Bridgerton Is Riveting, but There's One Major Boring Thing about It

Summary

• Sex is at the heart of Bridgerton's popularity.
• The show offers a historically accurate portrayal of male and female sexuality.
• Some things could be done to improve the show's diversity in this regard.

With Bridgerton Season 3 premiering in just a few days, fans of Netflix's hit period drama couldn't be more excited. Probably the biggest reason for their excitement is the upcoming steamy and intense romance between Colin Bridgerton and his longtime friend Penelope Featherington, who has had a crush on him since the show's inception.

In fact, Bridgerton's daring portrayal of love and sex scenes, wrapped in the elegance of the Regency era, is the main factor behind the show's enormous popularity with audiences around the world. Daphne and Simon's lustful lovemaking, Anthony and Kate's passionate affair – the Netflix drama is built around sex. But as compelling as those scenes are, they mask a major underlying flaw that makes Bridgerton rather tedious.

A Boring Trope

Despite the ubiquitous sex scenes and immense diversity, Bridgerton aims to be a historically accurate show, depicting the social norms, however hypocritical, of early nineteenth century Britain. With that in mind, it's no surprise that most of the female characters are preoccupied with finding husbands, as women's emancipation was not yet a thing and women had almost no rights on their own, while the male characters are enjoying their youth until they think it's time to settle down.

As a result, there's a yawning gap between the male and female characters on Bridgerton in terms of their sexuality. Men are allowed to enjoy themselves, be concupiscent, and sleep with as many partners as they like – Benedict is the epitome of this – while women are told to be chaste and pure, which results in every couple on the show being a promiscuous male lead and a puritanical female lead. Where's the diversity in that?

Taken to the Extreme

Of course, this portrayal is historically accurate, as women's sexual liberation did not really happen until the invention of the pill. However, Bridgerton makes the whole situation rather ridiculous by making the female characters too naive.

It can be excused that Bridgerton's women can't even hold hands with men, let alone kiss, for fear of society's scorn. But it seems too much that they do not know where babies come from. Eloise's line from Season 1, 'How does a lady come to be with child?' is still considered one of the most iconic lines on the entire show.

Again, it may have been intended to show the vast disparity in sexual education between men and women in the early nineteenth century. But it's still boring. Hopefully, as diverse as Bridgerton is, it will give us a more experienced female character in future seasons. Or at least a less experienced male lead.

Season 3 premieres May 16.