Welcome all like-minded Bridgerton obsessives! If you’re like me or the millions of other bingers who streamed Bridgerton in the last few weeks than you may be more than a tad bit in love with the show. As someone who pretty much watches any period drama they can get their hands on, I was truthfully a bit nervous to start Bridgerton. It all seemed a bit cliche and not historically accurate. I thought it was all hype and not worth my precious bingeing time.
After some pushing from a friend who swore I would like it I finally caved. Hey, even if I didn’t like it I could still review it and rip it a new asshole, I thought. I could feel superior from the bottom feeders who enjoyed this measly show and go back to my “true period pieces” in peace.
Truth is though I am one of the masses. I love the show. So here, more or less coherently is my review. And if you couldn’t tell already it does contain spoilers so beware.
LETS TALK ABOUT THE FASHION
One of the main reasons I wasn’t all to keen to start Bridgerton was because of the fashion inaccuracies. If watching the show Reign made your cringe with historical inaccuracy then buyer beware with this show. It takes place in England and they all wear French style clothing. They all wear tiaras even though they aren’t royalty. There’s hella glitter even though glitter wasn’t a thing yet. It’s cringe-y. The thing is, it kinda worked in a weird way. At a certain point I pretty much stopped viewing the show as historically inaccurate and more part of it’s own world with it’s own fashion rules and etiquette. The show feels like it’s own bubble anyway so why not embrace it? When I watched the show from this vantage point the nagging feeling in the back of my head went away and I could enjoy the pretty costumes for what they were.
With the hairstyles I really loved how the characters of color especially were allowed to embrace their natural hair or even embellish it. Their hair wasn’t straightened or covered. The scene where Queen Charlotte walks into the ball and her hair is this large gorgeous afro was just such a game-changer and so beautiful.
I CARED ABOUT EVERY CHARACTER SO MUCH EXCEPT FOR THE MAIN ONES
Okay, am I the only one who was invested in all the storylines except for Simon and Daphne’s? Everyone else seemed so interesting and vibrant and their storyline struck me as sort of blah. The whole “i’m not deserving of love” trope has never been one of my favorites and I just couldn’t get into it with Simon.
PENELOPE IS SUCH A REFRESHING CHARACTER TO SEE ON TV
As a fellow #chubbygirl is was so great to see a period drama where there was a character who wasn’t Keira Knightley-esque. (No shade K.K. I’m just trying to make a point here) I saw myself in Penelope’s storyline. Unrequited love. (~sigh~) If there are future seasons of Bridgerton I would be so excited to see how they flesh out her character.
PENELOPE AND COLIN
Speaking of Penelope, Penelope and Colin were my fave couple of the show. The PINING. THE STARES. I’m such a sucker for all of it. Every person has been in Penelope’s shoes being hopelessly in love with an oblivious person. I became so obsessed with this pair that I read the Julia Quinn book dedicated to them, Romancing Mr. Bridgerton, in about 12 hours. (I am not proud of this.) It was soooo good and highly recommend for my fellow #Polin fans.
WHY DO I LOW-KEY LIKE MRS. FEATHERINGTON?!
Okay, I know this one is a hot take. But she’s such a complex character and I love the complex ones. She’s not particularly nice but loves her girls and wants them to be married so they can be financially secure. She may not be nice to Marina but she understands her circumstances and knows that the thing to do to protect her is to get married quickly. She’s just so human. This will be another polarizing opinion but she reminds of Snape from Harry Potter. Love him or hate him he was one of the most interesting and complex characters in the series. He was flawed and human. When we strip characters of their humanity they may be likable and beautiful but they become hella boring and Mrs. Featherington was anything but.
BRIDGERTON FAMILY
As an only child I’m a sucker for large family dynamics in shows and movies. They fascinate me to no end. Siblings are such a foreign concept to me and I just love to see interesting sibling dynamics play out on screen. It was so great to see the Bridgerton family dynamic. The scene in the last episode where they’re all just hanging out and playing and singing was so wholesome and familial. It reminded me a lot of the Stark family dynamic on Game of Thrones. Also, Eloise and Benedict’s relationship was TOP TIER. If there are future seasons I would for that relationship to be explored more.
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