Dishing on Netflix's Bridgerton (2021) with my Dear Friend, Jaslyn
There will also be some very frank discussions of the sex scenes, sorry mum.
I started Bridgerton not long after it dropped on Netflix. I had heard good things from my best friend, Jaslyn, and from the first episode, I was hooked. But then something happened, I just suddenly stopped watching it.
Some time passed and I let Jaslyn know that my interest had mysteriously waned, to which she only said, “Well, you must finish it so we can talk about it!”
Cut to a day later, having binged the last four to six episodes of the show (it's all a blur) Jaslyn and I embarked on an epic discussion about all things Bridgerton. I will present this conversation to you now. Edited for more clarity, of course.
Let’s begin with our thoughts at the close of the show’s first season.
Jaslyn- What did you think of the Bridgerton ending?Ellen- So good! It’s all just really good fun. Still mad at Daphne for forcing Hastings to cum inside her and then having the audacity to make it out like HE was the one in the wrong. But I guess that’s what a lack of sex ed will do to you.
As you may know, there was a sexual assault scene in Bridgerton between the romantic leads. This season’s main heroine, Daphne Bridgerton, forces her husband, The Duke of Hastings, to ejaculate inside her vaginal canal. Meaning that they were risking getting her pregnant.
The Duke had a horribly abusive father and promised him on his deathbed that the familial line would end with him. In other words, he doesn’t want babies. He made this abundantly clear to Daphne before they wed BUT she misunderstood. Daphne thought that Hastings was unable to impregnate her. It’s out of Daphne’s frame of reference that someone could choose not to have children.
After a crash course in sex education from her lady's maid, Daphne realised Simon was using the withdrawal method to avoid getting her pregnant. This essentially meant that Daphne sexually assaulted the Duke by forcing him to not withdraw. Anyway, back to the discussion.
Jaslyn- Yeah it's so fucked eh. At least he was awake in the TV adaptation.
The Duke was not awake during the sexual assault scene in the book that the show is based on called The Duke and I by Julia Quinn.
Ellen- Oh true. I watched a YouTube video about the sexual assault scene and it’s handled really poorly in both the book and the show. I kinda feel like they should have done away with that plotline in the adaptation. It just makes Daphne look really bad where she’s a pretty great character otherwise.
Jaslyn- Mhmm some great qualities and some terrible ones.
Ellen- I get the appeal to have complicated characters but that went a little too extreme for me. Still liked Daphne at the end of the season though, and that’s a credit to the show's writing. She shouldn’t have married someone who said he didn’t want kids, but I can see the pressures of her society made her overlook that, and also her genuine strong feelings for him.
At this point, Jaslyn drops a hot take. Letting me know that she does not ship the Duke and Daphne.
Jaslyn-I shipped her [Daphne] with the Prince more. She wanted the bad boy even when he said he wasn't interested.
Ellen- Wait what???? Oh yea, you’re not a fan of the bad boy trope in romances. I think the Prince and Daphne had zero chemistry while the Duke brought out the fire in her. I was into their romance and happy when they got together. I can’t believe you think the Prince is the better option!! He’s so boring
Jaslyn- Seemed like a good guy to me, the Duke is straight-up cruel to Daphne.
Ellen- Yea he pushes her away for sure. The Duke in the book is straight-up abusive! But don’t you just for once want to be with the popular opinion? Lol fair enough I guess, you’re very right about John Ambrose [from To All The Boys I've Loved Before]. So you weren’t even convinced when they were all happy together at the end of the season?
For context, Jaslyn is well known amongst her friends for having unusual takes when it comes to attractive men. She is a strong advocate for the attractiveness of Rowan Atkinson, an opinion that I can’t support. This is so well known amongst our friends that Rowan is now known by the moniker “The Silver Badger.” Jaslyn also believes that Kevin Jonas is the best looking Jonas brother. She also ships Lara-Jean and John Ambrose in the To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before franchise, rather than the fan favourite, Peter Kavinsky.
Jaslyn- It was a good resolution, shame it took so much shitty behaviour to get there.
Ellen- True. They both acted like shits. Hastings is a total self-destructive shit. Because you know he’s all “damaged”
On the side-characters and subplots
Jaslyn- I'm a big fan of the youngest and middle Bridgerton brothers. That oldest is a complete twat. Do you think Miss Thompson is hotter than Daphne?Early on in the series, Daphne is pitted against another young woman seeking out a husband this season, Marina Thompson. Marina is staying with the Featheringtons, who are Penelope and her family. Marina becomes the most popular choice of the season. This means Daphne has only the nasty Nigel Berbrooke trying to court her.
Ellen-I don’t really care for any of the brothers lol. The women characters are all way more interesting to me. I did feel for Anthony with the soprano though, her speech about looking out for herself because no one else will is very moving.
I’m talking about the eldest Bridgerton brother, Anthony, and his passionate affair with an opera singer, Siena Rosso. Anthony can never marry Siena because she has a lower status in their society and it would cause a scandal for the whole Bridgerton family. The soprano eventually rejects Anthony’s invitation to make their affair public in favour of looking out for herself and not dealing with the fall out of being with Anthony.
Ellen-Daphne is just as pretty but yea Miss Thompson is hotter. She has more of a backbone and personality. The script did her so dirty!! She was the storyline’s punching bag! Threw so much shit at her. Maybe next season she can get her comeuppance. I also love that “the next season” has a double meaning!
Jaslyn-Yeah she is pretty, I don't understand why that meant Daphne was suddenly unmarriable trash though??
Ellen-I think it’s a case of everyone wanting to win the diamond of the ball and Marina became a stand-in for that for a while. It was a play on how fickle people can be I suppose.
Jaslyn- Yeah I just resent that every guy (except fuckin Nigel lol) to be uncaring about looks or personality and only cares about securing The Diamond. Surely there are attraction preferences somewhere?? Or they know only one guy can marry Thompson so better cover bases by courting Daphne too?
Ellen-True. That was pretty extreme for sure. I guess securing marriages at the time was a lot more about status than attraction or even love. It’s also a very historically inaccurate period drama so...I guess they could have done anything with the script.
Ellen-I don’t really care for any of the brothers lol. The women characters are all way more interesting to me. I did feel for Anthony with the soprano though, her speech about looking out for herself because no one else will is very moving.
I’m talking about the eldest Bridgerton brother, Anthony, and his passionate affair with an opera singer, Siena Rosso. Anthony can never marry Siena because she has a lower status in their society and it would cause a scandal for the whole Bridgerton family. The soprano eventually rejects Anthony’s invitation to make their affair public in favour of looking out for herself and not dealing with the fall out of being with Anthony.
Ellen-Daphne is just as pretty but yea Miss Thompson is hotter. She has more of a backbone and personality. The script did her so dirty!! She was the storyline’s punching bag! Threw so much shit at her. Maybe next season she can get her comeuppance. I also love that “the next season” has a double meaning!
Jaslyn-Yeah she is pretty, I don't understand why that meant Daphne was suddenly unmarriable trash though??
Ellen-I think it’s a case of everyone wanting to win the diamond of the ball and Marina became a stand-in for that for a while. It was a play on how fickle people can be I suppose.
Jaslyn- Yeah I just resent that every guy (except fuckin Nigel lol) to be uncaring about looks or personality and only cares about securing The Diamond. Surely there are attraction preferences somewhere?? Or they know only one guy can marry Thompson so better cover bases by courting Daphne too?
Ellen-True. That was pretty extreme for sure. I guess securing marriages at the time was a lot more about status than attraction or even love. It’s also a very historically inaccurate period drama so...I guess they could have done anything with the script.
On the real Diamonds of the season, the costuming
Ellen-Jaslyn, the costumes, you have not commented on the true stars of the show, that fake french bitch Madame Delacroix and her works of ART. Funnily enough, Delacroix is the name of a famous artist. It was distracting at times! At one point Colin was wearing a velvet teal coat and it was so beautiful I was distracted by it while he was telling off Marina.
Look, I'm not going to tell you every plot point. If you're too lazy to watch the show read a Wikipedia article or something.
Jaslyn-I went to primary school with a Delacroix. The costumes were gorgeous, empire line dresses are so flattering! I loved the hair too
Ellen-Maybe it was the same Delacroix? Is that the long skirt weird boob tube dresses they all wear? Boobs look weird, everyone looks pregnant. But I guess pregnancy is not a bad look. I just got confused if Daphne was or wasn’t pregnant because that floaty fabric made her look v ambiguous.
Jaslyn- Yea that classic style, I feel like designed to hide shape more than reveal it
Ellen-Truuuuuue. I was actually more into the men’s little structure jackets, they can spin me around the dance floor. Bridgerton, but women are just being courted by sentient jackets
At this point, I’d like you to close your eyes and imagine the women of the season being turned about the dance floor by a bunch of pretty jackets. You’re welcome.
Jaslyn-I went to primary school with a Delacroix. The costumes were gorgeous, empire line dresses are so flattering! I loved the hair too
Ellen-Maybe it was the same Delacroix? Is that the long skirt weird boob tube dresses they all wear? Boobs look weird, everyone looks pregnant. But I guess pregnancy is not a bad look. I just got confused if Daphne was or wasn’t pregnant because that floaty fabric made her look v ambiguous.
Jaslyn- Yea that classic style, I feel like designed to hide shape more than reveal it
Ellen-Truuuuuue. I was actually more into the men’s little structure jackets, they can spin me around the dance floor. Bridgerton, but women are just being courted by sentient jackets
At this point, I’d like you to close your eyes and imagine the women of the season being turned about the dance floor by a bunch of pretty jackets. You’re welcome.
On the elaborate sex scenes
Ellen-My beef is not with the courting but all the “incredible” sex with no foreplay that is over in literal seconds. You’re telling me that Daphne touched herself a handful of times and then graduated to slippery sex with mutual orgasms in seconds? Mmmmm na not buying it.Jaslyn-Agreed!! Plus that painful-looking stairwell oral sex. I kept cracking jokes about how The Duke just "shot all over the bed, now Daphne has to sleep on it"
Ellen-They made a real thing of him cleaning up that one time as to not get it all over his desk. But daph can sleep in the wet patch no problem. And you’re right about the oral, she was always upright!! Give her some relaxing bed oral!! Every time a woman in a TV show stops the oral because she “needs more” a clitoris somewhere in the world dies, I swear.
Jaslyn-Lol good point "stop, I need less but you'll think it's more"
Ellen- Who is this for?? I’m sure 99% of the audience is women.
On our general confusion about women’s hygiene and grooming habits
Jaslyn-Also not discussed, how often does Daphne bathe? Does she have massive pubes? Is there a lavatory off the bedroom or does she piss in a pot next to the Duke??
Ellen-Maybe not very often? Ew. Also, what’s up with her hair?? She seems to have two entirely different wigs?? That’s some magic right there. Yes!! Probably massive pubes!! People as in love as the Duke and Daphne share a pot, of course. Those who mingle their wee together stay together.
Jaslyn-I can't imagine irl having someone do your hair all fancy every morning. Yea I guess wigs were a thing too as a result. Yeah the massive pubes thing, just bugged me that Duke just went to town under her dress and didn't need to guide any bush out of his way.
Ellen-Maybe not very often? Ew. Also, what’s up with her hair?? She seems to have two entirely different wigs?? That’s some magic right there. Yes!! Probably massive pubes!! People as in love as the Duke and Daphne share a pot, of course. Those who mingle their wee together stay together.
Jaslyn-I can't imagine irl having someone do your hair all fancy every morning. Yea I guess wigs were a thing too as a result. Yeah the massive pubes thing, just bugged me that Duke just went to town under her dress and didn't need to guide any bush out of his way.
On the best characters, Eloise and Pen
Ellen- I can’t wait for season 2! Maybe I won’t take such a long mid-season break this time. Who do you want to see more of? Eloise and Pen ship. Make it happen, Shonda.Jaslyn-I really wanted Pen to get her man. 😒
Ellen- I’m in two minds about it...like would he go for Pen? Actually, that would be really cute. Yea let’s do it. Or someone even better. So frustrating she didn’t tell him her true feelings. Is she making money as Mrs Weatherdown or whatever her pen name is? Omg! PEN name! The clues were there all along.
Yes, I am now aware that her name is actually Lady Whistledown.
Jaslyn-Haha yep when I saw that I was like oh srsly, Pen name…I rewatched the episodes with the viewpoint that Pen is Whistledown and made a lot of sense.
Ellen-Also, Eloise’s face acting is next level. Like she’s always doing SOMETHING with her face.
Jaslyn- Just had some dishwasher drama. A wine glass broke inside and jammed the rotor so things didn't clean properly. Sigh
This is obviously unrelated to the show, but I felt like Jaslyn’s dishwasher drama in amongst the Bridgerton talk deserved a shout out.
Jaslyn- Yes to Eloise! She's a fucking gem, I wonder how long the actress can pull off playing a teen though! I heard it could be 8 seasons??
This is true! Bridgerton could be up to eight seasons as there are eight books in the series by Julia Quinn, each based on one of the Bridgerton siblings.
Ellen-How old is she? I know the actress playing Pen is in her thirties. I will watch it until it’s really shit lol
Jaslyn-30s as well I think
Ellen-What!!! What!!!!!!! That’s awesome. I didn’t realise that the kids are named in alphabetical order. So silly. And Francesca showing up at the end like who da fuck is that?
One of the Bridgerton siblings was absent for most of the series. Also, Jaslyn fact-checked what she said about the actress playing Eloise being in her 30s.
Jaslyn-31 years old
At this point, I obsess about the ages of the actors and their characters. But we won’t elaborate on that here because your time of earth is precious to me dear reader.
Yes, I am now aware that her name is actually Lady Whistledown.
Jaslyn-Haha yep when I saw that I was like oh srsly, Pen name…I rewatched the episodes with the viewpoint that Pen is Whistledown and made a lot of sense.
Ellen-Also, Eloise’s face acting is next level. Like she’s always doing SOMETHING with her face.
Jaslyn- Just had some dishwasher drama. A wine glass broke inside and jammed the rotor so things didn't clean properly. Sigh
This is obviously unrelated to the show, but I felt like Jaslyn’s dishwasher drama in amongst the Bridgerton talk deserved a shout out.
Jaslyn- Yes to Eloise! She's a fucking gem, I wonder how long the actress can pull off playing a teen though! I heard it could be 8 seasons??
This is true! Bridgerton could be up to eight seasons as there are eight books in the series by Julia Quinn, each based on one of the Bridgerton siblings.
Ellen-How old is she? I know the actress playing Pen is in her thirties. I will watch it until it’s really shit lol
Jaslyn-30s as well I think
Ellen-What!!! What!!!!!!! That’s awesome. I didn’t realise that the kids are named in alphabetical order. So silly. And Francesca showing up at the end like who da fuck is that?
One of the Bridgerton siblings was absent for most of the series. Also, Jaslyn fact-checked what she said about the actress playing Eloise being in her 30s.
Jaslyn-31 years old
At this point, I obsess about the ages of the actors and their characters. But we won’t elaborate on that here because your time of earth is precious to me dear reader.
On our thoughts about season 2
I linked an article about season two being about Anthony. His romantic pairing will be with a south Asian actress, which is very exciting!
Ellen-Oh no. Bad news for Anthony haters.
Jaslyn-Maybe Anthony will be less annoying.
Ellen-I hope so lol. He’s got a very short fuse.
Jaslyn- I'm surprised that opera singer didn't have more social status. No celebrity worship then!
Ellen-Yea I think it’s all about the title and family you’re born into back then. If you think about it, like the boxer she’s kinda just entertainment for the well to do.
Jaslyn-Yes, good point. It's funny how the boxers don't get bruised but Nigel is all kinds of fucked up [after a fistfight with Simon over Daphne].
I’m sure that my knowledge of the Regency era is limited. If I have made any mistakes in my comments, I apologise. I will say in my defence that I don’t think Julia Quinn is a regency expert either, given that she throws out historical inaccuracies without a care in the world.
Ellen-Oh no. Bad news for Anthony haters.
Jaslyn-Maybe Anthony will be less annoying.
Ellen-I hope so lol. He’s got a very short fuse.
Jaslyn- I'm surprised that opera singer didn't have more social status. No celebrity worship then!
Ellen-Yea I think it’s all about the title and family you’re born into back then. If you think about it, like the boxer she’s kinda just entertainment for the well to do.
Jaslyn-Yes, good point. It's funny how the boxers don't get bruised but Nigel is all kinds of fucked up [after a fistfight with Simon over Daphne].
I’m sure that my knowledge of the Regency era is limited. If I have made any mistakes in my comments, I apologise. I will say in my defence that I don’t think Julia Quinn is a regency expert either, given that she throws out historical inaccuracies without a care in the world.
Also, Jaslyn just has the best observations. Nothing gets past her as a viewer. That comment about the boxers was some good spotting.
Ellen- And they are brutal! No ducking gloves! I wish we still had the podcast this conversation is so good lol. Maybe I could make it into a blog post somehow. Would you be keen?
Ellen- And they are brutal! No ducking gloves! I wish we still had the podcast this conversation is so good lol. Maybe I could make it into a blog post somehow. Would you be keen?
Jaslyn-Yea! Give it some of that Ellen polish. 😊 Maybe don't spoil Whistledown though.
Did I give it some “Ellen polish”? I’m not sure that I did. Did I spoil Lady Whistledown? You better believe I did. It’s Pen!!
Thank you for reading. As I pointed out to Jaslyn, if I wrote a post about Bridgerton I would be shamelessly stealing her witty observations. At least in this format, she gets the credit for Daphne’s massive pubes comment etc.
We didn’t discuss the diverse casting of Bridgerton, but the discourse around this is fascinating and I recommend you check out some of the great videos about this by WOC on youtube.
Also, please watch this amazing video about the costuming in Bridgerton. As Karolina points out, the story plays out like fanfic of the regency era and I just loved that description.
And lastly, if you want a rundown of all the books without actually having to read them, check this one out.
How is this post so long? I hope you got as much enjoyment out of this chat as I did! Toodles.
Comments
Post a Comment