The Beauty of Bridgerton

I am a television obsessive. I want to watch anything and everything, especially if everyone is talking about it. There is so much to watch so I rarely ever watch anything twice! But Bridgerton… oh my goodness… as soon as I finished binge watching it with my family (er yes, I did!) I had the compulsion to watch it all over again. I’m about half way through and there is so much I didn’t notice!

So it came out on Christmas day, perfect, especially while everyone was at home, in lockdown in my town, no family and no friends to see. It was exactly what we needed to cheer ourselves up. It felt like we got to be a part of this incredibly rich, diverse and entertaining television series. Of course, it’s targeted at women I suppose, adapted from the novels by Julia Quinn (which I’ve started reading too)! It didn’t matter to be honest, myself and my two teenage daughters usually outvote my husband on what to watch and actually, I think he secretly enjoyed it too!

I’d heard an inkling about a show that Shonda Rhimes was working on but this was unlike anything I’ve seen her do before. In fact, I’ve also been trying to watch How To Get Away With Murder which I actually found confusing and a little depressing. I’ve loved Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice, and Scandal. She’s brilliant at feminist, diverse and topical work. She covers romance, careers, and strong independent women feature heavily. How could I not enjoy her work.

So for a new show set in England, I was surprised, especially with it being set in the Regency period. How do you get a powerful, diverse range of independent women set in a period of time in our history where women have little say in what happens in their lives, especially women of colour? Well… you don’t! You take modern values and you create a fantasy and mix it with a bit of historical fashion and fancy. Why not??

The books don’t have any of this diversity of race. The Duke, Simon Basset is meant to be blonde with piercing eyes and “black reputation” – yep, I winced at that too when I read the book. It was written a while ago so I can forgive the lack of understanding that this writer might not have had about historic negative connotations of colour. If you don’t know what I’m talking about please read Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge. I don’t have time to explain this to you.

So this very interesting concept of a colour blind cast really blew me away. How do they do this? They don’t ignore it entirely, there’s one line delivered by the gorgeous Adjoa Andoh who plays the awesome character of Lady Danbury, “We were two separate societies divided by color until a king fell in love with one of us. Look at everything it is doing for us, allowing us to become. Love, Your Grace, conquers all.”

And that’s it, with this single line, the fantasy is justified with a little twist in history! What if?? We have plenty of other television shows based on a single “what if” concept. And it’s so beautifully done. I have a few problems with yet another diverse show with a blonde white traditionally beautiful girl as the central character, “The Good Place” anyone??? It’s great that diversity is being addressed but having a beautiful blonde petite and slim woman paired with a tall dark black actor just feels a bit overused. Wouldn’t it have been amazing to have the entire Bridgerton family played by black actors?

However, they more than make up for that with the incredible Golda Rosheuvel playing Queen Charlotte! Ahhh she is just perfection, her diction is gorgeous, and her movements and mannerism just stunning. Between her and Lady Danbury, this show has everything I expect from Shonda Rhimes. And I’ve seen Adjoa perform live in a show once at the Royal Albert Hall, she is utterly captivating! I’m obsessed with her!

I also have to say how much I admired the characters of Eloise and Penelope. Eloise for her sharp wit and her feminist views and Penelope for her sweet nature and generosity that an underdog always captivates her audience with. I’m following Nicola Coughlan on Instagram, she’s just adorable and I loved her in Derry Girls.

There were so many things I loved about this show! The costumes were so detailed! Colours were bright and beautiful and I spotted what looked very much like the detailed embroidery you would only get from the workmanship done in India, and I’m lucky enough to own a few very much like them. The other thing I noticed was the FOOD, the food was so beautiful! The little tiny sandwiches and cakes in soft pastels and pretty pinks, I was salivating!

Finally, the setting which apparently was set around Bath. I adore Bath, I’ve been three times and it’s one of my favourite cities in England. It’s just so gorgeous and so much has been maintained to keep that old world look with grand and detailed decor literally everywhere.

So yes, it’s quite unrealistic, it’s a total fantasy, and its the antidote to the times we’re living in right now. We’re all going through some tough stuff at the moment. We can’t get out, we can’t see our families, we can’t see our friends, we can’t go to parties, or go shopping, or eat out, or go to the theatre and this show has elements of all things social we are missing so desperately now, dusted with sugary, pretty, details and gorgeous actors to salivate over. OMG so much gaze on beautiful people.

Yes it’s a bit sexy too, and ahem, a little uncomfortable to watch with my children, but you can tell they worked hard with some specialist intimacy coordinators because the sex is consensual and healthy and everything I would hope young women would see as something to enjoy and not be ashamed of. Growing up in a culture of shame around sex and bodies, this is something I love to see, even if I had to fast forward while watching with my teenage daughters. I really don’t mind if they watch this on their own either, it’s perfectly natural and beautiful, and aren’t we all a bit tired of seeing sex on screen the way MEN think it ought to look like?

So if you haven’t seen Bridgerton yet, what are you waiting for? I’ve just watched this scene where Daphne enters the ballroom from the top of the stairs in this beautiful white dress and it’s definitely a tribute to Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady. The references to pop culture are unmissable, especially the music! What’s not to love about this show? – I dare you to ask yourself!

So I’m back and blogging again and I have so many other shows I’m enjoying at the moment – The Masked Singer, Cobra Kai, Selena, The Queen’s Gambit and This Is Us. I don’t know about you but food and television are joys that this pandemic can’t take away from me.