Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story Tells Dark, Regal Origin Story, But Is It Getting Too Formulaic?
Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story tells the dark and regal origin story of the world of Bridgerton, but is it getting a little too formulaic?
What makes Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story so unique from the other Bridgerton seasons is that those were based on books by Julia Quinn, while Queen Charlotte and King George’s story is a fictional retelling of real historical people’s lives. The Netflix series is also known for its diversity and putting people of color at the center of these Regency love stories. This prequel series takes us all the way back to where history changed itself in the Bridgerton world to make all of that possible. You really get to see how the events of the past have influenced the present-day ton.
India Ria Amarteifio and Corey Mylchreest have incredibly magnetic chemistry as young Queen Charlotte and King George. That’s one of the things Bridgerton always seems to get right. These two love interests have a fire that is just unmatched. While they do fall into the same Bridgerton tropes of not communicating how they feel, they also explore the truly compelling journey of Charlotte ripped from her life, being brought into this royal world, and then being left isolated and confused while George hides away. You really feel for this man who loves this woman but is afraid that his mental health will ruin their relationship. It is by far the darkest story in the Bridgerton universe. In the main series, they made it seem like citizens of the ton question adult Queen Charlotte’s (Golda Rosheuvel) motives: Is she trying to take over the throne or get rid of George? But through the ups and downs of this prequel series, you can see that they genuinely love each other. She just wants to protect him, be there for him, and continue his legacy.
As we get into young Lady Danbury’s story, played by Arsema Thomas, you really see how much of a hustler and woman ahead of her time she was. She becomes a friend and confidant of the queen while also working to ensure her own security, nobility, and independence. Charlotte becoming queen breaks the barrier, but Lady Danbury is the one that continues to push the boundaries so that people of color can keep their new titles and it doesn’t revert back after one generation. I loved seeing her fight for equality and what they deserve. Unfortunately, they pair that was a less enticing storyline for her later in the season exploring an affair and another relationship that feel like they don’t add much to her story. The affair is what allowed a young Violet (Connie Jenkins-Greig) to come into the story, which also didn’t do much. It was much more exciting to follow the impact Lady Danbury was making to change society.
The story following a young Queen Charlotte, Lady Danbury, and Violet also parallels with us following them as adults in present-day Bridgerton society. Queen Charlotte is trying to get a new heir to continue the legacy of her husband, while Lady Danbury (Adjoa Andoh) and Lady Bridgerton (Ruth Gemmell) have very refreshing and frank discussions that we rarely see in Hollywood about their desires for sex and romance. Just because you’re a woman of a certain age doesn’t mean those desires go away so it felt very important for them to be discussing those topics. Often times, Regency pieces follow a white, willowy woman finding romance, but Bridgerton really breaks boundaries, centering these stories on people of color, older women, and people you don’t always expect to see featured but who were there and deserve to see their stories told too.
Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story is only six episodes long and they do manage to tell a satifsying story in that time. However there are some moments that feel repetitive or dragged out to fill in the story, like some of the young Lady Danbury and Violet plot points. Most of the season we are seeing from young Charlotte’s perspective, but episode 4 is really key to show us the inner workings of King George’s mind. It was great to be able to see that, however there were some times when they showed full scenes over again shot-for-shot that we had already seen. I think they could’ve expanded the story more from George’s perspective in new ways. Additionally, as much as it was intriguing to follow the themes of mental health, isolation, feeling not good enough, and race and equality in the ton, there were definitely some very repetitive themes that have been seen in all the Bridgerton seasons so far. Just like in Brigderton seasons one and two, Queen Charlotte follows couples constantly dealing with miscommunication, not knowing how the birds and the bees work, and having to ultimately learn the lesson that love is work and you have to choose it time and time again. It would be nice to see them shake it up a bit versus following the same format of themes every season.
All in all, Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story has a lot of depth and romantic tension. It’s a beautiful, heartfelt, dark, and emotional story that will have you truly believing in this couple and their unparalleled chemistry. I loved seeing how much Lady Danbury contributed to the way Bridgerton is now and how diverse and accepting the ton is. I do feel there were some repetitive scenes and themes to past seasons, but I love how Bridgerton has modernized the Regency Era with a combination of diverse characters, people with tons of chemistry, and the modern popular music with the orchestral instrumentals. They're doing a really great job of making the Regency era more accessible and relatable for viewers.
Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story is streaming on Netflix. Meanwhile you can experience the world for yourself with The Queen’s Ball: A Bridgerton Experience currently in New York.
