Right before the ball dropped, the wretched year that was 2020 left behind an exemplary gift. Bridgerton premiered on Netflix December 25th and is an absolute must-watch. Either you need to watch it for the first time and fall in love with the Duke, or you already want to rewatch it all over again. If you still can’t find a reason to stop streaming the same old show over and over, I offer you a few reasons why Bridgerton is such a guilty pleasure.
The show is Gossip Girl meets Pride and Prejudice.
Netflix broke some hearts by taking the classic Pride and Prejudice off its streaming site in 2021, but now provides this more modern tale. It’s an epidemic of gossiping and drama, but rather than being blasted by an XOXO message, the periodical paper by Lady Whistledown spills all the tea. Along with romantic rumors, each paper holds another scandal that could ruin a young woman’s good status as she finds a man to marry. After all, it is a Chuck Bass meets Mr. Darcy story.
The shocking twist of Lady Whistledown is… well you’ll find out for yourself.
I can’t say too much on this without spoiling it, but the periodic by our esteemed writer Lady Whistledown actually makes the entire show. By publishing gossip, it calls for covering up scandalous behavior. You also can’t forget the amount of curiosity in trying to discover who Lady Whistledown is throughout the series. Even if you don’t like the storyline or ogling the handsome Duke, you’re left dying to know the identity of who controls the town.
There’s more diversity than previous period pieces.
With period pieces, you don’t see much diversity, let alone any. The producers made the series more diverse by casting outside of the historically expected white high-status positions of Lady’s, Lords, Dukes and Queens. Some argue that this is controversial, as it is seemingly inaccurate to the times, but the producers rewrote the past with a modern and more inclusive twist.
The oblivious bliss.
It’s a very common saying to claim that we were born in the wrong generation or era. In Bridgerton, we are allowed to live through the early 19th century where our only concern was to make it out in society and marry well. It’s an opportunity to live through the past without suffering through the true lack of women’s rights, as most of us would probably relate to Eloise more so than Daphne.
I leave you with a quick side note about the show, especially for when you hit the halfway point. Before you call your mom and tell her you have this awesome show to watch together, be warned that this show gets pretty steamy. If you fall in love with this mini-series as much as I did, I recommend reading the Bridgerton series that follows each Bridgerton member.