Book vs. Series: On The Shelf

[ouinason]

I am one of the people who don't mind some divergence in detail and plot, but don't want any divergence from the End Game Pairings.  I mean, that's the point, isn't it?  To put these stories/couples to the screen?

[scarynikki12]

I don't know if it was ever confirmed but I have seen people over on social media claim that the show has to keep the books pairings the same. Let's say it's true. My next question is how detailed is that part of the contract? If it's super detailed and says that Eloise has to end up with Sir Philip whose wife Marina died then we're out of luck. If it's relatively vague then maybe they could get around it simply by having her end up with a man named Philip. If those claims are false then I hope they change Eloise's love interest entirely. I'm already a fan of Theo and having their story parallel Benedict and Sophie would work. If the plan doesn't change and she's destined for Philip then they need to fix Marina's side and have Eloise start showing any level of affection for young children. If Auggie is talking in season 3 then make him an inquisitive chatterbox who Eloise finds delightful and happy to teach about all the things she's interested in.

For Marina I like the idea of her and Philip simply divorcing. I know divorce would have been a major scandal in real life but it wouldn't need to be in the show. Bring Charlotte into it if necessary to sign off on it and then let Marina find love and share custody with Philip. 

[Kirsty]

16 hours ago, bijoux said:

 I have a hard time imagining the show changing any of the end Games, especially in this case, where they introduced Phillip so early on.

Agreed. They cast Phillip for season one with the main characters. So I have to assume that the actor did a chemistry reading with Claudia Jessie and that the writers have a long term plan for Phillip. Otherwise why bring him in so early and why bring him back every season?

I think his role as future leading man is really well hidden on the show. If you asked most viewers who this guy plays on Bridgerton, they'd be hard-pressed to identify him. 😄

Edited May 31, 2022 by Kirsty

[Cetacean]

29 minutes ago, Kirsty said:

...they'd be hard-pressed to identify him. 😄

I couldn't pick him out of a lineup.  His screen time was mere minutes out of two whole seasons.

[quarks]

22 hours ago, scarynikki12 said:

For Marina I like the idea of her and Philip simply divorcing. I know divorce would have been a major scandal in real life but it wouldn't need to be in the show. Bring Charlotte into it if necessary to sign off on it and then let Marina find love and share custody with Philip. 

The problem I have with this is that Bridgerton has made a point of how scandal can lead to complete ruin - thus why Marina married Philip in the first place. The scandal of an unwed pregnancy left her with no other option. And it was part of the reason why Daphne and Simon got married. And why the Bridgertons went to the effort to go to a museum and hold a ball and attend another ball. And why the dressmaker is so terrified of scandal. 

Having Queen Charlotte sign off on any divorce could help, but after two seasons of SCANDAL SCANDAL SCANDAL WE MUST AVOID SCANDAL SCANDAL SCANDAL I'm not sure I will be able to buy anyone on this show getting a divorce. 

[GaT]

They could always have Marina die in an accident, that would take care of everything.

[andromeda331]

I don't want Marina to die. Eloise doesn't seem like she would have anything in common with Philip. Putting her with someone like Theo would be more interesting and they have something in common.  They are both into the "radical" ideas and could print their own pamphlets. Or someone else who as similar interests as Eloise. I'd still rather see her never marry. She has zero interests in it and kids. Theo was the only guy she gave any time and that was only after he made remarks that made her realize they shared similar thoughts. Until then she dismissed him just like she dismissed every man and pretty much every woman. 

[ouinason]

Just because Eloise isn't interested in having a family right now, and under the strictures that she sees every day, doesn't mean she won't change her mind and/or find another way.  She's 18.  I know the actress is much older, but the character JUST came out.

[Enero]

18 minutes ago, anamika said:

If the show is determined to do Eloise/Philip, I honestly wouldn't mind if George Crane turned up alive. It's war after all. There's a lot of historical romance out there where dead soldier turns up alive after many years and everyone thought them dead. George comes back and Marina finally gets her happy ending!

I didn’t see this type of scenario mentioned here but I absolutely love this idea. It would get a little messy for the characters but I think the writers could make this scenario work. 

[anamika]

12 hours ago, ouinason said:

Just because Eloise isn't interested in having a family right now, and under the strictures that she sees every day, doesn't mean she won't change her mind and/or find another way.  She's 18.  I know the actress is much older, but the character JUST came out.

Discussions around Eloise remind me of the ones around Arya Stark in GOT. Where the 9 year old went 'Eww boys!' and the fandom decided she would never marry, have no romance or love life and is all about that single life even after she grows up.

Eloise is in a Historical romance series. It's a given she will find love and marriage and the right man will come along one day and sweep her off her feet. Which man is the question.

I find it interesting that Theo is most likely coming back for season 3 while Sienna didn't.

No news yet on anything Benedict. The Benophie fans will riot if Benedict gets pushed to season 5.

[Cetacean]

21 hours ago, ouinason said:

Just because Eloise isn't interested in having a family right now, and under the strictures that she sees every day, doesn't mean she won't change her mind and/or find another way.  She's 18.  I know the actress is much older, but the character JUST came out.

And yet she grew up in a large family so is no stranger to what motherhood is all about.  She was not the least but interested in her nephew ("Come see little Augie."  "Why, has he changed?") and actively avoids all of the males her mother tries to pair her with.  The only person she has been interested in is Theo and he seems a good match intellectually.  Too bad about that pesky class destinction.

Of course this is the view from someone who has not read the books so I have no idea how closely they are being followed.

[Enero]

11 hours ago, Cetacean said:

And yet she grew up in a large family so is no stranger to what motherhood is all about.  She was not the least but interested in her nephew ("Come see little Augie."  "Why, has he changed?") and actively avoids all of the males her mother tries to pair her with.  The only person she has been interested in is Theo and he seems a good match intellectually.  Too bad about that pesky class destinction.

Of course this is the view from someone who has not read the books so I have no idea how closely they are being followed.

Good point about her reaction to her nephew. As previously stated, I think the writers have their work cut out for them if they are going to transform Eloise into a woman who not only wants marriage and kids,  and not her own, but kids that are someone else's.

I agree about Theo. He and Eloise had nice chemistry and seem to support the same ideas. Would her marrying below her station be so out of order? Anthony married a woman who had no money, no dowry, was the daughter of gasp a middle class man. Some in the Ton may think she is beneath him. Granted he is a man and thus has more freedom to do as he wishes than Eloise. That said, she could marry Theo, but how would the Bridgertons respond to that? Would she be disowned just as Mary was disowned by her family for marrying a regular guy? Or would they come to accept Eloise's choice?

I've heard the show must keep all pairings the same. There's been claims that it's in some sort of contract. However, I've not found any proof to support this claim. So who knows what liberties the writers can take when it comes to the couplings. All of them may not end up with the spouse they had in the books on the show. 

[Door County Cherry]

On 5/29/2022 at 5:45 PM, Cetacean said:

Plus Sir Phillip (on screen) is as bland as vanilla pudding.  In no universe would El go for him.

I think he has an on screen presence.  I have more faith in him as a romantic lead than I do Colin at this point.  

I don't think Eloise needs to be into botany. Spouses can have different hobbies.  (I say that as someone who was rooting for a Marina/Philip love story so it's not that I'm wedded to this couple. I just think he has charisma.)

On 5/30/2022 at 2:02 PM, ouinason said:

I am one of the people who don't mind some divergence in detail and plot, but don't want any divergence from the End Game Pairings.  I mean, that's the point, isn't it?  To put these stories/couples to the screen?

I think the point is to tell pure romance stories.  Most viewers aren't going to be as wedded to the end game pairings for better or worse. 

On 5/30/2022 at 3:05 PM, scarynikki12 said:

I don't know if it was ever confirmed but I have seen people over on social media claim that the show has to keep the books pairings the same.

I have a hard time believing it.  Julia Quinn has claimed that she has no control over the show or what they do.  I think she said that they really needed to include the Pall Mall scene but I don't think that was contractual or just a "I know my readers, this is what they're going to want and it's a big hit."

I used to watch Ugly Betty and I remember reading that Fernando Gaitan (creator of the original Colombian telenovela) had a clause in the contract when he sold the rights that the Betty character would end up with the Armando character.  That is how all iterations up to that point (and I believe since) had ended.  So the US version came and changed a lot.  The ending hinted at a possible romantic future for those characters but it was far from certain or done quite in the way it was alleged.  

22 hours ago, Enero said:

I didn’t see this type of scenario mentioned here but I absolutely love this idea. It would get a little messy for the characters but I think the writers could make this scenario work. 

I think George being alive only would have worked if Marina and George had married.  They still could have played out the scenario of there potentially being a scandal if they had gotten married in a church but no one could find the person who did it or any records of it so Philip married her.  (Belgravia had a plot like this--they didn't know if an heir was a legitimate heir or not because it was undetermined whether or not there was a legal marriage. ) The Philip/Marina marriage would be invalid as the George/Marina marriage would take precedence.  

But that isn't the scenario so they'd need to divorce.  And yes, for all the changes and more agency it has given some characters, they're still sticking to the threat of certain scandals to push the plots forward. 

[Roseanna]

On 6/2/2022 at 6:38 AM, anamika said:

Eloise is in a Historical romance series. It's a given she will find love and marriage and the right man will come along one day and sweep her off her feet. Which man is the question.

...providing she is the *main* heroine of the season.

But what if there wouldn't be eight seasons but the plots of the Bridgerton siblings are united in fewer seasons? Then some of the siblings could remain unmarried or have a romance but  not marry or be gay while the main couple would marry.

Besides, was this series supposed to renew romance genre?

[RachelKM]

Regarding the Marina/Phillip/Eloise issue, I would much prefer them leave Marina alone.  Once they decided to make her a character in Season 1 it became nearly impossible for the story to play out as it did in To Sir Phillip With Love.

And Marina and Phillip getting divorced wouldn't help because divorce in Regency era didn't work like it does now.  It was effectively just a legal separation that meant you no longer shared a household or finances. But you could not remarry while your former spouse was alive.

They'd be better off creating a new character with the same basic outline for the story.  As it is, there is no reason Eloise would write to Philip after his wife's death because she doesn't know him at all and barely knew Marina and even then only as her friend's cousin and briefly Colin's fiancee. 

In the book, Marian is a Bridgerton cousin whom Eloise knew as a child.  So she was writing to the widow of a family member. 

Better to create a different cousin and husband and otherwise follow the plot of the book if they want to keep the stories relatively intact from the books. And if they did that, they could change the male protagonist's interests to something more compatible with show Eloise. For instance, he could be a Whig Party MP.*  If he was resistant initially to involving her in his politics it could be a natural conflict for them to overcome that would appeal to modern audiences when he come to appreciate her passion and incite and include her in discussions for his work.

*A Torie would set up conflict. But I cannot imagine a situation in which El would marry a Torie and to have him switch parties due to the power of El's passionate persuasion would be ludicrous.

Edited June 5, 2022 by RachelKM

[bijoux]

They don't need Eloise writing to Philip for them to meet. I imagine there's more reason to moving his estate close to Aubrey Hall other than just to have Colin drop in once.

[RachelKM]

21 minutes ago, bijoux said:

They don't need Eloise writing to Philip for them to meet. I imagine there's more reason to moving his estate close to Aubrey Hall other than just to have Colin drop in once.

I had forgotten that.  Although, it makes her running off to his estate and having any hope of her brothers not hearing about it and coming immediately far more unlikely. In the book, none of them really knew Phillip nor that there was any way Eloise might meet him.  Living on a nearby estate would make her being there without it getting back to them through local gossip would be somewhat ludicrous. She would have no hope of having time to get to know him better.

[RachelKM]

From the LW: friend or Foe thread:

On 5/26/2022 at 11:21 PM, andromeda331 said:

I really have a hard time seeing Penelope as Lady Whistledown. I really do like her. It's also hard for me to see the Penelope who's nice, didn't know where babies come from and treated like crap by her family is writing the pamplet outing people's secrets and has the Queen hunting her down.

I agree that the character traits are pretty hard to reconcile.  I think it stems from how far they drifted from the characterizations of both LW and Penelope as they were in the books. And the drifts were in radically divergent directions.

As has been stated in many posts, LW was not as biting with her gossip and there were no major scandal outings that I recall. Her pamphlet was popular because she used people's full names (rather than the initials favored by other gossip rags) and her commentary was witty.

And because she wasn't as impactful on society as the show version (scuttling engagements and commenting on Queen's own planned pairings - Queen Charlotte is not a character in the books at all ), there isn't the fervor in the books to out her. There is curiosity and people are trying to guess here and there; but there isn't an ever present threat of outing her or even that much real effort beyond idle speculation until Pen's own book.

All of the changes significantly ratcheted up the prominence of LW making her more central to the plots than she was presented in books 1-3. In heightening the drama they made LW into some kind of omniscient gossip ninja a'la Gossip Girl rather than a pleasantly diverting witty column.

Conversely, Pen in the books is not nearly the wide-eye thing she is in the show, Season 1 especially. She is a wallflower and suffers from her slightly ridiculous but well meaning mother's misguided machinations. But mostly, she's just a bit awkward in the social whirl after being brought out while still a spotty teen, slightly overweight, and shod in ludicrously unflattering dresses with too much flounce and endless shades of citrus (Yellow is a happy colour! ~ Mrs. Featherington).  

But amongst her friends she is often shown to have a dry wit and a good natured, sanguine attitude about her plight knowing she's without much hope of relief from it.  The friendship she develops with Colin is largely based on his appreciation of her wit which is something they have in common - a trait they seemed to have stripped from Show!Colin and given to Benedict along with his teasing relationship with Eloise.*

Thus, learning that shy in social gatherings but clever and witty in private Book!Pen is witty and fun gossip Book!LW is less of a stretch.

*Colin is closest with Daphne being one of the close birthed pairs. But he and Eloise have a relatively close relationship as well with a lot of good natured banter and bickering. 

Edited June 5, 2022 by RachelKM

[bijoux]

2 hours ago, RachelKM said:

I had forgotten that.  Although, it makes her running off to his estate and having any hope of her brothers not hearing about it and coming immediately far more unlikely. In the book, none of them really knew Phillip nor that there was any way Eloise might meet him.  Living on a nearby estate would make her being there without it getting back to them through local gossip would be somewhat ludicrous. She would have no hope of having time to get to know him better.

I agree. The groundwork that the show has laid down so far completely changes the outline of that potential story. I can't see Eloise and Philip getting together in the same way at all.

Even changing Anthony and Kate's story impacts them. In the books Anthony went with the argument that he had married because of a potential scandal. In the show, it's very much his and Kate's free will and desire to get married. 

[ouinason]

OK, but now Philip lives nearby, probably shops in the same town, maybe their families will go to the same events.  Eloise is definitely the kind of person who would make friends with a random guy she meets hiding in a corner at a party.  There are more ways now for Phil and El to actually interact and build a relationship that turns to condolences, even if they aren't very close before the fact of Marina dying/running off/whatever.

[Roseanna]

On 5/28/2022 at 2:43 PM, katha said:

I thought the wedding night in the TVWLM book is a weird mash of bad romance tropes and actual decent writing for the characters Quinn created. So you have Anthony pressuring Kate at the beginning, which is supposed to denote "passion" or something but just comes off as creepy and manipulative. 

And then the actual wedding night that totally throws out the nonsense that Anthony was talking about before about not being able to control himself. And he reigns himself in and focuses on making things comfortable for Kate, as it should be. It's like two people almost. As if Quinn thought she had to throw out characterization to bring in some "alpha hero can't contain himself" trainwreck. 

"I can't control myself" should be passé.

If he really loves her, he shouldn't be in no hurry, but be willing to wait, even for days or weeks. Or sometimes it could be her who makes the initiative.  

[methodwriter85]

On 5/31/2022 at 7:25 AM, Cetacean said:

I couldn't pick him out of a lineup.  His screen time was mere minutes out of two whole seasons.

He looked too much like a Bridgerton brother and I remember several people commenting on that during his introduction episode, as it's been a general meme that it's hard to tell apart the brothers. LOL They should have given him blonder hair or maybe a reddish tint to differentiate him.

[irisheyes]

I was able to snag The Viscount who Loved Me from the library just before our vacation and read it on the beach. And I have thoughts. Lots of them. 😀

First of all, I am so upset with what the TV writers did to the characters. I would have rooted for book Kate and Anthony. They were characters I got invested in because they had STORIES. Anthony’s belief in his mortality. And Kate’s paralyzing fear of storms (and her insecurity about how she compared to Edwina).  Because of those stories, their actions made more sense. 
 

Second, the plot made more sense. I wish they hadn’t changed the library scene. Those actors would have acted the hell out of that scene. (Can you imagine how hot JB would have been sitting underneath that table with Kate?)  We could have gotten so much more of their relationship if they had dropped the whole Featherington plot  

I won’t even get into the character assassination that happened with Penelope and Eloise. 🙄

[Door County Cherry]

I thought Anthony's fear of mortality and dying young was kind of stupid in the book.  I think the overwhelming sense of responsibility thrust onto him when his father died and he he was in charge of everything--including the fate of his yet-to-be-born sibling--made more sense than fearing he'd drop dead before 36.  I appreciated his arc more in that respect.

The big issue was the stupid proposal.  They should have never done that.  It's writers afraid they're not capable of writing big stakes in little moments.  

And I don't think Kate's fear of storms would have explained her decision making but I do agree it would have led to some great scenes.

[ouinason]

The whole "oh, my dad died at this age so I'm obviously going to die that age too" reasoning is one of the stupidest things I have ever heard in my life.  

I get idolizing your dad and not being able to see yourself exceeding him in any way.  I know a few people who were quite shocked to outlive their dads for various reasons.  But Anthony's absolute devotion to the idea made him seem so ridiculous that I didn't like him as much as I could have.  I'm very happy they left that out. 

[irisheyes]

I guess I just appreciated that these character had some vulnerabilities (?) in the book that didn’t translate to the screen. 
 

I also think that the writers have written themselves into a corner. They can’t really do the time jump that the books did, so I’m curious how they’ll tell Colin & Penelope’s story.  

[scarynikki12]

To be fair to the narrative once Anthony told Kate about that irrational nonsense she put it in perspective by pointing out that, based on his theory, she should be dead already/get ready to die soon (I forget how old her mother was when she died) and Anthony realized how foolish he'd been. The reader is never supposed to take him seriously and it's meant to show that this is one of the ways he dealt with the trauma of losing Edmund. It's still silly and ultimately good to be axed for the show but it wasn't actually a thing in the book.

[anamika]

So the plot for season 3 has been released. Looks very much like The Duke and I part Deux.

[OlderThanDirt]

I'm thinking they could show the ball where Sophie meets Benedict this season and then have the 4th season be their story since he looks for her for 2 years.

[scarynikki12]

Colin has a new look?

Facial-hair! Facial-hair!

[SonofaBiscuit]

13 hours ago, scarynikki12 said:

Colin has a new look?

Facial-hair! Facial-hair!

I posted a "Season 3 Now in Production" video over in the Media thread, and the actor looks pretty much the same to me, except I think his hair looks worse. Think they might be overselling the "new look" line, LOL. Now, Penelope's hair looks different, and Eloise looks very cute in the video, IMO. 

[katha]

Why are they chucking out the original plot and throwing in a completely different plot that is suspiciously similar to season one? I kinda understood why they deviated the way they did in season two, even though some of it was messy. But I thought Polin's book is actually pretty straightforward? Even if you throw away the time skips. 

Tied to that and after a rewatch of season two: I think they want/need to do something with the loopsided way the family/Violet is treating her sons. She drowns Anthony in pressure and drones on and on about how he will never measure up to his father. Yet at the same time there seems to be zero expectations for Colin and Benedict? Like, they act like overgrown children in their twenties and when Anthony tries to address that they throw hissyfits about it? Why has neither of them taken up a profession? Anthony is financing all their frivolous pursuits even though he could chuck them out and tell them to go find themselves rich spouses and when he only so much as tries to talk to them about responsibilities they either make stupid quips or run away. 

And Violet constantly only rags on Anthony how he can dare to even consider putting any kind of pressure or responsibility on his brothers. I'm starting to think something went severely out of joint after Edmund's death in that family. 

Edited July 23, 2022 by katha

[quarks]

On 7/23/2022 at 2:07 PM, katha said:

Yet at the same time there seems to be zero expectations for Colin and Benedict? Like, they act like overgrown children in their twenties and when Anthony tries to address that they throw hissyfits about it? Why has neither of them taken up a profession? Anthony is financing all their frivolous pursuits even though he could chuck them out and tell them to go find themselves rich spouses and when he only so much as tries to talk to them about responsibilities they either make stupid quips or run away. 

Agreed that Violet doesn't seem to have the same expectations for Benedict and Colin that she does for Anthony, Daphne and Eloise.  Some of this is probably because Anthony and Daphne are the oldest son and daughter, and Eloise is the hands down most notorious right now, but that doesn't explain all of it. They are also the three who have clashed with her the most on screen so far.

But to be fair, we have seen Colin and Benedict try to take up professions. Colin's attempts to turn into an investor got sorta sidetracked by the whole mining scam thing, but he was trying to do something with his life - he even said so in the script - and he managed to end said scam while doing so. It seems at least possible that Colin might continue to pursue this - or his profession in the books.  The script also told us that Benedict's art isn't just frivolous - he was crushed to learn that he got into the art school thanks to a donation, even after one of the other artists told him that his work was actually good.

[ouinason]

I mean... I know this isn't real regency, but historically there really wasn't much pressure for a second or third son to marry, and especially not young.  Anthony has the title to pass down, and Benedict is jut the back up plan if Anthony doesn't have sons.  Also, these two younger sons in particular don't have to worry about money.  Plus there were very few acceptable jobs for the nobility.  it's not like either of them could go out and open a shop.  There were very prescribed lanes for younger sons, military, law and clergy.  Colin and especially Benedict just don't seem cut out for that at all, and they don't need the money.  I think each of them has their own inheritance independently of or provided by the family.  It's the perfect storm for rakes, ner-do-wells, wastrels and foppish libertines.  

[mrsbagnet]

On 7/26/2022 at 5:15 AM, ouinason said:

I think each of them has their own inheritance independently of or provided by the family.  It's the perfect storm for rakes, ner-do-wells, wastrels and foppish libertines.  

Which makes it interesting that the Bridgertons have so many children. It's a testament to Violet and Edmund's affection and randiness for each other, but with that many sons with inherited wealth, you're kind of setting them up to not do much in life.

Edited July 31, 2022 by mrsbagnet

[ouinason]

well, back then you needed extras, cause the infant/childhood mortality rate was high.  Also, medicine sucked, so adults died of random things like cutting themselves on a rusty nail.

Although, 2 spares was more than enough to meet standards, so the Bridgertons must not have had anyone around who could explain even then least effective methods of birth control to them.

[andromeda331]

5 hours ago, ouinason said:

well, back then you needed extras, cause the infant/childhood mortality rate was high.  Also, medicine sucked, so adults died of random things like cutting themselves on a rusty nail.

Although, 2 spares was more than enough to meet standards, so the Bridgertons must not have had anyone around who could explain even then least effective methods of birth control to them.

True but in Edmund's and Violet's case it also seemed to be because they loved each other so much. 

[katha]

I do think Colin and Benedict drifting around uselessly like that is also tied to Edmund's death. There were no plans yet in place of perhaps getting them into professions and Violet seems to focus all her attention/expectations in good/bad ways on Anthony and largely ignore the other sons. IMO something like law or the church doesn't seem totally out there for Colin, and perhaps the military or law for Benedict? Agree that he's not a church man LOL. And because they're doing well money-wise, Anthony is not forcing the issue while Violet has a total blind spot. I think it's done bad things to the state of mind of Anthony, Benedict and Colin. Too much/too little expectations. 

[Scarlett45]

On 7/25/2022 at 3:37 PM, quarks said:

But to be fair, we have seen Colin and Benedict try to take up professions. Colin's attempts to turn into an investor got sorta sidetracked by the whole mining scam thing, but he was trying to do something with his life - he even said so in the script - and he managed to end said scam while doing so. It seems at least possible that Colin might continue to pursue this - or his profession in the books.  The script also told us that Benedict's art isn't just frivolous - he was crushed to learn that he got into the art school thanks to a donation, even after one of the other artists told him that his work was actually good.

Yes. I’m not a book reader- but does Benedict actually assist Anthony with running of the Bridgerton estate/lands etc? Colin is still fairly young (if Anthony is 28, I’m assuming Benedict is 25ish, and Colin 21 or so), just finished university and did a bit of traveling. 

On 7/29/2022 at 11:06 PM, andromeda331 said:

True but in Edmund's and Violet's case it also seemed to be because they loved each other so much. 

Yes. Some couples are more fertile than others, and given they were a love match, they probably had a lot of sex because they wanted to. Violet had good luck regarding childbirth and none of her children died in infancy. Many couples may have conceived 8 (or more) times, but getting 8 live births and 8 children out of infancy was a different thing, but not unheard of. 

[quarks]

11 hours ago, Scarlett45 said:

Yes. I’m not a book reader- but does Benedict actually assist Anthony with running of the Bridgerton estate/lands etc? Colin is still fairly young (if Anthony is 28, I’m assuming Benedict is 25ish, and Colin 21 or so), just finished university and did a bit of traveling. 

In the books, none of the brothers help run the estate. Benedict and Colin do eventually pursue careers, but not in estate management.

Gregory, not so much, although there's a scene where Anthony notes that Gregory needs some direction in his life, and another scene where Violet points out just how privileged Gregory is, and that he's never had to work for/earn anything in his life, despite a desire to prove himself to his older brothers. And then....there's surprisingly little follow-up to this.

[bijoux]

On 7/30/2022 at 6:06 AM, andromeda331 said:

True but in Edmund's and Violet's case it also seemed to be because they loved each other so much. 

And Edmund in particular seemed more than happy to have plenty of kids. I think it was im the books and not in the show that Violet had told him that her pregnancy with Hyacinth had to be her last and then regretted saying it after Edmund's death.

[RachelKM]

Posting this here because it references more book plots than show (as of yet aired):

[LadyChaos]

Honestly, I think Eloise ends up with Phillip.....Her book has his name in the title....but besides that, I think its one thing to change some plot details but completely another to change endgame. If they wanted to go a different route, they wouldn't have changed that he was no longer related to them like in the books or introduced him so early. While in regency era, it was common to marry a cousin, nowadays it would disgust the audience and I think they changed that to make it more acceptable to an audience. I also think that people are undervaluing him as a character in the show so far because we don't know that much about him. He actually would be good for her because he is very bookish and already has his 'heirs' so he wouldn't pressure her into having children. I just hope they choose a different path for Marina's exit on the show other than the one in the books because that just completely undoes what she tells Colin in s2....an illness or accident preferable. I don't like the idea of divorce because back then, divorce usually just meant that he takes the kids and she is left to live on the streets if no relative is willing to take her in.

I also think that in the grand scheme of things, Theo is not a good match for Eloise.....for all her radical ideas, Eloise forgets that her station in life and family name comes with a lot of privileges and freedoms that others is lower social and economic standing do not possess. She does not see that because of her family, if she were to chose to become a spinster, her family would have the means to support her all her life to continue her academic pursuits and at worse she would be labeled the spinster oddball aunt. I also think that if she were to marry Theo, he would not be risen to the ranks of high society, and she would have a very hard lesson at the realities of losing all that freedom her current social standing allows her. It is far more likely that they would be given a small annual sum to supplement their income by Anthony to live on....but as it would be nowhere near to the level of comforts she was used to.....clean water, baths whenever she wants, someone to cook, clean, and wash for her, the freedom to come and go as she pleases without worry about the cost to her pocket money...it is far more likely that Eloise would grow to resent Theo over the years. And not being afforded separate quarters or the luxury to travel or have her husband travel separately and spend time apart, it is for more likely for her to pop out kid after kid after kid.....having Eloise face a life much closer to that of the Prices of Mansfield Park.

[bijoux]

Phillip isn't related to the Bridgertons in the books. Book Marina is a distant cousin of theirs.

[LadyChaos]

On 9/25/2022 at 10:12 AM, bijoux said:

Phillip isn't related to the Bridgertons in the books. Book Marina is a distant cousin of theirs.

Yep..thanks...I hadn't read Eloise's book yet and was confused... but I still think Phillip and Eloise will end up together, and my other points stand.

[RachelKM]

9 minutes ago, quarks said:

The thing is, with Eloise, I've also seen a number of fans say, sometimes vehemently, that they want Eloise to end up with with her book love interest. Otherwise, what's the point?

And I don't think they're being unreasonable or wrong - indeed, if not for the changes/offscreen stuff, I'd agree with them. But those changes and offscreen stuff exist, so....let's end happily with Benedict, and maybe a hint of Francesca.

I get this, absolutely.  But I don't know why it couldn't be Peter and Marianne or Felix and Helena or any other names and given the same story, with the woman having been a Bridgerton cousin.

They actually cannot make sense of Eloise's story as established on the show.  There is absolutely no way Eloise would end up writing to Phillip. She has no connection to him and barely even met Marian beyond knowing her as the woman who tried to trap her brother into marriage.

Were Marina to pass away, there is no plausible reason for Eloise to strike up a correspondence with Phillip, who to her would just be some random widower she'd barely have reason to hear about except possibly in passing from the Featheringtons (who may be obtuse enough to discuss Marian with the Bridgertons).

I'm not committed to them doing this story in any case. As I mentioned in the media thread, Eloise's story, while fun with the terror twins and confrontation with her brothers, is expressly isolated from the other Bridgertons.  

Francesca's story is likewise removed from the other family. But it could be moved closer to London to allow involvement of other Bridgertons. Unlike Eloise, hiding her location from her family is not expressly part of her story.

[quarks]

Portions of Francesca's book do involve the Bridgertons, though - she's in London for quite a bit of it. I think the bit where she and Michael head off to Scotland can be contained to a couple of episodes - pretty much more or less what season 1 did when Daphne and Simon headed off to his home. 

And back to Eloise - it's not just that the setup gives Eloise no reason to write to Philip in the first place, but also, the current setup gives Eloise no reason to continue to write to Philip. In the book, it's pretty clear that Eloise has never met her emotional/intellectual match even after several seasons in London, and also, that on some level, she wants to. She was already corresponding regularly with Philip before Colin and Penelope got together, intensifying her feelings of isolation.

In the show, Eloise has met her emotional/intellectual match, or at least one emotional/intellectual match in Theo. I can absolutely believe that show Eloise will continue to think that she's not going to meet an emotional/intellectual match at any of the society parties, but show Eloise also knows, from personal experience, that she can find that emotional/intellectual match somewhere. 

The show could of course turn that into an argument for having her rush off to meet Sir Philip in person, but it also eliminates one reason for that correspondence to start up in the first place.

On top of this, show Eloise has presumably spent weeks, if not months, isolated from Penelope. Sure, she now knows how devastating that can feel, but it also means that Penelope just marrying Colin, instead of Penelope telling the ton HEY DID YOU ALL KNOW ELOISE ASSOCIATES WITH RADICALS, will probably not have the same effect on show Eloise as it did on book Eloise.

(And of course book Eloise was all "Not telling me the truth about Lady Whistledown was a good thing!" so....yeah, that too.)

[magdalene]

I will be seriously pissed off if they deviate from the books for Eloise and Phillip.  The notion of her slumming it with that boy in marriage is ridiculous. I don't care if Marina has to get killed off for it to happen, she is such a sourpuss.

[quarks]

On 12/25/2023 at 5:16 PM, magdalene said:

I will be seriously pissed off if they deviate from the books for Eloise and Phillip.  The notion of her slumming it with that boy in marriage is ridiculous. I don't care if Marina has to get killed off for it to happen, she is such a sourpuss.

 

Proving the point I made over on the Media thread - a number of fans have very strong feelings about this - and really want the show to stick with Eloise and Philip.

And I get that. I honestly do. That's half the point of doing an adaptation like this - to see the book relationships play out on screen. But given everything that happened in the first season on and off screen, I don't think it's a good idea for this show/adaptation to stick with that pairing.

That doesn't necessarily mean staying with Eloise and Theo. Just that I think that if the show gets to a fifth season - and it might not - it might need to look at other possibilities.

[magdalene]

9 hours ago, quarks said:

Just that I think that if the show gets to a fifth season - and it might not - it might need to look at other possibilities.

Netflix tends to cancel most shows after the third season (if they make it that far), but there are of course the exceptions, like The Crown and Stranger Things. If they can keep the quality up and the book fan base happy, and if the producer wants to continue they could be such an exception.

Alienating the books fans may not be helpful.

Edited December 27, 2023 by magdalene