Agalea Charis

I am late to this party. I occasionally drop in on the world of the Duggars and finally got around to watching Jana's journey to her wedding vlog. I have always found Jana to be the most interesting out of the family. The secrets she must be privy too. I think her reserved, stoic personality comes from the dynamics of her family. She can be hard to read but who would not be after raising her siblings all her life. It is clear that Jana and Stephen were alone before their wedding. And good for them. It can be hard to get to know someone with younger chaperone siblings hanging around. These two probably have the best chance at success for a happy relationship out of the couples. Good things apparently come to those who wait. She got the best looking husband who appears to clearly love and respect her. No gross talks about headship. On a shallow note, it was shocking to see such tasteful intimacy with a Duggar wedding. It was not cringey, overdone, or awkward. There was a real endearment and genuineness to the way they behave around each other. Something about Jana and Stephen's interactions seem real, like these two actually know each other, unlike at other Duggar weddings. It came off like a mature partnership. It was refreshing to see. Her wedding dress was gorgeous. Nothing about modesty alterations. Everything looked so normal. She looked stunning. The only thing she would have benefitted more from if her hair had been up so the back of the dress could have been photographed. There was no cramped church wedding either. There was real food too. And dancing. The venue was beautiful. Summer weddings in the American South can be a sweaty affair but this was pulled off well. Jim Bob's reaction to Jana was so bizarre. They looked like work associates greeting each other. Which makes sense because Jana's role in her family is to be the work associate. Jana probably loves her parents but I do not get the feeling she respects them. No one would blame her for that. That interaction was so awkward and devoid of any warmth or affection. His daughter is getting married and the most he can muster up are generic compliments. Michelle comes across as Jana's frantic sister that Jana only tolerates because she has to. I wonder if her parents objected to her leaving the compound or having an "immodest" dress. Jana definitely gives off older parentified sibling. Shame on Jim Bob and Michelle. Unpopular opinion but I think it is great Jana's siblings are helping with the renovations on her house. After all the years she spent managing the household, it is nice to see her get helped to prepare for her very own. The mini home, garden, and swimming pool should be put on a semi truck and shipped to Nebraska. Jana has a lot of self sufficient skills that are really impressive given the kind of environment she was raised in. I hope she continues with her nursing education. Jana may be the quiet surprise of the family down the road. Lastly; Jessa, Jessa, Jessa. I think if she had gone to college, been able to leave her hometown, and not married a teenager- she would have been much better off. Ben, bless him, is not the most motivated of young people. Jessa strikes me as someone who is actually very intelligent and she would have probably thrived given the opportunities to do so. She could have gotten a real education and married someone who is intelligent and driven. To me, she seems the saddest of all the sisters given how much her capabilities extend to. I remain convinced that Jim Bob and Michelle failed all nineteen of their children. Other than that, is is good that Jana will be several states away and will no longer have her nieces and nephews dumped on her.

@anamika I agree with you. I think this show is becoming something different from what it was originally hyped as. The show has shown flashbacks for Simon and spent three seasons with the Featherington's having significant storylines. There is almost no way to have Sophie on the show without having her backstory. So that remains to be seen. Phillip has made an appearance before Eloise's season. The most Kate got was throw away references to her past. The show brought in characters from India and did not show anything about their lives there. The audience was told not shown about that family. It was a strange choice for the show to have characters come in from a different country and not show any of that, not even one scene. The first season came out in December 2020, right in the thick of the pandemic. If anything, there would have been more obstacles with COVID during the promotion for that season. You are correct in pointing out even for season two, other actors were given photo shoots. Also, the promotional pictures consisted of Anthony, Kate, and Edwina. The other seasons had just the main love story. Jonathan Bailey and Simone Ashley are fantastic in their roles and carried the second season. The stories that season were so clumsily written and not balanced well. The show managed to demonize Kate more than other characters. I do think Kate and Simone Ashley have been treated differently than others by production. No photo shoot, wedding, or baby are... deliberate choices production is making. Season two is my favorite despite the questionable writing choices. The chemistry of the actors is what is good about that season. Kate is also my favorite character in the books so it is disappointing that the show has dropped the ball. I worry about when it is time for Francesca's season, production will drop the ball again. They already have by Francesca's instant reaction to Michaela after having an understated love story with John. It undermined the story that was told all season. It cheapened that entire arc. I do not mind them race and gender swapping characters as long as those characters are not used as tokens for views. They should have proper character growth and development too. Having a show featuring characters of all races seems hollow if the show is just doing it to seem outwardly diverse. The writers have blatant preferences for some characters and put supposedly no effort into the rest. They could rename the show Featherington and there would be no difference. This show seems to be losing the plot. Which is unfortunate.

What I have noticed is that some characters are favored more than others. Nicola Coughlan is great to watch as Penelope however it shows that Penelope is the favorite in the writer's room. While the Sharma's were most likely only going to be one season characters (And Sophie's family will probably be as well), they were developed poorly in the second season. That family was never fully fleshed out and the writing was so clunky. Contrast that with the Featherington's, who in the same season, took over so much screen time that was dedicated to their silly side plot. That time could have gone to learning more about Kate's backstory. It would have been great to see more of her family. Lady Sharma got maybe three lines an episode and half of it was to say she had a headache. Swapping Benedict's and Colin's book order only makes sense if the Featherington family is being written off. On a show called Bridgerton, Colin, the Bridgerton of the third season felt like a side character. The development with him was lacking when he should have gotten the most time dedicated to him. It was all the Penelope show. Then at the end of the season, all the Featherington babies are shown. The actual Bridgerton heir was not for whatever reason. This show is having such a problem with the former leads returning to the show. Phoebe Dynevor has expressed interest in coming back but the production seems to have written Daphne out entirely. Simone Ashley speaks enthusiastically about the show. Jonathan Bailey has other things going on (as he should) and getting him and Simone Ashley together might be a scheduling challenge but it boggles the mind that when production has those two actors, they have them not announce their baby news or talk about going to India while heavily pregnant. So farfetched. Even when they have the actors return, the show does not seem to know what to do with them. It is unclear what the contracts on this show look like but the actors who have yet to be leads, should be able to pursue other opportunities. As well as former leads. This is the problem with the way the show is set up. To circle back to how production treats certain characters, the promotional tour for season three was well hyped to the extreme. Season two did not get that. It is obvious that Jonathan Bailey and Simone Ashley love their characters and love working together so it is a shame they did not get more time to promote that. And when they did, they were always interviewed with Charithra Chandran. Katie Leung is Scottish and Yerin Ha is Australian. I wonder if they will use their actual accents in their roles. Nicola Coughlan got to use hers in a scene. The majority of the actors are British but it would be enjoyable to hear a variety of accents. Two years between seasons is a long time. It is exciting to see behind the scenes of the next season but it so bittersweet knowing that there is no release date and is at least a year away. Shows on streaming services require such long waiting betwixt seasons. At this rate, if they go by book order, it will be 2036 when Gregory gets his season.

The episode that shall not be named is the sixth episode of the first season. Prior to this, Daphne and Simon are caught kissing in the garden by Anthony. Anthony demands that Simon marry her or they duel. Simon refuses to marry Daphne and accepts a duel. This means one man will die and the one who survives will have to leave the country since dueling is illegal. Daphne interrupts the duel begging Simon to reconsider. He then tells her that he cannot have children and doesn't want to rob her of being a mother which is what she wants. Daphne then gives up her dream of having children to marry Simon. The episode that shall not be named contains a lot of sex. When Simon and Daphne have sex, Simon withdraws each time. (Which is not effective birth control). Daphne is very uninformed about bedroom activities so she is none the wiser. However, she starts putting two and two together, asking the staff questions about how sex works and how babies are made. The next time they are doing the deed, Daphne climbs on top of him and as Simon says "wait" he ejaculates inside of her, clearly not wanting to. Daphne then yells at him for taking advantage of her naivety in order to justify her taking advantage of him. Simon can have children. But he will not have children due to his traumatic upbringing. He told Daphne he could not. There is a version of this in the books. This is a very divisive scene with some calling it downright assault. When the episode aired it sparked a lot of conversation about how males are treated in these scenarios. My unpopular opinion is Daphne violated the trust and consent of her husband's body. She even admits that was her intent. It wasn't done out of naivety or cluelessness. Her actions were deliberate. Simon should have been upfront with her about his thoughts on having children. But that does not excuse what Daphne did which she does excuse herself in her own words. It is rather unsettling. No matter what Simon omitted in telling her, the response to that shouldn't be to take advantage of a spouse. Her speech to him afterwards is very jarring considering she outright says people who are in love don't lie or fool each other. After doing exactly that to her husband. The show treats Simon as the one who is more in the wrong which is unfortunate. I cannot believe the writers included this in a romance show between the main couple of the season. This scene in a modern context was never going to be seen in a good light. Even in a fantastical period drama. It was such a bad way of getting the audience to root for them. A more compelling story would have been Daphne putting the pieces together, then having a big fight with Simon about it, traveling back to her family home to deal with Colin's mess, thus giving Simon the space and time to work through his past. Maybe with Lady Danbury. Then Daphne and Simon could come back together with more insight and better communication. There was no reason to put that scene in there. The writers already changed so much about the stories, this one could have been changed as well. An audience in 2020 was not going to receive this very well from a couple people were supposed to be fans of.

I get that not all are like this. I was thinking of shows like Game of Thrones. Poldark came out yearly and that was a historical romance like Bridgerton. Poldark might be the most comparable of all shows being an hour long period piece with the same number of episodes. I think since Bridgerton is only eight episodes, the show would benefit by doing a ninety minute or two episode premiere, then dropping the episodes weekly. Or increasing the episode count to ten.

Unpopular Opinions: Season One was ruined by that one episode that shall not be named. I will never understand why the writers, who are notorious for changing things up, included that in the show. It was never going to translate over well to a modern audience regardless of the show being a historical fantasy. It was unnecessary and did a disservice to both Daphne and Simon. It made them as a couple hard to root for. I also don't understand Simon's method of not getting anyone pregnant. Pregnancy can still happen regardless of when one pulls out. While Marina's situation was sympathetic, her attitude was not. It was hard to connect with her as a character as she seemed to have an axe to grind with everyone. She was failed by her children's father. He should never left for war without marrying her first. Had she been his wife, she would have gotten his benefits when he died. It makes no sense why this character was in the show in the first place other than to add extra drama to this season. I have read the books so Marina's placement in the story at that point made no sense. The writers did this character and this actress a disservice. Regardless of Penelope's romantic feelings for Colin, she was still someone who cared for him and didn't want to see him duped by Marina. However, I think Penelope should have written a letter to Lady Violet or to Colin. Exposing Marina in public was uncalled for and cruel. Besides standing up to Lady Portia for Penelope, Colin's shining moment was his devastation over being lied to by Marina and saying that he would have married her anyway. Speaking of bad writing decisions, having the Season Two climax be actually getting Edwina down the aisle was wild. This is my favorite season out of the three and Anthony and Kate are the best pairing in the series. But this wedding made everyone involved look dumb. Instead of focusing on the main couple of the season, the bulk of the series dragged on with that wedding. The show could have had more explanation of Kate's backstory rather than some shoehorned in wedding plot. I didn't like Edwina's "half sister" comment or her not being able to grasp the sacrifices Kate had made for their family. I can understand Edwina been angry with Kate but that comment was deliberately hurtful. Unless Lady Mary was completely catatonic after her husband's death, it makes no sense how she wasn't aware of the family's finances. Kate's correspondence with the Sheffield's didn't seem that bad considering in order for Edwina to have a dowry, she would need the inheritance. I like how they showed Anthony and Kate's self sacrificing actions ending up negatively impacting others but it didn't need to have been shown in a wedding storyline. While I love Anthony and Kate, the plot of that season was bad. Anthony and Kate's gazebo scene was much better than their kiss at the church scene. They should have brought back Lord Lumley for Edwina. He was adorable. The secondary love interests like Lumley, Dorset, and Debling just disappear and never come back. I don't mind Eloise. She isn't my favorite but she's never grated my nerves. I hope there is a lot of development coming her way because that would be interesting to see. Colin was not convincing as a leading man and the show would have benefited in having the current season as Benedict's story while continuing to develop Colin. Simon and Anthony both look and sound like adults so I found them more believable as leading men. Francesca and John's story should not have happened this season. This should have been introduced the season before Francesca's season for continuity purposes. Writing out the Featherington family next season would make the most sense as to why the show runners went out of book order. The cousins marrying cousins and the fake gemstones in America plots were pointless. Penelope is a mean girl. I understand that she was seen as the laughingstock of the ton but she did the same to others as Lady Whistledown. It made the entire thing hypocritical. I didn't like how this plot was justified as a girl boss moment when the column was used to make fun of other women. I didn't find that empowering. Penelope's popularity as a character might be in part due to the actress being so delightful. The men in Bridgerton go right for hitching up the skirts. The carriage scene did nothing for me. The sex scene on the futon looked so uncomfortable for a woman. Lady Whistledown was full of innuendos so it was strange that Penelope seemed to know nothing about sex. The sixth episodes of all three season are the weakest. Season One had that episode that shall not be named. Season Two had that silly non wedding. Season Three had the one where Cressida of all characters took center stage as Lady Whistledown by in which the episode at large was a drag. The current season was the most hyped season but is probably going to be the most forgettable. There wasn't an "I burn for you" or "You are the bane of my existence and the object of all my desires" level of memorability. It's a good thing Shondaland has so much pull in the industry because if next season is anything like this season, it would not be renewed for more. It's still baffling to me why it takes over two years to produce eight episodes when others shows with bigger productions and more episodes don't take that long.

Colin and Penelope- Nicola Coughlan is a smoke and she really is a talented performer. Penelope really spent a whole episode on the verge of hyperventilating. That being said, something about the Colin and Penelope romance feels rushed. I would have preferred a Benedict season while Colin and Penelope took over the B-plot where Colin realizes his feelings for Penelope. There could have been more pining from him rather than another season of Penelope mooning over him. Then in Season Four, these two took over the main plot. The audience was told rather than shown their deep friendship. Penelope's perpetual unrequited crush was not compelling. The wedding was beautiful. Luke Newton is a few years older than me and he has such a baby face and sometimes came across like high schoolers going to the dance. I liked how Colin defended her to her mother. I understand that Colin has a right to be upset with Penelope over what she's written about him and his family but I didn't expect the “entrapment” line. I wish his feelings would have been better explored other than his supposed jealousy. I felt we got character development with Simon and Anthony but Colin was underdeveloped. This was Penelope's season. Not Colin and Penelope’s. Colin, though he is a Bridgerton, the season felt lopsided to Penelope. None of his plots came full circle. Colin and Penelope are cute and fun to watch but last season set the bar high in terms of that lightning in a bottle. Anthony and Kate- These two actors really sell this relationship no matter what they are given. They truly make a handsome pairing. Simone Ashley is otherworldly stunning and Disney should invent an original princess movie for her to star in. Jonathan Bailey is such a captivating actor with a lot of range. It really shows that these two actors are committed to these characters. I would watch an entire spin off of Anthony and Kate as they grow their family. They steal every scene they are in. They have the best chemistry on this show. I love seeing Anthony completely obsessed with his wife and Kate handling her duties as Viscountess. It is nice to see them more relaxed. But it is strange that these two duty bound individuals would be in and out of their household so regularly. They have responsibilities. It's very out of character. Multiple honeymoons and now a very long voyage to India. While it is wonderful they have incorporated Kate's background into the show, a pregnant woman who is showing, traveling that great a distance does not sound like a good plan. There's no Suez Canal yet. It was such a weird way to explain why the actors weren't in the last episode. They could have just gone to have the baby at Aubrey Hall, then in the finale, Violet mentions their travels in India. The babies of all the Featherington sisters were shown but for some reason Anthony and Kate's was not, the Bridgerton heir, even. On a show called Bridgerton. Everyone else gets onscreen weddings and babies but not Anthony and Kate. It was also odd that the head of the household missed his own sister's wedding considering he is also a father figure. Weird. Speaking of Violet, she seems absolutely happy with Anthony's choice of wife. John and Francesca- I have no strong opinions about these two. But I do like how the show highlights different kinds of love. Not every romance needs dramatic confessions. I did like how Violet saw how Francesca reacted to John telling the boots story. Her scenes with her children are the best. But it was such whiplash when she began questioning it. I am not sure how they are going to work in the Michaela character as I am aware of the source material. I hope they don't go down the route of an emotional affair as that would be such a disservice to the quiet love story they spent time building on. It would be very discontinuous to have Francesca have an understated romance to instantly fall in love/lust with her husband's cousin. The Featheringtons- This would have been the season to have the cousin husband come on the show instead of last season where it hijacked a lot of screen time. That storyline, as silly as it was, would have made more sense this season as Penelope's family was a central focus. The sisters are funny and the usage of them this season makes more sense. Their housekeeper remains the best part of that family. Eloise- With a lot of characters in this show, their motivations and actions are understandable even if they handle them poorly. Eloise isn't my favorite character but I completely understand her wanting to put up boundaries when came to Penelope. I appreciated how even though she didn't want to be friends with her, she wasn't catty towards her. Eloise didn't seem to have a storyline this season other than to give ultimatums. She is a lot of talk but joining Francesca in Scotland will be interesting for her. Benedict- It's almost as if the show didn't know what to do with him but needed to be kept around because he's waiting in the wings for his love story. I didn't care for his relationship with the blonde lady with the 1940's hairstyle or his throuple situation. I am not sure what it added to the story. Benedict is best when interacting with the family. The actor has great chemistry with all the Bridgertons. His storylines this season just felt contrived and didn't go anywhere. It makes the most sense for his season to be next. Lady Whistledown- The back and forth blackmailing and crisis over this identity got tedious. Having Penelope actually confess this to Colin would have been worth the payoff. It didn't seem believable that the Queen would devote so much time and energy into uncovering the identity to then shrug it off so easily. Cressida was way overused. That time could have been spent developing the friendship of Colin and Penelope. It would have been great to see flashbacks to them meeting for the first time. It's weird to have gotten Simon flashbacks in the first season, but none for Kate or Penelope in the following seasons. Cressida should have been shipped off with Lord Debling who randomly disappeared. Colin's Whistledown discovery might have worked better as the cliffhanger for the split season. While neither are my favorite characters, the show's treatment of Penelope getting the fairytale ending after spreading gossip about the Ton and Cressida's vilification assuming that identity, was an unusual juxtaposition. I didn't buy Penelope feeling bad about Whistledown. I didn't buy the Queen's response to that. It really seemed as if Penelope was only upset about getting caught, not the terrible gossip she spread around. Other than her husband and best friend being upset with her, Penelope faced no real consequences for her actions. It took away from the story. Other side plots- This show has a lot of side stories. I like the older ladies of the show such as Charlotte, Lady Violet, and Lady Danbury. This might be an unpopular opinion but I didn't care too much for the Mondrich family story or Lady Danbury's brother. The actors are fine but these stories don't advance the plot. It would have been great to get more Penelope and Lady Danbury scenes or more of Violet with her children. Lady Danbury has great one liners and I do like her scenes with Violet. The Bridgerton family scenes are some of the better parts of the show. Daphne and Simon weren't even mentioned with a throw away line which disconnects with the closeness of this family. Overall, this season had some good moments despite the pacing being clunky at times. It felt hurried. It's such a shame that the actors went on a giant press tour, hyping up the show, when the finished product was a little lackluster. They all did well in their roles; it just seemed like they were promoting a different show. The network advertised something that did not come to fruition. The characters just didn't feel like themselves. The main love story just didn't feel earned in a way the two before it did, the first season sans that one episode the writers decided to include. On a shallow note, the Regency Era costumes flatter no one even if the dresses are beautiful in themselves. Everyone looks pregnant. I wonder if the great Julie Andrews will return. A two year wait for the next season... Game of Thrones, a show with a bigger scale with more episodes didn't even take that long. Season Two remains the far superior season out of the three.