#Bridgerton S2 Rewrite

[bridgertonnteas]

Are they trying to shift Bridgerton into more of an ensemble show like Grey’s instead of the anthology feel we’ve been getting in s1 and s2?

Do you think Polin will have a big subplot next season?

Yes, that's what I have been getting & what I have been hearing too. They slowly started it in s2 in a subtle way but went with it full force with s3 because both Pen & Colin are already known characters that have been building up through past seasons, so they felt that it wasn't needed to give them extra focus

Things I already know about s4:

1-Fran & Michaela will have a side plot to build Michaela as a character

2-If Ben is the lead, they are going to make Eloise the biggest side story and build for her romance/season with Phillip, some of the rumored production locations are related to Eloise story actually. In Ben season think of her side story as Fran side story in Polin season. If Eloise is the lead, Ben will have the biggest side story of him searching for the person he met at the masquerade ball. Again I will say that so far the talks around is that s4 is Ben's season, but we shall see when they are done with rewrites & make an official announcement

3-Polin will be back and possibly going to get more plot based on the success of their season. They are both important to Ben & Eloise's seasons, so they should get a decent side plot regardless. Pen keeping her column opens a door for a bigger storyline for them. The heir plot in s3 was to get them to live near the Bridgeton house so they could always be there too

[thekatebridgerton]

I know they're going to change Sophie I just hope they don't change everything about her. If they want to make her queer that's cool. But I will be mad if they decide they go the Strong Female Not Like The Other Girls path. That's not Sophie. This girl punched her abuser because she got sick of her mistreating her daughter.

I understand and I'm sure they won't change her personality that much, Sophie is such a resilient and kind character.

honestly don't want to get into this conversation other than to say that there is something about losing the trust of the audience and never getting it back that Bridgerton needs to work on. With time and a lot of space, I've come to understand that what was done to Michael obliterated the trust that both sides of the discourse had towards the showrunners. Which could have been avoided if there was some sort of build up towards the reveal of Michaela being a woman, maybe John could have talked about his female cousin, or maybe we could have seen some mention of a female Stirling in previous seasons.

The thing about Penelope as a love interest, is that there was a lot of build up there to position her as a love interest. Simon was introduced directly as the main romanceable character of S1 and Kate's appearance, was foreshadowed all the way to the end of s1, to the point where her appearance in s2 was expected and welcome. The show has worked to establish a void that needed to be filled in the lives of Anthony, Colin and Benedict that foreshadowed the appearance and personality of their love interest in the course of 3 seasons.

Francesca, had none of that. Furthermore the appearance of her future love interest, without any foreshadowing or previous build up, obliterated the trust the audience had in the show, when it came to future love interests. Springing a jack in the box love interest 'surprise' is only good if the surprise is something the receiver was actually looking forward to, because you let off a hint here and there. This surprise had about the same effect as a surprise marriage proposal from a person you're not sure you want to spend the rest of your life with (No shade to Penelope tho).

I keep hearing things like 'will Sophie be changed to Cressida?' or 'Will Sophie even be a woman?' and a lot of other things that basically boil down to the same question 'What will happen to Sophie? because the showrunners just proved we can't trust them anymore' and my honest reply is that, like all of you, I don't know either. There is a lot of uncertainty, that has been growing and growing ever since the show started changing major plotlines in s2, and culminated with that sucker punch to viewers trust in s3. You all have a right to be worried, I am too, for all we know Sophie could be changed into Cressida, Sienna or Theo, they could bring in Hunter Schafer to play Sophie just as they could Brandy Norwood, Manny Hacinto or Camilla Cabello. The possibilities are endless, some people will like it some will not, the common denominator is that those endless possibilities were created by breaking the viewer trust in the show's capabilities of making a book accurate adaptation. Some of you are okay with that some of you are not.

Either way, whatever they do will be what Nextflix and the Bridgerton showrunners want, depending on a multitude of factors (timing, money, covid, many script rewrites, money, which executive got dismissed and which got hired in the HR department, did I mention money), factors that, as has been proven time and time again, have nothing to do with the viewer wishes.

So if you're one of those viewers who has seen the stars align and with your wishes and the wishes of the showrunners powers that be, congratulations.... you've hit the jackpot, and all future Bridgerton seasons will be exactly as you want them to be. Oh.. do I hear a smidge of uncertainty from you too, dear viewer who was completely satisfied last season and got everything they wanted?. What do you mean you also don't trust the show to deliver on what they promised in s4? I'm sorry I can't help you, must be some sort of fluke in the matrix.

As for the rest of us, who have gone trough our share of highs and lows, and especially to the Benophie nation, all I can say is to stay strong and hope that good things will happen in the s4 production. We got 2 years, Sophie may not be what we all expect, but we will love her anyway, or at the very least, we will support whoever the show casts as Sophie.

And that's the tea

[triviareads]

i love your bridgerton takes and i’m curious - if you had a chance to rewrite s2 of bridgerton, what changes would you make?

ah thanks! you know, it's been two years and at this point I've kinda resigned myself to Shondaland's priorities (unnecessary drama, lady whistledown) and what they're disregarding (people of color, queer rep, the actual historical romance-ness of it all), but here's how I would rewrite Bridgerton season two:

Without explaining exactly what India's role in this post-but-not-really-post-racial world is, I'm uncomfortable with the colonial implications there as well as the fact that that they made the Sharmas from India, as opposed to the casting the exact same actors— Simone Ashley, Charithra Chandran, Shelley Conn— and having them be from Somerset. Hell, they could have kept some of the same customs like the Haldi and oiling hair, but made the Sharmas like allllll the other POCs in the ton; no one knows how they got there, but they're equal now so.... yay.

I also dislike how culturally confused the Sharmas were; they were using words from multiple Indian languages because the writers thought they'd do this weird pan-Indian culture for them. Pick a language, pick a region for them to be from, and stick to it

"Kathani" as a name should never have existed: here's all my research on why it's a name that means nothing, which is the antithesis of Indian culture, where name meanings matter. it's also insulting that her "actual" name was only used once; clearly the writers thought it was too ethnic to be used when she was introduced to us and other characters, but they wanted to pander to desi people so they included ONE Kathani in the end.

I want the Sharmas as a group to have WAY more screen time. I also think the family dynamic was royally mischaracterized. The writers were lazy and decided to make Kate's role in the family echo Anthony's which resulted in her basically.... taking over? And the results were disastrous even though she obviously meant well. A more feminist take, to me, would be this idea of all 3 Sharma ladies doing their part and pulling through together (well Mary and Kate a little more than Edwina) because there is no patriarch to provide for them, and that's something they could really have honed in on. So Kate and Mary would be making a lot of tough choices together, while Edwina is painfully cognizant that she's gonna be the one to marry up and provide for her family.

Because the Sharmas would be from Somerset, I think their backstory would be very similar to the book; dad is dead, they've scraped and saved up for one season, Kate is going to make a *sensible* match in the country (as opposed to having no marriage aspirations at all, which I found so weird considering she was 18ish when her dad died and COULD have married to save her family, regardless of her dowry or lackthereof she's a beautiful woman whose father clearly had some status as a royal secretary so that entire line of reasoning that she HELD OFF on marriage and decided to train Edwina to be the Ideal Debutante is bullshit on the writer's part to me) but Edwina is gonna be the shining star diamond who marries a rich enough dude to save all of them from destitution

Newton makes Anthony fall into the lake while he's still courting Edwina (similar to the scene's placement in the book)

And similar to the book I'd much rather Anthony take his courtship of Edwina only so far, like, honestly I'd be chill if he compromised Kate while still courting Edwina. I think it's unrealistic for Edwina to be entirely fine with this turn of events like she was in the books but the blowout would never have been necessary, and quite frankly, I think Edwina shrieked at Kate about the wrong things in the show. I'd personally be horrified my sister is conducting an affair with my suitor/fiancé and more importantly for Edwina, I think I'd want to know why, if my sister liked this guy, does she not think she's good enough for him and why does she keep throwing Edwina at him?

I'd do an extended study scene where not only do they talk about Edmund, but they also talk about Kate's dad who, when he died, left an even bigger gap in their family because like I said earlier, he was the male figure and it was SO Hard without a male in the family back then; The Bridgertons were actually lucky because Anthony was of age and was able to take over where it mattered most, with Violet's guidance. So that's what I'd want them to talk about and bond over.

I'd LOVE the book compromise moment; I think it's the most hysterical part of TVWLM and I'd want Portia Featherington to utter the immortal lines "Lud, girl, he had his mouth on your bubbies, and we all saw it." But then I think Kate should have refused to marry him because she she can't reconcile her dislike of him with her attraction buuuuuuuut then they have a blowout argument in the gazebo and then he eats her out and dickmatizes her into agreeing to marry him. They should have fucked a lot sooner than episode 7 because the chemistry was THERE and a compromise-turn-marriage plot like the book would allow for it. So less face-breathing, more fucking.

And that would lead to the wedding we all wanted to see except it's fraught with drama because a) the scandal and b) Kate still thinks she's Anthony's second choice

I'd loooooove a wedding night seduction scene

And then the issue becomes similar to the book's conflict at this point— Anthony still fears for his mortality, while Kate is falling for him but feels trapped in this marriage because she can't.... express those feelings because Anthony doesn't want love in their marriage

And then, fine, Kate has that riding accident except this time after she confesses her love and he freaks out and the accident is the nudge they need to make up and finally confess their love for each other

No Cousin Jack— that was such a bullshit plot because a) if he wasn't dicking down Portia while being engaged to her daughter what even was the point and b) he left in such a definitive way at the end of S2 so again, what was the point

We didn't need an episode devoted to the inner machinations of how Lady Whistledown works, nor did we need Marina implicitly endorsing polin which is so fucking disgusting considering Penelope literally shamed her into a botched abortion. I'd also like for Penelope to not microaggress Kate (calling a brown woman a "beast")

I think the Sheffield plot could have been reworked in some way; sure maybe Mary ran from her aristocratic family to marry a poor gentleman and they disowned her and now they're dangling an inheritance over their heads. I think it could have been more neatly done.

Colin's ponzi scheme crusher arc was unnecessary and dull

I liked where they took Benedict's arc actually; you really got the sense he wanted love but doesn't quite know what it is yet (his poem he gives to Anthony feels like he's worshipping a muse, not loving them for who they are), and he's in a shitty place by the end and doubting his abilities as an artist...... which would be a GREAT time for a love interest for him to come in

Eloise slumming it for a hot minute could have been done wayyyyy better starting with a hotter man, more chemistry, and more exploration

[lavellenchanted]

Since I know you have Opinions™ on this: ☕️ for Bridgerton Netflix?

Ooooh, now you're asking.

In general, I enjoy it as some light entertainment - it's a fun, frothy soap opera with lots of pretty people and dresses. I appreciate that they're more interested in the Regency Aesthetic than historical accuracy, so a lot of things that would annoy me in a more serious period drama I can just ignore to enjoy Bridgerton for what it is.

I'm not particularly bothered in principle by their decision to stay from the book plots, because as much as I like the books there is a lot about them that has not aged well in the 20+ years since they were published and just would not work in a modern TV show.

In reality, however, I think they've made some pretty terrible decisions in how they've strayed from the books and chosen to adapt things that has been more about adding drama for drama's sake rather than because the conflicts they're inventing actually serve the storytelling. Personally, I think most of the added conflict has actually made several of the characters less likeable.

The issues with Daphne and Simon have been gone over at length since S1 came out but Whistledown, for example - they wanted her to have more teeth and be a bigger threat than she is in the books, where she's really only a framing device, but the long term effect is to make Penelope much less sympathetic and even dislikeable as she's seen to betray those around her.

The Marina storyline was an absolute catastrophe from start to finish that does nothing for anyone involved. Colin looks like a fool, Penelope looks catty and vindictive, Marina's cruel if understandable and getting viewers invested in her a character is going to have terrible repercussions when it comes time to adapt To Sir Phillip with Love (assuming they intend to stick with the book endgames, although I don't really see the point of even introducing Sir Phillip if that's not the plan).

Anthony was already thrown under the bus in S1 by making him the reason why Daphne is getting any suitors instead of it being about Daphne being determined to hold out for a love match like her parents, and the storyline they chose to go with for S2 caused me to end up really disliking both Anthony and Kate, despite the fact that Anthony was my favourite Bridgerton in the books. And they dragged the drama out so long that instead of resolving the conflicts properly they had to shorehorn in some quick resolutions that weren’t earned so they could wrap everything up in a bow by the end.

I could list a whole lot more but that would be so long so let me to saying that what’s particularly frustrating is that I feel so many of these issues could be solved so easily. I could write a much longer post on how I would rewrite both seasons but just for example:

have Simon getting too caught up in the moment to remember to pull out and then freaking out about it, leaving Daphne confused and feeling betrayed

keep Daphne at the same age she is in the books, and feeling the pressure of new debs coming on the scene

if you really want Marina as a foil to Daphne, keep her as a Bridgerton cousin that Violet’s trying to help, with Penelope suspicious about her secret and then discovering it but ultimately choosing not to out her in Whistledown because that’s not what she wants to be

also don’t have her throw Eloise under the bus and destroy the only significant female friendship on the show

don’t go all the way to an Anthony/Edwina wedding! Have Edwina find out about Kate and Anthony in episode 3/4 at Aubrey Hall, and then spend the rest of the season actually building up the relationship between Anthony and Kate without the issue of Edwina between them so you can allow for softer, lighter moments between them that actually show them liking each other as people without the underlying feeling of it being emotional cheating, as well as actually giving time for Edwina and Kate’s relationship to be repaired and their reconciliation to feel earned

I’d also have Edwina knowing about the dowry situation and being torn between duty to her family and and needing to figure out what she really wants for herself rather than being humiliated in front of everyone in society

(also don’t give Eloise’s trauma over Edmund’s death to Anthony but let him keep his own)

(also also give Mary and Violet more to do, and have Violet’s breakdown be explicity pre Hyacinth’s birth with the ‘Hyacinth smiled and it saved me’ scene included so the fandom doesn’t come out of S2 vilifying her and calling her and Mary bad mothers)

Essentially I feel that in a lot of ways they flattened out the characters and defined them by one or two exaggerated traits (Eloise is the Feminist, Benedict is the Bohemian, Francesca is . . . not there) that leads to manufactured rather than organic conflict, which is a shame because for all their faults there’s a lot of rich characterisation in the books that could translate really well to the screen.

But at the same time it’s still my comfort crappy period soap opera and I will watch however many series Netflix want to give us.

[waitingforeddyneddy]

For the person saying that it’s sad that Simone will only have S2 and S3 as releases in 2 years, I want to say that I believe that Simone thought that she was going to have a bigger role in S3 and that’s why she didn’t book anything in advance. (Remember she said she was a Bridgerton girl now and after a few months said she was a background character now.) This is a show that films for 8 months so she probably thought she was booked for that time and when JB got FT, her involvement shrinked like Phoebe’s after Rege left. She probably couldn’t schedule something in those 8 months anymore since she always had to be available when JB was available. After the show completed filming in March, she immediately started a new film in June and then one in September so I’m sure she could have booked other work before that if it wasn’t for scheduling problems. The only other thing she could do during that time is a voice over role, so she took that up. Now that she knows that her involvement with Bridgerton is limited, she will probably sign even more work and I’m excited to see what she does.

I can see that happening, there was a total switch in her words from the spring to the summer of 2022. If I'm not mistaken JB's role in FT was supposed to go to somebody else so I could totally see him landing the part last minute and asking for his role in Bridgerton to be reduced in s3, that could also be one of the many reasons why s3 was scheduled to being production in June then went straight to the end of July. There could have been rewritings tho I'm not saying he is the only reason they started late. Who knows. I know his fans like to say Netflix contracts are made of metal but they're definitely not signed with blood and considering he's one of the cast members who gets preferential treatment I can totally see him changing the terms of his involvement.

I really hope you're right about Simone, I so desperately need to see her projects, why do you think her amazon movie is still not announced?

[hidingunderadesk]

Bridgerton S2: Final Thoughts

Kate and Anthony deserved so much more.

Virtually every single scene of theirs is far too brief, and many of them feel incomplete or cut-off. These scenes needed more room to breathe, to come to a natural end. For one reason or another, they all feel so rushed. The constant start/stop of all their scenes really hinders any momentum they have going.  Kate, in particular, deserved as much time, care, focus, and attention as the other leads. More than the love triangle, the fact that we never explore Kate’s past and interior life is the most damaging thing for both Kate as an individual character and the love story as a whole. Kate’s background, growth, and point of view deserved to be given equal weight and importance as Anthony’s. To be clear, I still love them, even the versions of themselves they are on the show. But to be frank, a lot of the choices made here were confusing at best and inexplicable at worst, and, at times, render the story and the characters incoherent. That being said Johnny and Simone are the true MVPs of the season and they are the main reason it worked. 

If Bridgerton has anything to say about love, it’s that, in essence, romantic love is this all-consuming, undeniable, uncontrollable, irrepressible, near instantaneous thing that just happens when you meet the right person.

Of course, Kate and Anthony being drawn to one another and desiring one another is an important part of their dynamic, but it isn’t everything. Not to me. It should go beyond that. Their love grows from understanding one another and gradually happens over time. The show really tries to sell this idea that Kate and Anthony just *belong* together, full-stop. And as a result, the show doesn't expend any extra effort to forge a bond between the characters because the bond just *exists* as this incontrovertible thing. There is no reason for Kate and Anthony to come to any sort of understanding or realization about each because the power of “love” ,as it's defined by the show, means they magically already do. I understand the appeal of this concept of love, but it isn’t necessarily what I believe, and fundamentally not what I think this story, in particular, was about. This obviously is a personal thing, so I understand why people would disagree, but to me building a real connection between them on top of their attraction was absolutely necessary.

~FIN~  

This is Part 3 of my Rewriting Bridgerton S2 Posts.

If you’re interested:  Part 1  |  Part 2

[irishseeeker]

Honestly, I love season 2 despite itself but in season 3 I better see Eloise and Penelope make up. That's honestly the one thing I want. Everything else is up for grabs.

hi anon! Now that season 3 is Polin, I think we're going to see Eloise even more lost than season 2 but there's no doubt they'll make up. I imagine it's going to be later on in the season as Pen and Eloise both have a lot of self-growth to do and it would be pointless for them to make up so early. Eloise will probably have a storyline involving one of her siblings, maybe Ben who is equally as lost? Their dynamic is fantastic. We might see her actually try to conform to society and be someone she isn't and be the more miserable for it but Pen marrying Colin will make her feel even more alone as she's being left behind. If Theo comes back it'll end in heartache again.

A big theme this season will hopefully be sisterstood and female friendship so we'll hopefully have that to look forward to! Especially with Kate/Eloise and just Kate and the Bridgertons and hopefully Fran/Eloise as they've recast her for a bigger role. I really want to see their relationship, especially as Fran should be debuting this season and Eloise is already out. She'll need a new companion as most of her scenes are with Penelope.

I like it better that Eloise is the first person to find out Pen is LW (bar Madame D) as it always annoyed me in the book she was one of the last ones to find out. I hope they rewrite the LW revealation this season and how people find out and I hope the Bridgertons and Fetheringtons are angry at Pen for all she's written about them and done to them. Probably more in relation to S1 with Daphne/Simon as LW literally did nothing to Anthony or Kate, just Eloise really in S2. In Losing Eloise was a consequence of her actions that have directly affected Pen. They'll of course forgive her but someone needs to be a bit annoyed. Eloise's reaction was valid, she does have her own faults but even with her reasons what Pen did was outrageous, and it makes much more sense than for them to have a reaction than to just brush it aside like they did in RMB. I don't know if we'll get that though as the writers are big Penelope fans.

I think anything could happen anyway as I'm imagining a complete rewrite of RMB like they did for TVWLM.

i'm excited to see what is to come! I think they're beginning to film this week so hopefuly we'll get some pap pics soon! thanks for your ask! <3

[viscountess-sharma]

I really dont understand why they made Penelope effectively a villain, made her write much worse stuff then she did in the books, gave the plot of uncovering who Lady W is to queen and in the Kathony season, not Penelope and Colins...AND pushed her season up, when at the end of her book she decides to stop being Lady W, which she also already did... All im hoping is that Kate and Anthony get AT LEAST as much screen time as featheringtons did in s2, if the writers know whats good for them...

Amen to all of this.

After all they did to kathony in S2 the least they could do is give them more screen time. With Kate being the woman of the house and Anthony being the head of the family, naturally they will be getting more screentime.

I don't understand why they screwed polin up even before their own season. The Whistledown reveal part in the book was my fav and now it doesn't look like we'll be seeing that on screen. Also I feel like they'll rewrite the entire book cause from what we have seen until now they have taken an entirely different track with their story and I don't think it is possible for them to follow the book plot after this.

Also in the book the Bridgertons were supportive after the Whistledown reveal and in the series she really screwed them so bad. Like Whistledown in the book is harmless but in the series she is like an antagonist so I don't think how that will work out. Especially Anthony, he literally said he is a fan of pen during that scene in the book. But idk man she ruined his sister, talked bad about his wife,, show Anthony will be definitely mad. Also violet, it's clear she's totally not a fan. Even colin will be mad for what she did to marina.

I.am.so.confused.

[literaetures]

Did you like the book or s2 of bridgerton better?

okay. i've gathered some thoughts after watching s2 (twice!) and while i adored the kate and anthony scenes and their amazing chemistry any time they were in a scene together, i feel like i've finally figured out why i didn't like the season very much

this post got quite long so i'll put it under a cut but tl;dr kate and anthony and the sharmas in general deserve more and better in what was supposed to be their season, but if you watch every single kate and anthony scene out of context in youtube compilations like i've been doing, it was amazing

i think this season's drawback was in structuring itself around a slow burn plotline

and that's so sad to say bc i adore slow burns!! they’re amazing! but the problem with s2 is that that the slow burn plotline doesn't reach a Point. a Peak. a sparkling, earth shattering moment where the build-up, the intense glances, the snide comments, the tension at every turn is finally Worth it

and i think this is bc every kate and anthony scene is always cut short or overshadowed by other useless plotlines in the first half of the season that continue to be dragged out to their boring conclusions in the second half of the season (like the featherington plotline! why! also giving eloise a love interest when she should've been way more focused on a n y t h i n g else like idk sneaking into university classrooms just to sit in on the lectures or seeing her spend more time self-studying wollstonecraft or someone to figure out her own ideas and her own identity rather than the theo plotline that didn't go anywhere or say anything meaningful since they were too busy juggling so many other plotlines in one season that only spans 8 episodes)

so by the time we get to the bee scene we think it'll pick up and we will actually get some forward movement into their story, but no. it just continues to move into this "we can't! but we want to! but we can't!" storyline that doesn't g o anywhere. and yes, you could argue that the pall mall scene also showed them understanding each other and progressing forward in their relationship, but that scene just shows how similar they are as opposed to becoming vulnerable with each other

which is why the library scene rewrite! just made me so upset! bc they gave anthony the panic attack that kate has in the book during the bee scene, and as a result, we don't have a single moment of understanding between the two, we don't get kate's backstory in flashbacks that would lend her any ounce of the same depth and character exploration that anthony gets surrounding his father, and we don't get any forward movement in their relationship or their progression as individuals bc they just spend the scene staring at each other rather than expressing their fears, their relationship to their family, all under the lack of pretense they are allowed to have in this empty room in the dead of night with the rain and thunder drowning out their conversation from the entire world. all of kate's backstory is rewritten and the parts they do tell you are told to you in little lines or long speeches as opposed to Showing you her trauma (which mirrors anthony's trauma!) and the weight of responsibility that she feels as an elder sibling (which again! mirrors anthony's trauma and shows you w h y they would be so compatible instead of just showing these long, intense stare downs and almost kisses and hoping the audience can read in between the lines) so they give her zero depth, nuance, or complexity to her character by getting rid of her panic attack and backstory and her eventual re-grounding like! come on! a strong woman who is so sure of herself and the world and what she wants out of it while hiding her true fears and feelings from everyone else who breaks down from the weight of responsibility but continues to keep going bc she would do anything for her family! come on!!! that would’ve been amazing to see!

and this goes for the rest of the sharmas as well. they rewrote edwina's character and didn't use mary in the story at all because they made kate into a mother figure but feeling responsible for your sister doesn't mean that you needed to sideline mary entirely! she's still a key figure she still knows the world of balls and courtship and could've easily added to their complex family dynamic but instead they barely use her and she's missing from so many crucial scenes and she could've totally teamed up with lady danbury and violet in all their antics!

which takes me back to the slow burn. i feel like i could've handled the season had kate and anthony gotten together in episode 7 instead of the last 15 (?) minutes of the finale. it felt like they wrote the entire season around the wedding episode but every scene in the episode that isn't centered around kate and anthony and edwina is so boring. everyone is just standing around waiting to see if the wedding will happen (also don't get me started on the love triangle thing). they could've easily had the wedding be half of the episode (if they wanted it that badly), had the ball sequence where everyone is dancing at the bridgerton's empty place at the end of the episode, and had edwina realize that kate and anthony clearly love each other which is evident from how happy they are how they're dancing so freely together and she would back away since she loves kate and would do anything for her (and then find herself a bookish nerd to read and discuss and recommend novels to now or in the next season bc she deserves a break)

then! the finale would be open to have a small, intimate wedding with their loved ones (a direct contrast from the showy over-the-top wedding while showing how much kate and anthony care for each other rather than what the anyone else thinks of them), allowed them to have their wedding night, and even kept the very last scene of the finale where they're at aubrey hall together trying out their new roles as a couple, so we would've gotten plenty of them being "enemies" but we still would've had an entire episode of them being "lovers" which is just as important in an enemies to lovers plot

the slow burn would've built up to something! a happy, prolonged conclusion where you get to revel in all these fun moments of longing and nerves and anticipation for kate and anthony's wedding and then the actual wedding itself!

and yes you could still make room for the lady whistledown part 2 reveal and breakup between pen and eloise in there but no annoying featherington plotline to distract you from kate and anthony living their best lives being in love and hot for each other for an entire episode (and colin and benedict can still have their forward movement too to get to the next seasons)

but with how the season plays out, you just cut from the "i love you" "i love you, too" scene immediately to the rest on the ton watching fireworks, and then another cut to kate and anthony in bed already married! we were supposed to see them married! we should've seen then happy and in love for longer than a handful of minutes at the end of the season! (tho i will say the direction in the last two episodes got better. some of the weird swinging camera and out of focus scenes in the middle of the season were confusing)

i feel like the show was structured in a way that they're trying to think about the "bridgertons" as a whole as opposed to each individual couple per season (so maybe in s3 we get edwina back on the marriage market? kate and anthony still get to be major characters for the next sibling's story? maybe even the prince will come back?) but i still feel like we deserved to see more of kate and anthony in love, happy, and content, etc. in their own season

but i did find things i enjoyed about this season! the humor, the sibling dynamics, newton, benedict's humor, daphne knowing kate is The One before anyone else, anthony calling for hyacinth to dance and doing that little pose to wait for her to get down the stairs, the k3g cover, all of the tension between kate and anthony, "how many fingers am i holding," lady danbury and violet eavesdropping, etc. but they're such brief moments that are overshadowed by so many boring storylines that they don't get to shine as much as they could have. out of context, the scenes are so good! but the way they decided to write out the plotline for this season was just. ugh. which makes me so sad bc i loved kate and anthony's book! and the way they rewrote the characters for the show! they had the schematics they only had to build on top of it but. sigh.

tl;dr part 2 bc this got quite long!! idk w h y kate and anthony with their amazing chemistry were pushed to the sidelines of their own season for the sake of other plotlines that weren't anywhere near as interesting as any time they were in a scene together. edwina and mary deserved way more and way better than they got. kate deserves to have a well-rounded and well-crafted backstory. if s3 doesn't have all of the romance scenes that kate and anthony deserved to have in s2 i will riot!!

[bookgeekgrrl]

My media this week (14-20 Aug 2022)

📚 STUFF I READ 📚

😍 👂‍ It Takes Two To Tumble (Seducing the Sedgwicks #1) (Cat Sebastian, author; Joel Leslie, narrator) - reread; pretty much always in the mood for a gay regency sound of music, who wouldn't be?

😍 Lovesick in Loch Nora (red0aktree) - Steddie, 62K - some truly exquisite pining in this one

😊 👂‍ Mrs McGinty's Dead (Hercule Poirot #32) (Agatha Christie, author; Hugh Fraser, narrator)

😊 👂‍ Three Blind Mice and Other Stories (Hercule Poirot #30) (Agatha Christie, author; Hugh Fraser/Joan Hickson/David Suchet/Simon Vance, narrator)

😊 👂‍ After The Funeral (Hercule Poirot #33) (Agatha Christie, author; Hugh Fraser, narrator)

💖💖 +199K of shorter fic so shout out to these I really loved 💖💖

Cut and Changed and Rearranged (AidaRonan) - Stranger Things: Steddie, 10K - some solid emotional weight + a really well-done rewrite of the final song to fit the story

Orta Recens Quam Pura Nites (Newly Risen, How Brightly You Shine) (AidaRonan) - Stranger Things: Steddie, 22K - a really good take on kas!eddie

[Podfic] Bucky Barnes' Guide to Avoiding Awkward Conversations (eden22, author; quietnight, narrator) - MCU: Stucky, 2K - excellently done podfic of a hilarious little story about how there's really no good way to tell a friend you fucked their dad

📺 STUFF I WATCHED 📺

The Sandman - s1, e5-6 - so i skipped most of ep5 (i skip it even when i reread the comics because frankly once was enough) and just tuned in for the final boss battle. Episode 6 covers probably my two fave stories in the entire sandman run, though.

Only Murders In The Building - s2, e9 - shit is popping off!!! the writing in this show continues to impress

What We Do In The Shadows - s4, e7 - "sometimes you just gotta cool out with your ladies, have a proper female fuck-about."

Harley Quinn - s3, e6

A League Of Their Own - s1, e1-8 - i binged this in 3 days and it's just as good as everyone says. come for the hella hella gay, stay for the great characters and relationships. [please note that i actively loathe baseball IRL; you do NOT need to be a sportsball fan to love this]

🎧 PODCASTS 🎧

Overinvested - Ep. 266: Magic Mike XXL

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Grace Hopper’s Bug

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - The Guy Who Sings

Switched on Pop - Demi Lovato Searches for "Substance" In Pop-Punk Perfection

Ologies with Alie Ward - Thanatology — NEW Interview (DEATH, GRIEF & MOURNING) with Cole Imperi + tips for Going Through It

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Tiwai Island

Decoder Ring - The “Sex” Scandal That Made Mae West

Vibe Check - I’m Here For Gay Rights, and Also Gay Wrongs

Twenty Thousand Hertz+ - MicroHertz #5: Fine at 3 PM, Terrifying at 3 AM

One Year - 1986: No Crime Day

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - The Honey Island Swamp Monster

What Roman Mars Can Learn About Con Law - The Longest Week

Wait in the Wings - The Rise & Fall of the Unofficial Bridgerton Musical - OK technically this was a YT video but i listened to it like it was a podcast

You're Dead To Me - Njinga of Ndongo and Matamba

🎶 MUSIC 🎶

Gold [Asia]

California Dreamin'

Hail Satin [Dee Gees]

Disco Days

Be My Backbeat: Hal Blaine, Legendary Drummer

Presenting Diana Ross

Presenting Paramore

Soul Sunshowers

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young Radio • Downbeat

Metal Radio • Upbeat

Peter Bence

[useyourtelescope]

2021 Fanfic Year in Review

Thank you to @fericita-s​ for the tag! 😊

Total Completed Works: 23

Word Count: AO3 says 227,570 in 2021 though per discord’s writer-bot it was over 350,000 and I’d say a large chunk of that discrepancy is not stuff that isn’t finished yet but me rewriting my nonsense first-drafts.

Fandoms I’ve Written in: Bridgerton, Nancy Drew, Sanditon, Speed (1994), Ted Lasso, The 100 (TV) & 3 Georgette Heyer Novels 

Looking Back, Did You Write More Fic Than You Thought You Would This Year, Less, Or About What You’d Expected?: More. I still didn’t finish some things I had wanted to but that was just me being over-ambitious, I had way more individual fics posted last year than I have before.

What’s Your Own Favorite Story Of The Year?: Hmmm, it’s hard to pick! Maybe my Bridgerton Polin Arranged Marriage AU If I Ever Dared because I was really pleased by how that all came together in the end.

Do You Have Any Fanfic Goals For The New Year?: Yes! Firstly, I have 2 lingering Bellarke prompts from last year that I need to complete, though have written a lot for one of those already. I also have a bunch of fics in various fandoms I’ve started that I’d like to complete. My faves are a Polin comedy-angst (if that is even a genre?) regency AU (I would love to have it posted before s2 of Bridgerton airs but I can’t quite figure out the ending for this one and I’m not really a ‘let’s see what happens’ writer so idk) and 2 shorter Sanditon Charlotte/Stringer fics (one modern AU, one regency). Other goals are dependent on whether I sign up for Fandom Trumps Hate again or not, I haven’t decided.

Most Popular Story Of The Year?: If I base it on kudos alone it would be Slow Hands, my regency version of the ‘walking in on someone’ trope for Polin, which I was v surprised by given the fic only got written to begin with because I got bored during a quarantine. 

Story Of Mine Most Under-Appreciated By The Universe, In My Opinion: I wanna say my Speed fic, but it’s not exactly an active fandom so no surprise there? 

Most Fun Story To Write: Both the epistolary fic I wrote for Georgette Heyer’s Cotillion ‘Dispatches’ at the end of the year, and the texting modern AU fic I wrote for Polin week ‘what’s in a name?’ made me laugh a lot while writing. 

Most Unintentionally Telling Story: Either my Charlotte/Stringer hurt/comfort holiday fic ‘where the lovelight gleams’ or the angsty Bellarke modern AU ‘Delicate’ 🤔

Biggest Disappointment: Ehh, fanfic is for fun and not for lingering on any disappointments! 😊

Biggest Surprise: That I managed to finish so many things and keep them as one shots? 

Tagging: @excuseyouclarke​ @carrieeve​ @mylifeiskara​ And whoever wants to do it, feel free to tag me when you answer! 💕

[deadmunds-ghostbee]

Have you read TSPWL? If the show found the courage to make one of the main kids queer, how do you think they could rewrite it so its Marina Eloise ends up with and not Philip?

I was thinking of this bc while the Theo plot was a rather blatant way to push back against speculation Eloise was gay, I still can see Eloise’s respect/admiration for Kate in S2 being a crush? I wish they’d explore that in S3. She can have her fling with Theo to burst her privilege bubble and also realize she likes girls too and ultimately end up with Marina 🤞 I just refuse to believe Marina can meet the same fate as in the books—the optics are beyond gross—and it’s so unbelievable for the show version of Eloise.

I know Benedict is the one everyone imagines as bi (and he could be too of course), but I suspect with that actor’s kind of cult following they will end up pairing him with Sophie (…eventually).

I have read TSPWL and I will say that even the question of Eloise's sexuality entirely aside...it is my least favorite of the romances (barring the ick at the end of TDAI) for a number of reasons I don't want to get into. I think other parts of the book, like the sibling content are very fun though.

As for the Marina thing, I haven't really thought of ways for them to make that work. For fic I've always liked the thought of gender-bending Phillip, but the idea of Marina and Eloise could become very interesting with some character work, seeing as they are both very bull-headed! There was a stunning lack of relationship there even though they were both good friends with pen in s1.

As for the future of the show --I think they've made it so so clear that the only chance of queer rep we get on this show is through side characters. But they didn't even have the fuckin decency to give us that in s2. Considering how many people involved in production are queer, its mind-boggling and kinda makes me think either netflix as the distributor or people way high up in the ranks at Shondaland are very against it. It sucks, but bc of that i don't care to disappoint myself by thinking of the possibility of us getting canon queer rep esp as a main couple.

The only hope I have is that I really really really don't want Marina to die. Theyre so good at writing drama, I hope they can write their way out of the hole they dug regarding that situation.

As for Benedict? God who tf knows if they'll even make it to his season. From a narrative perspective i don't think they know what to do with him, and I don't think an Eloise season 4 is out of the question. If they do make it to him, I think it'll be WOC sophie. That doesn't mean he cant be bi along the way! (Tho like i said they're cowards :) )

Anyway! For all these reasons I think its great to look into fic for queer bridgerton rep! And its LGBridgerTon week on ao3 this week so its the perfect time

[itsanidiom]

slowly working away at rewriting woolworth manor because binge watching bridgerton s2 this weekend inspired me...i have to say it’s really hard to pick new character names when i come across a line where the character’s name held some linguistic significance for a pun... (^ ^ ;)

[bluetiefling]

I feel like S2 made it seem like Anthony lived at Bridgerton House, when in S1 they said he had his own place. It would be very weird if a 30 y/o man lived with his family like that lol, even if he’s head of household and de facto dad to some of his siblings. This was probably because they just didn’t want to build another set, but I’m wondering what they plan to do for S3. I do not want some sit com BS where his entire family live with Anthony and Kate at Bridgerton House. God knows they need space from their families…I’m especially wondering if S3 is indeed Benedict - would Sophie work in Violet’s or Anthony’s household? If they’re looking to involve Anthony and Kate more, probably the latter.

The sitcom situation is my worst nightmare for them lol. But I would not be surprised if they don’t have Violet and the kids move out of the main townhouse to an appropriate dowager house and let Kate and Anthony have the main house to themselves, as they ought to. This show loooves the family shit and they’re gonna think we need to see kathony mingling with the rest of them as much as possible. 😷 With any luck they won’t… And it’d be hella be cute to see Anthony carrying on like he does over a pregnant Kate awaaaay from the other Bridgertons. I’d like some good content I can easily super cut while avoiding everything else.

Also re: Sophie, tbh I think they should cut the servant plot entirely and rewrite her backstory, because the optics of Benedict pressuring a family employee into sex are gonna be rough no matter what.

[viscountessevie]

Justice for Shelley Conn!!! The writers did her and Mary so dirty and even so she was so so good. I know that every one has a grieving time but it would be so much more realistic to have Kate's father dying like a year prior, it would explain better Mary's emotional absence and why Kate had to take charge. Also I think Edwina should have known about the deal with the Sheffields since the begging, it would have made her character more likeable if she was willing to marry someone to take care of Kate and Mary and would explain the urgency of her wanting to get married so fast, the feeling that she failed her family when Anthony didn't propose and the fear she was not going to be seen as marrying material anymore after he didn't. She could have said to kate that she wanted to marry anthony and be his viscountess because she knew for what she saw that he was going take care her family if the Sheffields backed down and Kate could have understood her distress was because Edwina was in love with him. In the wedding scene her mortification would have been because she almost married a man who was in love with her sister and who loved him back all because sometimes people who love us try to proctect us instead of seeing us as adults who can handle the truth, then she would reveal to kate she knew about the deal with the sheffields and the rest of the season would be pretty much the same since it would be a big scandal for anthony to marry one sister after the other ran away from their wedding. Hire me netflix i fixed season 2

Anyways I’m done with my anti-Polio triade and we’re back to doing S2 Asks!

Also there’s a point/complaint I’ll be making in this post about post-S2 fics that came up again as a discourse on my dash last night - I really thought we put Edwina discourse to bed yall, why are yall like this T.T

Anon first off I am SO sorry to keep you waiting - this is a VERY old ask from like months ago?? I think it was prompted by my posts appreciating Book Mary and Edwina after the show butchered their characters? 

JUSTICE FOR SHELLEY CONN INDEED!! God she was SO robbed of scenes and while I love my moots who dislike the Sharmas in the show because of the writing I get very annoyed when they get anons that put it all on Mary, calling her neglectful and emotionally abusive like literally it’s not that deep yall, the writers just ignored her!! But yeah I do hate that they made her Violet 2.0 just so Kate can be more like Anthony which is such a tired take. 

Kathony in the books worked because while they were very similar, they did have differences that made them their own people! 

As for your fixed version of S2: It’s an interesting take and definitely better writing than S2 - then again ANYTHING is a step up from S2 (well other than the weirdos writing S2 fics they’re either fetishising Kate or making The Sharmas out to be as abusive as the Penwoods and making Anthony Kate’s white knight which ew please fucking stop) 

More Under The Cut [The Viscountess Essay Things]: 

I do love that the first part is essentially what happened in the books. I’m not sure if you have read the book but for those of my anons/moots/followers who are show only fans here’s some context: So in The Viscount Who Loved Me the Sharmas (well Sheffields in the books not to be confused with Mary’s parents in the show because they don’t exist in the book thank god so HC that Mary’s REAL parents were fucking angels) were all aware of their financial status, including Eddie and knew they had to have Edwina marry well to secure a better future for her. I’m sure Mary and Eddie wanted that for Kate too but it was a mix of her being overlooked/intimidated by the men and her not really wanting to be married either that they just focus on giving Edwina the full season treatment. So Edwina herself is well aware of the responsibility she has to her family. 

This is what made the sisters SO compelling in the books, they both had their burdens to bear and different responsibilities. Edwina wasn’t this ‘never been scarred by life and clueless’ naive deb the show made her out to be. In the books yes she is naive about marriage and what comes with it so in a way the full weight of her responsibility doesn’t really quite hit her. And who can blame her, she was 17. And it was a really good move of JQ to use their ‘courtship’ to illustrate how fucked up society was back then with the age gaps and essentially child brides. I especially loved that scene where Anthony sees El and Eddie together and Eddie is being a cheeky little sister and it hits him how young she is and how close he came to basically marrying someone like his sister.

I just loved how everyone was aware of who they are and where they stood in the books. The only clowning that happened was when Kate and Anthony were around each other - it’s like all their brain cells got yeeted from the horniness. It was funny af.

That being said, the book arc Edwina got about being the perfect deb and feeling the pressure and responsibility to marry well for her family was what I thought they were going to do after the coconut oil scene in Ep 3 but they just had to FUCK IT UP with having Eddie have a crush on him. 

I do see how you fixed the mess of a plot after Ep 4 but personally I would have just YEETED the engagement and Edwina’s romantic feelings all together because come onnn Edwina and Anthony’s utter lack of connection and chemistry before they became in laws WAS FUNNY AF. Look at this shit: 

I’m not sure if you want my rewrite of the season but here’s what I would have done: 

- Adapted the book more close lmao but keep the horse riding motif; would have still loved for a funner version of Colin - well I guess that’s Ben in the show to have introduced them and they pretend to not know each other from the horse ride and we still get their book intro just with more layers 

- Keep the new bee scene and maybe have them be caught by one of their parents - listen I just want these clowns together in an official capacity before the halfway mark of the season because WE DESERVED MORE MARRIED KATHONY IN THEIR OWN SEASON

- But instead of getting married right away, they have a longer engagement instead so we have one ep dedicated to them still struggling to accept their feelings so they use the engagement time to figure shit out. Then after a montage of hate fucking fuck buddies Kathony - we get the confession scene after the new accident scene which was just a normal riding accident she wasn’t running away but like the accident puts shit in perspective for both of them. 

- Maybe not a week long coma but like a couple days and Anthony is losing his shit, Kate wakes up and is like Life is too fucking short I love you, you fucking idiot. The confession a mix of the one from the book and the show WITHOUT KATHANI. HER NAME IS KATHARINE. [Before anyone sends me asks about this bit please read my Kate Name Discourse tag on this I have talked about it to death]

- In this version just like in the books, Edwina feels n o t h i n g and their ‘courtship’ conversations are boring af. She quickly sees through him presenting the performative version of himself for her. She gleans this from how he is with Kate and also after her convo with Daphne going “Anthony, even tempered???” She’s like Something isn’t right here?? And calls him out for it and he sheepishly admits he wasn’t being himself (actually the “Let’s stop playing our roles” speech could be directed at Anthony here instead tbh) and they start to get along more as friends/future siblings in law. 

- Also what pushes Eddie to call him out and stop their courting is her falling for Dorset who is a mix of Bagwell and Dorset in this. We’re yeeting his “I went to India once and made it my whole personality” trait. He can still have visited and not always bring it up in convos. So replace that Edwina and Anthony scene talking the drawing room with Dorset. Basically they have the Edwell romance that was in the books. 

Spicy Alternative that could have avoided the Straight Mess™ that was The Engagement Plot and stupid fucking triangle: Edwina is a lesbian. Girlie has read definitely Sappho she knows what’s up. But because of her own burden and responsibility to the family, there’s a bit of hetcomp at play. That’s also why Eddie feels nothing for him lmao. I can also see her being bi to be honest. But yeah Lesbian!Edwina would have been fun to see with El, replacing Theo (love him but YEET the man teaching a woman about feminism) and this way there’s no stupid rebels plot that the Queen can threaten El with and Pen can go off and ruin someone else’s life (Cressida maybe who actually deserves it??) 

- I don’t care if this picks apart the other plots cos fuck all the Featherflops and LW storylines, Cousin Hack doesn’t exist in this season, all his screentime goes to developing the Sharmas and giving Kate the backstory SHE ALWAYS DESERVED! GIMME ALL THE SHARMA SCENES FROM THE BOOKS. WE NEEDED THE MILK SCENE. MARY TELLING KATE SHE VISITS HER MOTHER'S GRAVE TO UPDATE HER ABOUT KATE. A L L THE KATE/EDWINA/MARY BONDING SCENES

So many fucking good book scenes and lines and we got n o t h i n g.

- Also!!! Anthony should have had sex dreams. Like if they didn't want to have them having sex until after the engagement plot, fine - could have offset it with more scenes pre-confession with his sex dreams dammit.

Anyways that's my take, hope yall enjoyed it and thanks for reading this all the way through if you did!

[ Ik yall can tell how much I hate S2 sometimes it honestly makes me tear up at times I feel stupid]

[hidingunderadesk]

I loved your season 2 rewrite!!! I totally agree with everything you wrote and would’ve loved to have seen all of Kate and Anthony’s scenes extended and filled with more depth rather than just lust!

I especially loved your rewrite for the wedding episode because that nonsense was so frustrating!! Why would Edwina still be considering marrying Anthony at all? Why would Anthony who was practically begging Kate to give him a reason to not go through with the wedding be trying to convince Edwina to still marry him!? Also a still spontaneous but soft, gentle kiss after a breakdown is exactly what was necessary!!!!

I will now pretend that this is how it all happened, so thank you 😂

Hi! Aww! This is so sweet of you to say!! I really appreciate you taking the time to send me this kind message 🥺. Truly did not think anyone would be able to get through 3 posts worth of thoughts, lol.

If anyone else wants to read my Bridgerton S2 Rewrite:

(It’s very long, you have been warned, 😂)

Part 1  |  Part 2  |   Part 3

And, yeah, the entire wedding episode was deeply frustrating for so many reasons! But the scene between Edwina and Anthony after she runs from the altar is so baffling. To me, this is Anthony’s lowest and worst moment by far. In a season filled with his poor decisions, you would think his worst mistake would be proposing to Edwina, but it is actually here, when he lies to her face by telling her he can cut Kate out of their lives. And we *know* that Anthony is lying through his teeth because he’s already had the realization that he cannot stay away from Kate. He admitted to Kate that the pull she has on him is too strong for him to resist and he was completely prepared to break off the engagement as a result. Make it make sense, lol.

(Whoops! This got very long again, very on brand for me, lol. Throwing the rest under a cut!)

I don’t think Anthony would go as far as actively trying to call off the wedding, because he would have gone through with it if (for whatever reason) that’s what Edwina decided. But the lying needed to be over. Also, this particular lie does nothing to spare Edwina’s feelings, she’s already devastated, it’s just more manipulation, which is unnecessary at this stage when the truth is already out. I do have to wonder how much rewriting was happening as they were shooting the show because this scene contradicts what has come previously in a really jarring way. 

Kate needed to have a moment of release. Her entire world has come crashing down around her and as strong as she is, she absolutely should have hit her breaking point here. Everyone has one, and this should have been hers. Their shared guilt in this moment would have been such a  powerful, if unfortunate, moment of connection for them. Kate collapsing in front of Anthony would have allowed him to see first hand the consequences of his poor choices and give him the opportunity to step up and be there for Kate when one else is.

I really liked the idea of having their first real kiss be gentle and soft because it could have provided such a delicate counterpoint to their previous explosive near-kisses. Sadly, we don’t get any sweet kisses until the very end.

I can’t believe I still had this much say about this 🙈, but yeah, ultimately, the emphasis on attraction over connection was my biggest gripe with the season and I wished they had given us more Kate and Anthony overall!