The Problem with Bridgerton Season 3 In 3 Graphs
Like millions, I was so excited for Bridgerton’s 3rd season, which released its first four episodes on May 16th with the rest of the season to follow on June 13th. I journeyed a-far for a Bridgerton Fest Binge with the girls in my fam, despite knowing I’ll have to make the same trip again in a month. I especially couldn’t wait for the highly touted Polin Romance (Penelope + Colin for you neanderthals neophytes), and while I did enjoy some aspects of the first half of Season 3, like many others, it fell kind of flat for me*.
And being as 1) I am a complete and total data nerd and 2) I have entirely too much time on my hands and 3) don’t have the drive to create YouTube channel, I decided to test my theories as to why I struggled to squee as much as I had during Anthony and Kate’s smoldering slow burn last season and as much as I expected to do again, given how much I adore Nicola Coughlan’s Penelope and the glow up that’s transformed Luke Newton into a sexy pirate version of Colin.
My main theory, besides the annoying money-grab that is Netflix dividing the season in half, is that the show spent WAY too little time on Colin and Penelope and WAY too much time on everyone and everything else. And I have some receipts.
First, let me stipulate my methods, which involved me creating a ridiculously complex spreadsheet and watching all four episodes to time and analyze each scene. I do not claim to be the definitive source of accurate information, only that this is what I came up with and that I can promise consistency. This is 100% my own made up analysis with no input from anyone actually associated with the show.
Suffice it to say, there are minor spoilers for the show and for the Bridgerton books, but they are pretty vague. Still, if you haven’t seen it yet, maybe click away.
Let’s start with some numbers. The first four episodes of BS3.1 offered a total of 220 minutes and 17 seconds of run time (from here on, noted as 220:17). When you remove the credits and introductions, we are left with 201:54 of actual show. That’s the number I’ve used for all percentages.
If we break down the season into plots, we have one major plot and six medium- to minor-subplots. They are as follows:
- The Colin/Penelope romance main plot
- Francesca Bridgerton’s entrance into the marriage mart subplot
- The Mondrich family’s entrance into the upper class subplot
- The Featherington sisters race to make a baby subplot
- Benedict Bridgerton’s
third pointless dallianceromance minor subplot - Violet Bridgerton’s second chance romance minor subplot
- Kate and Anthony Bridgerton’s
fan servicenewlyweds minor subplot
In actuality, these could be further broken down into even more specific subplots, such as Cressida Cowper’s journey to explain why she’s such a bitch and that we should pity her, or Queen Charlotte’s growing boredom with everything. To keep things from going completely off the rails, small side-plots are counted under the umbrella of the larger plot they serve, thus Cressida is part of Colin and Penelope’s story and Queen Charlotte belongs to Francesca’s.
If you break the episodes down by scene and assign each scene to a plot/subplot, you end up with a percentage distribution that looks like this:
You’ll note that I assigned montages, ball scenes, and non-specific Lady Whistledown narration into a generic category because the show dedicates a not-insubstantial 6.1% of its minutes to such background and set-up.
At first glance, things don’t look too crazy. Colin and Penelope and their developing love story is supposed to dominate the show, and over 50% of the running time is in service to that plot. I’ll argue in a minute about why this percentage should be much higher, but first, it’s critical that we look more closely at the 114:38 spent on Polin.
The types of scenes that contribute to Polin’s friends-to-lovers romance can be categorized as follows (or at least, this is how I did it):
- Scenes where Colin and Penelope interact together
- Scenes where Colin and Penelope are together, but do not interact
- Scenes where Penelope is alone or Colin is alone (or with their respective family members)
- Scenes where Penelope and Lord Debbling are developing a relationship (includes group flirtations)
- Scenes where the broken friendship between Penelope and Eloise is explored
- Scenes where the new friendship between Eloise and Cressida Cowper is explored
- Scenes where Cressida’s story is fleshed out or Eloise’s story is fleshed out
And this is where things fall apart, because several of those scene types really suck the time and energy from what we should be focused on, which is watching Colin and Penelope realize they are more than friends. A graph shows the percentage of time spent on each type of scene:
As you can see, Colin and Penelope spend just barely over a quarter of their own romance plot together!
Now, I have no problems with the amount of time Colin and Penelope spend apart, because a lot of that time is Colin pining and Penelope doing her best to move on. (Side note to say: at first I found the 1:52 of Colin being a threesome-loving, man-ho to be 1:52 too much, but I’ve come around…a bit.) And I think the Lord Debbling romance is absolutely necessary to give Colin the kick in the ass he needed.
But why do we need to spend time on Cressida’s troubles, or rehashing Eloise’s disinterest in the blather that other debutantes find fascinating and her determination to avoid marriage? Yes, I do want to see how Eloise and Penelope are dealing with their lost friendship, but I don’t care to watch Eloise try to make Cressida a better person.
This lack of screen time devoted to Colin and Penelope becomes even more clear when you look at it as a percentage of the whole. Taking into account all of the subplots, Colin and Penelope spend a mere 16.4% of the show’s running time together. This amounts to all of 33:05, and 6:44 of those minutes occur during the carriage scene. Almost 20% of their together time comes at the very end of one episode!
Here is a visual depiction of how the scenes break down:
As you can see, we spend almost as much time on Francesca and her marriage prospects as we do with Penelope and Colin. No wonder I can’t develop the same investment in their relationship as I had for Kate and Anthony and Daphne and Simon.
The biggest issue I have is that at least three of the minor subplots have absolutely no business being in this series. Why must we follow the Mondriches, a family only tangentially associated with the Bridgertons? And we know that Benedict’s fling with the blonde widow lady (can’t even be bothered to learn her name) is not end game, so why are we wasting time on it? And I adored Anthony and Kate, so if the writers want to give me a real story about them, then I’m all over it. But giving me three scenes in the first episode only to send them away, ostensibly for the rest of the season? Why did they waste my time? And really, couldn’t they save Violet’s budding romance for a future season?
The Featherington Baby Race plot is silly, but I admit that I find it hilarious and don’t mind its inclusion. Too, it so clearly illustrates why Penelope is desperate to escape her ridiculous family, so I would argue that it does serve the Polin romance.
In the end, I just needed more. I needed more of Colin groveling for Penelope’s forgiveness for his cruel remarks at the end of Season 2. I needed more – or actually some – of Colin truly tutoring Pen on how to flirt and attract a man, because really, he didn’t do anything. I needed to spend more time watching them be friends and seeing how Colin’s attraction is morphing away from friendship towards something romantic, not from a single kiss but from viewing Penelope as a sexy woman who’d make a great life partner.
I’m reserving judgment until the end of the season for how they’ve changed around the timing of things, specifically, Colin’s NOT learning about Pen being Lady Whistledown before he proposed to her. As it stands, I have my doubts. I don’t want another Season 1 fiasco where the couple nearly separates just as they’ve gotten started.
I could write a whole other post about my thoughts on Lord Debling, because I have many. And I’ve grappled with my feelings about Sexy Pirate Colin long enough I think I’ve come to terms with them. But for now, my numbers showed me, at last on paper, that the skimpy amount of time spent with Colin and Penelope as a couple are directly responsible for my disappointment. I’m really hoping episodes 5 through 8 change my mind.
*This analysis and opinion is based on only the first half of Season 3. After the second half drops, I reserve the right to take everything back.
Y’all this is what Shonda does. Hooks you in with an amazing first season, then just drops what made it amazing and the show tanks. But us suckers keep watching, hoping it gets better.. Think Greys or Scandal.
Could not agree more. The sex scene (not the carriage but the chaise lounge where colin takes Pens virginity) just doesn’t feel earned. Why is she allowing it to happen? Why does he long for her so? Why is sex with her “so much better” than all the sex up until then? I don’t understand what in their relationship shifts for him to finally see her as a partner. It felt uncomfortable, because unlike season 1 and 2, there was no power dynamic constantly shifting. Colin has all the power and she doesn’t have any, which makes this scene feel more predatory than romantic. Previous seasons have always had fun with this power dynamic but this season left Pen pitiful and vulnerable, needing Colin for affirmation. That’s not a sexy dynamic. The chemistry wasn’t there :(
I still haven’t managed to watch the second half of this season. But my son’s betrothed just told me the direction they’re taking Francesca’s story. She hasn’t read the books but many of her friends have and they are not happy–When He Was Wicked is one of their very favorite books in the series and they don’t want the story rewritten so profoundly. This is not because
She and her friends are liberal New Yorkers so you’d think they’d be down for this remaking. But they are not. So, it’s not just us cranky old folk!
When he was wicked was my favourite book in the series. I haven’t watched part 2. I wasn’t keen on part 1. I think I’m done.
Totally agree. This was so lacking for me compared to other seasons. I think they’ve tried to do way too much and ended up doing very little. With what I’ve read about the future plans, I think it’s downhill from here for bridgerton.
Agree with all of this! Pointless storyline that didn’t need to exist and more spent on something more believable with their romance. Just felt like a lot of the story lines fell so flat. Like problem introduced and then the solution just fell so easy in the lap for everyone. Boring.
Today’s New York Times has an article about how the Bridgerton series has worked with historians. Don’t know if those without a subscription can open the article, but it’s interesting and worth reading if you can find the newspaper in a library or access it online somehow. By and large, the history consultants say they are fine with departures from the historical record. They do say that the balls truly were as extravagant as shown, and “the sex was potentially just as hot. (The sources for this, delightful 18th century erotica.). Even Queen Charlotte’s swan wig has a precedent.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/13/arts/television/bridgerton-history-consultants.html
Well, I’d argue that the NYT picked THOSE historians. Which is not to say they aren’t right–I just think that’s a perspective that isn’t globally shared.
I think it is a jolly good show! Top notch in its genre!
NYT did not pick those historians. They were picked by the showrunners and act as consultants to the show. NYT just interviewed them.
You are right–I misspoke. I was just making the point that one can find many vaunted historians who don’t see the ahistoricity of Bridgerton in the same way. And I’ll stand by my assertion that the NYT’s love of the show is, in part, due to how well the show’s politics match the paper’s own. Again, that’s fine–it’s even appropriate because the NYT’s audience, overall, shares its progressive approach.
But there are many–on both the left and right–who find Bridgerton’s approach to history disquieting. And that’s fine too. At the end of the day, it’s a wildly popular show and, to my way of thinking, that is enough for it to rest on its considerable laurels.
The interview is of two historians who work very closely with the Brigerton production team. If you have the chance you should read the article. The historicans know the show is a fantasy, but with a definitely historical grounding.
I really enjoyed the article. I love how the historians did their job, but also enjoyed the creativity of the Bridgerton production.
Part 2 needed significant more happy time with polin. The intimate scenes were edited poorly and did not give us any of the stuff in the other seasons nor even Colin touching pen like he did the brothel women. It is heartbreaking. They could have done much better. Not luke and nic. They said they had many scenes laying in bed etc and we got a measly 5 seconds of one. We didn’t see them go to bed together or wake up together once. There is no romance in the bedroom. There just isn’t. Not any we can see from how the scenes were laid out. Compare the amount of Benedicts intimate scenes with the amount of polins and that will likely infuriate all of us because we know it was soooo much more. Much of the polin community is very sad there wasn’t more happy intimate scenes with them. We felt robbed tbh and like luke and nics work isn’t being properly recognized/shown the way it would have been had their season been 1 or 2.
Do you mean intimate scenes from after their conflict was settled? If so, I agree this was minimal but I did really like the epilogue scene with their sweet kiss. I also felt there were plenty of intimate scenes for Penelope and Colin throughout the series. I contrast to Anthony and Kate’s season, where Anthony was with Edwina until the very end and there was only one Anthony/Kate intimate scene, if I recall correctly. There are more Anthony and Kate intimate scenes in S3! So maybe like Anthony/Kate, we will see more intimate scenes with Penelope/Colin in S4.
I absolutely love Bridgerton – Season 2 is my favourite. In fact, in many ways I think the series is better than the books. I had mixed feelings about Season 3, but Part 2 was very engaging. I loved watching Pen and Eloise’s friendship evolve; in many ways a friendship break-up can be as painful as a romantic one. I loved Pen’s character arc and how Colin empowered her by helping her feel more confident.
I watched the 2nd half of S3 yesterday and frankly, I was riveted. It was SO DRAMATIC. There was significantly more Colin-Penelope interaction. The issues between Lady Danbury and her brother were explained. Francesca developed a bit more backbone and personality (but not a lot – I still find her pretty bland). And some interesting deviations from the book were made with regards to Benedict and Francesca. I hope Jenna has the time to do more analysis and give us some updated statistics :)
I also really enjoyed Penelope’s multiple scenes with her mother, watching an evolution in their relationship. Portia became much more palatable.
Oh good. I’ll watch it then!
Viewers are tuning in though. The numbers are incredible.
(from the WaPo)
Lest we forget that the second half would be released on June 13, there were two articles in New York Times, all very click-bait worthy and I definitely clicked and read them. I have not yet seen the ‘second half’.
The NYT loves Bridgerton–it’s such a progressive show!
Good!
Your analysis is very interesting, Jenna! I agree with many of the comments already made. I wish there was more time being spent on the Colin-Penelope storyline. I feel that the show is using their years of prior friendship as a shortcut as to why they would be together rather than showing a relationship developing based on who they currently are. For example, in the book, one thing Colin and Penelope bond over is Colin’s writing. As a third son, Colin struggles to figure out his place in the world and it turns out that he is a writer (hence, the journal). However, this is barely touched upon in the TV show. Instead we get several scenes showing Colin’s sexual development. I understand they had to turn Colin into leading man material but to me these scenes felt icky. I would have preferred to see his personal development as well as more scenes of Colin and Penelope spending time together. As for the other storylines, Francesca bored me until she met Lord Kilmartin and I consider this whole storyline to just be set up for her future TV season. I’m not sure where Benedict’s storyline is going but it seems similar to Anthony (falling for a woman who won’t marry him) and so maybe is also set up for his future season. I completely don’t understand why we are following the Mondriches. The Featheringtons relate to Penelope and are a source of humor so I’m OK with it. I am puzzled by Lady Danbury and her brother. I wonder if the multiple scenes of Anthony and Kate in the first episode were a reaction to viewers feeling there weren’t enough sex scenes between them in S2? Anyway, I am hoping that some/all of these storylines make sense after seeing the 2nd half and that there is a bigger percentage of Colin-Penelope!
I was skimming Episode 4 last night, and I realized that Colin and Penelope are never together in the episode until the very end – when Colin shows up to interrupt her dance with Debling. They don’t even see each until until 39 minutes into the episode!
Sorry for double posting.
Any particular reason why comments are not posted immediately?
I agree with the comments here. My immediate impression of B3 was that there was too much clutter—several secondary plotlines that almost seemed to overwhelm the main love story of Colin-Penelope. Perhaps, breaking the series into two created that impression.
After B3, I watched the Prequel—Queen Charlotte story. What a contrast to B3! If one is willing to suspend disbelief and accept its liberties with historical facts, it surprisingly has considerable emotional heft and depth. The story takes place on two time tracks- Bridgerton present and fifty years before that. It tells Queen Charlotte’s marriage to King George, their passionate love that created 15(!) babies and stayed true in spite of his many bouts with mental illness. It tells the backstory of how Lady Danbury and the black aristocracy came to be. And how in the Bridgerton present, these strong women battle loneliness and irrelevance. It is also about female friendships and about wives and mothers taking on the burden of propping up the mentally ill person in their life even if he happened to be the King of England.
The series stays laser focused on just these two women, Queen Charlotte and Lady Danbury. Acting is uniformly excellent and dialog is sharp and crackling. The actors are mouthwateringly beautiful (especially Corey Mylchreest who plays King George; even the footmen are handsome).
Queen Charlotte is a romance with HFN; a tragic love story; and a woman’s fiction. And it is the best Bridgerton so far.
I just can’t bring myself to watch Queen Charlotte. It seems like the opposite of fun.
It is serious with some weighty themes but an excellent drama.
It’s fantastic.
Queen Charlotte is excellent! Please give it a try. The acting is superb and the background it provides, especially into the relationship between the Queen and Lady Danbury, is fascinating.
I completely agree with your thoughts on the Queen Charlotte series. I didn’t like the character in Bridgerton S1 and S2 but I thought I would watch the first episode of Queen Charlotte and see. I was sucked in and enjoyed the entire thing. I also agree that the actors playing the younger Charlotte and George were so beautiful – I couldn’t take my eyes off them!
I stopped watching Bridgerton after Series 1. However, Jenna’s work is incredible and I am truly awed by it! Thank you, Jenna, for this and how I wish that those who create these historical costume dramas would take notice of what you have so clearly laid out. IMO, Andrew Davies, the screenwriter of the 1995 Pride & Prejudice, along with many other costume drama scripts, is the benchmark other script writers should aspire to. The Bridgerton books were a damned sight better than the nonsense given us on screen.
Thanks for highlighting how little time Bridgerton Season 3 is spending actually showing us Pen and Colin interacting. A major downside for romance lovers among us!
Even worse, though, is the way the show is making Penelope so passive, and whenever she acts, her actions result in the rest of the ton smacking her down. Colin “teaches” her how to flirt (or not; it’s only an excuse for a rumor to make Pen look bad); Pen is almost hit by a balloon and must be “saved” by Lord Dealing; Pen’s Lady Whistledown columns contain little of the biting wit that reveal the book Pen’s deeper character. Gossip constantly derails her social standing, sending her off in embarrassment and tears…
I picked up ROMANCING MR. BRIDGERTON last night and reread the opening chapter, and was amazed by how much the book Pen ACTS as compared to the TV show, where she is just ACTED UPON. Just compare the scene where she overhears Colin (saying to his brothers, not to members of the ton) “I’m certainly not going to marry Penelope Featherington!” Instead of running away and hiding and licking her wounds, she confronts Colin right in the moment: “She said nothing for what seemed like an eternity, and then, finally, with a dignity she never dreamed she possessed, she looked straight at Colin and said, ‘I never asked you to marry me.'” And Pen goes on to deliver a few more zingers and face-saving comments (which are all the more brave because we as readers know how much Pen is really hurting): “You are not going to marry me… There is nothing wrong with that. I am not going to marry your brother Benedict… It doesn’t hurt his feelings when I announce that I am not going to marry him. Does it, Mr. Bridgerton?” (10-11). And then, when Antony walks her home, Pen advises him to allow Colin to travel abroad, demonstrating both her insight into Colin’s character and her ability to speak her mind.
I feel so sorry for Nicola Coughlin, having to play such a wet blanket of a character. How many times in one season will she have to throw herself on the bed and cry???
One of my favorite scenes in a romance ever is when Penn says “this is my life’s work.” That Penn is missing in this season.
You should watch Part 2 to see this Pen.
I will. I have to say, I loved, in the book, that Pen is so sure of herself as Lady W and that SHE helps Colin feel secure about his writing. I hope that is still part of the story in the show.
Last night I watched Part 2. It really more than makes up for all that seemed to be lacking (e.g, Penelope as a writer) in Part 1. Bridgerton, the tv series, may differ much from Bridgerton, the novels. IMO, it has been successful in capturing the essence of each novel while making the tv version stand on its own. Creatively, each season (and the prequel) has been brilliant.
I have not watched S3 yet but my feeling from S1 and S2 is that this show is more of a Bridgerton soap opera than a Bridgerton romance. Romance novels are pretty much expected to spend most of their time on the main couple, pushing them together, increasing the tension, etc. TV series don’t work that way, they want a bunch of different threads going at the same time. There aren’t enough characters in the books so they added some, like the Mondriches and Queen Charlotte. These books don’t have tons of drama, so the show added some. Some of it works, IMO, some of it feels like filler, but that’s the way I feel about most TV shows…
I think book adaptations are tough to do well. Those that do–Station Eleven, Silo, Big Little Lies–manage to go their own way and still keep readers’ respect. I’m not sure Bridgerton is pulling that off but I don’t think readers of the books were ever the main intended audience.
Jenna, I am very impressed by your analysis and presentation. How long did it take you to do all this? It was fun to read, and I don’t even watch Bridgerton (I read half the books, so I am familiar with the players and plot.) Thanks for giving us something different to read and think about.
I’m embarrassed to say that it took entirely too long! I spent most of a day rewatching the episodes by scene and categorizing them, then making graphs. But I truly love doing this kind of stuff so it was a lot of fun! Like I told Dabney when I sent her the post, I need a full time job!! :)
You’re keeping those analytical skills sharp and having fun— good for you!!
To me, Lord Debling seemed like a better partner until the very last scene, which tells you how effectively they’re selling the Colin/Penelope love story. That said, maybe the two actors just don’t have great chemistry, which is part of why the series is focusing on some other stuff?
Debling was a perfect beta male hero for Pen which made his anger in the last episode harder to parse.
Totally agree. They made Debling almost a perfect match for Penelope in that he was handsome (enough) and kind and smart and respected her, and he would offer her space and privacy to continue her life as Lady Whistledown. In fact, he was so well drawn as a potential husband that her reluctance came kind of out of the blue, as well as his “don’t know if I have room in my life for love of a woman instead of my work!” excuse. Rather, i wish they would have maybe kept things going for at least one more episode where he gave off some signs that he wouldn’t ever truly love her, or she realized that loving Colin showed her that she needed love in her relationship.
Reading these and other comments elsewhere makes me realise even more than before that the showrunners don’t really understand romance and historical romance in particular.
My eldest daughter watched the episodes a few days ago and said “the writing is so very clunky, bit I feel like it’s very self-aware of how clunky it is.”
Colin has always been completely miscast in my opinion. From the moment the actor appeared in season 1 my immediate thought was nope and nothing has changed that.
I also just finished part 1 last night and I’m so thankful to see so many of my feelings laid out in these graphs. Data visualization for the win!
I agree with you, Dabney, that they’ve strayed very, very far from the book. I definitely understand that the Bridgerton books have great characters but not a ton of plot so stuff would have to be added. Plus in a book series, just a scene or two of a sibling or friend is enough for you to be invested in their story but I’m not sure it would work like that in TV.
But, this season just feels overstuffed. We 100% do not need Violet to have a romance (it’s clear in the books that Edmund was her one and only), I don’t need to see Benedict in a pointless dalliance with a widow (like we get it, the Bridgerton boys aren’t virgins, I think we all could have guessed that). While I think the Mondrich story this season is somewhat more interesting, I still don’t think the series needs them. And I absolutely hated that now we’re supposed to feel bad for Cressida. Cressida!
And it feels like they knew there were scenes the absolutely needed to include from the books but felt like they had to shoehorn them in. Since we seem to have dropped the whole storyline of Colin feeling aimless and searching for a purpose other than being charming, Penelope finding his journal seems very out of place. The whole point of the scene is that someone like her that reads a ton (and writes but we don’t know that yet) sees value in his writing and pretty vehemently suggests that he publish them. Here it’s more like “Oh it’s Colin’s journal. Hey, don’t read my journal. Sorry but it’s really good tho. Oh, ok”.
And my final issue is the same one I had in the previous discussion on Bridgerton. While I love the actress who plays Penelope, I still feel like the choice of this actor for Colin fundamentally changed his character from the one in the book. I think he tried hard to embody Colin’s effortless charm but well, I can see the effort. And that’s why the scenes with the threesomes (twice!) feel so odd; that’s just not this guy. I really firmly believe that, because of the actors they cast, Benedict is now Colin and vice versa.
But I still enjoyed it and it really really helps to just consider this some very expensive fan fiction.
I also hated that the journal entry she reads is about sex/women not just about a place. It lessened the power of his writing. He has no purpose that I can see thus far.
Agreed. I think TPTB decided that, for some reason, it was important to make Colin more of a womanizer/rake than he was before or is in the books. So the journal is about women, the threesomes, etc. My memory of the books is that Anthony is considered a rake (although we don’t see a ton of that, other than going after the opera singer) and the assumption is that none of these guys are monks but she didn’t need to throw it in your face all the time.
My sister thinks that a lot of this is a reaction to the criticism of S2 that it didn’t have as much sex as S1 so they’re amping it up. But now they’re sexing up stuff that doesn’t benefit from it.
I was very torn about Colin’s flirting and his threesomes. At first, I thought TPTB were trying to sell him as this new, sexy guy who had game and thus was even more attractive to Penelope (and more of a win when she finally catches him). It was as if they’d decided to completely change his personality for no reason at all other that as part of his “Bridgerton glow-up”. But now I think the point is that he believes everyone expects him to be a rake, and he’s trying to play the part but it’s not working. Even in his journal entry, he says something about being intimate with someone and still feeling disconnected. “…I marvel at how one can feel such intimacy, but also such great distance.” is the exact phrasing. Then, later, when he’s gabbing with his creepy friends, he once again talks about the emptiness of meaningless hook ups (only to get laughed at). It’s as if he’s trying to be cavalier about it all but realizes he can’t.
That’s fair.
I just finished the first 4 episodes last night and I have to say, I hated it. To be fair, I love the novel version “Romancing Mr. Bridgerton” so the changes in the adaptation have been really disappointing. I feel like they took all of the charm out of the development of Penelope and Colin’s relationship. I also do not understand the need for Colin’s multiple threesomes – so ridiculous and unnecessary. I thought the first season with Daphne and Simon the show did a pretty good job of following at least the bones of the story – the changes made sense for dramatic effect. But last season and now this – I am done with Netflix’s version of Bridgerton, I’ll just re-read my books.
They certainly have strayed far from what I think of as their inspiration. It is an interesting thing to do–take one of the most popular romance series and change it substantially. I’d love to hear the thought process behind the changes.
I suppose it is not as terrible as what Netflix did to Virgin River, but it’s getting close! I just don’t understand why they didn’t just make on original regency soapy drama if thats what they wanted to do?
Branding?
Thing is, a good chunk of the audience had no idea about the books before the series arrived, so I’m not sure branding is the reason. Or not all of it.
It’s such a bummer. We’ve waited years and years for an onscreen adaptation of historical romance and after all the fanfares and publicity, we get this.
The Bridgerton readers are not, I think, the audience the TV show is swinging for. It’s non-HR readers!
That’s my thought, too. They’ve taken the names of the characters and some bare-bones plotlines and are basically delivering televised fanfiction.
Why bother to buy an established property when you’re going to throw out well over half of it? (Rhetorical question!)
I love the graphs and data here! I agree that there are too many annoying subplots that don’t seem to move the story forward — the Mondriches, Benedict (who is often a welcome bit of comic relief, but not this season, alas), the queen’s apathy about picking a new diamond.
I’m a little meh on Colin and Penelope, too, and I suspect you’re right — it’s because they’re not spending enough time together on screen. I see little evidence that they’re even friends, let alone potential romantic partners. My favorite part of the carriage scene was actually after the sexytimes, when they both burst into giggles — that’s the first time I actually believed they truly liked one another.
So far, the most interesting relationship to me is the friendship between Penelope and Eloise. I’m rooting for those two to work things out!
I agree with almost all your points. (I do find the Mondriches more interesting than you did but I also think they distract from the plot.) I was pleased to see that Polin had more chemistry this season than they have in the first two but I still felt Colin was kinda weird in his whole approach to Pen. The Lady Danbury brother scene is a completely unnecessary storyline as is Benedict’s f**kbuddy. I did like Francesca’s story although it I do wonder how true to her book–When He Was Wicked–her season, if she gets one, will be. I have disliked how they’ve handled the Lady Whistledown plot and I’m not overly optimistic about the second half of this season. Lord Debling, who seems to have wandered in from the 1970s, accomplished little other than to make Colin look like a massive tool. And the whole balloon thing was super odd.
The season gets a 6/10 from me.
I have never liked this onscreen adaptation of Bridgerton. I feel that the deviations from the book series are a literary sacrilege. I have always hated the Hollywood adaptations of books to screen and this has more than proven my point to me. Don’t mess with my favorite romances–UGH!
I also thought that the Lady Danbury brother scene did not make any sense when I first watched B3. But after watching Queen Charlotte it made perfect sense. The Prequel devotes considerable screen time to the growing friendship between Lady Danbury and Violet Bridgerton. In one of their long conversations, Violet confesses to Lady Danbury her longing for another chance at love and romance, about wanting ‘her garden to bloom again’. (It also turns out that as a young widow, Lady Danbury had an affair with Violet’s father.) So, by inviting her brother to visit, Lady Danbury is helping Violet Bridgerton’s ‘garden bloom again’.
But it seems like Lady Danbury hates her brother. It’s just all a little unclear what the siblings’ relationship is.
I’m not sure about this. I did watch Queen Charlotte so I could understand that Violet is in a mainframe to love again. However, my impression was that Lady Danbury’s brother sent notice that he was coming to town, not that she invited him (ie he is an unwelcome guest). She also seems to be unhappy with him so I don’t know that she would consider him a partner for her friend.
You may be right. His showing up might have been accidental or deliberate. Violet’s receptiveness to his interest should not surprise given her present frame of mind. It would be interesting to see how it develops.
Sorry – I meant mind frame, not main frame!