The Bridgerton Series
Bridgerton Season 3
If you, like me, have been captivated by the magic of the Netflix Series 'Bridgerton', we aren't alone! Millions of fans around the world have fallen in love with this series based on a series of popular historical romance books originally penned by author Julia Quinn (who also collaborated on the show). Each sibling of the Bridgerton family (there are eight) gets their own story in Julia's world of Regency England and its all popular, consuming 'marriage mart' 'season' where members of the ton (upper-class families) went to parties and balls for the sole purpose of meeting a mate and marrying well. Servants and townsfolk were also featured, but the focus was on the main love story, THE Bridgerton of the Season, and those trying to help (and hinder) their path to true love.
Season 1 premiered on Christmas Day (what a present for us fans!) in 2020-- some wonderfully romantic, fun drama after a year the world spent in fear, shock, illness, and for many, total or partial lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic. At a time when going to the cinema was still a wishful dream, Brigerton entered our lives and brightened our moods (not to mention caused heat waves from the frank, and truly, beautifully fun sex scenes). It was a huge hit, surprising the cynics and critics who claimed 'pure romance' would never sell.
Well sell it did! And how! Bridgerton Season 1 became one of Netflix's most-watched shows, wildly popular in every country it showed in, and making stars of the leads and a large supporting cast of characters who, some, would soon feature as leads, helpers, or hinders in the next Season of the show (and the ton). It would land as the 5th most-watched Netflix show of all time (so far) with 82 million (!!!) households tuning in to watch in its first four weeks after premiering.
Some may say being 'stuck' at home, with cinemas closed, added to this number. While that may be true, the simple fact remains: the fans tuned in, watched all eight episodes and demanded more. We eagerly awaited another Season, another Bridgerton, another visit with Queen Charlotte, Lady Danbury, Violet, and of course, the narrator of each episode, Lady Whistledown, the ton's most infamous and wealthiest gossip writer (she was Twitter, Tik-Tok, FaceBook, & Instagram all rolled into one).
We had to wait over two whole long years, until March 25, 2022, for Season 2. While not as popular as its previous season, Season 2 still ranked high on viewers' lists, finishing 9th in the overall most-watched-ever English shows (Season 1 is currently at 4th). There's many reasons why, and the debate can continue for as long as there are people to debate. Reasons given include people being more out and about, the time/month of release, the different storylines, and most of all, a lot fewer sex scenes.
Between Seasons 2 and 3, we had the 'companion' series, Queen Charlotte, focused on the younger generation we've all known and come to love. It is, to me, and many, a heartbreaking season, dealing with the hero's mental illness (this is King George, after all, notoriously 'mad' and perhaps most well known for starting the War for Independence of its most famous colonies soon to be called The United States of America). It's hard to watch, at times, knowing the history as we do, and what happens to George and Charlotte, but it is so beautifully acted and deals so well with the issues of mental health, its crude and truly horrifying treatments, and how love, true love, may not conquer all but survives all.
Also, there are several 'modern' issues (feminism, racism, etc.) that...to be blunt, esp. for Queen Charlotte, a viewer is beaten over the head so many times it's easier to skip scenes and get to the balls or fun, rather than be lectured, once again, on the unfairness of the times. It's also never been a secret the details and 'license' taken with history is something Bridgerton & Queen Charlotte don't concern itself with. But isn't that the point? This is ENTERTAINMENT, not a history show.
Which brings me to the point: Should we modernize history just for the sake of show?
In my most humble opinion, Gentle Readers, if I wanted a lecture on the sanitation or actual dress of people in the early 1800s I'd watch the History Channel. I can forgive little details like... there probably wasn't such an array of colorful clothing and diversity in the ton as Bridgerton portrays. Everything wasn't all roses and silk, especially for the common folk, and life, if you didn't have money, was not an easy thing.
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| Don't I make a GREAT Bridgerton ton Lady? |
But one of the things Bridgerton does so well is showing us the unfairness of the times, especially for women: As Daphne, the heroine of Season 1 says, "This (to marry 'well', meaning a man of title and means) is my only purpose, the only thing I've been raised and taught to do my whole life" and she says this to her brother, who is free to roam around with ladies of ...questionable morals and not be chastined while she is alone with a man once and is forced to marry him (although it is exactly what she wants). The 'double standard', also said by Elouise to another brother: Men can do whatever they want, go or travel or do anything. Women don't have that same freedom."
These are powerful statements that show why, a century later, Britain granted women the right to vote before its former colony did theirs. Britain also led the way by outlawing salary, and paying reparations long before such a thing became a topic in America. And while many of their names are lost to history, women, particularly Queen Victoria, were a huge reason behind these massive social movements and changes. I'd like to think Victoria looked to the achievements of her grandmother Charlotte as a model for how to rule, and rule well, in a country and a time when change was always occurring and the world as a whole didn't favor the 'voice' or rule of a woman. Queen Elizabeth II was said to have also looked to her great-great-grandmother Victoria when she became Queen (and would eventually become the largest-lived monarch in British history, surpassing her famous ancestor).
And also...both the power and the dilemma faced by Lady Whistledown, the gossip writer who becomes the second most powerful woman in the UK, behind only the Queen-- and in some cases, a bit besting her (the rivalry between Queen Charlotte and Lady Whistledown in verbal and written remarks is both telling and funny, a chess game that will either explode or implode). Lady W is forced to hide her identity for many reasons, the least of all being she IS female, writing at a time when females often had to write as a man to be published.
We viewers learn Lady W's identity well before the rest of the characters (which sets up the main drama for Season 3). But when she is revealed, she loses her best friend, for a time, she loses the love of her life, her family, possibly her income, and most importantly, she faces the wrath of the Queen and the members of the ton who are none too pleased she has revealed many of their dark secrets.
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So while Bridgerton isn't a 'historical' show...it is historic. The Seasons, balls, marriage mart, rules, etc. are all very real: women, especially young women, were raised to run a household and not much else. The job was to marry a decent man who could support them and bring honor to the family name. They were sheltered, unable to be alone with a man, or alone, period, outside their homes. And, again as Bridgerton shows, sex was NOT a topic discussed, even between the most loving mother Violet, and her daughter Daphne.
I do like the way Bridgerton writers gently, and sometimes, not gently, remind us it is the working class folks who allow the ton to continue, who keep the country running, and in a very real sense, are the true power. As we saw so graphically during the pandemic, those we give little thought to are the very ones we can't do without.
So if you haven't joined the millions watching Bridgerton...WHY??? Give thee hence to a TV or computer or phone or iPad ASAP and tune in! While each season (like its book) stands on its own, with a beginning and an end, you will want to watch from the beginning, Season 1, especially because Season 3 is the slow-burn romance of the characters that has been building since Season 1.
Speaking of Season 3...it's on track to be the biggest Season of Bridgerton yet, nipping at the heels of Season's 1 coveted spot with 92 million viewers since its release in May & June (this Season was divided into two parts, released a month apart--I HATE this! Don't do this again! Noooooo) and becoming the most watched English show ever on Netflix. It's my favorite season, for many reasons, And I think I need to stop typing and go watch it again.
And that, Gentle Reader, is a tale for quite another time, isn't it?
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