😍 Need I say more?
Season one was delightful and I've been looking forward to the second (even though I knew that the divine RJP wasn't going to be in it). There are a couple of reasons why. I'm a long-time fan of Julia Quinn's Bridgerton series. They were some of the first romance books I ever read. And she remains my favorite regency writer after the wonderful Georgette Heyer and
inimitable Jane Austen. And this season was based on my favorite of her books, The Viscount Who Loved Me.
And here's where you expect me to tell you that the show managed somehow to be even better than the book, like I did with the first season.
And, boy, do I wish I could.
But here's where I circle back to that I only watched six of the eight episodes remark from earlier. While I found the first half of the season delightful, the second half was hit and miss to me. As in it irritated me so much I deliberately skipped the sixth and seventh episodes.
I'll explain why. But, be warned, there are some mild SPOILERS ahead. (You can skip down to the SPOILER END below if you're sensitive about these kind of details. But I've done my best to only speak in general terms.)
The show stuck pretty close to Julia Quinn's vision of Kate & Antony's story for the first couple of episodes. But it took a sharp left turn after the main protagonists arrived at the Bridgerton family's country estate. And that's where it went wrong for me.
The show totally skipped the major plot twist of the book. And without the twist, the reason why the main couple aren't together quickly became contrived and frustrating.
It leaned way too heavily on the I'm in love with my sister's love interest and can't tell her because of REASONS trope. Which really isn't one of my favorites. There were no stakes beyond some hurt feelings. Which just wasn't a strong enough reason for the
main couple to both be miserable for the rest of their lives. And especially not when Edwina, the sister in question, was a sweet girl who would have understood.
(All Edwinas are awesome. This is a known fact.)
The show also skipped over some key moments in Kate's backstory. For example, her fear of thunderstorms due to the fact her mother died in one. In the book, Anthony comforted her through a stormy night which both showed his softer side and allowed them to bond. In the show, she just had a jump scare in the library.
SPOILER END
So while Bridgerton is eight hours of gorgeous clothes, beautiful settings, inspired orchestral covers of modern pop songs, as well as some damn fine acting...
If you're going to chose between the two, I recommend you read the book!
