Hi! It’s Annie!
Like many people right now, a lot of my only joy from this month has been looking forward to the next season of Bridgerton that’s coming out next week. This month has only been getting worse and worse and if you have not seen what’s currently going on in the US, I highly encourage you to look it up. I know that when uncomfortable things start to happen, it becomes second nature for people to just want to look away. It’s more important than ever that we don’t. Hope is coming from all around, from our communities protecting others, even from other countries lending their support. This doesn’t mean you have to doom-scroll, please don’t. But at least keep yourself in the know. That aside, the next season of Bridgerton seems to be a small light for all of us that enjoy it as a fandom and hyper-fixation and for good reason. This season could shape up to be the best season of Bridgerton yet. Not only is Benedict a fan favorite, (I mean, he’s the best Bridgerton brother don’t come for me) but this season is a Cinderella re-telling complete with a masquerade ball. I’m already head over heels for Eloise and her Joan of Arc look. However, most people are also hoping that this season of Bridgerton will also make up for the last season which, understandably, didn’t go over very well. As it’s gotten closer to this new season I have also seen people talk more about the Bridgerton books as well as the couples we will be seeing in the future and the problems that may arise from that, even if this season ends up being the best season yet. With all of this in mind, I want to talk about the past couples in Bridgerton as well as the ones we have yet to see and delve into the negatives and positives of what we have seen and what we have yet to see.
SPOILERS AHEAD FOR BRIDGERTON SEASONS AND BOOKS!!!
Daphne and Simon:
This is quite possibly the most controversial couple from the seasons and books and that is saying something. Because almost all of the couples, in the books at least, are controversial for one reason or another. Daphne and Simon start out very nicely as a pretty fun fake-dating trope. Their chemistry is off the charts and their banter is even better; they honestly could be one of the couples that is the most fun to watch at first. And then we get to the latter half of their season. Their married life is horrendous with the entirely of it being them either having sex or fighting. There is no tenderness to their married life and there is certainly no romance here. It becomes even worse when you look at all the consent problems in their marriage. Yes, the glaring one here is that Daphne does seriously SA Simon in their relationship; however I really do question the people who put Daphne entirely at fault here. Daphne was failed by her mother in that she was told nothing about sex or how it worked and Simon knew this. Before they were even married they had a previous conversation where Daphne made it clear to Simon what she did know and what she did not and Simon deliberately kept that information from her for his own devices. Let’s repeat that again; he stole knowledge, consent, and autonomy from her for his own comfort. This is not to say that what Daphne did wasn’t reprehensible, but I don’t understand the people who think Simon is completely innocent. I would argue that what he did was just as bad and violated her consent just as much. Keep in mind the power he had over her as her husband because of the lack of rights for women at the time. So while the first half of the season is fun to watch, the second half most certainly sours it. While I understand why this season took off, I also understand why people aren’t re-watching it much and are glad to have moved on.
Anthony and Kate:
This is the season that most people will say is the peak of Bridgerton so far and I understand why that’s being said. This season was by far the most fun and had some of the best side-stories without taking too much from the main plot. We got a little more side characters this time without their storylines feeling pointless like the last season (Anthony) and a good amount of the main couple. However, I am not as big of a fan of Anthony and Kate as many are. Don’t get me wrong, they were one of the best parts of season three. Like seriously adorable and I wish we would have gotten more of that in this one. I just couldn’t help but feel like they were both being so horrible to Edwina and I mostly just felt bad for her the entire time. Also, Anthony can get on my nerves at times and I feel like he only softened towards the end of the season. However, the colors are even more vibrant this time, the sex scenes are not as frequent but far more meaningful, and the characters have far more personality in this season. While I could have done with a less harmful enemies to lovers, they are kind of perfect together. Kate also annoyed me with her treatment of Edwina but I loved the very feminist conversations she has with Lady Danbury and Eloise this season as well. I also absolutely ADORED Eloise’s whole storyline that centered around her activism. LOVED that. Anthony and Kate also have proven themselves over the seasons to be the most healthy couple of the couples that have formed so far, even if they were a mess getting there. So yeah, I agree that this is the best season we’ve gotten so far. But there’s room for improvement.
Colin and Penelope:
This last season was a whole mess for so many reasons. Firstly, this was one of the worst balances we’ve ever seen between side storylines and the main story. We were almost getting just as much Benedict galavanting and Penelope’s sisters trying to get pregnant as we were getting the main couple. But also, I don’t like Colin. This was the major issue with the season and the reason why most people didn’t click with it. Penelope is a badass who deserves the world and yes, she absolutely makes mistakes. Eloise has every right to be angry at her. But even Eloise forgives and supports Penelope at important intervals where Colin doesn’t. We can all agree, Penelope deserves so much better. There’s even a point in this season where Colin almost punishes Penelope by deciding to take her ability of choice away. Think of how devastating that would be for a woman at this time! I think part of his had to do with the writers not being very willing to change things about the books that needed to change. Colin in the books is even worse to Penelope, granted, but this season could have gone about his pain at her deceit in a different way. This makes me wonder if they’ll be more careful with the other controversial books going forward. The Penelope and Colin book is one of the least liked in the Bridgerton collection because of the way Colin acts and there’s another book specifically that’s even worse (we’ll get to that in a second). I just really hope that they’ve learned their lesson here and are willing to change things that should be changed going forward. In the very least, I love the mother-daughter relationship switch between Penelope and Lady Featherington.
Benedict and Sophie:
This is one of the most liked Bridgerton books and the whole concept of it feels rich and decadent. I mean, who isn’t excited by a Masquerade ball? The book is also liked very much because of the whole Cinderella effect. However, I worry about Benedict a little bit. From what I have heard people say about the book, Benedict gets very manipulative and at times uses Sophie’s status as a maid to take her ability of choice out of the equation. In particular, he does this to move her around to whichever Bridgerton house he likes when she starts working for them. There’s also a whole thing in the book where he really tries to force her to be his mistress. I’m sure a lot of the plot points will still be there, so I’m hoping they will be very careful about how Benedict comes off as these things happen. Benedict is my favorite of all the men in the series and if they mess him up, I am going to be so incredibly upset. I feel like they’ve made Benedict good natured enough that I can see a lot of his motivations for things changing from the book, but still I worry after last season. I have full hopes that this could be the best season we’ve gotten. I just hope that I haven’t gotten my hopes up too high. But I mean, Benedict is the best and I love a good Cinderella re-telling. I have a good feeling about this one! This is also generally the best reviewed book of the seasons we’ve gotten so far.
Francesca and Mikayla:
I know people were angry about the gender change and thought that Benedict or Eloise should the queer ones; partly because this is the most liked Bridgerton book. I heavily disagree with this. Not only could we possibly get other queer storylines, but we need queer representation like Francesca. Hyper-feminine women can be queer too! I also think that they can still do some of the plot points here. I think the only misstep I see so far was Francesca’s reaction to meeting Mikayla. As per the novel, Mikayla should have been the one to fall in love at first sight and I think it messes up the dynamic a bit to give that reaction to Francesca instead. A lot of people also say they don’t like this because Francesca really wants kids in the novel and that’s a whole thing. Firstly, we already got that with Daphne and Julia Quinn wrote all of her female protagonists to really want kids which I don’t feel is very modern. (Although I do very much like Julia Quinn.) Secondly, queer people have been finding alternative ways to have children for a very very long time. I think they will absolutely still be able to stay true to the heart of this novel with it being a WLW storyline and I am personally very excited to see it. Especially because this is the couple that is widely believed to be the healthiest and best of all of the novels and I love that this was given to a queer couple.
Eloise and Phillip?:
This is the least liked novel of them all and this is saying something. I can tell you right now, I am terrified about this season. Especially because, like many, Eloise is my favorite Bridgerton character. If you are unfamiliar with the current conversations circulating about this; Eloise’s book involves her writing letters to a man many years older than her who has a whole host of kids. She eventually marries him and is forced to make motherhood her entire life…and that’s the book. Seriously. Now I will say, one of the things that gives me hope is that Eloise is almost a completely different character in the series than she is in the novels. The writers really seem like they’re going in a direction with Eloise that is already against what the novels portray and I can’t see that character fitting into this plot. I almost wonder if they’ll change it altogether and I feel like this is given even more sway when you think about the fact that Sir Phillip has already shown up. You very briefly see him in the first season and it did not seem like they were really expecting anyone to have much of an impression of him from the way they kind of shoehorned him in. (Although the actor is very handsome.) If they do decide they are going to keep Eloise with Sir Phillip, they are going to have to change at least sixty percent of the novel. This is literally the season I am most afraid of and I will never forgive them if they mess up Eloise. Considering she’s one of the most popular characters, I’m sure they’re feeling the pressure, as they should. Hopefully it will boost them to make necessary changes.
The Last Two:
The last two Bridgertons are Hyacinth and Gregory and I will tell you right now that I have not heard much about their books. This is partly because they are the two least read books in the series. Most people stop reading the books before they get to the last ones, which makes me wonder if we’ll ever get them. At least for now, these characters are very side-lined and not too many people have an interest in them yet. They are getting to the age where they could possibly do their own seasons if you’re considering the two year gap between each season that we’re getting and the knowledge that we’ll still have at least two seasons before them. The actress who plays Hyacinth will be twenty-four or twenty-six by the time we get to her season if that puts it into perspective. But I do think whether or not we get their seasons will be highly dependent on how well Bridgerton is doing by that point. I will leave it at that for now. Who knows! Maybe this new season will flesh out the characters enough for me to believe we’ll get seasons for them in the future. They will definitely be younger filming them than any of the rest of the cast has been though, which also makes me wonder.
I’m so excited for this next season but also very nervous! But you can still count on the fact that I will be watching the first four episodes on the day they come out. Apparently Thursdays are now both Critical Role and Bridgerton days!
See you across the pond!
Sincerely, Annie
Oreos & Peanut Butter 