Neil: Jane Austen novels meet Gossip Girl meets Little Women. Shonda Rhimes’ (Grey’s Anatomy) newest Netflix love child sets itself at a halfway point of a mix of things, with the occasional string quartet playing a Maroon 5 song the perfect analogy for it all. Set in London’s regency era, Bridgerton comes at a time when the social scene of Britain in the 19th century is entirely off to the obscure, but it is packaged in a way by Rhimes’ writer room that turns it into a made-for-a-binge plot arc. The teen drama aspect comes from Lady Whisteldown’s Society Papers, a publication in the show that recaps the happenings around town and one the characters become fixated on reading and making an appearance in. Though the papers dwindle in the background of the plot, Whistledown takes a Gossip Girl type role in playing the anonymous, “eye of God” narrator role that keeps tabs on all the things the characters would rather not have tabs kept on. Not just strangely charming in content for all viewers, Bridgerton is equally a treat for the eyes with intelligently curated color palates and impressively authentic visuals.
In more important impact, Bridgerton in its first few episodes begins to paw at the broader theme of the great disparity of gender equality at the time. The story centers around the presentation of debutantes, where young women were advertised for marriage as though on the auction block. The hushed protests of several younger sisters more interested in books than men twice their age, the great taboo of a pregnancy out of wedlock and the general conceitedness from men to women are presented fleetingly but in moments that sting, showcasing a less documented perspective of the era- the woman’s point of view. Snappy, attractive and full of characters easy to get behind, Bridgerton makes for a solid choice for a week’s worth of Netflix and an opportunity for a little heavier investment than just that.
Image: Netflix
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