Bridgerton, a Netflix series set in 1816, follows Daphne Bridgerton as she tries to find love. The show is loosely based on real-life events and the novel written by Julia Quinn. I say loosely due to the many mistakes and characters added to the story. After so many positive reviews of the show, I was somewhat disappointed. The show has promise, but somewhere between music production, screenwriting, and costume, that promise was lost.
The filming and editing were great. Yes, there are many scenes – mainly sexual ones – that could be removed without affecting the show; however, they were properly filmed and edited. There were a couple of transitions that I found questionable. One of them is when they would zoom in the carriage, and suddenly, we were on a high-angle shot.
The acting was great. None of the actors were uncomfortable with the roles they were given. None of the actors had that awkward moment that we, the audience, can see in the first three Netflix original episodes. It was refreshing to see the entire cast embracing their character.
As a character, Daphne was a little flat. There were several times I expected a more significant reaction from her, but it never came. She has very little character growth compared to her partner. Frankly, only two members of the Bridgerton family had any character growth at all.
A character that has kept me up at night and put everyone else to shame is Lady Whistledown. At the end of the first season, the journalist’s identity – which had everyone in England hooked – was revealed, and it left the audience in shock. Lady Whistledown is a well-rounded character, even though we could only hear her voice.
I was heavily disappointed with the choice of music. Hearing the classical renditions of pop music took me out of the era. They could have used some Mozart; I mean, they go to the extent of mentioning him in the dialogue. The music producers could have done better, and perhaps the show could have flowed more smoothly.
The costumes had a lot of inconsistency. In general, they were true to the era, however the woman’s outfits left many viewers confused. For instance, not once did they show the female characters putting on a chemise before the corset. The viewer sees bruises and cuts on Daphne many times throughout the show due to the lack of chemise.
I give this show 3 out of 5 stars due to the points mentioned above. Bridgerton is for mature audiences so don’t bother trying to see the first five minutes to see if you can get away with watching it in front of the kids. From the very beginning, you will be reminded that the show is for adults.