If you have been following the Bridgerton series on Netflix, you then are able to understand the craze and excitement that follows the reputation of the book adaptation. As the first few seasons of the show left fans wanting more, the incredible people behind the scenes decided to give background to what Bridgerton has come to be.
Answering questions along the lines of: Who is Queen Charlotte? What was the previous generation of each important family like, and how does it shape the main characters we have come to love? These questions and tens of others opened up the floor for an entirely new series to branch off the one we had come to know. Leaving fans eagerly awaiting May 4th, 2023 to dive into the short 6-episode season that helps unite the past and present to give watchers a clearer image of the world of Bridgerton.
In Bridgerton itself, our main focus is that of the high-ranking Bridgerton family, which revolves around Violet and the late Edmund’s eight children, as they embark on growing up in London in the early 19th century. Filled with scandal, drama, love, and a whole lot of secrets, as they each navigate what it means to them to grow up in high society with the pressures of the world around them.
The first season revolves around the eldest daughter Daphne as she is forced to marry Simon because they are caught in the garden by her brother Anthony. From a connection too strong to ignore, they end up falling in love with each other and growing their family even larger. As the second season approaches we then find Anthony, the eldest brother, in the same position, where he has to choose a woman to marry. Yet, as time goes on, he realizes he has fallin' in love with his fiance's sister, and the rest is history from there. The next season of the hit Netflix series will then be following the third eldest brother, Colin, as we find his match for love with his sister Eloise’s best friend.
As we all patiently await the third season, Netflix decided to give us Queen Charlotte. Fans gave mixed reviews as the news filled social media platforms, but as we all know, Shonda Rhimes, television writer, and producer, never disappoints the crowd. The second May 4th rolled around, hundreds of thousands of viewers turned on their TVs and Laptops, clicked on Netflix, and watched the magic fill their screens.
Reviews have been nothing but positive in every way. Whether it be revolving around the actors and actresses taking place in the world, the setting of the entire cinematic production, or the words that were beautifully written and choreographed by the team of writers for the series.
Thousands of people have already binged the six 60-minute-long episodes and have been eagerly giving their opinions and thoughts to all levels of social media. Whether it be through videos fans have made on TikTok or the reposts of images on Instagram or Twitter, there is something to be said about the draw this show has on all viewers. Whether, from the beginning, if you are interested in shows based in the 18th or 19th century, the show truly does have something for everyone.
The Bridgerton series especially shows that it takes a village to make an idea, or in this case, a book come to life on a screen. Not only does it take incredible writers, but also amazing actors/actresses, a passionate director, and everyone else in between.
The story of Queen Charlotte follows the Queen of England’s story starting from the point where she is in a carriage with her brother, being taken to marry a man she has never once met or seen. Unhappily, she recognizes that this duty is what will help her family, yet still tries to escape over a wall the day of the wedding. Who is the one in the garden that Queen Charlotte asks for help as she begins climbing the green vines covering the wall? No one is other than King George himself.
What is so beautiful about their unplanned meeting, is that they finally have the ability to see each other as human beings, and not forced partners that were chosen by others to be in charge of an entire country. Just two people who were both scared for what was to come and wanted to be seen as individuals who could make their own decision, without others weighing in on who they were supposed to be.
King George, in this small moment of time, gives Queen Charlotte the one thing she had been yearning for most of her life: a choice. He gave her the room to make the decision on if this was something she wanted for herself, and not what everyone else was telling her to do. They spend moments merely looking at each other, where she slowly turns to look at the wall and back to King George and decides that the journey of her life will lead her to the path of being in charge of a country, and she will figure out the rest along the way.
This show, altogether, is a great precursor to the series as a whole, and for the most part, gives viewers a broader understanding of the characters that we are seeing fill our screens, and at the end of the day, everyone has a story that is so important to listen to and understand. Whether that be for a show like Bridgerton or in our daily lives as well.
Edited By: Youssef Eljarray