Axing Dark Sex Storyline Was the Best Decision Bridgerton Season 3 Made

Season 1 of Shonda Rhimes' romantic series Bridgerton became an instant Netflix hit in 2020, followed by a critically acclaimed second season and the successful spin-off Queen Charlotte, which arrived on the streaming platform earlier this year.

However, it looks like the popular show was in hot water with its third season, as the creator was apparently not happy with the direction it was taking.

Earlier this year, multiple sources revealed that Shonda Rhimes had decided to rewrite some key scenes in the upcoming Season 3 because she was worried that the show had become too dark for its own good. The third installment of the Bridgerton saga, which will focus on the love story of Penelope and Colin, is meant to be an uplifting, perfectly romantic journey for fans, so darker moments just wouldn't feel right in the season.

'Filming has been delayed due to the screenwriter not being happy with the direction of it. There are some elements that Shonda is just not happy with so wants to change them. Some of it got very dark,' an anonymous source told the Daily Mail in January.

While the Daily Mail cited a certain steamy scene as the reason for the rewrite, some fans believed that Rhymes decided to get rid of one particular storyline from Julia Quinn's original book series.

'I'm guessing it was a mix of Marina and [Penelope/Lady Whistledown] going down a dark path. That was a storyline I could see them taking at the end of S2. If Marina's fate follows the books, Colin could lay the blame on [Penelope] and that could push the envelope on forgiveness,' one fan said.

Marina is by far one of the most troubled characters in Bridgerton. After Penelope, writing under the pen name Lady Whistledown, revealed that she had tried to force Colin to marry her with another man's pregnancy, Marina had to marry Philip Crane, whom she never loved.

In the book, Marina died after attempting to take her own life, and it looks like Rhymes wasn't keen on including this heartbreaking end to Marina's story in the upcoming season.

However, if the Daily Mail's report is true, another particular scene from Romancing Mister Bridgerton comes to fans' minds:

'Maybe it's the scene where Colin has Pen in the dark and gets intimidating,' another fan speculated.

In any case, with Bridgerton's first two seasons, Shonda Rhimes has already proved that she knows how to adapt Quinn's original material perfectly, so her decision to rewrite some scenes does not worry fans at all.

Season 3 of Bridgerton has already finished filming and is currently in post-production, but the release date still hasn't been announced.

Source: Daily Mail, Reddit.