Book vs. Series: On The Shelf

[ursula]

4 hours ago, ouinason said:

Lady F. didn't see any hope of George doing the right thing, so I don't think she felt that there would be any purpose in contacting his family.  They would be more likely to slut shame and deny Marina than anything else, historically speaking.

Yes that’s what I said. Her own cynicism made her assume that The baby daddy won’t take responsibility. Which is where the irony/tragedy lies because if she had just done the honest thing instead of forgery and scheming, she could have avoided the whole mess.

4 hours ago, Roseanna said:

did she want to punish Marina because she had concealed her pregnancy and thus damaged also the reputation of her daughters?

Honestly I think a part of it was punishing Marina for just being as popular as she was. Even before she found out about the pregnancy, she resented Marina. So it probably gave her a kick to marry the season’s unexpected “incomparable” to some odious old creep.

[quarks]

5 hours ago, bijoux said:

I suppose they could have more of the family converging on Benedict and Sophie and certainly show them while Eloise is missing. My esteem for show Violet would go very much up if I saw her trotting off to the bank to get her affairs in order in case of a ransom note.

If next season covers one social season like this one, I doubt it. Eloise is supposed to come out next year and Francesca the year after. While I think she married young, I don't think it was before she was presented to society. I know that The Viscount Who Loved Me takes place a year after this. What about Benedict's book, is it the year after or is there a larger time jump? I know from Eloise's book that Sophie was her ladies maid for a minute, but I don't know if Francesca was still at home at that point or already married to her first husband.

Since this is a Netflix show, though, I don't think they can count on getting more than four seasons. And since they've made a point of making Eloise a fairly prominent character, I'm assuming they want to give her her HEA by the end of the show.

Even with adding time jumps to the script, that doesn't give them that much time to marry off and widow Francesca - unless they have Francesca's first husband drop dead almost immediately after the wedding, and even then. My own guess is that since Eloise and Francesca are close in age in the books, Francesca will start appearing at some society events next season, the same way Eloise did this season - allowing Francesca to meet John next season, marry him/be widowed either in the third season or between seasons, and then have her story happening as Colin and Eloise get their HEAs in season 4. 

In fact, after the viewer reception of this season, that's exactly how I would plan on it, since Colin/Penelope and Eloise/Philip (assuming they stick with Eloise/Philip) are coming in with, I think, more baggage than the showrunners intended. And while I'm planning on it, since a Marina/Philip divorce doesn't really make much sense, given the historical context and the last episode of this season, I would go ahead and completely disappoint book readers by putting Eloise with someone else, to avoid the need to kill Marina off.

On the other hand, if I had been writing this show, I would have made some massive changes to the Simon/Daphne story, so...chances of the showrunners doing this, probably kinda low. 

[Atlanta]

I think the showrunners did a disservice by introducing Marina, at least so early. I'm finishing up book 4 so not to Sir Philip and Eloise yet, but IIRC, Marina wasn't really around.

In the books, E frequently mentions wishing she could go to university so the series is getting that right. Her character reminds me a bit of lady Maria from Belgravia--ladies to the manor born with a thirst for education. 

[bijoux]

20 minutes ago, Atlanta said:

 

In the books, E frequently mentions wishing she could go to university so the series is getting that right. Her character reminds me a bit of lady Maria from Belgravia--ladies to the manor born with a thirst for education. 

Does she? I've re-read books 2, 4 and 5 after the show was released and I can't remember a mention. Does it happen in Benedict's book? Maybe she tells Sophie about it? 

[Atlanta]

43 minutes ago, bijoux said:

Does she? I've re-read books 2, 4 and 5 after the show was released and I can't remember a mention. Does it happen in Benedict's book? Maybe she tells Sophie about it? 

It may have been book three. I noticed it because I never took note of it before.

[OlderThanDirt]

Didn't Marina say that Sir George was a neighbor of her family? If so, she would have grown up with Phillip and presumably would have recognized him when he showed up in the drawing room.  Of course in reality as the heir and oldest son, George would not have been allowed to go into the army in the regency canon.  

Maybe Anthony and Benedict's books can be season 2 and Colin, Eloise and Francesca's be season since they happen pretty much at the same time.

[bijoux]

Marina did say that they were from the same county or some such. Certainly belonged to the same church.

Yeah, the George bit doesn't jibe with what we've been told about heir presumptives, but it's there in the book as well. 

[ursula]

47 minutes ago, OlderThanDirt said:

Didn't Marina say that Sir George was a neighbor of her family? If so, she would have grown up with Phillip and presumably would have recognized him when he showed up in the drawing room.  Of course in reality as the heir and oldest son, George would not have been allowed to go into the army in the regency canon.  

She recognized him from the window in episode 8. 
 

And yes the George is the older son bugs me because Philip is already so old. Marina’s story, her “courtship via cake” sounds like the kind of mistake 2 kids made, probably one night together before he had to go off to the Army. It even made sense for her to like Colin, if he’s her type in age and temperament. Making George the older titled son doesn’t fit that picture. 

[Atlanta]

Reading book 5 now. Marina was a Bridgerton cousin and not a Featherington one like in the show.

[bijoux]

2 hours ago, Atlanta said:

It may have been book three. I noticed it because I never took note of it before.

I've searched for mentions of Eloise in An Offer From a Gentleman and while a found a meantion of her going to a masquerade as Joan of Arc and bellowing at Benedict to get his attention, which both fit well with this season's depiction of her, the only mention of education I found was this:

Quote

“Just because we of the female gender are not allowed to study at places like Eton and Cambridge doesn’t mean our  educations are any less precious,” Eloise ranted, completely ignoring her brother’s weak “I know.”

“Furthermore—” she carried on.

Benedict sagged against the wall.

“—I am of the opinion that the reason we are not allowed access is that if we were, we would trounce you men in all subjects!”

“I’m sure you’re right,” he sighed.

It's one mention and she doesn't necessarily say she wishes to attend, it reads more like a comment on the injustice that she doesn't have the option to do it.  

[RachelKM]

From the Episode Threads:

2 minutes ago, ursula said:

Like you, I really hope she has a happy life with Phillip and gets a HEA eventually. I think it would be really sad and kind of pointless if her story is just supposed to be this bleak morality lesson for other characters. 

Same.  This is one of the reasons I really hope they change Eloise's love interest. I mean, it doesn't seem like it was their initial intention in writing this since here was no reason to tell this story using Marina and Philip since they changed almost everything about them. But at this point, Holy Shit that girl went through it.  I don't like everything that she did, but her situation was awful and she suffered the loss of her first love and father of her child twice, first in being made to believe he'd never loved her and abandoned her and then again with learning of his death.

I really don't want to see her come to a further tragic end, much less becoming as Marina is describe (always melancholy as long as Philip has known her) for the remainder of her days.  

 

[katha]

Yeah, IMO Eloise's book isn't very strong anyway, just swap out her love interest for someone else and combine her story with one of the other books, it's really not substantial enough to carry a whole season. There was a lot of padding in the first series, I don't see why they can't combine novels going forward. Anthony's is very good and can sustain a whole season with its main plot, but they could deal with some of the other Bridgertons in the background or so.

Edited January 3, 2021 by katha

[RachelKM]

4 hours ago, katha said:

Yeah, IMO Eloise's book isn't very strong anyway, just swap out her love interest for someone else and combine her story with one of the other books, it's really not substantial enough to carry a whole season anyway. There was a lot of padding in the first season, I don't see why they can't combine novels going forward. Anthony's is very good and can sustain a whole season with its main plot, but they could deal with some of the other Bridgertons in the background or so.

Agreed.  For me, that book survived primarily on the charm (some of which was residual from her appearances in prior books) of Eloise.  There was nothing wrong with Phillip.  But the story is not terribly deep or active.  It might make a decent 2hr TV movie of the Catherine Cookson adaptation variety from the 80s and early 90s, but certainly not a season. 

And it's location would make it difficult to combine with other stories. This is not Game of Throne where it will work bouncing from location to location. The action happens in London.

 

Edited January 3, 2021 by RachelKM

[Katsullivan]

As someone who coded ShowEloise as queer early within moments of her appearance, I’m perfectly happy to see the show take her in story in a different path from BookEloise. The Marina angle just gives me an additional reason to want this.

Very spoilers question to book readers... are there any major deaths in the series? I need to know early on and emotionally detach myself.

[bijoux]

18 minutes ago, Katsullivan said:

Very spoilers question to book readers... are there any major deaths in the series? I need to know early on and emotionally detach myself.

Aside from Marina and Francesca's first husband John, no. 

[Mirabelle]

Further, Francesca's first husband is introduced and killed within twenty pages so the reader doesn't really have much time to develop much of an attachment to him. 

[Featherhat]

With Eloise's book I do like stories with a hero who isn't a rake or "fake rake" and I also like marriages of convenience that work out to love so it worked for me in those regards but it's not the strongest book in the series. 

I wouldn't mind if they changed it and had a happier ending for Marina and Philip (if they get that far) and a less conventional one for Eloise. 

It wouldn't be particularly unusual in family sagas that take place over a number of years to have some characters die and others to marry their widow or widowers. But it is a pretty shitty ending for Marina.

The only book I hope they keep completely intact is Anthony/Kate with Edwina and Mary. I didn't like Violet much in the series compared to her book counterpart so I hope Mary is still recognisably her fantastic mother/stepmother self. 

[katha]

They have introduced the bee theme already and dropped a Pall Mall reference, I believe? So hopefully the fundamentals of the second book stay. They also cast someone recognizable as Anthony and gave him a personality and something to do in the first season (I don't think it was all well-handled, but he wasn't sidelined like Colin or Simon IMO), so that is also a good sign. They seem to make most of the characters rather meaner than their book counter parts, so that's just something we'll have to deal with, I guess.

ETA: There is also the rather disturbing scene where Anthony kicks and steps on Kate's hand while she's hiding in the library. And how he starts taunting her when she says that she wants to wait for their wedding night. The wedding night itself is one of the better efforts in Romancelandia in that it's respectful, illuminates something about their characters and doesn't fall into all the usual cliches. But the stuff preceding it is certainly sketchy IMO. Quinn is just not very nuanced much of the time and tries to sell outright nastiness as "banter" or whatever. Hopefully they toss that stuff out or at least address it properly. But I'd rather they just toss it, I don't trust them to make good judgement calls when it comes to characters' questionable actions.

Edited January 3, 2021 by katha

[Katsullivan]

Please can someone summarize the Pall Mall incident and the significance of the lucky mallet?

[eleanorofaquitaine]

20 minutes ago, Katsullivan said:

Please can someone summarize the Pall Mall incident and the significance of the lucky mallet?

In The Viscount Who Loved Me, Anthony Bridgerton is the protagonist. He's courting the season's diamond, a woman by the name of Edwina, who is a perfectly lovely character, but he's not really interested in her. In fact, the reason why he's courting her is because he feels no spark with her, so he's not really afraid of falling in love with her (he doesn't want to actually love his wife for reasons that have to do with his father's death).

Anyway, the problem with his plan is that he actually does feel a spark with Edwina's sister Kate, who is plainer than her sister, but over whom Kate is very protective. Through machinations, Kate, Edwina (and Mary, Edina's mother and Kate's step-mother) end up at the Bridgerton estate, where they end up playing a very competitive game of Pall Mall. (It's like when you go miniature golfing with your siblings and try to mess them up).  It also becomes important because Anthony begins to realize he actually does really like Kate as a person, despite the antagonism they have towards each other (Kate has been antagonistic towards Anthony because she - rightly, in a lot of ways - doesn't trust his intentions towards her sister and because they've had a couple of run ins where he gives her reason not to trust him).  The Lucky Mallet is just a part of the whole scene but no greater significance than foreshadowing it, I assume. 

[bijoux]

Pall Mall is basically cricket on speed, in which the Bridgertons make up the rules, cheat as much as possible and focus more on making someone lose than on their own win. They're all basically very entertaining maniacs and the scene showcases how Kate gels with the family. The lucky mallet is the so called Mallet of Death, which Anthony believes is the key to victory and which Kate (unknowingly) claims. 

[RachelKM]

25 minutes ago, bijoux said:

Pall Mall is basically cricket on speed, in which the Bridgertons make up the rules, cheat as much as possible and focus more on making someone lose than on their own win. They're all basically very entertaining maniacs and the scene showcases how Kate gels with the family. The lucky mallet is the so called Mallet of Death, which Anthony believes is the key to victory and which Kate (unknowingly) claims. 

Substitute "croquet" for "cricket" in that it was a game with mallets, assigned balls, and wickets, essentially this.  I will add that there is delightful degree of trash talk between the siblings.  

Edited January 3, 2021 by RachelKM

[Atlanta]

The Mallet of Death is black and Anthony gets stuck with the pink one. 😁

[pigs-in-space]

On 1/2/2021 at 8:37 PM, RachelKM said:

Agreed.  For me, that book survived primarily on the charm (some of which was residual from her appearances in prior books) of Eloise.  There was nothing wrong with Phillip.  But the story is not terribly deep or active. 

I thought Phillip came across as a boor and a horrible father so I would definitely like them to change a lot about Eloise's story line.

[3 is enough]

I read all of the books and my favourite was Colin and Penelope's story.  I think I may have read them out of order, because if I had read Daphne's story first I may not have continued- it was my least favourite.  I enjoyed the epilogues too.

I've only watched the first 3 episodes so far, but I am dismayed to learn that Penelope has been thrown under the bus. 

Spoiler

In the books Lady Whistledown only wrote maliciously about nasty people like Cressida.

 

[Atlanta]

Also in the books, 

Spoiler

Sir Phillip is the father of Marina's children, not his brother though she was originally engaged to him. Why did they go there this season?

 

[Katsullivan]

Thank you everyone for answering my questions!

Please can someone tell me about the book version of Marina's story?

 

[bijoux]

24 minutes ago, Katsullivan said:

Thank you everyone for answering my questions!

Please can someone tell me about the book version of Marina's story?

 

The book version is told by Marina's widower Phillip, we never actually meet her. She was his older brother's fiance. After George died in the Napoleonic wars, Phillip got the title and married his fiance. They got twins (definitely theirs, there was no hanky panky with George) and after birth Marina, who had always displayed signs of depression, suffered from debilitating post-partum and never really recovered. Finally, 

Spoiler

she tried to drown herself but Phillip saw her and got her out, only for her to die a few days later from the consequences. 

 

I'm not really sure, should we spoiler tag book posts or not since this thread is marked as containing spoilers? 

[Mirabelle]

The Bridgerton family tree which shows the birth year of each Bridgerton & their eventual spouses.  There's a link to an even more detailed family tree showing their progeny and LOL at Gregory. 

Each child has a paired sibling - one that is just a year or two apart and there are about four years between each pair of siblings.  I've still got three episodes to go but I wish the show had shown that Daphne and Coin had their own special bond. 

Edited January 4, 2021 by Mirabelle

[Atlanta]

14 minutes ago, Mirabelle said:

The Bridgerton family tree which shows the birth year of each Bridgerton & their eventual spouses.  There's a link to an even more detailed family tree showing their progeny and LOL at Gregory. 

Each child has a paired sibling - one that is just a year or two apart and there are about four years between each pair of siblings.  I've still got three episodes to go but I wish the show had shown that Daphne and Coin had their own special bond. 

I haven't reread Gregory's book yet and that tree of his. LOL 🤣 His poor wife. 

Edited January 4, 2021 by Atlanta

[MartyQui]

"I know Shonda Rhimes picked it but I can’t help but think of a half dozen others that would translate better. Simon and Daphne were kind of dull in the book and they are kind of dull here. If I’m looking to kick off a new tv trend they would not be the couple that would jump to mind. "

 

Elizabeth Hoyt's Four Soldiers series would make a terrific series.  I still read those books every few years.  I've been disappointed with Bridgerton (have to finish it tonight), because I think some of the efforts to make it appeal to non-romance fans actually hurt the look (the cheap jewels, too many tiaras, and upholstery fabric for 1813 costumes and the story.  And there are not a proper pair of unmentionables or buckskins anywhere!  Even the boots are all wrong.  Men wore shoes to balls, not boots.

I would have been fine with them doing color-blind casting, but the throwaway line from Lady D to Simon about the king marrying a black woman and how it changed their lives made no sense.  At all.  If this is a one-generation change, where did these rich POCs come from?  Instead of creating a backstory, just cast gorgeous people.

[Katsullivan]

2 hours ago, Mirabelle said:

Each child has a paired sibling - one that is just a year or two apart and there are about four years between each pair of siblings.  I've still got three episodes to go but I wish the show had shown that Daphne and Coin had their own special bond. 

So the show traded Daphne and Colin's closeness for Daphne and Eloise? Now I see why book readers are frustrated by show Colin.

[bijoux]

One reason I think this makes sense as a (presumably multi-season) series is that most of the siblings are in constant contact. It allows for an easier serialization IMO. I realized that one when I was thinking about Loretta Chase's Carsingtons. 

2 minutes ago, Katsullivan said:

So the show traded Daphne and Colin's closeness for Daphne and Eloise? Now I see why book readers are frustrated by show Colin.

I don't really think the show portrayed Daphne and Eloise as close. They were more like oil and water. And from what I remember, Colin was supposed to be Eloise's favorite brother, at least going by a later book. But in hindsight, I think this all comes down to Colin being Quinn's favorite. It seems like he, the brother with the unquenchable thirst for travel, somehow always managed to be there when his siblings were falling in love. I actually don't get how he was there in Francesca's book when it was supposed to be taking place in Scotland at the same time his book was taking place in London, if I got the facts right from what others have written about When He Was Wicked. 

[Mirabelle]

 

1 hour ago, bijoux said:

And from what I remember, Colin was supposed to be Eloise's favorite brother, at least going by a later book. But in hindsight, I think this all comes down to Colin being Quinn's favorite. It seems like he, the brother with the unquenchable thirst for travel, somehow always managed to be there when his siblings were falling in love. I actually don't get how he was there in Francesca's book when it was supposed to be taking place in Scotland at the same time his book was taking place in London, if I got the facts right from what others have written about When He Was Wicked. 

Parts of Francesca's book take place in London while Colin is coming to terms with his feelings for Penelope. Then Francesca flees back to Scotland and we hear about her family through their letters to her. 

I'm rereading Romancing Mr. Bridgerton at the moment and Eloise tells Penelope that Colin is her favorite brother. One chapter later, Colin is thinking about Daphne and how she was the sibling closest in age to him so they had a special bond and they'd always gone through life's stages. 

Of Quinn's books, I actually think the Smyhe-Smith quartet would make for a better TV show because the books have a bit more plot to them and I think would dramatize better. Plus, with four books and a smaller cast of character it's less cumbersome to adapt to TV. 

[RachelKM]

From the Whistledown thread:

1 hour ago, peachmangosteen said:

How do they explain how Pen is able to do all this in the books? 

I just read the book in which this is revealed.  As I understand it, Penelope didn't initiate or coordinate the publication herself.  She began writing little somewhat snarky summaries of the events she witnessed and gossip she overheard as a way to amuse herself during her first season in which she was very young, a little chubby, and socially awkward in the company of crowds and/or strangers.  She spent all her time on the periphery and this was what she did as an outlet for her frustrations.

One day when she was home alone, she left her writing out in the sitting room while she left the room momentarily and during her absence, the family solicitor came into the room, noticed the writings and read them.  When Pen returned he was chuckling over her comments and told her she should publish.  He became her go between.   He contacted the publisher, came up with the plan to hand out the first two weeks of columns for free and delivered the columns to the publisher while collecting her payment and creating an account for her.  It wasn't until Pen was in her mid 20s that she handled any of the logistics herself.  

 

Edited January 5, 2021 by RachelKM

[Door County Cherry]

Hey everyone,

This is the ONE thread where spoiler tags are not only not needed but they're actually inappropriate if you're talking about anything related to the Bridgerton books or the show.  

Now obviously, if you want to spoil the ending to Lost, that should be spoiler tagged but most of what is being tagged recently should not be.

[quarks]

And now I kinda want Bridgerton to introduce a Smoke Monster in its next season....

[bijoux]

4 hours ago, quarks said:

And now I kinda want Bridgerton to introduce a Smoke Monster in its next season....

My money's on Eloise. 😁

[Mirabelle]

I think I finally figured out why I don't like TV Violet - she lacks book Violet's sense of humor. Can you imagine TV Violet deliberately chasing her sons away by pointing out eligible ladies when she needs them out of her hair? 

[meatball77]

15 hours ago, Mirabelle said:

 

Parts of Francesca's book take place in London while Colin is coming to terms with his feelings for Penelope. Then Francesca flees back to Scotland and we hear about her family through their letters to her. 

I'm rereading Romancing Mr. Bridgerton at the moment and Eloise tells Penelope that Colin is her favorite brother. One chapter later, Colin is thinking about Daphne and how she was the sibling closest in age to him so they had a special bond and they'd always gone through life's stages. 

Of Quinn's books, I actually think the Smyhe-Smith quartet would make for a better TV show because the books have a bit more plot to them and I think would dramatize better. Plus, with four books and a smaller cast of character it's less cumbersome to adapt to TV. 

I adore the Smythe Smith books.  The young Plainsworth siblings are hysterical and I love the love/hate relationships between the cousins.  Those books start at the same time as Collin (Eloise and Francescas) story I think (Lady Danbury destroying the violin at the Smythe Smith musicalle) then through Hyacinth's story.

Colin being the favorite brother makes sense.  He's the most fun.  Anthony is parental, Benedict is mopey, Colin is a lot of fun and Gregory is the baby. 

[Atlanta]

Yes! https://juliaquinn.com/books/miss-butterworth-and-the-mad-baron/

[Unraveled]

I've been re-reading the books to compare to the series. I was up to Benedict's book when I binged the series. I should have read Colin's too.

I find the the biggest change in the characterization of Nigel Berbooke. In the book, he's a sweet, bumbling idiot. He's in love with Daphne because she's the only woman who's nice to him. In the series, he's basically a predatory rapist. He was willing to compromise Daphne to force a marriage. He knocked up one of his household's staff and sent her away. In the later books (I'm reading Colin's right now), he ends up marrying one of the two older Featheringtons (who aren't that brilliant either).

[bijoux]

I think the dude Phillipa (or Prudence?) was sweet on was basically the book Berbrooke, only with a different name. 

[Ohiopirate02]

30 minutes ago, bijoux said:

I think the dude Phillipa (or Prudence?) was sweet on was basically the book Berbrooke, only with a different name. 

I guess Mr. Finch will make an appearance next season.  I just read book two over the weekend, and Berbrooke is there courting Edwina.  Unless the show decides to forgo any dog related hijinks.

[DanaMB]

On 1/1/2021 at 7:55 AM, bijoux said:

If we're talking Tessa Dare, I remember A Week to Be Wicked as immensely fun. 

I loved this one. Julia Quinn recently posted on FB that if she had to pick an author most like her it would be Tessa Dare. 

[bijoux]

I have not read enough of the books to know what Mrs. F gets up to as a widow, but I will lose it if she utters one of Atia's classic lines, "a large penis is always welcome."

 

This post in the cast thread first made me laugh. But then it also made me realize I have an easier time imagining Polly Walker's Portia saying that than talking about "bubbies" when she, Violet and Mary come upon Kate and Anthony. Frankly, it only makes me anticipate the scene more to see how they'll write it. 

 

 

[Ohiopirate02]

37 minutes ago, bijoux said:

 

 

This post in the cast thread first made me laugh. But then it also made me realize I have an easier time imagining Polly Walker's Portia saying that than talking about "bubbies" when she, Violet and Mary come upon Kate and Anthony. Frankly, it only makes me anticipate the scene more to see how they'll write it. 

 

 

I read book #2 last weekend, and yes I cannot wait to see how Polly Walker handles that scene.

[Featherhat]

On 1/5/2021 at 6:52 PM, Unraveled said:

I've been re-reading the books to compare to the series. I was up to Benedict's book when I binged the series. I should have read Colin's too.

I find the the biggest change in the characterization of Nigel Berbooke. In the book, he's a sweet, bumbling idiot. He's in love with Daphne because she's the only woman who's nice to him. In the series, he's basically a predatory rapist. He was willing to compromise Daphne to force a marriage. He knocked up one of his household's staff and sent her away. In the later books (I'm reading Colin's right now), he ends up marrying one of the two older Featheringtons (who aren't that brilliant either).

I think they needed a villain to give some extra drama to Daphne and Simon's story. Otherwise it's just two people who like each other and would work well together within the context of the early story but don't get together for reasons that can't be easily revealed until they're already married in Regency society. It goes along with the drama of Diamond to Outcast for Daphne whereas in the book she too was just a nice girl who was overlooked. 

I expect this *is* one change the show will make. In the books he was a fool but harmless and so perfect to get a named but also foolish but harmless throwaway character. But I don't want either of the other older Featherington girls to end up with him. 

4 hours ago, bijoux said:

 

 

This post in the cast thread first made me laugh. But then it also made me realize I have an easier time imagining Polly Walker's Portia saying that than talking about "bubbies" when she, Violet and Mary come upon Kate and Anthony. Frankly, it only makes me anticipate the scene more to see how they'll write it. 

It's going to be glorious. I just hope this Violet is able to rise to the occasion as well. Interestingly it's also a big clue that Penelope is LW because she comments in the column that Mrs F couldn't be drawn on the gossip and must have been threatened by Anthony. 

Speaking of, I also hope we see more of Edwina and Mr Bagwell rather than him just appearing later on ala Edwina mentioning it to Kate second hand. I kind of assume we will since that should be easy enough to flesh out and a no brainer for a secondary romance/meeting at the country house party. Especially if they also have library scenes. 

Edited January 10, 2021 by Featherhat

[eleanorofaquitaine]

17 hours ago, Featherhat said:

Speaking of, I also hope we see more of Edwina and Mr Bagwell rather than him just appearing later on ala Edwina mentioning it to Kate second hand. I kind of assume we will since that should be easy enough to flesh out and a no brainer for a secondary romance/meeting at the country house party. Especially if they also have library scenes. 

I hope so, too. Edwina's a nice character because even though she is the season's Diamond, she doesn't get caught up in the usual society machinations. I always liked the idea of the Diamond really just wanting to settle down with a quiet life with an academic, but she's willing to do her duty to her family - the dynamic between Kate and Edwina is rather lovely and would be nice to see her romance progress as more than just a plot point.

I'll be interested to see if they take more of a soap opera approach to the story-telling in Season 2, as opposed to a romance novel approach. By that, I mean that in romance novel series, while you will see couples that were in one book appear in another book, usually they are happy and their conflicts behind them. So Daphne and Simon appear in the other Bridgerton books, but at that point they are happy and we don't hear that they have any other issues. But in soaps, once the couple gets together, they'll still have issues and conflicts that impact their marriage.  I'm just wondering which direction they'll choose - I assume season 2 is going to focus on Anthony and Kate (I'm assuming they'll keep that basic story, and if not, I'd be disappointed) and I also assume we'll see Daphne and Simon but I'm just not sure if we'll see more of their marriage in depth.

With regard to Anthony - I'm kind of glad that they gave him more of a backstory as a set up for his own romance. Don't get me wrong, losing a parent is traumatic and suddenly being thrust into the role of head of household at the age of 18 would likely create a lot of challenges. But his reasons for not wanting to get emotionally attached in the book are a bit thin, so I think that giving him the backstory with Sienna helps flesh it out a bit more. 

[meatball77]

I hope they don't mess with Simon and Daphne's HEA.