#they really made me love cressida this season

[kingdom-of-sins]

Things I didn't like about Bridgerton season 3 part 2

I don't know how you all feel but to me it felt like Polin were not given enough screen time. They felt like side characters in their own season and had far less screen time than Daphne x Duke and Kate x Anthony.

What was the point of Lady Danbury's brother? To show Violet's garden is in need of a gardener? But I kinda like how Lady Danbury was scared her brother is going to ruin the life she has built. I have seen many posts that say that her brother was only 10 when he told their father she was running away, and that she should forgive him, but she was a girl who had no freedom and no say in her life and had to marry an old man against her will. She had valid reasons to be skeptical of her brother even after so many years. Some traumas and betrayals just don't heal even after a lifetime. From her point of view she was being forced to marry against her will while her brother was the favorite, had all the freedom and inherited everything.

Kate and Anthony's chemistry has been through the roof.

Francesca and John had such a sweet build up but the show just ruined it in the last episode.

I have no problem with Michaela but I was really looking forward to Michael since their book was the first one i read from the series. It would be hard to get over that disappointment unless Michaela is portrayed amazingly and doesn't make us feel that "Michael" would have been better.

But seriously, Francesca just got married with the one person who understands her silence and loves her. Was it really necessary to show that she was disappointed in the kiss and immediately started batting for the other team? They could have shown Francesca gradually being attracted to Michaela. How they executed it was disrespectful to John's character.

I was expecting an epic showdown between Penelope and the Queen...not really. But I feel like Penelope meeting the Queen before the public reveal would have been nice. It would have been an interesting scene. And then the Queen coming to reveal her publicly, showing support indirectly.

Too many Mondrich family scenes. Makes me think they might make one of their kids Gregory's or Hyacinth's love interest. I know Hyacinth's love interest is related to Lady Danbury but the show is changing things already so it might be possible

Benedict is still floating around aimlessly. At least his friends with benefits are hot

Colin gave me the ick most of the season. Was expecting a lot more from him.

I kinda feel bad for Cressida but also hated her even more when she started blackmailing Penelope. Lol Colin only made it worse. Would like to see her return to society in a more positive role.

And Lord Debling just disappeared? Did he marry some plants or animals?

Overall an underwhelming season for me. I think next will be Benedict's season and hopefully it will be better

[seleneprince]

Just read a comment that said "So many of cressidas motivations can be explained by her being a lesbian in said society, it’s just chefs kiss"

And I think it sums up her character perfectly

[ophelieverse]

Am I the only one that wanted and hoped for Cressida to have a sort of redemption arc and an eventual happy ending?In the first two seasons she was being a bitch and we can all agree with that,but in this new one I’ve seen a side of her that made me realize who she really was.Just a girl in a world of men where she doesn’t have control over her own life and destiny,forced by her parents to find a husband or to marry a elder creepy man.I was kinda hoping that her and Eloise would be friends again,also her apologizing to Penelope and becoming her friend too,marrying lord Debling(so that she wouldn’t go with her aunt)and eventually,in the later seasons,these two would learn how to love each other and live happily together.Idk you,but for me she deserved a second chance.

[grace-williams-xo]

RAMBLING THOUGHTS AFTER FINISHING PART TWO. GONNA ADDRESS MY P1 THOUGHTS FIRST. SPOILER WARNING.

1 & 2: I think Debling could’ve worked in the second half, and I’m kinda sad Cressida didn’t get a happy ending. The Creloise fell of a CLIFF after ep 5 but I think it could still be saved

5: no cishet man has ever loved his wife more than Anthony Bridgerton I’m gonna be ill

6 & 12: kanthony’s absence was felt BAD in the finale, I think their reactions to LW were sorely needed. Also Jonny and Simone have both said they’ll be at every sibling’s wedding and stick around for years but they missed Francesca’s??? Also felt their absence too much then. They’re both booked and busy I think we’ll continue to only get a couple episodes a season from them

8: Francesca did get to thrive happy in pt 2 my baby I love her

9: I think they managed to disconnect the mondrich plot even further like 😭 once again, I don’t mind them their plot just feels very empty

10: Pen and Delacroix CONTINUE to be my fave duo I love them so freaking much and they can never get rid of it

13: Portia’s growth this season continued to be 10/10 I loved her and Penelope’s relationship it really showed what it’s like to be closely related to people you oppose and the process of needing to forgive and understand them for your own peace of mind

14: that was not how I was expecting Colin to find out about Whistledown

15: Marcus felt a little rushed in part two but I think I need to watch the whole season together to fully decide

17: this was indeed the longest 27 days of my life I got Covid day after it dropped lmfao

MY ~NEW~ THOUGHTS:

We finally got character development from Cressida and if they write her out I’ll be inconsolable (as will Jessica Madsen)

I hope they paid Golda Rosheuvel good for her feet exposure. Worth more than titties in this economy

I feel the need to tell everyone that £5000 in 1815 is in the realm of £500,000 today and we cannot brush over the fact Penelope has made herself the equivalent of a literal millionaire

Anthony has two moods ‘I’m obsessed with my wife’ ‘I want to win this game’ like it is comical how drastically different his facial expression is in the game of charades compared to pretty much every other scene

Anthony saying the marriage is perfect and not hard work and Kate being like BOY I will humble you,,,, doing the lord’s work I love her so much

At some points I felt like Francesca was fighting Anthony for ‘Violet’s least favourite child’ award lmao

John saying he’s off to look at the wainscotting was unfairly funny

Cressida in the red dress is even better than I imagined fuck even if she’s not gay then I am

Peneloise back together the universe is healing I love my babies all we need now is creloise lovers and peneloise friendship simultaneously I don’t like it being one or the other sue me

However much Brimsley is getting paid isn’t enough,,,, Hugh Sachs the man that you are

I adored Penelope’s wedding dress so much and as bitter as I am still about no kanthony wedding in s2, it felt kind of right somehow for Polin to be the first wedding we properly see in this show

Most of the costumes and makeup feel like they got worse,,,,, big ‘I hired a 14 year old’ energy. I don’t need historical accuracy but I would like a modicum of care and the costume/hair/makeup dept looking at a single historical reference from before 1850,,,, please

We all got the bi Benedict we’ve been asking for and I appreciate it, and recognise that he needed Tilley to explore that, but I still would’ve preferred if they first main queer experience was not a threesome

If they go straight into benophie in s4 (which idk, I’m so torn bc I feel like F, E and B all could work well next season) then I also feel like bi Benedict was just them throwing a bone for 5 mins but meant nothing

The CONTENTIOUS Michaela Stirling,,,,, I was undecided until I saw it but that was the definition of gay panic from Francesca and it worked so well I am so excited.

As your resident peerage expert, it is much easier for women to inherit titles in Scotland than England so I wonder (not that anyone on this show knows anything) if that was a reason they chose Francesca to be sapphic [general peerage info and female inheritance info if you care]

On the above, if they can canonically end racism with one marriage then they can end homophobia with one marriage as well

We all know Eloise was the easy and obvious choice to be the queer love story but part of me does kind of like them not taking the easy route, and them going something more unexpected, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want Creloise/Sapphic El like they had eight children let’s be honest

Finch’s sneeze and Phillips’s “now Varely! The bugs!” were unfairly funny

Everything Lady Danbury said to Penelope about suspecting her and what not felt very in character and you can fight with the wall idc

Did they tell us the name of Polin’s baby boy???

Hyacinth saying she thinks of Gregory as the family pet,,,,, girl you an icon walking amongst mere mortals

Predictions I got right:

Anthony didn’t kill Colin, but “are you gonna duel your own brother” lmao I was on the right track

I knew Polin would win the Featherington baby race and I love that for them (but why were Prudence and Phillipa pregnant most of the season, barely showing, Kate was showing almost immediately, and then in the epilogue the sisters all had baby’s similar-ish ages???? Give the writers room a calendar please)

I SAID FROM DAY DOT THAT THE FURNITURE THEY BROKE FROM SEX WAS A CHAISE I CANT FIND THE POST BUT I KNEW IT I FUCKING KNEW IT WHERE DO I COLLECT MY PRIZE SOME OF YOUR GUESSES WERE TRULY FUCKING COOKED

Okay that was too long if you made it this far I’ll make you cookie ily

[lovelyo]

Season 3 part 2 will be Ass. Let me Tell You Why.

Cause in the end, Penelope, Lady Whistledown, the one who has left devastation in people’s lives will get all what she wants. The man that she wants, the attention that she wants, the family she always wanted to be(so envious of them she talked shit about them ), will get her best friend back, might have the heir for that dumbass Featherington plot line, might get the Queen’s pardon and above all else, will most likely not give up LW cause they made LW such an integral part of the show.(so in that case, she’ll be even more filthy rich)

And if we go by leaked spoilers, it is said that Colin will be mad at Penelope for like 1 episode until Kanthony talks some “sense” into him. So that just tells me Kanthony will be OOC because there’s no damn way Anthony would let that beast comment about his wife slide.

There are no stakes when it comes to this season cause we all know how it’s finna go down. If Penelope gets any type of consequences, then her very undeserved HEA is doomed so everything is going to have to go her way for the already idiotic plot to make some form of sense. It’s like the love triangle in part 1, what the hell was the point of Lord Debling when everyone and their ancestors knew Colin and Penelope were end game? So we can see Colin’s cringe angst? If we already know the answer to the love triangle, there’s no point. The “find you a husband” plot line was stupid as shit anyway, but it’s whatever now.

Ugh, then we have to sit through more awkward love scenes between asshat 1 and 2

Eloise threatening Penelope with her LW identity is going to amount to nothing cause we know Penelope isn’t gonna receive any comeuppance. Matter of fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if they made Eloise apologize to Penelope for…🤷🏾‍♂️🤷(let’s apologize to the toxic friend for not dealing with their toxicity)

For Penelope to have a happy ending, she has to get away scot free and that’s what boils my blood. I hate in media and literature when a character goes around, creates chaos and receives nothing for it or just a slap on a wrist. I’ve noticed an increase in it lately too. Also, I’m tired of writers not severing their bias from their writing. I’ve been encountering many series lately where the writer(s) have favoritism towards a specific character and gives them the easy route, bends the world for them and pull punches just because they like them so much. It’s really aggravating cause you see everyone else getting put through the wringer and then you see the favored character walking through Candyland. It hurts the story, the character, and frankly makes you hate the character.

Everyone around Penelope is gonna act brain dead in order for Penelope to get what she wants and I’m not here for it. Even the general audience ain’t for it. The only people cheering this madness are the asylum patients called Polin fans with delusions that Penelope deserves the world.

I’m not even looking forward to Francesca and John’s story cause of the Poolin fecal matter I’ll have to swim through to get there. At this point, I’m might just watch spoilers of part 2 cause it’s not worth it.

P.S. Watch Cressida get the short end of the stick cause she’s the “bully” of the show and Penelope is the “victim”. Watch them break Creloise because of the “I don’t want you hanging around Eloise” subplot which will ultimately fuel Eloise and Penelope becoming friends again. Also, Penelope and Cressida competed for Lord Debling just for Penelope to go “sike” and marry Colin so she wasted Debling’s time and made Cressida feel like shit because she wasn’t chosen. P.S.S- Polins are huge ass hypocrites cause they ragged on Eloise being privileged and having “everything” but are silent about Penelope being privileged. By the end of this season, Penelope will basically have everything, even more so than Eloise, but sure, Penelope is definitely not privileged 😑. Penelope is privileged inside the world and outside by production, why are we denying this?

[benjinoff13]

okay let’s talk about 3B a bit

the first thing i’m really really upset and disappointed by is how they handled cress and eloise’s friendship, yes i’m sad creloise will never happen (that’s what i’m assuming cause i really don’t think they would ever make 3 of the bridgertons queer), but i’m more upset about their friendship and mostly, how much they have messed up eloise’s character

it was said and implied in 3A that their friendship was a learning opportunity for them both, eloise taught cressida to be more open, vulnerable, honest and kind, this has definitely happened, we see that happen during cressida’s conversation with colin, she doubles down on they amount of money she asks for but i think we all know she had no other choice and frankly, i would’ve done the same if someone had said the stupid shit colin said, but we see her be honest and truthful and emotional

eloise was said to learn about her privelege, we were told that she was gonna learn that not everybody has the fortune the bridgertons have, not all women can afford to do whatever they please and go wherever they wanna go, eloise learned this in 3A and then completely forgot it in 3B, demonizing cress for taking action to safe her from being a victim of the patriarchy and the marriage mart, something eloise was supposed to learn about

we see how cressida was raised, she was abused, she’s treated like an object and she has absolutely 0 say over her life and her choices, eloise knows this but the second cress takes action to safe herself from a situation eloise knows she’s in, eloise turns on her because she’s starting to forgive pen, el takes it personal eventhough it has absolutely nothing to do with her, her family’s name is harmed a bit but that honestly doesn’t matter and it was purely circumstantial + it wasn’t even cressida who decided to do that but ofcourse she doesn’t even get the chance to explain herself cause eloise doesn’t bother

they could’ve helped cress, talked to her more, if they had shown genuine empathy and understanding towards cressida i genuinely think she wouldnt have done what she did but they just didn’t care and this is what made eloise such an awful friend, they made the friendship seem so meaningless the way el talked about it but you cannot convince me of this, they truly cared for each other, even got emotional when they know the other person is mad or sad with them, this doesn’t happen unless you’re genuine friends and really deeply care about one another, but when cress had to chose herself, el did a full 180 and didn’t even have ONE conversation with cress

i think that’s what bothers me the most, the sheer lack of creloise scenes which would have resolved the issue but instead the writers decided that el could only have one (1) female friend, what a tired and old school way of writing

penelope, colin and eloise were supposed to be the heros of the season, the beautiful love story, the team that protects their family and uses their lady whistledown power for good, but to me they were the villains purely for how they treated cressida

[squidthoughts]

collected thoughts on the creloise matter (Big And Detailed Spoilers Ahead):

if it’s dual character assassination, it’s dual character assassination and irredeemable and frankly uninteresting and unfortunately the show becomes unwatchable for me personally. if it’s purposeful setup? it’s bloody brilliant. i mean it could actually be bloody brilliant. there are a few lines that feel very purposeful: pen’s “did you ever truly like her?” and the moment with cress and her mother when cress protests being cruel to the btons. both of which come after the creloise breakup and, you know, the uhhhh cessation of scenes together. creloise was dead. there was no reason to continue to examine the corpse. unless it wasn’t truly dead. ok, so there is now incredible potential in the CreloiseSituation(tm).

they hate each other. perfect! cressida was suffering all season and eloise was a truly terrible friend - i mean, comically selfish and villainous - that is to say, cressida’s actions (antagonistic as they were) were explained and justified within the narrative and eloise’s were not. ok! that’s fine. in the past, cress has been the unjustifiably cruel one. if anything, they are now on equal footing in terms of illogically hurting each other. so, they hate each other. which just means their growing back together could be that much more satisfying.

eloise’s choices didn’t make sense. they just…don’t. if her arc this season was to show her growth separate from pen, and it ends with nothing mattering to her but pen, it’s just nonsensical. (dont get me wrong- i’m glad they made up! their friendship is a core pillar of the show! but taking a season of development apart and introducing new dynamics into eloise’s life only to end her precisely where she was in season ONE is just…huh??) that is, unless elosie’s decisions don’t make sense YET. unless the point of her abandonment of a friend IS the abandonment. unless this is precisely the base a following season would need to portray el from a starting position of moral inferiority- a facet of her character not yet explored.

creloise both out of mayfair now. coincidence? well…maybe! i guess! but also, outside the set and setting of society. idk, that just screams landscape of possibility to me.

they’re both on the cusp of substantial development! cressida at rrrrock bottom and eloise striving to find experience and purpose. we’ve never seen cress this low and tortured or el this alone and unsure. idk. parallels.

nothing that made us love them so much in the first place has changed. they’re still mirrors. they’re still unflinchingly honest with each other - often the only ones who are. they’re still (deliciously) (occasionally) mean. the foundations are still there. and tbh, if all of this was purposeful, there is SO much conflict and strife between them that i actually really love it. the angst! the tension! the possible banter! eloise abandoned cress at the worst possible time in her life and cress betrayed eloise (out of desperation but facts are facts) and neither of them got an explanation. and for a summer and a season they were very much alone together and enjoying each other and the betrayals sting because the friendship mattered in the first place. and that broken dynamic is just. so yummy. and the hate is there because the embarrassment is there and the embarrassment is there because….i liked you. and you burned me. and i cant believe i was stupid enough to like you. but i did like you, i did.

also, i’m sure the showrunners were understandably wary about how the audience would react to cressida this season. up until now, she’s been a glorified extra; the personality-less stereotype of the loveless, callous debutante bridgerton’s grand love stories exist to subvert. in s1 she was a joke (daphne and simon laughing about her scripted flirting) and in s2 she was the hopeless and petty mean girl. there was no reason for the audience to like her, because she was hardly a character and certainly not a person. i imagine suddenly linking her to everyone’s fan favorite eloise was seen as a huge risk— in case of a negative reaction, cress could hardly be established as a romantic prospect as well, possibly guaranteeing a large portion of screentime to someone the audiences don’t even like. creators obviously shouldn’t feel the urge to cater to an audience’s whims of how they think a story should go - this would be very bad!! - but i do think the extreme outpouring of appreciation for cress this season might enable the writers to utilize her more in the future. she’s a real character now with depth and her story has established loyalty in fans- narratively there is freedom there for some satisfying payoffs.

all this to say, this season reduced my expectations to not quite zero, but somewhere around one. the finale was crowded and unfocused and more than a few things just did not make sense and the queer rep felt very sudden and trite - for shock value, practically - and we were forced to watch creloise hacked to pieces….but, i maintain, if it was all purposeful….idk. i personally don’t think all hope is lost.

[where-theres-smoak-2]

Bridgerton Season 3 ep 1-4 Thoughts.

Just binged watched bridergerton season 3 part 1 for the second time and figured I'd share some thoughts. I haven't read the books so I am going into this season blind and so far the first 4 eps have not disappointed. Oh and spoilers obviously.

I love that this season started the exact same way as the other two, with the bridgerton family getting ready for one of the girls presentation to society. This time it's francesca. I also love that this is the third time they've done this but they are still a chaotic mess.

I love penelope's new look, every one of her dresses were stunning and I think the greens and blues were really good colours for her.

The new dynamic between eloise and penelope is interesting. There is clearly still a lot of hurt there, but eloise also still cares about penelope and doesn't like to see her hurt. Honestly most of their scenes made me feel really sad for them both, they clearly miss the friendship they had and each other but don't know how to repair things between them.

Seeing a different side to Cressida through her new friendship with eloise is interesting. There were moments where I sympathised with her, but also, she hasn't completely reformed and there were still moments when her meaner side came out. But it was still interesting to see where her behaviour comes from.

That being said I am glad that cressida called eloise out after it came out that Colin was helping penelope find a husband and eloise blamed her. Basically telling her to look in the mirror. As much as I do love eloise I also think she can act recklessly and speak without thinking and that has gotten her and others in trouble over the seasons.

It was also good to see more of and get to know francesca as a character. I really liked the conversation she had with penelope about how when you get stuck on the wall it's hard to get off it again. I think both penelope and francesca have trouble talking with others. They also are both desperate to marry so that they can leave the family home. For francesca it's because she struggles with the noise and bustle of a large household when she prefers solitude and quiet. For penelope it's to get away from her overbearing mother and sisters.

Penelope's attempts to flirt made for some comical moments but was also really relatable. That awkward fumbling over her words and just generally looking uncomfortable was spot on.

Speaking of comical moments, that whole plot of lady featherington trying to get her girls to produce an heir was hilarious. But also kind of shows how the ladies' mamas really need to start having proper conversations about the birds and bees before their daughters become wives if they want heirs.

Some really great moments throughout the season were the scenes that reminded us of how penelope and Colin were friends for years, those little moments when they are laughing and joking together. I also love that we learned how they met, their meet cute really was cute.

I really loved polin's first kiss. I think penelope's reasoning for wanting Colin to kiss her was relatable, she was in her third year on the marriage mart with no prospects and feels like she will never marry and never know what it's like to be kissed. So she asks her friend so that she can at least know what it feels like. Colin might be someone she has crushed on and been in love with for years but him also being her friend means she trusts him and feels safe with him. What I also love about this kiss is that they could have left it at that first chaste meeting of their lips. But their eyes lock and then they go back in for a more passionate kiss as the music soars and it goes from a friend giving another friend a kiss to help them out to a real, earth moving, world shattering kiss that leaves them both reeling and breathless.

Another thing I really enjoyed is that it is Colin who after that kiss is the one having dreams and fantasies about penelope and has jealous feelings. We've seen how penelope has longed for and been in love with Colin over the last two seasons so it was a nice change to see Colin showing those feelings and trying to come to terms with his feelings.

Lord debling is nice enough and seems like a decent guy but I agree with Colin, I don't think he is right for penelope. I don't think penelope would be happy being left alone for years at a time. I do think she wants the companionship of a husband and I think it is telling that her happy, safe place was the bridgerton drawing room, being amongst the bridgerton bustle. Cressida could be a good match for debling potentially. He can travel and be happy exploring nature and I think cressida from her comments in ep 1 about loving London would be happy staying in society and entertaining. It could be an arrangement they are both content in.

The marquess that the Queen introduces to francesca is another gentleman who I think is OK, seems nice enough but again I don't think he is right for francesca, he wants a big family with lots of noise and that is not what she wants.

However I adore the relationship between francesca and John sterling. I just love how they didn't need any long flowery conversation in order to feel a connection to each other. In fact it was their mutual love of peace and quiet that bonded them. He is someone she could enjoy quiet evenings with, someone whose company she could enjoy but without the pressure of forced socialisation and conversation. I can see them spending their evenings in a drawing room with her playing the piano and him enjoying her music. Simple but contented. Out of the two, him and the marquess, I hope she chooses Sterling.

With that being said I am starting to feel sorry for the queen. Each season she tries to set a bridgerton up with someone and every season they choose someone else least minute instead, daphne turned down the Prince for Simon, Anthony ended up not with Edwina but her sister instead and I suspect it's going to go the same way with francesca where she will be courted by the queen's pick but will ultimately choose John sterling. Honestly at this point Charlotte just give up, stay far from the bridgertons and enjoy the drama from a safe distance.

Let's talk about violet bridgerton. It seems she herself may have a romance this season in lady Danbury's brother, spoilers for queen Charlotte, but I do find it kind of funny that Danbury had an affair with violet's father and now violet might be getting with Danbury's brother.

Keeping on the subject of violet I love how well she knows her children. She always sees right through them. She could tell right away that francesca was smitten with Stirling even if she is a little confused about how they don't really talk much to each other. Also one conversation and she figured out that Colin has fallen in love with penelope. I also love that moment when Colin says he isn't coming to the ball and violet not so subtly tells him that penelope may be getting engaged that evening and what a shame it would be for him to miss it. She knew exactly what to say to get him to that ball and confessing his feelings to penelope before it's too late. Love you violet you are a legend.

Lady featherington is an interesting character because I do believe she genuinely loves her girls and wants what's best for them. But her idea of what is best for them is too make sure they marry and they are financially secure. I also think she wraps her own fate up in her girls fortunes too she knows her own security relies on them having a male heir. Unfortunately despite her love for her daughters she often says things very hurtful to her girls in particular penelope, which doesn't make her a very likable character. That conversation between her and penelope in ep 4 right as penelope is leaving the ball after debling's rejection is an interesting moment. Lady featherington's first reaction is to blame penelope for debling leaving, penelope rightly calls her out asking if she only has value if she has a lord's engagement ring. What's interesting is that this statement clearly hit Lady featherington hard, you can see that she feels guilty, I think this is further punched home when prudence comes running up to her telling her she's pregnant and asking if she is excited. I think it's a moment where she realises how many expectations she has put on her daughters and how that has made them believe that her love for them is conditional on them meeting these expectations. I am interested to see if this realisation changed her behaviour towards her daughters going forward.

That carriage scene, ice someone get me ice. Honestly the chemistry between them was perfect, sizzling in fact. Also of course they ended it with Colin proposing. I am really excited to see where its going to go next especially as Colin still has to learn that penelope is whistledown. I feel like a whole lot of drama is coming our way.

[iddybyddybee]

I won't say I wasn't disappointed with how Creloise's story ended in Season 3 initially, but after finishing the season and thinking for a bit, I'm a little more neutral on the topic. Why? May I play devil's advocate for a moment and list two things that I got post-Season 3 for future queer representation.

Cressida's spiral in Part 2 reminded me of another Sapphic character's journey: Catra from She-ra. Catra was the main baddie for a long while, but in Season 4, there was a shift in her that made her push EVERYONE away, especially the people who were kind to her. She felt betrayed by the one person she felt the closest to, the one she loved. Catra sank so low and gave into her worst tendencies not only to make other people suffer, but also so that no one would see her suffer. That is what Cressida did, as well. In her final confrontation with Eloise, she wanted their friendship to continue and write as LW (a poor plan in hindsight since Eloise knew full well that she wasn't LW), and when Eloise refused, she immediately fell back on her bullying ways. That was enough for Eloise to end things, leaving Cressida's last good human connection gone and becoming entirely alone. She felt betrayed by someone she cared deeply about, and lashed out because of it. While it's over for now, I'm not quite giving up my hope on Creloise. Like Catra, she can be redeemed. Cressida really did show that Eloise influenced her in a positive way, despite the direction she took being not the greatest one, and Eloise even admitted that she genuinely liked being friends with Cressida during their start. Cressida may not appear next season, but maybe the one after that. Maybe she'll take the time in Wales to mature, come back and try to patch things up with Eloise.

As for not getting a canon WLW ship with a Bridgerton, we just got confirmation of not one, but TWO Bridgerton siblings being somewhere on the queer spectrum. All we wanted was at least one sibling to be queer, and now we have two. That's huge and also realistic! Like, in a family of 8, how can one of them NOT be queer? Even with me and my siblings, we have a collection of straight, ace, bi, and gay (we basically won the queer lottery). So there is still a chance for Eloise to be queer in some manner. Maybe she can be asexual, but find romantic feelings for someone? Maybe a woman? Perhaps... Cressida~? They already flipped the gender of Francesca's love interest, who's to say they can't completely change Eloise's love interest, too?

We're not going to get Season 4 for, like, two more years, so there's a lot of time to stew with what transpired. But I would like to remain optimistic. That's all we can do, for now.

[sleepyfireball]

I loved Season 3 of Bridgerton so much

I loved Colin and Penelope's romance, how it was evident she was still in love with him and yet was trying to be practical. Not to mention the fact that he was down bad after one (1) kiss, like she got him good with that one! Also, love the fact that Colin was trying to get Penelope to not be herself and yet it was by being herself that she attracted Debling (decent guy through and through, low key thinking him and Cressida might be a good match) and Colin's jealousy was phenomenal, just the yearning, amazing. And of course, the carriage scene, damn did it deliver or what.

I loved seeing Francesca in a more prominent role and I'm so pleased with Hannah's portrayal. I was a little worried that it wouldn't feel like Francesca but she just nailed it. Francesca and John were so cute together, just sitting there silently confusing the hell out of the Bridgertons.

I enjoyed Violet immensely this season. I'm so glad that the writers are showing how she has learned from previous seasons, especially with Eloise and her role in society. I think Violet isn't entirely sure how best to help Francesca because she is quite different from Violet herself and from her own sisters, but it was evident from the scene of Francesca playing the sheet music that John got her that Violet recognises how happy he makes Francesca. Violet also clued on about Colin's predicament very quickly, thank goodness otherwise we would have needed another 5 years for Colin to work up the courage to tell Penelope his feelings. Ruth Gemmell really shone in her scenes where she was advising any of her children, but particularly with Colin, amazing, no notes.

I adored the scenes between Marcus Anderson and Violet. They had a really palpable chemistry, but they aren't going to fast with it, which I appreciate, and I'm really looking forward to seeing how their story continues to develop into Part 2. Ruth Gemmell really made it feel realistic with the small hope of more while still primarily focusing on her children and not getting carried away too quickly.

Queen Charlotte was phenomenal this season alongside Lady Danbury. They've really played into the friendship that was established in QC: ABS which was a wonderful call because these two actors are amazing together. I only wished we had gotten more Lady Danbury and Penelope scenes, to establish that relationship, but perhaps it will come in Part 2.

Marcus Anderson is an enigma, especially with whatever happened between him and Lady Danbury, I really hope he is as good a guy as he comes across as, because him and Violet have really got something cute going on. Also, Lady Danbury can either keep her mouth shut about it, or be confronted by Violet about loving her dad. Lady Danbury really doesn't have a leg to stand on here.

Eloise, this season, made perfect sense to me. She is finally starting to embrace a little of what the Season can offer and I wasn't expecting to like her and Cressida's friendship at all, but it does seem to have helped Eloise a little, especially after her falling out with Penelope. I'm pleased they didn't go for the outright villain route of her revealing Whistledown even accidentally. I think by the end of the season Eloise and Penelope will hopefully be friends again, or at least something nearing it, because while Cressida has helped Eloise, it is clear the Eloise's morals feel a bit torn about this due to Cressida's actions, particularly towards Penelope.

It was interesting to see more of Cressida this season and some of the pressure she finds herself under due to her family. I also appreciate that the writers are like we'll explain why she does it, but it doesn't excuse her actions.

I think the Featheringtons continue to be comedic relief, which is highly entertaining. The Featheringtons may not be my favourite family and their treatment of Penelope is reproachable but when it is just Portia, Prudence and Phillipa, the entertainment is amazing. Polly Walker, particularly, did amazingly in her scenes.

I'm not sure how to feel about Benedict and Lady Tilley Arnold, it felt a little unnecessary for Benedict to fall into bed with another person and Lady Tilley certainly seems to be questionable in some way, especially with her lawyer.

I liked seeing the Mondrich's, even if it felt like their story was a little unnecessary. Like we've had stories about trying to fit in society, I feel like the writers could have used the time to explore the other stories they had, but I didn't dislike their scenes.

[pht-art]

Eloise Bridgerton : my thoughts

I don't know how to feel now that I've watched Bridgerton because at first I was so happy to have finally found a character that I relate to and thatseems like me, but I see a lot of people hating her and never liked her since season 1. They doesn't like her because she seems to be rude and selfish and only cares about her well-being and is arrogant but I absolutely don't find her like that and I still adore her. So now I feel like if people find me, they just wouldn't like me. 😂

Here's my thought about Eloise :

I'm sure deep down Eloise wants a relationship with someone, like a real connection, a soul connection. She sees the true picture of society and doesn't want a relationship based on lies, the hypocrisy, the arrangement and forced meetings. She is bored and does not feel in harmony with this society.

With Theo, she wasn't bored, he was a great positivity for her and she felt accepted by him for who she was and not for who she wasn't, when he told her all those bad things, she was hurt because she's not like that.

Lady Whistledown harmed something that made Eloise feel good outside of Penelope and her family. She needed something that would change her from her daily life, that would make her feel alive and Lady Whisltedown took that away from her, insulted and humiliated her.

Of course, when she found out it was Pen, she felt deeply betrayed and hurt. What she did to her really hurt her deeply, she was lost, betrayed.

What Eloise did with Cressida was because she wanted to hurt Pen, she got to know Cressida and realized her situation, she tried to help her but the moment she saw that her brother could have been even more hurt than herself, when she understood that Colin loved Pen to the point of asking her to marry him, she focused on what was most important to her, her family, but she also felt betrayed by Colin, everyone lied to her.

I remind you that she is the only one who went to those who are not like everyone else, Theo, Cressida, which shows that she cares about everyone but no matter who you are, her family will always comes first. She didn't said anything to colin about Pen not because she is selfish but because as she said " I was too brokenhearted to speak of it". In fact it's the fisrt time she is that honest and show her vulnerability. You can see it on Colin's face.

The fact that she is the only one crying during Polin's wedding is a proof of her loyalty and her deep love for the few people she lets enter her heart. She was happy for her friends and her brother after all, she is loyal and a very deep person but her anger and sadness took over and she listened to Kate's advice indeed.

Maybe, and I INSIST ON maybe, she would like to experience that too. When she says "and one's again I am left with the fact that everyone eventually pairs off" I see it more as "why everyone else and not me", it's subtle.

When she says "Just tears from losing another friend to marriage or maybe it was dust", that's HER HUMOR, she is happy for them, she stays true to herself , she may not want to show even the slightest hint of her thoughts.

Benedict told her "Love is not finite Eloise, the friendship you have with Penelope is a lucky thing, as is the one you have with Colin," Benedict is the one who knows her best. She limits her love to what she already knows and the unusual scares her.

I have the impression that Eloise acts like this not because she hates love but because she refuses to love and I think that's because of her father's death and the betrayals she had. She don't want to lose control over her emotions and she is selective (it's not being selfish). She doesn't want to suffer.

Eloise is VERY witty but behind this mask, she is REALLY reserved, very sensitive and does not like to show her emotions and feelings, ( that's why she is disgusted when she sees couple showing love to each other) which is why she uses sarcasm, black humor, ironic phrases and humor at any time.

When they start talking about her feelings, Eloise looks away and changes the subject, always talking about Gregory, so we can no longer focus on her.

Benedict understands her very well, that's why he talked to her during the wedding reception. She is absolutely not childlish, it's her personality and it's her strong shell to not show she feels lonely.

I am so much looking forward to her season just to see how she would be and how it will turn out and to know if I was right. 🙃

It’s quite funny because after Eloise my favorite character is Benedict. The character which I identified the most with has the same favorite as me.…

[romanticatheartt]

Do you remember how I said I won't be watching s3? Yes, I'm a lying liar through and through lol my sister said let's watch it and I love watching movies or TV shows with her, and tbh we had a good laugh😭💀

Okay so here are my thoughts:

First of all: KATE AND ANTHONY. Omg they're everything to me!! They were only in one episode but they made that episode theirs. I just love seeing them blissfully happy and living in their own bubble. I'm both sad and glad they were only in one episode. Because I wouldn't put it past the writers to give them some unnecessary drama and conflict. At the same time their screen time was so little... I suppose we can't have it all :')

Francesca. Omg I love her so much. I already loved her from the books but the show? God, she's so cute and beautiful. Hannah played her to perfection and I'm glad she's the new Francesca. Even when you read the books, that's how you imagine Fran's character. Both she and Kate have a special place in my heart.

John... my god John is here. And I'm already too attached to him. I can't- Listen, I know my heart will break when his time comes. The actor was such a good choice for his character and I was on the verge of crying whenever he appeared with Fran. She was always so happy to see him. I never thought two characters/actors could have this much chemistry while sitting in silence. GOD I LOVE THEM and I'm ready for heartbreak :D We still have no Michael but I'll keep hoping for him to appear because my god... Francesca's book is filled with angst I just hope when it's her turn, they do it justice<3

I actually enjoyed Eloise and Cressida. I never thought I'd say this but I did!! I know they made 180 changes about her character in the new season but I don't really care lol I just hope she works it out with Debling so at least she'll be free from her parents.

People keep saying they don't like Eloise this season but she's so much better than me. I would've been so much worse... The first thing I would've done was give Pen's name to the queen but she kept it this whole time and was actually worried about Pen... she was kind enough to a person who ruined her and her family, not once but twice.

There are too many side plots in this season. Like I don't want to be pathetic but we've been saying that since s2 and y'all called us delusional and said to be grateful because it was more than enough. But now that I see even Polin fans have a problem with this season makes me so happy and sad at the same time. Because when this happened to your favs, it's a real issue...

I love LD and QC friendship so much!! And QC & Brimsly. These friendships were more shaped since QC spin-off and I really enjoyed it.

It's obvious to me that they don't know what to do with Ben's plot lol. Because creating these unnecessary original characters is doing a disadvantage to the whole show. I really hope we see Sophie this season. 

Okay I've avoided the inevitable as much as I could lol so let's talk about the main couple:

They have no chemistry. I know some might not agree with me but there's no chemistry for me. It has always been like this since s1. At least I don't feel anything special between them. Nicola is a wonderful actor and is carrying the whole ship on her shoulders and I said what I said. 

Luke wasn't good at portraying Colin at all. He has no charisma and is trying too hard. I'm not talking about his character wanting to be something he's not but talking about the acting in general, so don't come for me with that argument. They really tried to make him like Anthony but failed miserably. Which is sad because even tho I haven't read their book, he in other books was absolutely my favorite side character. Me and my sister were laughing our asses off at some of his actings like sir... pls don't😭 I'm being super mean omg

The pacing of their relationship was weird. When he proposed to her I was so shocked like in episode 4? Already? Then I remembered in s1 we had the same situation but in s1 it felt right. It wasn't weird or felt too soon or too late, it was right. With Polin, everything felt out of order. I think they didn't want to focus much on building it up because they felt they already did in the past 2 seasons but it just felt off in the end. They weren't even together much on screen to feel like it's building up!! There was no arc or if it was, it was too subtle that if you blink you'll miss it.

The other problem with their plot was the similarity between s1 and s3. Simon was trying to help Daphne to find a husband and Colin is doing the same thing. Except s1 main trope was Fake Dating and s3 was Friends to Lover.

Which brings me to another reason why I didn't like s3. Friends to Lovers trope. Honestly, this is a me problem. I've never liked this trope at all. I really tried to change my mind about it, like reading books with this trope but most of the time I'm left unsatisfied or hating the book. Unfortunately, s3 was no different. This trope always comes off as unpassionate for me. Which I think it's the trope. Because it's supposed to be cute and subtle and I'm not sure it's really my thing. So I guess the major reason for my dislike of this season is the trope.

There were 2 fkn scenes of Colin participating in a threesome... That was so fkn bad like I can't believe this just happened. And one of them was after he kissed Penelope... I don't care that he didn't continue but... OUGH it gave the ick so bad, I didn't even watch it,  just fast-forwarded it.

That carriage scene was okay-ish? It didn't leave me breathless like the Kanthony scenes did. Tbh s2 left me in a shamble with how much emotions I felt with those two. But with s3, I had the exact opposite feeling toward the main couple.

Anyway, I think this season, revealing LW's identity was their priority which is why they weren't so focused on the romance (?) idk but I feel like part 2 won't be any different than part 1 and they're gonna throw some sex scenes to make it up for the romance lol

ps: I know I said s4 will be Benedict's and I still think it will be but if they decide to make it Francesca's? Oh, I wouldn't mind at all!! 

[myfairstarlight]

Good day friend! I've been really enjoying your takes for bridgerton this season :D Would love to hear your thoughts about part 2, particularly Colin's character portrayal if you're at all inclined!

Well hello there dear, thank you!

And what a coincidence, because Colin's portrayal, always the polarising topic in this fandom it seems, has been on my mind ever since I finished watching part 2... I shall ramble here then! I hope you do not mind a long answer, dear reader, for my last analysis post was not a quick read indeed. And I will now also stop trying to sound like Whistledown.

So, overall thoughts? I think he was handled mostly brilliantly, actually. And thus still despite the pacing issues (but that's an overall issue I have with the show, not specific to this season). Controversial take, already, so let's break it down a bit.

I will try to organise my rambling, but this is pretty much my immediate thoughts after watching the season. Perhaps I'll make a more organised and proper post later, adding Penelope's side, like my friends to lovers love letter, but we'll see! So:

Colin's journey to self-love

Because just like Penelope, though we arguably see it less, Colin has his own journey to loving himself because the thing with Colin is that he's still so insecure. Yes, he's more himself in part 2 now that he realised he's in love, he no longer tries to pretend to be someone he's not, but he still struggles to prove himself, and we see it in those last two episodes, when the truth is truly out. People are harsh on him for being so caught up in what Whistledown wrote and constantly celebrating the idea that LW might meet her demise, almost like a child who just got some sweets, but as we've seen in his discussion with Eloise after the reveal, it's because Whistledown calling him out at the beginning of the season for his new persona poked at his biggest insecurity, and he's still stuck on that, even more so now that he learns Penelope was behind the words, the one person who always made him feel seen and in this case, made him feel too seen. To me, him bringing up Marina so insistently was him grasping at straws, clinging to the one thing he knows for sure was unfair so he does not have to face the fact that what Penelope wrote was the truth (sidenote, was a little disappointed they did not have Penelope say she did try to talk to him about Marina but he literally did not listen and did not care that Marina loved another). He is still trying to find who he is and for a moment, he thought he had it, thanks to the very person now making him question everything all over again.

And oh boy does he not cope well.

Hero complex and what it means to be the man of the house

Colin has a hero complex. That's news to absolutely no one, unless you have not paid attention, so I won't make a list of the instances in previous seasons again. But we see it right away in e5 as he stands up for Penelope in front of Portia, then constantly shielding Penelope as soon as Cressida is involved. Penelope even thanks him for it, telling her no one has ever stood up for her of the sort, which fuels his hero complex. In fact, it is Colin's protectiveness that leads him to learn Penelope is Whistledown since he followed her out of worry, and that leads him to the realisation that she may not need him as much as he thought she did (and in his mind, perhaps she even just pretended to need him, to love him). And that, along with discovering that secret, shatters him. His whole sense of purpose, the one thing he thought he could for sure provide? Gone, just like that.

Even more so later when he learns she may be richer than him lol

So he overcompensates. When Cressida's blackmail is revealed, he does not listen, he jumps on the opportunity to prove himself, to protect his wife even if he's still mad at her, no one can disrespect her and his family so blatantly. As the man of the house, he needs to do what he must. And then he fucking fails and makes things far worse. And you know what? How satisfying it was that for once he failed, arguably when it was the most important for him, to remind him that hey, don't get on your high horse, listen to your wife and your family, don't try to handle everything on your own! (A lesson that Penelope also has to learn at the same time! That's marriage baby!) I like that he gets humbled twice, by Penelope and Cressida, the person he loves most and the one he despises so, yet they both throw the truth at him - he's privileged, as a man, and as a Bridgerton. He gets to question himself, travel to his whim, be even reckless like he just was because he will always have unconditional love from his family, but Penelope had to hide a part of herself to be able to do something she likes, meanwhile Cressida has to resort to questionable means to avoid getting married off to an old man. They do not have the luxury that Colin has to just do things. And it pains him to face that.

I've seen the sentiment that part 2 has Penelope be more assertive than Colin, with the dynamic shifting again when it should not, and while it is true she is the one who seeks him out more, it makes sense, she is seeking his forgiveness all throughout the last two episodes. I love her, but you cannot argue she is not at fault here and Colin deserves to be upset and a bit withdrawn as he deals with the conflicting feelings suddenly assaulting him. Yes the entrapment accusation hurt especially since he was the one who couldn't keep his hands to himself, but with his history after Marina, it makes sense that's what his hurt mind decides to focus on that, to justify the fact he's still so upset (It does bother me he never apologises for that comment though, at the same time Penelope doesn't hold it against him. They, or the writers, probably forgot about it.) But I would also argue that him being so troubled, is a proof of love, he even says so to Eloise "you are lucky you've never been in love" because if he wasn't, this would be much easier to deal with. Despite it all, he loves her, he chooses her, he will protect her, he must. He decides to sleep on the sofa to still stay close to Penelope despite the fact he could just sleep in one of the empty bedrooms. He still reassures her during their wedding, with one look encouraging her to walk more confidently down the aisle, and he holds her oh so tenderly when they dance at the wedding breakfast. He's so upset, but he's still so much in love. Of course, unlike part 1, there's no urgency or desperation on his part, there's no Debling threatening to take Penelope away, or him trying to earn back her favours so of course suddenly his displays of love feel less outward. But again, they're arguing, no he will not forgive her so easily, and that's a good thing, yet he's still here to support and protect her, and that says so much because again, he could just leave, that would have no consequence to him as a man. And in kind, Penelope makes an effort to do better as well, no longer witholding any secret from him, and he sees that.

And deep down, he understands Penelope, we see it when he confronts Cressida and perfectly described why Penelope became LW without her telling him in such words beforehand, because he's had similar struggles, he just needs to admit it, and be okay to show this vulnerability with her.

Colin's writer struggles and jealousy.

Now, I must admit, this was the weakest and a bit disappointing part of his arc to me, which is why I'm writing it last. I wish we could have had more time exploring that, and not just being told so (hopefully in s4? Assuming the writers won't pull a Kate and Anthony and constantly have them leave for no reason). This, however, adds to the previous part and Colin's struggle to provide, be the man of the house.

Here his wife is, an accomplished writer, even if under a pen name, who may be richer than he, oh how it must have deepened his insecurity. After all, if he cannot provide protection, or financial stability, then what good is he to her? What good are his silly journals when compared to that damn column that has all of Mayfair on a chokehold?

And yet.

Is it not telling and precious that he kept all of Penelope's letters? And that they're the catalyst of reminding him why he loves her so much, and how her love for writing and her cleverness shine through and that it is unfair of him to expect her to give it up when he himself aspires to be a writer? Writing is what brings them together truly, the same way writing letters to each other was the precursor for him realising his feelings as well. He is at peace then, Penelope is Whistledown, and she shines with her pen, and Colin fell in love with her quill, long ago, he was just overcome with grief to realise Whistledown held the same brilliance.

And sure, Penelope does not need him to provide, but she loves writing so much, and it inspires Colin in his own writing as well. And I also think it's super cute that he was going through a writer's block until Penelope told him she's loved him for years and suddenly the gates were opened (granted, this was before the reveal but now imagine post-reveal, as he struggles to edit and write, Penelope comes up beside him telling him he's doing well and boom, he's determined to write again).

But, back to the topic at hand, most importantly... he offers her love and support, even through all this battle, he unconsciously kept caring for her, and that's what Penelope craves, just someone there for her.

And that? That Colin can absolutely be, and he will proudly take on the role of her husband rather than "the man".

So I think this about wraps it up! Colin is the definition of a sensitive man trying his best to tough it up, a third son who struggles to find a place in this world. But he found a woman who does not need him to be what he is not, the one woman who will love him not for what he can provide, but for who he truly is, kind and incredibly empathetic. The one woman who fell in love with him because she made him fall off a horse and instead of yelling because of a bruised ego, he laughed at his own expense.

And I just think Colin Bridgerton is neat.

Also as I hit post it's 2AM for me so if some of this doesn't make sense, that's why, don't hold it against me, thank you dear one <3

[lovelyo]

Cressida Torture Porn

RANT INCOMING: What the absolute fuck is wrong with this show and their love for torturing Cressida? Do they get off in making this girl suffer? If I was in her position, I would go apeshit too.

All this girl wants is a genuine connection, to be valued and all people do is knock her down. She lashes out horribly on people just like Penelope, but she’s punished while Penelope is considered a girlboss even though Cressida’s home environment is shittier than Penelope’s. Her hope from her suffocating fate was Eloise only for Eloise to push her to the side for a friend who lied to her for years and screwed her over. Got called a viper (EVEN THOUGH ELOISE KNOWS WHO LW IS! 🤬🤡) by the person she always wanted to befriend even before Eloise fell out with Penelope.

Cressida saved Eloise from loneliness but Eloise didn’t reciprocate when Cressida was in need. Even then, she liked Eloise so much that before she left to get shipped away to even a more emotionally absent relative, she wanted to reconcile with Eloise, but Eloise closed the chapter. She tried to say goodbye to Eloise before she left. Eloise didn’t even bother to look Cressida’s way when she left.

All for Penelope who has done considerably more damage to her than anyone. 😐😑

It was the first time ever I was genuinely upset at Eloise. Eloise knew about Cressida’s ordeal but still vilified her and abandon her like she was a side piece(ain’t far from the truth really). Eloise unfortunately had to drink the OOC Koolaid for Penelope to get her HEA. This made me despise Penelope more btw. While everyone is in a damn romantic sitcom catering to Pen, Cressida is fighting for her life in this SAW trap where it’s do or get fucked.

Cressida was a bitch throughout the show until we came upon her reasonings in S3 which made her more of a sympathetic character than Penelope ever was. We should feel bad for this “woe is me” jackass who’s more privileged than anyone in this goddamn show but not the one who has parents that are emotional as a spiked bat?

The one who’s been indoctrinated heavily by her mother to treat other women like enemies?

The one where it’s her 3rd time on the marriage mart, got the guy she had her sights on get taken away just for Penelope to say sike and marry Colin and for Lord Debling to go MIA?(the same happened to her with the fucking prince in season 1!)

The one who’s being forced to marry an old man cause rarely anyone wants her?

The one who lost a friendship she thought was genuine while that friend is going around dunking on her name?

The one who is actually looked down by the ton because they can’t take her seriously?

Her life pretty much sucks but the show keeps trying to shove in our faces that Cressida is a bully so she got what she deserved. Fuck Cressida Cowper, amirite?

Oh Christ.

I’m not justifying her rude and sometimes cringe actions, but if people can “understand” why Penelope does what she does, why can’t people extend the same courtesy to Cressida? Oh yes, she was mean to the show’s golden child so she gets the hammer.

Cressida didn’t expose Penelope to the queen even though she could have. She wasn’t even the one who wrote the fake Bridgerton slander, it was her mom and she even confronted her mom and made her displeasure known about it!

All she wanted was money to be free from her fate. She was desperate but the Bridgertons are like “haha u stupid and u suck. Speaking of suck, time to go suck on Penelope’s toes.”

Yeah, Cressida isn’t clever, she’s stupid right? Stupid enough to quickly figure out who LW was before you Bitchgertons. You hacks didn’t even figure it out when Colin and Penelope’s engagement was printed THE NEXT DAY!

They did Cressida so dirty this season like it’s really heartbreaking, no joke. Cressida is the true victim, not the redhead who got an undeserved HEA cause self-inserters and favoritism.

P.S. Penelope keeping her persona but just using her real name is SO FUCKING STUPID

[sugarcubetikki]

Okay. I am annoyed by the everything so I’m gonna go ahead and debunk all the arguments against the Francesca X Michaela storyline.

In case you weren’t aware of all the complaints going around, here they are:

they’ve completely changed the storyline from the books! francesca’s infertility storyline was sooo important and now it won’t happen!

eloise would’ve made more sense as the queer bridgerton, her and cressida or some other female character would’ve been great over francesca.

by immediately making francesca attracted to michaela they downplayed john and her’s relationship that was built up this season, they cheapened the book storyline into a cliche love triangle!

michael was the best book hero ever! I can’t believe they’ve changed him to michaela.

I am taking all these criticisms/complaints at face value and ignoring any lesbophobia undertones (for now) just to prove how flawed they still are on their own.

Firstly, saying that Francesca’s infertility storyline has been ruined is far from the truth. Instead it can be done in a different way. Think about Francesca in a queer relationship and wanting kids in the kind of society she lives in. It basically mirrors the infertility storyline from the books except her struggles would become representative of the struggles that queer people who want kids face. If they went for this storyline in her season, I think it would be really really nice, we’ve seen a straight infertility storyline play out so many times, this would be great.

Secondly, I am so tired of hearing that it should’ve been Eloise over Francesca. I don’t think Eloise would’ve made more or less sense as a queer women. I think any and every character has the potential to be written as queer or straight. Being an outspoken women with little interest on marriage shouldn’t make Eloise more queer. I also really liked the idea of a potential Eloise X Cressida romance but that does not mean Francesca cannot be queer. In fact, I’m excited to see this introverted autistic queer girl rep! Francesca, go prove we exist.

Thirdly, Francesca’s season hasn’t even happened yet! Getting mad over one scene of Michaela, saying that John and Francesca’s relationship has been downplayed and that we’re in for a cheapened love triangle story is so unreasonable. It was a single scene and people are choosing to get mad over something that hasn’t even happened yet? Besides, if this storyline plays out, it wouldn’t mean that Francesca shouldn’t have been made queer but simply that the writers didn’t write the storyline to your liking. The fact that there’s this much outrage over this is so ridiculous to me. Wait till her season. We have no idea how they’re going to play out the storyline just yet so stop hating already (there may be some lesbophobia implications to this claim which I have spoken about below).

Fourthly, I know it’s not a nice feeling to not get the chance to see a beloved book character onscreen due to this gender swap. It may feel unfair but I mean but…give Michaela a chance? We haven’t seen her personality yet and we don’t know how Masali will bring her character to life. If your qualms are that the love interest is no longer a guy you can fetishise and fawn over, then well…log out of the internet, rant to a friend and stick to the books. Let the sapphics have their wlw romance that we rarely get these days because we keep getting cancelled since streaming services hate gay women. And no that is not an exaggeration but our plain reality. So let us have this.

Finally, to end things off, let us address the lesbophobia aspect to this separately because it is 100% worth mentioning.

The treatment towards queer women onscreen is hardly the same as the hype around queer men.

We can see it in the way streaming services and the internet hype up gay romances whilst sapphic romances are largely ignored and cast to the side (just to make it clear I have nothing against people enjoying mlm romance I enjoy mlm romance all I’m saying that it’s a real shame that wlw romance doesn’t get the same amount of appreciation).

The response to Francesca X Michaela has been largely negative and it’s frustrating. Outside of the cosy gay rabbit hole that tumblr is, there’s just outrage over this storyline/pairing for a number of different reasons that well…all feel ridiculous.

Bridgerton has gone off the books many times yet there’s more outrage than before when it comes to Francesca X Michaela?

Fans are getting a lot more defensive of John and Francesca’s relationship despite knowing he was never going to be endgame all because of Michaela? I’m sorry but I’m sure that if Michaela was Michael and we got the exact same scene with Francesca, do you think there would be as much outrage over John and Francesca’s relationship being downplayed? No. Let’s be honest. People wouldn’t be as mad because there’d be an attractive man involved.

I think the sapphics deserve so much more and better treatment from fellow non-sapphics. Instead of a show of appreciation, we keep getting unreasonable amounts of fire onto this storyline that hasn’t even happened.

What’s worse is that I know that Francesca X Michaela’s romance could follow the story beats of previous seasons that were eaten up by fans and still be bad to people because sapphic romances are just judged more harshly as straight audiences refuse to connect with them. If their romance isn’t phenomenal and just good, then it won’t be enough which is just frustrating.

So yeah, the hate towards Francesca and Michaela is unwarranted and unjust. People need to calm down and realise that their claims are contributing to lesbophobia whether they realise it or not.

[copiouscouples]

A Crap Ton of Thoughts on Part 2

The PR of It All

I asked no one for the press junket. I would have watched Bridgerton regardless. But we got it and I loved parts of it. Luke and Nicola’s hilarious interviews and the gushing over the season with fellow fans online.

I had two problems with it though.

1. The Overhype

We just didn’t get enough scenes and while the steamy was steamy I was expecting more.

2. The Manipulation of It All

I do not care if two costars are dating or not. That is not and never has been a requirement for me to enjoy a show. I was even cool with Luke not wanting to share because he was worried about his gf’s wellbeing when it came to internet crazies. What I do not like is the blatant withholding of information to make things appear one way when they’re really not I.e. that Luke and Nicola could or couldn’t be in a relationship. I don’t blame Luke or Nicola for this choice because it has PR’s fingerprints all over it. The fact that this whole thing was done for PR is annoying and belittling. You really think fans can’t handle hearing one or both of them are in a relationship? I am more than a little perturbed with Bridgerton’s PR.

The Show Itself

The Bad

The Mondrichs. Great people. Still don’t care about their storyline. It was time that should’ve been used for the main couple.

Benedict and Lady Tilley I didn’t find his scenes hot. They were so devoid of emotion. It’s actually making me question if he’ll be a believable romantic lead.

Missed opportunities for sexiness. When Colin saw her in her nightgown. He should’ve got it crackin right then and there. The street make out was also way too short.

A certain song choice. The continued use of this one artist is such a bummer.

The Middling

This was Barbie Bridgerton. This is almost what Barbie should’ve been - a respectful navigation of each other’s wishes and desires. The only things missing were a) more Colin internal thoughts time and b) showing that a real relationship allows for each partner’s strengths. Your partner should be someone you can rely on and can pick up the slack when you’re unable and I wish they would’ve shown that more.

Cressida - This was an enjoyable storyline but it was ultimately pointless. Plus I kind of hoped she’d get with Debling.

Francesca - Mildly entertaining. I feel bad for John though.

Lady Whistledown being revealed - eh, I’m unsure about how I feel. Like on one hand, I’m glad the queen is gonna leave her alone and she doesn’t have to keep up the secrecy. On the other, how is she gonna get good goss if people know who she is now? I’d definitely stop taking when she approached.

The Good

Steamy Scenes - The “lie down” almost took me out. That and the end where she was getting some riding practice. Yeah, I enjoyed that.

The Angst - I’m gonna rewatch in a couple weeks and I’m sure I’m gonna love the angst even more. I loved the longing. I even loved Colin being a bit of a douche when he was all in his feels.

Penelope and Portia working their shiz out. - Portia learning to be the mom that Penelope needs was chef’s kiss.

Eloise and Penelope sitting on the couch like old times. My heart!

Benedict giving Colin a forehead kiss. It was so cute!

Release the bugs. That was just a cool, tension-relieving moment.

To Sum It Up

I’m put off by Bridgerton in more than one way. Some of the decisions made from a storytelling and a PR point of view definitely has me reconsidering if I want to continue watching this show going forward. I’ll always enjoy the first three seasons though.

Also, I now know to skip the PR. The Luke/Nicola chemistry was so strong and the body language really got me hopeful. But I know the way the world works. I’ve seen pictures of what Luke’s friends look like and that Nicola and him would never realistically be together. But those interviews got me believing things for a minute not gonna lie. I think in the future ignorance is best. And I’ll skip all the amp up before a show airs.

Ratings

Polin/Penelope of It All - A-

Overall - C-