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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I *really* like the actress playing Sophie and have historically liked the actor playing Benedict. I also thought they had chemistry in some scenes. But this season didn't sustain my interest the way the first couple seasons did.

There was an opinion piece in the NYT this week about how the show has lost its way as it's become more of a standard dramatic soap opera with a bunch of plot lines and characters and jumping around a lot. I totally agree with that piece that this approach undermines the romance. It's really hard to sustain the necessary tension of the central romantic story when you are constantly dropping in on Violet Bridgerton's love life, or some convoluted plot by Lady Danbury to replace herself in the Queen's social circle so she can go on vacation? These aren't necessarily bad storylines but you can't spend so much time on them and then still expect to feel the constant pull of the central romance.

I don't even like Daphne as a character but her story with the Duke had way more dramatic tension than these last two seasons because every episode was about them. Yes there were side plots, but they were largely related to Daphne and the Duke -- Daphne was the Queen's diamond, Lady Whistledown was writing about Daphne and the Duke, Violet and Lady Danbury were plotting their marriage, etc. They were the heart of the season.

You can's say that about this season. It's honestly telling that so many of us didn't even realize there was a post-credit scene showing Sophie and Benedict's wedding, because that's how much of a literal afterthought their romance wound up feeling like in the season. When I went back and watched it after reading about it online, and in the last moment the camera travels inside the house to show the painting that Benedict did of Sophie as "the Lady in Silver," I was like "oh yeah, that was like a central part of their story, him not realizing that was her." I had forgotten about it between Francesca's husband dying and Penelope quitting Whistledown, and the new Whistledown announcing herself, and Violet deciding to keep it causal with her boyfriend. Like, oh yeah, this was the WHOLE POINT of the season. Or... it should have been, but actually wasn't.

The first two seasons of Bridgerton felt like something specific and special. Now it's just Grey's Anatomy in Regency London. Whatever.[/quote]

The problem is that the side plots were way more satisfying than the central romance this season, esp. the Violet storyline!

I'm not sure the problem was the "time spent" on Sophie-Benedict, or the lack thereof, in terms of their relationship: I found the romance [i]more[/i] compelling in the first episodes and it got less and less credible the more we saw of it. So the Masquerade ball was fun (if you suspend disbelief a bit), and I agree that Sophie's initial attraction to Benedict made some sense (he "saved" her; she could finally stop and just "be" herself at the cottage; they banter a bit). But the later episodes just devolved into "be my mistress," "no, I'm a servant," "no, I'm a noble's daughter" plot contrivances.  So there was plenty of "time" on Sophie-Benedict but none of it made their relationship particularly compelling or believable. I mean did they ever even have a real conversation again after the mistress line--about some subject or interest other than servant, not servant, you'll ruin me, sorry, etc. etc.[/quote]

Yeah, I would have liked them to have more conversations that hinted upon her education, world view, kind heart.

Remember how Benedict turned down his older liaison who wanted to be just with him after bringing him into her threesome? Sophie's character needed to do more to show how she could surpass that.

Benedict's expansion got falling for her is basically "I like you Sophie because you SAW ME, apart from my family name or my sexuality." Which is good for him, I guess, but not exactly swoonworthy. And falling for the masked lady was way more about intrigue, something new and mysterious to catch his eye. So feelings for a maid, I guess has that same aspect of danger and novelty to it.

But what happens after the dopamine and early love feelings wear off?[/quote]

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