Always a pleasure, never a chore (but sometimes a little saccharine): Bridgerton is back! Having tied the zeitgeist in its 2020 debut, and accelerated its young stars into household names in the process, it's strange to note that this is merely the Netflix period drama's third outing for people those who don't like period dramas. That's a real credit to the show: Bridgerton has established its fascinating but relaxing version of Regency Mayfair with aplomb. It is an immaculately built dream land; the pinnacle of comfortable television.
It's also immediately clear that Bridgerton is benefiting from already having two seasons under his belt, laying the groundwork for the most captivating courtship yet. Each series so far has focused on different members of the Bridgerton children based on Julia Quinn's novels: Daphne (Phoebe Dynevor) found love with Regé-Jean Page's Duke of Hastings, before eldest son Anthony (Jonathan Bailey) met her partner in 26- year-old “spinster” Kate Sharma (Simone Ashley).
Creator: Chris Van Dusen
Stars: Nicola Coughlan, Claudia Jessie, Luke Newton
This season sees Francesca Bridgerton, a poised pianist with a professional approach to marriage, make her debut in society. However, the real heart of these first four episodes (the final four will premiere in mid-June) is the long-simmering romance between Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) and his neighbor Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan).
Colin, recently returned from more travels, now has his charming scoundrel role down to a tee: he spends his afternoons flirting with giggly debutantes and his nights wasting his life in the local den of iniquity. Penelope, meanwhile, can feel herself sliding toward singleness; With her sisters married, her widowed mother now treats her more like her own life partner than an eligible single woman. Desperate to avoid this fate, the former wallflower spends her money on a chic makeover and recruits Colin, for whom she has long had a candle, to help her find a suitor.
Sure, you can see the twist from a mile away, but to complain about that would be missing the point entirely: Bridgerton is all wish-fulfillment. This is a fantasy from the past fueled by infatuation, something that initially involved a headline-grabbing embrace of on-screen banter. The third season is light on bedroom action, but when the anticipation hits it's almost unbearable.
Speaking of unbearable, there are certain aspects of Bridgerton that make it difficult to love. There's the stilted, choppy dialogue (for a quick fix to the old-timey vibe, the script objects to almost every linguistic contraction) that can be horribly irritating, plus the bloated threads that bookend virtually every conversation, imbuing every scene with a Superficial sentimentality. While the show's racially diverse cast remains revolutionaryly inclusive, Bridgerton isn't even remotely concerned with the poor souls who facilitate all the luxury and service enjoyed by members of polite society.
The things Bridgerton does well, however, it does very, very well. The dynamic between Colin and Penelope (a high-status boy falls for a seemingly undesirable girl) is common (see everything from Jane Eyre to She's All That), but here it hasn't lost any of its century-old appeal. That has partly to do with the acting: Coughlan is sensational as a woman who sinks into humiliation but can't give up hope, while Ruth Gemmell and Polly Walker's performances as the meddling moms of the Bridgerton and Featherington clans They give the show its substance. And instead of the endlessly boring conversations and painfully slow plot developments of the period dramas of yesteryear, Bridgerton is bright and leisurely. You can tell from the cleverness and relentless fun that this is an American show, but it is well versed in the theme of fiery English reserve.
Yet for all the heady, slow-burn romance of these episodes, we know it can't last. Penelope not only had fun looking at the Bridgertons' home through the living room window. She has been working as Lady Whistledown, the gossip whose publication spreads scandalous information in the rarefied circles of high society. Last season, this was discovered by Pen's former best friend, Eloise Bridgerton, after Whistledown published potentially ruinous accusations about her. She has also insulted Colin. How will Penelope keep her alter ego a secret?
Solving that problem will be Bridgerton's biggest challenge to date. For now, we remain absorbed in the marriage market, a premise that is renewed every season and whose appeal is enduring. As we dive into season three, the show's delights remain blindingly obvious and it's possible to overlook its flaws. Like the loving couples it follows, Bridgerton's honeymoon phase is far from over.
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