It’s been a long time since a show caught my fancy on Netflix- as it is I haven’t watched it in ages since LUMS started. But I have to say that it’s a show that swept me away with the grandeur of the Elizabethan era, reminiscent of the time when I used to devour Jane Eyre novels with a voracious appetite.
Bridgerton is set in 1813, and is about the eponymously
named Bridgerton family. Amusingly, the children are eight in number and drolly
named alphabetically. This particular season is based on Daphne, and her coming
out in London. She is considered to be the Diamond of the Water and according
to a gossip paper by the authoress Lady Whistledown, the most sought after
belle in the ton.
Enter the Duke, a tall, dark, handsome guy with a brooding
countenance and a darkened demeanour. We learn that the Duke has had an unhappy
childhood and he has sworn not to marry. Inevitably, he is the one that all the
girls are drooling over when he arrives in London and all the Ambitious Mamas
are eyeing.
Daphne is a typical Victorian era girl- she wants to get
married and have children of her own. For some inexplicable reason she is
unable to get adequate attention from suitors. And so she and the Duke make up
a ruse and deceive the whole ton- they act as if they are courting so that
Daphne can get attention and the Duke shall be spared of women swooning over
him.
The show did justice to heritage by having a good mix of
blacks and whites. What really struck my fancy were the steamy scenes that peppered
the episodes in the latter half of the season. Even though it was a nineteenth
century tale, it had some very modern touches such as that of contemporary
music. Also, there were some very novel ideas that the show touched upon. For
instance Daphne often speaks about the plight of women, that she has no choice
but to marry and have children. She is juxtaposed by her sister Eloise who is
somewhat of an intellectual with her nose always buried in a book and abhors
the idea of marriage and her impending coming out. Another point of note was
how the show talked about sexuality- the Duke asks Daphne if she has ever
touched herself, and I found that pleasingly shocking to be spoken about in a
setting that is normally so prim and proper and all etiquette. The subsequent
scenes of lovemaking were lurid and not much to think about- too much moaning
and groaning and who the fuck actually orgasms as fast as the Duke does? I mean
women lament that men get done quickly all the time, but for Daphne to also
orgasm that fast is a miracle in itself.
All in all, not a bad Christmas treat. I’ve started on the
novel by Judy Quinn now, so let’s see how that goes.
