1.3. Bridgerton

Hannah Koch 0:00

Hey everyone. Thanks for joining me here on off the list the podcast catching you up on all the things you want to watch, but don't have time for. I'm your host, Hannah Koch. And joining me today is my friend Olivia Coughlin. Joining us from New York, Maine.

Olivia Coughlin 0:15

What's up, guys?

Hannah Koch 0:17

Hello, how are you?

Olivia Coughlin 0:18

I'm doing really good.

Hannah Koch 0:20

Anyway, so today we are covering bridgerton a huge, just storm really just like hit took over Netflix. Um, yeah,

Olivia Coughlin 0:32

it's definitely been taken over all of the platforms. I've seen interviews on Good Morning America and the today's show. I mean, everybody seems like they're talking about this Netflix series.

Hannah Koch 0:45

So it's coming to us from Shonda lands, Shonda Rhimes. So same as Grey's Anatomy, which we already know is a huge hit. It's one like, season like 20. I feel like I never had scandal, yes. And scandal. And she's booked to have now multiple Netflix series.

Olivia Coughlin 1:04

Yeah, personally huge Shonda fan. I think that everything she touches turns to gold. So

Hannah Koch 1:10

it can only really be good. 100% No, that is completely what I was trying to get at. So I think bridgerton I best described Regency era to all the boys I loved before meets Gossip Girl.

Olivia Coughlin 1:24

Absolutely. Absolutely. And for those people that don't know, what Regency era is the characteristics of Regency era sort of dress. So you don't see as much of the tight corseted waist, as you did right before this era. But you still see that smush of the boobs, you know, just enough cleavage,

Hannah Koch 1:45

Smushed boobs.

Olivia Coughlin 1:46

Yes. Big on the smushed boobs, and then tiny little cap sleeves, which you see a lot. And all of the women that are going out to these grand balls. I think it kind of looks like a children's night gown. That's how I would describe it very windy from Peter Pan ask

Hannah Koch 2:05

Yes. I hated them. I was like, This is not a ballgown. I was like very disappointed. I googled Regency era because I also had no idea what it was. And it's like 1811 to 1820. What I thought was really cool as it relates to the show, is that the period what defines it is that King George the Third in the United Kingdom was deemed unfit to rule due to illness. Thank you Wikipedia for this information. But I think that was really neat, because it is something that kind of bleeds into the show to jump into the plot. That way is we do see that with the queen. And her husband again, does have like, I guess it would be like Alzheimers dementia.

Olivia Coughlin 2:50

Yeah, it's not really talked about because obviously in this time, they weren't really aware of those sort of illnesses. But it's definitely shown throughout the show that the queen is very much on her own and doesn't have a lot of interaction with the king who kind of is behind the scenes. And they've kind of hidden from the public eye.

Hannah Koch 3:08

Yeah, there's I think before we get like more into plot, I got some fast facts. Netflix actually reports that season one was watched by a record 82 million households worldwide, either partially or entirety, that is a whopping 19 million households higher than the four week projection that they had. Why do you think that is? You know, pandemic i think is a huge one. For a lot shows, Tiger tank, a

Olivia Coughlin 3:38

lot of shows that wouldn't necessarily have done as well, actually, like, absolutely skyrocketed because people were stuck at home and could binge watch them. But I also think that like the look of the balls and the fancy clothes, and everything provides people with like a sense of escapism, to just kind of go to that fancy, fun place.

Hannah Koch 3:59

Mm hmm. I definitely think that you're onto something there with bridgerton. Being so far from what we're living in right now, like, could definitely have other interesting thing. It's based off a series of eight romance novels and one companion final wrap of novel, which is like a collection of I guess each novel ends with this. They call it like a second epilogue. It's like a happy ending wrap up to each one of those stories. The ninth book has them all together, as well as a novella on the bridgerton mom violet, because she didn't get her own book, but she's a major character. So the author gave her a short little novel, and bridgerton has already been renewed for a second season. Very excited, so stoked about the fact that we got a second season coming into well, supposedly they've teased it will follow Antony bridgerton, the oldest bridgerton, which does match the books. So I think we can be hopeful that there will be eight seasons.

Olivia Coughlin 4:56

Yeah, each book features one of the 10 children, I think it's interesting they don't go in order of oldest to youngest. They start with Daphne. I just think it's interesting because if you notice the way all of the children's names, they all are in alphabetical order starting with oldest to youngest, I don't you have the list of the names if you want to read them to us...

Hannah Koch 5:21

So the oldest Antony a, and then it goes to Benedict, Kallen. Daphne who the first book and season follow Allah we use Francesca Gregory and hyacinth, hyacinth, love that name, by the watch like pronunciations of that a few times. But I think it probably because like, it was just like that very, you know, stereotypical, like, fertility age thing where technically Daphne, even though she's younger than the three older boys like she her like time to come out would be sooner because they always like, you know, let the men run off and like explore the world and go to college and then come home kind of thing. That was the only explanation I could think of for that.

Olivia Coughlin 6:04

Yeah, and it was interesting. I think

Hannah Koch 6:07

we should get into like some other characters. So obviously a huge one is Simon, the Duke of Hastings, who completes are to all the boys I love before comparison. He and Daphne created they called a ruse, where they're going to pretend to be courting so that she looks more desirable because a Duke is interested in her.

Olivia Coughlin 6:27

Now this is important to note that the reason Daphne needs to go with this ruse is the fact that when she was presented to the queen, all of the young ladies who are going to be making their appearance in society this year are presented in front of the queen. And the Queen gives their not her nod of approval or not, or doesn't comment. But when Daphne walked out, the Queen noted her as the jewel of the season. So there's been a lot of pressure on Daphne in order for her to prove to everybody else in society that she is worth the hike. But her brother is the is the one that shooting down all of these men that are coming up to him and he's finding issues with every single one. So as a result, no boys are coming calling anymore. And she is getting a little desperate.

Hannah Koch 7:17

Mm hmm. And Simon has this whole vow that he is never to marry. He says I will not get married. I refuse to marry and so when he's in town, because his father's died and needs to like you know, now become and take over like the Duke ship. So what you would call that the Duke ship, I guess. Sure dukedom Well, I like that too. Anyway, so Simon comes to London to like, fix up his business, whatever. And it's taun season so like all these women are like looking to get married. So they're like flaunting over him. The girls and the moms and so he like Daphne's like his cover like look he's taken don't bother with me, like leave me alone. Him and Daphne decided to have this little ruse in order to fool everyone and make her look more desirable.

Unknown Speaker 8:05

Get him off the hook.

Hannah Koch 8:06

Yes. And lady Danbury who who is, you know, his like pseudo aunt Mom.

Olivia Coughlin 8:11

Yes, that's her name.

Hannah Koch 8:13

You know, she plays a big role in guiding him like all throughout his life, which I think was really nice to see. You know, she really steps up in that parent figure for him. She's also just like a super kind of badass. I like really liked her.

Olivia Coughlin 8:24

I actually read something really cool about the Danbury character. So this character carries a walking stick, which was typically something that was only carried by men of the time. And it doesn't really have anything to do with like being a cane and being used as support. It's more of a symbol of your, I guess like hierarchy. It's a symbol of your status within the society. So the fact that she carries this walking stick around means that she really is taking over the role of the men in the household because she's in charge.

Hannah Koch 8:59

Yeah, and she's a widow. I don't think we ever really figure out what happened to her husband or anything more about like her own family. Just besides that she was Simon's mom's best friend. And then she like took him in so little underdeveloped backstory wise, but a very good figure for like female empowerment within the show. Absolutely. On the other side, we have the Featheringtons who are the Bridgertons, neighbors. They are lady and Lord Featherington, Phil-- Philippa and Prudence who are the two older sisters and then Penelope who is like one of my favorite characters who's the same age of Eloise one of the Bridger twins and they're like best friends, they make a really interesting dynamic.

Olivia Coughlin 9:42

Now it's fair to note that Penelope is entering her first year of the season and the ton but that Mrs. bridgerton has decided to keep Eloise back a year and not introduce her into society in order that Daphne could have one year on her own show. Even though she's younger than Daphne, this is her first year.

Hannah Koch 10:03

They know that something else that's like really interesting that you just made me think about was the fact that by Countess bridgerton decided to only have her one daughter show that year, whereas lady feathering, 10 had all three go plus her nice cousin, marine relative, relative, so she had four girls all in that season. And even they are at I would assume, since she's lady feathering, 10 and not to a by counters. I'm not really sure how all that works. But I'm assuming they're of a lower status, to be at a lower status and have four girls all at the same time. It's almost like she's really pushing to like, get rid of them, get them married,

Olivia Coughlin 10:45

I think Philippa and Prudence, this is not their first year. So it seems like they're getting more and more desperate because they are not getting any suitors. So I think it's fair to assume that this is probably not their first year being introduced and that they've probably been passed over the previous season.

Unknown Speaker 11:03

That's a really good point. Um, oh, I think Marina is also a good one just to touch on a little bit on her own. Obviously, her big storyline is that she is sent here from the country. She's late. So she's like a late arrival, so she doesn't meet with the queen. And so when she comes to that first ball, everyone is just enamored by how beautiful she is. She's so cute. So that was another kind of rival thing for like, one like Queen Charlotte being like, Oh, I picked wrong because this girl was in here. And then me so like, live up to that. But then we find out Marina is pregnant.

Olivia Coughlin 11:35

Right? So very similar to like the bachelor where they brought in the second round of girls, and you're like, oh, now Michelle is my favorite. And I want to put her in my top four. If I known she was gonna be there from the start. But that's a that's that's just a little side note. (laughs) Yes, now, she is the star of the season. And she is somewhat out shining Daphne.

Unknown Speaker 11:58

But they need to actually get her married and very quickly because she's going to start showing soon and being pregnant, not married his big taboo during

Olivia Coughlin 12:07

Yes. And the man that got her pregnant is a soldier. And she's been writing to him and she's in love with him. And she thinks that he is in love with her. But at a certain point, she stops getting his letters back, we find out in the end, it's because he died, which obviously can't write back. But it's just worth noting that like, it wasn't just a fling, she was deeply in love with this man and he got her pregnant and she's been waiting for him to come back. So she doesn't really want to get married. But she realizes that eventually as a woman in this society to be ounwed and pregnant is a death sentence because you will not get anywhere in society with that sort of baggage.

Hannah Koch 12:52

And we we really do see that develop like that desperation in her when she goes for Colin bridgerton the third oldest male who was not like out in that season, but he is one of those people that's just like enamored by her. And so even when you know her suitors start falling away like Colin like still shows up, he still brings flowers and he just adores this girl and Lady Hetherington even goes as far as to try and get Marina to seduce him. And Marina goes for it because she wants him to feel like he has to marry her. And that may be like it is his child. And I felt like she almost became a villain at that point. Like it was hard to watch.

Olivia Coughlin 13:35

I think definitely one of the most heartbreaking like storylines in this whole series is Marina's only because Colin is such a good hearted boy he really believes that he's in love with her. He believes that she's in love with him when she's really just using him as a means to an end.

Hannah Koch 13:50

You know, I lost some empathy for her during that like watching her try to get Colin to go against his values trying to get him to just marry her right away. And but like you bring up the good point like it was desperation because what else was she gonna do? Lady Farrington literally brings her to, you know, like the slum area. She brings her there and it's like, look like this is your future if you don't get a husband right now. And like I'm sure that that's terrifying.

Olivia Coughlin 14:18

Mm hmm.

Hannah Koch 14:19

I agree. That was hard to watch. I think the last two groups we have Daphne's two suitors big suitors Lord Nigel berberich and Prince Friedrich are her two tutors. Nigel knew her when she was in diapers and he was like 18 so it's weird and grow. He's like really old and gross and not cute. He reminded me of the rats in Harry Potter. What's his real name? Peter. I don't know. That's how he kind of looked like to me. So like very ratty rodent Gross, and he was a jerk and he gets punched in the face a lot for being a jerk and trying to offend. Daphne's honor. Yes. And then Prince Friedrich was obviously a prince. I think he's important on the other side as one of Daphne's other big suitors because it was a good guy like I really liked him even took their injection really well when she eventually

Olivia Coughlin 15:20

Yes, I was like, Oh my God, this Princeis so sweet.just such a nice boy all around. Small side note, this guy also has a short cameo appearance in the Harry Potter series since we brought up Harry Potter earlier the same actor, which that's something that people are talking we're talking about. I saw memes I don't know.

Hannah Koch 15:41

I think Simon does too

Olivia Coughlin 15:43

Oh shit.

Hannah Koch 15:44

I think I googled that at one point. I'm good for all of them.

Olivia Coughlin 15:49

Well, some crossover honestly. I think that a lot of British actors wind up in all the big British TV series anything where it's a lot of people with those British accents.

Hannah Koch 16:03

And Okay, last last people we have Simon's boxing friend will and his wife Alice, they just play a major role in getting like some of the softer sides of Simon and as well as like seeing like the different side of life outside of like, the rich in London during this time. We also have

Olivia Coughlin 16:22

Right, they're a working class family.

Hannah Koch 16:25

Yeah, I never really caught wow Will and Simon became friends.

Olivia Coughlin 16:29

I think Simon's really into boxing, a big thing is boxing. They all are really into it. And he works out at his gym, which is will like makes his money through boxing through people like betting on his fights. Yes.

Hannah Koch 16:44

And then of course, the mysterious gossip columnist--

Olivia Coughlin 16:48

Whistle down.

Hannah Koch 16:51

Whilstledown,

Olivia Coughlin 16:52

Yes.

Hannah Koch 16:53

Yes.

Olivia Coughlin 16:54

Who is voiced by the beautiful, Julie Andrews. Although she doesn't act in this show at all. Her beautiful narrative just flows over the entire series. And like I could listen to her voice all day long. She is the voice of my childhood.

Unknown Speaker 17:13

That I was so nice. And yet we I don't think we're gonna get to see her like we do Gossip Girl. And we get that shot of Kristen Bell in the last episode on Gossip Girl all throughout just totally random, obviously. But I'm, that'd be cool if we do get a little shot like that someday. But she is she this year of the thought on in in the show has started a column where she dishes on all the gossip and she sends it out. And people go crazy over it. They love to get the scoop on what they missed at the balls. And then of course, there is the big hunt of like who she is, which is a running storyline, which I think is something we should get into storyline wise, just for some recap purposes. So I think a good first one is just Daphne, this is her season. The book is called like the Duke and I got it's based off of and I think her big kind of storyline is just becoming a woman and figuring out the world. You know, she says a lot of times like, like Simon like, like she says to him when they're having their rooms like he doesn't understand like how important this is for her because it's her life was so important during that time like for a woman to find the right husband, because that dictated how the rest of her life went.

Olivia Coughlin 18:25

Yeah, it's definitely her trying to navigate becoming a woman in the public eye. And a big thing that you realize over the couple episodes is that these women know nothing about sex, about how babies are made. They asked throughout the show, Where do babies come from? And the mothers are just continuously continuously evading the question. So they are married to these men without having any idea how making babies works.

Unknown Speaker 19:05

No clue. So we'll talk about the Duke right now. Okay, we touched on he was Anthony's best friend at school, which you know, kind of gives Antony You know, he loves him and one of his best friends. But like, sometimes you don't want your best friend to date your sister because you know, everything that your best friend has done.

Olivia Coughlin 19:21

All that kind of knows he's a womanizer. He knows he's been with other women and he's trying to protect his sister. But I think in a way he also knows that the Duke does not want to marry that he doesn't want to have children. And Daphne comes from a big family. More importantly, she comes from a family where love between the mother and father is very important to her. Her mother and her father, were in a very loving relationship, which doesn't obviously come very often in the sort of society. And you know, she comes from this big family six children seven, seven children. And they all play with each other and get along. And that's all she wants. eight children, eight children. So she wants that big family. She wants the loving husband. She wants the household full of little kids playing around. Like that is her dream.

Hannah Koch 20:19

I zoned out because I pictured popping out eight kids without any kind of painkiller. No, no, no, no, no.

Olivia Coughlin 20:30

On the opposite side, you have the Duke. And the way that they come together is that after their ruse, as the ruse is unfolding, Daphne finds that she's falling and falling in love with him. Now the ruse works in that she captures the attention of a prince which if you're looking for anything higher than a Duke, the only thing to look for would be a prince. So clearly this has worked. She's getting the attention of the prince who is ready to propose to her. Which I at this point in time, I'm thinking, Oh my God, why are you not with the prince? He's a super nice guy. He is anything if considerate, and polite,

Hannah Koch 21:10

and contemplation which some of these other guys could not

Unknown Speaker 21:13

write. And he's cute. And he's not forget He's cute. You would be a princess.

Olivia Coughlin 21:18

Okay. Putting that aside, she realizes, while he's about to propose to her that all she can think about is Simon, she just cannot get him out of her head. She runs to the garden from the ball, and they meet each other in the maze. And there's this super teeny scene where they just make out and in that moment, she has been ruined. She is just been tarnished. And who sees this interaction, but her older brother Anthony, and he is so he challenges Simon to a duel, which I am told but people still do them. Let's talk about Hamilton. All I could think in my head was the 10 jewel commandments. I was like, Listen, wrapping it out. I know how this work. Basically, he challenges them tells him that he's destroyed his sister's honor and the only way to pay for it is with his life. Now, there's another person who saw this exchange this bitch Cresta sees and now she was originally going to be with the prince. But when the print saw Daphne, he totally abandoned crested. So she's a little bit jealous. So she sees this interaction. And she's like, pretty sly about it. And she like slyly says to definitely. How's the garden, you know, something like something along those lines and more or less like was mad. So Daphne now realizes somebody else saw this thing happen. So killing the Duke is not going to help anyone. Because this Cressida bitch is probably going to tell everybody probably through Whistledown. Whistledown could find out and then it'd be written about and everyone will be reading her papers in the morning.

Hannah Koch 22:59

You would become a spinster?

Olivia Coughlin 23:00

Yes, so she races off with Collin to the dual

Hannah Koch 23:05

In her jammies!

In her jammies! And she raises off on horseback and it's this big scene of her racing on horseback and then casing you know, with our backs to each other with their pistols, and as they turn he does the Alexander Hamilton thing Simon where he raises his pistol to the sky like as in he's not going to shoot Anthony. But Anthony actually goes to shoot him but right as he does, who runs in between, but Daphne on her horseback, and in that moment, I thought to myself, Oh, shit, he shot his sister. Well, that didn't happen.

Olivia Coughlin 23:41

Bad shot, so he just plugin, blew it out to midfield. And she's

Unknown Speaker 23:47

like, stop, stop. I want to marry him. Well, she

Hannah Koch 23:49

wanted to marry him. And Simon was like, No, I promise I never marry because that was the like, they didn't have to do if he would have just married her and he was like, No, and she and she's like, you'd rather die than marry me. And he's like, Yeah, I don't want to get married.

Olivia Coughlin 24:02

She's like, I love you so much. That I'm okay if we don't have children. And this comes back to bite her in the butt because her agreeing to be okay with the fact that he can't have children should be enough but further along well.

Hannah Koch 24:16

That one gets me going. Well, I guess I guess we before we move from Simon, we should mention that his whole thing about not wanting to have kids comes from his dad who you know he wanted a boys so much. The mom had had like multiple like miscarriages so they finally get pregnant and she gives birth to this boy and she dies. And then the Duke isn't really around and he comes on as Simon is growing up and he goes to me Simon as a young toddler and Simon is unable to speak he can read and write but he is unable to speak in the Duke shuns him.

Olivia Coughlin 24:51

Yeah, he's just got a really bad stutter which is really just terrible. And the Duke or Yeah, the Duke at the time. could not get over it. And so that's when lady Danbury lady Dan berry comes in and kind of sweeps him away and says, I'm going to take care of him and I'm going to teach him how to be a proper man. And she does and he gets over his stutter and all of that, but as a result on his father's dying bed, he tells him because all he ever wanted was a boy to continue on the family name. So the biggest fpu to his dad that Simon can think of is on his deathbed to go in and show him that he is now proper can speak is handsome, and he whispers in his ear, I am never going to have children. I'm never going to marry and your name will die with me

Hannah Koch 25:45

Anna it works but it also you know, causes Simon to pay some prices along the way. Um, but we'll come back to that. I think another major storyline throughout here is Eloise the sister that is next in line after Daphne. She's very much like a Joe from Little Women. Like I'm going to be a writer I want to be more than like just a married homemaker. Like I want to create my own way and have my own life, which I don't know it's kind of like a common trope for that kind of error. I feel like I also like very much enjoyed her like she was an enjoyable character she's

Olivia Coughlin 26:16

witty, you know she's very entertaining to watch because she doesn't fit into the typical mold of the Victorian that Regency era girl she's independent she doesn't want to get married she is perfectly happy reading her books and writing her stories. She actually goes on a she thinks that lady whistle down is like the coolest chick ever and she wants to basically be her. So her and her best friend Penelope kind of decide we're gonna find out who she is. And she tells the Queen at one of the parties You know, I'm going to find out who whistle down is when the queen is all for it. So she goes on this big hunt and she's chasing down leads and trying to put her best detective skills to use to try and find out who whistle down is and that's basically what we see Eloise doing throughout the entire season.

Hannah Koch 27:06

Yeah, she's like putting together the clues very nice, like entertaining break because like you know, we as viewers also kind of want to know who it is right? Like, I don't know who it is the fun just a sideline that we get to follow. Yep. And I also liked then her relationship with Benedict, the second son who learns throughout the season, the perk of being the quote, second son, he is an older male but he doesn't have any of the pressure of the first son that's going to like inherit and have to take over anything that Anthony has to do. So without a father, actually without a father. Anthony really is like the head of the household. But better next line where he and Eloise kind of connect is this idea of like wanting to go against the mold. So Eloise is her reading and writing developing her mind and then Benedict is entering the art scene.

Olivia Coughlin 27:59

But he meets this older gentleman who takes him around and shows him these art houses filled with I guess it's kind of like a Boudreaux like of beautiful women and naked models. And there's all these artists in the smoky room painting. It's very sexy. Yeah, alluring

Hannah Koch 28:19

Henry Granville, the the portrait artist he that he's like famous. He's the famous artist in London. He does Daphne and Simon's portrait and we find out that he is only married to his wife because he's gay and that was so frowned upon. So he had to marry a woman but he loves this other men who is also around the London high society and then Benedict hooked up with Henry's wife. He has a threesome with Benedict and Milan Monday, Monday lady Monday The Dressmaker it is all just debauchery free sexuality art scene. glad they threw that in there. Oh, it's

Olivia Coughlin 28:58

steamy and we love it. We're here for it. Honestly, this entire show is all locked raunchier than I thought it was going to be initially because the first episodes are very tame. And then as you go throughout the series, there's like a more and more sex in every episode. And it's

it's saucy.

Hannah Koch 29:19

I think if there's one thing you need to know if you're going to have a conversation about bridgerton without having watching it is that you need to know that episode six is the sex episode. Anytime I told when I was watching it, they'd be like, oh, Episode Six, you'd be like episode six yet? They're like, Oh, I watched episode six two times.

Olivia Coughlin 29:37

And it's worthy to note that at this time, it's after they're married. Yes. So they've been married. They've moved out to his house in the country which is away from the tone. And they're just in this newly wed marital bliss. But it's more like Angry sex you know, like that. I'm frustrated with you, which makes it sad. seer. I don't know. It's just it's great.

Hannah Koch 30:03

See, my favorite was the end of Episode Five on their wedding night when it is like the first time I love you sags. I thought that was like really nice and wildest dreams plays by Taylor Swift. And it was, it was cute.

Olivia Coughlin 30:15

I had an issue with that only because I was like, Okay, this girl has never had sex before in her life. She didn't even know what it was. And, you know, the Duke tells her how to masturbate one time and suddenly she's a sex demon. Suddenly, her first time having sex with a man. She's like, having this incredibly pleasurable experience. Um, unrealistic.

Hannah Koch 30:41

Yeah. No, that's a very good point. And he like the way they kind of cover that was he goes like, this might hurt for a minute. And just like, Oh, yeah, that hurt and then done. And then it's like, oh, we're good. Now. Like,

Olivia Coughlin 30:53

I don't know how many females had that experience their first time, but I don't know seems slightly unrealistic. But it's, it's Hollywood. It's movies. You have to expect love that. Okay,

Hannah Koch 31:05

so we've recapped the most important parts of the plot. What do you think? Absolutely. All right, we're back. Thank you so much for sticking with us. So now we're gonna give you kind of a lowdown on the important discussion around bridgerton. That's been brought up by you know, people that have watched it, so you can kind of contribute to those discussions, too. So one of the first kind of things that was brought to my attention when I was like listening to a podcast that mentioned bridgerton was the music during the ball scenes. It was all like modern day pop songs set to violins. So one of the first ones is Thank you Next by ariana grande de and then I kind of mentioned earlier that during Simon and Daphne's like first time together having sex they play wildest dreams by Taylor Swift.

Honestly, I don't think I would have noticed it. If I hadn't heard about it. Like, I don't think I would have noticed they weren't the songs.

Olivia Coughlin 32:12

So I'm such a loser. And I watch all my movies with closed captions, because I just feel like a lot of times when people have accents. This is terrible. But I just find it easier to follow along if I'm reading at the same time. So anyways, at the beginning of the songs it would have in quotes, you know,

Unknown Speaker 32:32

Thank you Next

Olivia Coughlin 32:33

violins. And I was like, Oh, my God, like that is what's playing in the background. So I was kind of clued in as I was watching. But I don't know if I necessarily would have noticed. But I thought it was very cool. And I really loved it because it made it feel more modern while still keeping it in the era.

Hannah Koch 32:53

Back to what you just said, though. Like I literally tweeted after watching the first episode, I may not understand what's going on in bridgerton. But I do understand that the Duke is hot because I literally could not understand anything they were saying because I had not adjusted to the accent or sentence structure or slang yet. So it was all context clues for what was going on. So I was missing like half of it. But you know, I could understand that Simon was adorable.

Mm hmm.

I think another big issue is the race and class issue within the show. So at first like I thought it was awesome. Like, the queen is a woman of color. We see different suitors with like, dreadlocks and girls with like weaves and wigs. And it seems like this diverse, kind of just natural. I think you've mentioned blind casting. Yeah,

Olivia Coughlin 33:44

it was at the beginning of it. I was like, Oh, that's very cool. They're doing race blind casting. They're letting people be more creative with the hairstyles that maybe aren't historically accurate, but at the same time are still contributing, they still look gorgeous, until there's a little line. So also, Lady Danbury, and Simon are also both people of color. And they mentioned that because the Queen married the king, that people of their race have begun to rise up and be allowed to have places of station within the society, which is really interesting, because it just seems like this is a normalized thing. There's no sort of addressing the race issue outside of this one remark, which leads us to wonder why they wouldn't just play into the world of the movie and like accepting that it was just race blind casting, because if you're not going to dive into it, like there's no way that a society could have just elevated people of a totally different race, racial class in in one In one woman's reign as Queen without having outstanding sort of issues or discussions, there's, they're just completely accepted, which in an ideal world would be absolutely amazing if that were the case. But the fact that it's just briefly mentioned, and then sort of not addressed seems sort of irresponsible.

Hannah Koch 35:24

Yeah. And I like thought, you know, like, because there is some historical basis of this, I was like, oh, like, Is this just like a part of history? I didn't know. Like, did a woman of color actually marry the gang? Like, did he actually, you know, in the 1800s? Like, like, was this a real thing? It wasn't I googled it. And, and Queen Charlotte in real life was was white. So

Olivia Coughlin 35:44

Alright, so it leads me to wonder why they didn't just continue in like, no, this is just normalized within the world of their, of their movie of their show.

Hannah Koch 35:55

I agree. It would have been different if we had gotten more of Queen Charlotte's background and the rise of equality against degradation with the world of bridgerton. But we did not get that. And that that even comment, like very short conversation came very late in the season. And then that again, was it.

Olivia Coughlin 36:16

See that's the other thing is if it had been mentioned early on in the season, then it's something they could have continued to address. But because it was so late in the game, it felt like out of left field. Yeah. So that's been a big conversation that people are having regarding this show. And you know, they've got more seasons coming. So maybe we will start to see some flashbacks, maybe we will begin to understand a little bit more about what's happened within this world.

Hannah Koch 36:39

I do foresee that coming back up, though, especially with Queen Charlotte's own background, as we know, like, the king has a mental illness, maybe possibly dementia, and that they lost at least one child, a daughter. They kind of mentioned at one point, but don't really get into it. So I definitely see that as something that hopefully, you know, we'll learn more about throughout the hopefully multiple more seasons.

Unknown Speaker 37:02

Mm hmm.

Hannah Koch 37:04

I think a next, like, big thing, obviously, is this continuation of the trope of an unhappy woman stuck in society? Like, Yes, okay. They had less rights than obviously we do today back in the 1800s. But I actually look at the Smithsonian, the Smithsonian Smithsonian ran an article in a magazine about what bridgerton gets wrong about corsets. Oh, yeah. No, it was really fun. I I'm, like, subscribe to their newsletter with my work email. So I like get it in my inbox every day. And it was one of the ones they highlighted. And so they say like, you know, of course, it's like, actually that tight, like, bridgerton starts with like the mom like, tying up the course. And she's like, when I was your age, I could be the size of an orange. Like that really like that trope, which, you know, we've seen across many movies and TV from this time, like, it really is just meant to highlight this, like, restriction and unhappiness that these women faced. But I also think it's part of this, like cultural insensitivity. You know, like, all we ever see are women that are unhappy during this time. I don't know, like, it was their life. Like it was a part of history, like, yes, it was wrong, that women didn't have rights, obviously, like,

Unknown Speaker 38:15

That's fucked up. But

Hannah Koch 38:17

I get to, I don't know, like it, it goes into this thing of like, then a palpable feminism, like a feminine, that's easy to digest. And, you know, except So, you know, we have Eloise and she goes against this grain of like, I'm gonna go get married and dress up and be a homemaker. You know, she wants to be a writer,

Olivia Coughlin 38:35

you know that a modern feminist is like, yeah, so Louise, you go girl,

Hannah Koch 38:40

and any, like a regular person that's not a feminist, you know, they can accept that. They can be like, Yes, me now living like, obviously, like a girl can go to college, like cool. You know, that's very ingestible palpable, acceptable feminism, that just is like a trope all throughout the show, but you know, just a lot of like, period pieces, which isn't a problem. Like it's a good reminder that again, like, look how far we've come. And you know, there are still places where women do not have no equal rights. But I'm glad that I do think bridgerton goes a little further with the sexual agency aspect. Like that's something that is often one either looked at, looked over at those times and even looked over sometimes today. So like, for example, after Simon and Daphne make out in the garden, and Anthony's like, he offended, Your Honor, like I gotta go like duel him. Like Daphne literally goes like, Why couldn't I have wanted to kiss him? Right about sexual agency.

Olivia Coughlin 39:42

Right? It's all it's all put on the men.

Hannah Koch 39:44

And I like it then. You know, Simon teaching her how to masturbate like we never had that was wild. Yeah, one wild belly. You know, she had to be taught like they were that you know restricted in Pleasure, it goes back to the whole like education thing that there was none especially not for women.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai