23. Review and Discussion of Bridgerton (2020) [Potential Spoilers]

 Now, I don't usually enjoy costume dramas - partly because of an old lecturer who was so obsessed with them it made me never want to hear of them again - but I actually found Bridgerton enjoyable. 

Bridgerton follows multiple girls attempting to find husbands in 1813, Regency Era England, narrated by the all-seeing Lady Whistledown, an anonymously ran paper documenting all of the gossip which takes place during the season.

 Filled with fancy frocks, suave suitors and a whole lot of risqué business from the very first episode, I found myself surprisingly intrigued by the show. Despite being set in 1813, the show is far from what you expect, displaying a more updated perspective on the era, with many laugh out loud scenes and some Maturely Rated ones also.

The main storyline which weaves throughout the show follows the relationship between Daphne Bridgerton, a beautiful debutante with skin that would put a Glossier model to shame, and the Duke of Hastings, Simon Basset, an extremely handsome and mysterious suitor who is set on never marrying. 

Throughout the show their relationship has it's many ups and downs, starting out as a ruse to attract attention to Daphne and find her a husband faster, but quickly developing into a 'will-they-won't-they' love story. I became extremely invested in their relationship very early on, finding myself in tears by the third episode (there are eight all together). 

However, I did find a few issues with their character development within the relationship as the show progressed, one of my main issues being that the major problem the pair have not being properly resolved on screen, and instead being dealt with through a time skip during the very final episode. Might just be me, but I thought this could have been fleshed out better in a further season rather than resolved in a rushed manner.

Away from Daphne and Simon, there are multiple other characters and storylines which I thoroughly enjoyed, including Eloise's search for Lady Whistledown and Penelope's goal to help the pregnant and unmarried Marina.

I also quite enjoyed the soundtrack, which is made up of quartet renditions of modern pop songs. At first it took me off guard, bringing me to shocked tears of laughter when I heard Ariana Grande's Thank U, Next playing at the first ball. However, after the initial shock I found that I quite enjoyed the songs, some more than the originals.

I did not, however, enjoy the disgusting amount of sideburns present in this show, and I am SO glad that they decided against giving Simon some. 

Overall, I thought Bridgerton was a great piece of entertainment, and I am excited to see where the (now confirmed) future season will take the characters. I would definitely recommend that anyone curious about the show to give it a go!

~Paige Nicole