Will “Bridgerton” Drown Its Own Success In A Pool Of Progressive Agenda And Backlash?

Shonda Rhimes’ charming Regency-era television series Bridgerton is no stranger to controversy. The hit show’s racy first season was criticized for containing sex scenes that appeared to depict marital sexual assault. The show tamed its steamy content in the second season, containing significantly fewer explicit sex scenes, which then led to mixed reviews by many critics and fans.

But the show’s latest season, which focuses on the love story between Colin Bridgerton and Penelope Featherington, really takes the cake for controversial content. After a steamy first four episodes focused on Colin and Penelope, Season 3’s last four episodes have taken some liberties with the story direction of several Bridgerton siblings, and the fan response has been absolutely wild.

Brigerton the show has interpreted elements of the Bridgerton novel universe freely before, but Season 3 has left many fans wondering – has Bridgerton finally pushed the envelope too far?

The Michael/Michaela Stirling Scandal

In Season 3’s last episode, Francesca Bridgerton marries her suitor John Stirling, the Earl of Kilmartin, despite her mother Violet’s caution that what Francesca feels for John may not be the true love Violet wants for all her children. “When I first met your father,” Violet explains to Francesca, “I could barely speak my own name, I was so taken by him. I stumbled over words most familiar.” Francesca assures her mother that not all true love looks the same and that John is the right choice.

At the end of the last episode, John introduces Francesca to his cousin – Michaela Stirling. “I caution you,” Michaela tells Francesca flirtatiously, “every sordid detail John has spoken about me is a lie. The truth is far worse” (it’s a reference to the title of Fransceca’s love story – When He Was Wicked). Stumbling over her own name, Francesca manages to introduce herself as John’s wife, seemingly smitten with the new character as her mother once described. But what has fans so upset is that Michaela Stirling is a man in the novels and is one of the most beloved male leads of the series.

So, what exactly is supposed to happen in Francesca’s story? At the beginning of the novel, Francesca’s first husband, John Kilmartin, has died, and his cousin Michael Stirling returns to the family estate to inherit. Michael was close friends with John and Francesca, and has been hiding a secret love for his cousin’s wife, which he has never acted upon.

Meanwhile, Francesca has reached an impasse in life. Never able to conceive a child with her husband John, Francesca begins to contemplate the idea of taking a new husband. Francesca desperately wants to be a mother, but she is torn by the loyalty she feels to her dead husband and the strange feelings she is having for Michael – whom she has always regarded as a close friend.

Some fans oppose the change of Michael Stirling into Michaela on principle, as it is not an accurate adaptation of the original novel. “We want MICHAEL no MICHAELA, for goodness sakes,” reads one of the top comments on Netflix’s latest Bridgerton Instagram posts, where it is joined by multiple comments of #JusticeforMichael.

But even more of the outrage has centered on how making Michael a woman in the show messes with one of the key themes of Francesca’s storyline: her struggle with infertility. When He Was Wicked hinges on Francesca’s great desire to be a mother and her struggles to become pregnant, which continues even after she and Michael have been married for many years. Many women who struggle with infertility have particularly loved Francesca’s story because the novel gives representation to a still taboo topic and illustrates how to support a woman who is struggling with some kind of infertility. 

So what does Jess Brownell, the current showrunner of Bridgerton, have to say about the changes to Francesca’s storyline?

Brownell’s perspective seems to be that queer representation in the world of Bridgerton is more important than strict adherence to the original stories – an adherence which, to be clear, gives representation to the 1 in 5 married women who struggle with infertility. Brownell’s call for “empathy of those [queer] viewers” falls flat, and not just because the world of Bridgerton has featured queer couples before in Queen Charlotte. Her attitude reveals an inherently woke approach to the idea of representation, one which values the struggles of seemingly oppressed people groups over the struggles of real women like Francesca Bridgerton who struggle with infertility. Is the only qualification for representation in the world of Bridgerton to fit into the woke narrative of oppressed groups? The gender swap of Michael Stirling certainly seems to indicate so.

Romanticizing the Threesome with Benedict Bridgerton

Changing Francesca’s story to a queer love story isn’t the only scandal to rock the world of Bridgerton this season. Benedict Bridgerton, the second son who has been patiently waiting to be the lead of his own season, continues his search for true love – but this time, it takes him further than he expected.

Benedict begins an affair with widow Lady Tilley Arnold early in Season 3, but things change when Tilley introduces him to her friend Paul Suarez. At first Benedict is jealous of the obviously romantic attentions Suarez pays Tilley – until Suarez propositions Benedict, suggesting that the three of them take part in a threesome. Benedict – who has only had affairs with women before – leaves the party abruptly.

But Benedict has a change of heart later, and he returns to Tilley’s house (immediately after Colin’s wedding, no less), where he has a threesome with Tilley and Suarez. It’s an extended sequence, which the show returns to in the next episode multiple times. Benedict enjoys his newfound bisexuality – so much so that when Tilley asks him if they can return to being exclusive, he cannot reciprocate her feelings. “What happened between the three of us, what has happened since I met you has made me realize how good it feels to be free,” Benedict tells Tilley, who then cuts things off with him, heartbroken. 

Up to this point in the show, Bridgerton has affirmed one idea that has made its steamy content more palatable for some viewers: the idea that a monogamous, committed relationship is the true source of fulfillment for both men and women. But this direction for Benedict’s love life is a far cry from the monogamous relationships of his three married siblings. Benedict’s Season 3 storyline is a straightforward romanticization of threesomes and polyamory, and has no foundation in the original novels.

For fans of Benedict’s storyline in the novels, it’s a concerning development. In An Offer from a Gentleman: Benedict’s Story, Benedict falls in love with Sophie, the illegitimate daughter of an earl whom it would be socially unacceptable for him to marry. He at first offers for Sophie to be his mistress, hoping to help her escape her cruel stepmother. But Sophie persistently refuses, and Benedict learns that only a committed marriage to Sophie will make him happy. Will Benedict’s polyamory in the show change his character arc and romance in future seasons? And will Benedict’s Cinderella-esque Sophie make it into the TV series at all? Only time will tell, but the signs aren’t promising.

Closing Thoughts

Maybe you think Bridgerton is a romantic and heart-warming series of love stories. Maybe you think that Bridgerton is a woke Jane Austen fanfiction. But whichever camp you stand in, there’s one truth everyone can acknowledge: the show’s controversial adaptation of Francesca’s and Benedict’s love stories has polarized the show’s fanbase – possibly for good.

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