until that happened.
No. I didn’t think so. Not as dramatic as the RWA debacle, but this Bridgerton race/rape issue has been loud online.
Apparently, Julia Quinn, in a panel a few years ago, said that it would take away from the story to explain why rich white people would be nice to slaves and Jewish people so she avoided including POC in her stories because of the difficulty to write it.
So that comment she made blew up on Twitter and some Romancelandia forums because some people are like “IT’S FICTION!” and others are like, “HISTORICAL ACCURACY!”
Then THAT snowballed into two camps of people who wanted the rape scene deleted from the show and others who wanted it included to be faithful to the novel.
Then THAT snowballed with male black tweeters entering the conversation and being pissed that some women were refusing to accept that a black man was being raped by a white woman.
Then THAT snowballed into dividing camps of Daphne defenders and Simon defenders on the rape scene and why it was rape, or why it wasn’t, or if there was consent or if “wait” meant “stop or no” with Daphne defenders saying she was justified in what she did because he lied about his ability to have/want children.
Bridgerton twitter was a mess for the last three weeks. LOL. It’s settled down some.
I am here for the costumes and set design–though the recent remake of “Emma” was much prettier overall. (Though nothing beats this series’ Queen Charlotte’s wigs!)
@Oya: It has not been proven without a doubt that Queen Charlotte was mixed race — I think it is better to say African ancestory, as if I am counting right, her black ancestor was from the 13th century, and this is set in the early 19th century. Lots of time in between, which brings up the whole question of how to define ancestory? The Guardian has a good take on it: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/mar/12/race-monarchy
Vulture’s TV critic had an interesting take (though her articles drive me nuts because they end up being about her) that this was an alternative universe, where because Queen Charlotte was black (BTW: the actress is amazing in the show), that blacks were granted freedom and could join the court etc. In this universe, the import of enslaved people into England was only prohibited in 1807, during the reign of George III/Charlotte. It wasn’t until 1833 that it was illegal in the UK and its Caribbean island to own a person.
I hated it so much. I came in as a book reader excited, eagerly awaiting to see how things would be changed, knowing that there are differences between a book and a tv show/movie, which is natural. I had no problem with the integrated society, especially as a lot of the actors and actresses who took on white roles (from the books), are wonderful actors who I’ve loved in other roles. But ultimately, I came away feeling really sad.
As a book reader, I constantly felt thrown out of the plot by 180 changes in book characters (Anthony was not the tool in the books, the dynamic between him and Violet was TERRIBLE, Eloise was kind of herself at times, Penelope was horrible, Daphne was as annoying as she was in the book, so that’s par for the course. But where was the Bridgerton humor? Where was the banter? Where was the love? It seemed like the siblings, especially Eloise and Daphne couldn’t stand each other). But, the reveal felt worthless, I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t read the books. And the way they treated what could have been a really interesting idea (Black and White society coming together after the King married a Black woman), just fell so, so short and left me feeling sad.
I’m glad other people liked it, but between the rape, no consequences for Daphne for what she did, the changes, the lack of exploration of a unified world, not even the sexiness or most of the sex scenes could save it for me. Hard pass all around. I willl not be watching this again, in fact, I’d like those 8 hours back of my life.
Here’s a really great article that explained a lot of my disappointment much better than I could.
https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2020/12/10240235/bridgerton-review-blackness-representation
I really enjoyed it. Loved the colour-blind casting. Simon is super hot.
But the rest of the anachronisms really did my head in. Why does Simon never wear a hat? People wear gloves at all the wrong times. Daphne and other women wearing their hair partially down in public after they’re out. Eloise and the younger kids attending anything at all. Simon and Daphne addressing each other as “your grace” when they’re married. A duke having a friendship with a boxer, who he invites to grand balls? There’s so much nonsense in the British aristocracy, you don’t need to make up new nonsense.
I’m four episodes in and mostly enjoying it, though from a critical perspective and as far as regency romance goes, it’s pretty bread and butter and not particularly original or excessively well written. I’m enjoying the characters, though some are definitely better fleshed out than others, and I do think it manages to center in and highlight an aspect of the genre that is often overlooked for why it is compelling – how do women living in restrictive and conditional arrangements manage to reclaim sexual and emotional agency when their society provides them no easy access to either?
Otherwise, I’m watching it for the completely shallow reasons that the actor for Hastings is crazy hot to me. I suspect it will be, overall, a kind of B-/C+ sort of effort. Popcorn tv, basically.
I’m a politics junkie and would never read this book series, but I loved this show. It’s eye candy. It’s sexy escapism. The Duke is pure sex and charm. Those eyes. Those lips. My God! The Bridgerton brothers better bring it next season. The bar is high. I want to be hot and bothered at the end of every episode lol