Thoughts On Netflix’s Latest Period Drama: Bridgerton
Tags: Bridgerton, Netflix, First Post, Juliaquinn, Romance Novels

Before reading any further , be warned that this series was a DNF for me. Couldn’t stomach watching it beyond the middle of fifth episode. It has quite managed to ruin the book, “The Duke and l” by Julia Quinn.

Let’s address the elephant in the room and get that out of our way , shall we ? “DIVERSE CAST” -Okay, before you go thinking that I am some white supremacist, let me inform you that ethnically I am South Asian without an ounce of “white” in me . Coming to the point, isn’t it insulting to those people not belonging to a particular era and place, to be forcefully put there ? To me, this sort of implies that there are no good stories of history or culture for POC and hence they have to be forcefully fit into fictitious stories of old white England . No sir, we POC have our own stories and our own cultures . We don’t need to be super imposed onto someone else’s history and stories .

And also, can someone tell me how this is not cultural appropriation ?🙈

My next peeve : VIOLET BRIDGERTON – There is a scene in the show where Violet tells Daphne that marriage is not just about a partner but also about children , a home and therefore she should compromise and marry Nigel Berbooke . No ! No …Just No! Anyone who has read the books knows that Violet, though a marriage minded mama, would never ever encourage her kids to marry someone they don’t love . This scene was not required at all in the storyline. Why was this added ? This scene has managed to turn the beloved sensible matriarch into a mercenary woman.😤😤

ANTHONY BRIDGERTON- Oh Anthony! What have they done to you in this series ? Anthony in the books was always an overprotective, overbearing brother .But, he was never a misogynist, setting up marriage alliances for his sister without her consent and disrespecting his mother at every turn . And if memory serves right , Anthony in the books always made it clear to Siena that he doesn’t love her and never made any false promises to her unlike what Netflix Anthony does . His actions in the series make him an irredeemable character in my eyes. How are they going to turn this jerk into a “hero” in the next season , I wonder ? 😢

ENGLISH – English is not my first language.But, I have consumed enough content from America and England to differentiate between the two “English(s)”. Except for the dialogues lifted straight from the books, all other dialogues had that American turn of phrase to them . It sounded unauthentic to my untrained ear . I may be wrong though. But, am I?

INSIPID HEROINE- Book Daphne was a strong,witty and jovial girl. Netflix Daphne was insipid and colourless. A dull Daphne plus an arrogant invulnerable Simon made me care very less for the main characters.

FALSE ANGST-I have read enough regency history romances to know that the flow chart goes like this: Ruined ->Engaged->Not ruined . Why was an engaged future duchess Daphne still worried that Cressida, a witness to her garden tryst with the duke , would ruin her ? This conflict or angst didn’t make any sense to me. It was at this point that I switched off netflix and went to bed.

There might have been many good points in the show. But other than quirky Eloise and her beloved friend Penelope, all others escape me at the time of writing this. I think I am just so disillusioned with this series. I need to reread the books and find the real Bridgertons again .Looks like my weekend plans are set.🤓