Bridgerton made its debut to screens in 2020 and it quickly became one of the most talked about and popular shows on Netflix around the world. Season 2 graced screens in 2022 and proved to be just as popular as the first season. Now, in 2024, season 3 is premiering and the anticipation across the word has been monumental, however, I just didn’t understand the excitement… until now.

You’d think that as someone who watches plenty of Netflix and writes many reviews, a four year time span would have provided plenty of opportunity to watch what is arguably one of Netflix’s most popular shows, but Bridgerton just was never on my radar. Romance is far from my preferred viewing genre – in fact, I just find it so cringe and I hate it – and Bridgerton is 100% romance, so I absolutely avoided it at all costs. If you are unfamiliar with the series, it it revolves around a family (the Bridgertons) and is set in London’s ton (ton = fashionable upper class society) in the early 1800s during the Regency Era and takes place during the social season where young marriageble nobility and gentry are introduced into society; or in simpler terms, it takes place during the Spring season where young women are put out into society to find a husband (sounds completely unromantic when you put it that way).

The announcement of season 3 had the world in a whirlwind of excitement, and the more anticipation that was building around this show the more curious I got about what the big deal was with this show. So, I made the decision to force myself to hit the play button and binge watch season 1 and 2 in the lead up to season 3. I was expecting to absolutely hate this experience and I honestly thought I was going to cringe my way through every nauseating bit of romance that was being thrust into my eyeballs, however, by episode 3 of season 1 I was beginning to see the appeal and by episode 4 of season 1 I was completely taken and obsessed with what I was watching; so obsessed in fact that I had to watch the spin off series Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story to fill the void while I awaited Bridgerton season 3.

So, what was it about Bridgerton that pulled this anti-romance human in so deeply? Well, if I am honest, the way that Lady Whistledown would spill the tea on society was so alluring that I developed this all-consuming need to know all the little secrets of the ton and to try to figure out the identity of Lady Whistledown. The drama was also so intense and captivating, it was quite difficult not to get caught up in it all. I also quite liked the alternate take on history during the Regent Era, with the reimagining of Queen Charlotte as a Black Woman and the resulting impact of that having brought People of Colour into equality in society, which was excellent in giving people around the world of all backgrounds a chance to see themselves represented on the screen in this period piece story and I am all about representation and inclusivity. Also, perhaps there may have also been something alluring about the forbidden nature of giving into your desires… the spice was spicing and I mean, I’m human, I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t into it.

I got through both season 1 and season 2 quite quickly, and I found myself caught up in the hysteria of anticipation of season 3. I am thankful that I have only had to wait a mere 2 weeks in comparison to the 2 years for many other Bridgerton fans. Overall, I really enjoyed the series, but I have different feelings about each season, so let me look at each one separately.

Bridgerton season 1 followed the story of debutant and Diamond of the season, Daphne Briderton as she was introduced to society and embarked on her journey to find a husband. This story was so full of drama and scandal and spice and romance on the highest scale. It was a cliché tale of the truest of love and deepest of desire hidden behind a display of deep disdain for one another, however within this cliché of which I would usually find immensely cringy, I actually found it to be immensely captivating.

I feel like the diversity and the interracial love story of Daphne and Simon (the Duke) was so perfect as it was an accurate representation of real life (albeit not historically accurate, but this show isn’t that so we won’t pretend that it is) and in displaying that love is love. However, the interracial aspect of their love story wasn’t what was the alluring aspect of their love story, because if I am completely honest, I am of the belief that love is love and it meets no bounds regardless of sex, gender or race; the most alluring aspect for me was the immense amount of societal expectations that forbode them from one another. Not only were they not allowed to be alone together (especially out in the gardens) as was just a societal rule of the times, but Simon was a friend of her eldest brother Anthony, and we all know the unspoken code of the brotherhood that you just don’t date (or bed) your friend’s younger sister. However, as fate would have it, their desire to be together outweighed their ability to deny themselves and as drama hit peak of Everest levels, they finally gave themselves to each other and figured out how to overcome their obstacles and live happily ever after, proving that love conquers all and cliché love stories can in fact still be beautiful love stories.

Season 1 also introduced me to some very favourable characters that I could not wait to find out more about, including Lady Danbury, Eloise Bridgerton, Penelope Featherington, and Queen Charlotte. I found these characters to be immensely interesting and I was – and still am – eager to find out more about them.

One major disappointment about season 1 however was that the identity of Lady Whistledown was revealed to the audience at the end. I was quite enjoying the sleuthing of trying to figure out who she was, and I feel like that fin was taken away way too early. With the knowledge of Lady Whistledown’s identity, the end of Daphne and Simon’s love story, and the knowledge that I do not generally like the romance genre, I was left wondering what was left for me to like in this show and whether I would enjoy season 2. Alas, I stuck to my plans of watching both season 1 and 2 in the lead up to season 3, and I hit that play button on season 2.

In season 2, Eloise Bridgerton makes her reluctant introduction into society as she is now of marriageable age. However, she is more interested in continuing her endeavours to discover the identity of Lady Whistledown rather than finding a husband. Also, this chapter isn’t really about Eloise finding love; it’s actually more about Anthony Bridgerton finally deciding to marry. This is such a tumultuous storyline, and while it is incredibly captivating, it is also incredibly infuriating and heartbreaking.

I’ll try to keep this as brief and neutral as possible because it really does infuriate me so much; basically, in Anthony’s bid to find the perfect pedigree of a wife, he ignores his true feelings towards his better match (and more age appropriate) Kate Sharma, and spends the season courting her younger sister and Diamond of the season, Edwina Sharma. Just like in season 1 with Daphne and Simon, Anthony and Kate display a deep rivalry and disdain for each other until they finally realise their feelings but find that it is too late because Anthony and Edwina are already betrothed to wed. However, Anthony finds that he can no longer restrain himself behind the declaration of “I am a gentleman” and he proceeds to do some very ungentlemanly things with Kate. Anyway, after a lot of drama, and heartache and humiliation, Anthony and Kate marry and live happily ever after.

There is so much about this particular love story that infuriates me. Like the fact that Anthony was clearly infatuated with Kate upon first meeting her, yet pushed her aside for her younger sister just because of status, and yet despite his feelings for Kate growing he continued to court her sister and allow Edwina to fall in love with him and he ultimately humiliated her at the alter on their wedding day. Then Edwina ends up just forgiving everything and Kate and Anthony get married and live happily ever after as if all that heartache with Edwina didn’t happen. One could argue that the societal expectation of not dating your sibling’s friend like in season 1 could also apply here, but this is just way different; Kate and Edwina are sisters – well, half-sisters, but siblings all the same – and it just feels a bit ick and unnatural to me that after all that humiliation and heartache that Edwina would just accept it and forgive it… or maybe she’s just a better person than I am even though she isn’t even a real person.

Also, the side drama with Eloise exploded when she discovered that her best friend had not only betrayed her but was in fact Lady Whistledown. I can not wait to see the complete aftermath of that going into season 3.

Yes, I know, this isn’t an actual season and is a spin-off series to Bridgerton, however it was the perfect fill for the void between season 2 and season 3 of Bridgerton and it was the perfect prequel story to the entire Bridgerton story.

Like Bridgerton, this story is a historical reimagining and tells the story of the marriage between Queen Charlotte and King George. Well, actually, there are two plot lines in this miniseries; there is the marriage between Queen Charlotte and King George III and the exploration of their love and George’s mental illness, and there is the present Bridgerton timeline where the death of the Royal Heir Princess Charlotte causes an event in which Queen Charlotte must put pressure on her children to marry and produce another Royal Heir.

Not only does this series connect the past and the present timelines, it gives some rather important background story to not just Queen Charlotte and King George, but other significant characters in the Bridgerton series including Lady Danbury and Lady Violet Bridgerton. At first I had wondered why Lady Danbury and Violet Bridgerton were so heavily involved in this spin-off series and I had thought that it was a cheap attempt at just keeping a connection between the stories. However, it made complete sense for Lady Danbury to be there as she is Queen Charlotte’s Lady-in-Waiting and learning about her story and how she got to where she is was relevant. Violet Bridgerton’s involvement in the series however didn’t make much sense until later on when the connection between her and Lady Danbury was brought to light; if Lady Whistledown were to ever find out it would be quite the scandal!

Backstory aside, I absolutely adored this story. It made so much about Queen Charlotte’s character in Bridgerton make sense and actually completely changed my entire perception of her. The love story of her and George was so heartbreaking yet so beautiful; it is a beautiful and true love that has faced and overcome many obstacles. It is a story of true devotion.

Not a lot of prequels or spin-offs get it right, but this one… this was perfect.

Season 3 will be releasing in 2 parts, with part 1 premiering on Netflix on May 16th (tonight!) and part 2 releasing on June 13th (my birthday!) and we will be getting the beautiful slow-burning love story of Colin and Penelope and I actually can not wait!

Obviously I don’t have anything to recap here except to share my complete and utter excitement to continue watching the drama and the love stories unfold… and see what Lady Whistledown has to say this season. I’m also interested to see if that revelation between Violet Bridgerton and Lady Danbury will come into this season in any way. I guess we will just have to wait and see…

---

Follow me on my socials to stay up to date with my diary:

• Instagram
• Threads
• TikTok