Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've only watched the first two of the last four episodes, but totally agree that so far it's lackluster. I thought the scene where Benedict and Sophie finally do it was so boring, and that Benedict in particular came off as whiny and boring.

In theory, the social conflict of Benedict not being allowed to marry a maid due to social convention, and Sophie being unable to accept being his mistress because of what happened with her mom and her own experience growing up illegitimate, is interesting to me. But the way it's portrayed is so dull. It's too much standing around explaining the unfairness of the situation to each other, not enough action.

I also thought it was very unrealistic when Benedict tells Sophie he's had relationships with men, and she takes like zero beats to be like "sure, yeah, I get that -- what a dumb social convention and I have absorbed and moved on from your bisexuality easily." I'm not saying she needed to object to it, I like the idea of her being open about it. I just think it's incredibly unrealistic that it would be like a side note for these characters. I agree with the PP who said it would have been more interesting to see a transformation in Sophie, where she goes from super restrained (out of necessity) to being willing to buck social rules in pursuit of her own freedom and happiness. The bisexual storyline could have been part of that, but instead I'm supposed to believe that a woman who is freaking out at the idea of being a mistress would be like "oh yeah, sex with men, cool" and then move right along? In Regency England? Sorry, but no. It makes no sense.

I totally agree with this. They just totally glossed over Benedict’s bisexuality. There’s no way Sophie wouldn’t have been shocked.

Also, in the last episode of the season Sophie was a perfect dancer - she knew all the steps. But didn’t she say in episode 1 that’s she’s not a good dancer? How would she have learned that dance while working as a maid? It doesn’t make sense.

Also, Mrs. Mondrich and Lady Danbury had told the Queen that Benedict had fallen in love with a maid. But then when they presented her, they said she was actually nobility. Did the Queen wonder what happened to the maid? Wouldn’t she have been angry with Mrs. Mondrich for lying about the maid story?

I figured she learned how to dance while she was taking Eloise and hyacinth to dance lessons, and she too practiced.

Yes, the queen was informed that Benedict fell for the maid. However, the queen loves love and they gave her a plausible explanation of who Sophie was and Araminith vouched for Sophie nobility. Watch the queen’s face. She knew they were lying, but she accepted it because she loves love. Also, she basically told Mondrich she knew it was a lie. Queen told Mondrich something to the effect that she was playing with fire and took quite a chance.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think Varley is the new Whistledown

That would be fun.

I love how she was like "is that an automated roasting spit?!" when entering the Bridgerton kitchen.

I do hope she gets a significant raise.

I loved that line! Varley, I am there with you checking out the neighbor’s kitchen equipment. Bring it with the 18th century technical details!

Yeah!

Would she be literate enough to be whistledown?

No and she’s probably not the next Whistledown.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think Varley is the new Whistledown

That would be fun.

I love how she was like "is that an automated roasting spit?!" when entering the Bridgerton kitchen.

I do hope she gets a significant raise.

I loved that line! Varley, I am there with you checking out the neighbor’s kitchen equipment. Bring it with the 18th century technical details!

Yeah!

Would she be literate enough to be whistledown?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've only watched the first two of the last four episodes, but totally agree that so far it's lackluster. I thought the scene where Benedict and Sophie finally do it was so boring, and that Benedict in particular came off as whiny and boring.

In theory, the social conflict of Benedict not being allowed to marry a maid due to social convention, and Sophie being unable to accept being his mistress because of what happened with her mom and her own experience growing up illegitimate, is interesting to me. But the way it's portrayed is so dull. It's too much standing around explaining the unfairness of the situation to each other, not enough action.

I also thought it was very unrealistic when Benedict tells Sophie he's had relationships with men, and she takes like zero beats to be like "sure, yeah, I get that -- what a dumb social convention and I have absorbed and moved on from your bisexuality easily." I'm not saying she needed to object to it, I like the idea of her being open about it. I just think it's incredibly unrealistic that it would be like a side note for these characters. I agree with the PP who said it would have been more interesting to see a transformation in Sophie, where she goes from super restrained (out of necessity) to being willing to buck social rules in pursuit of her own freedom and happiness. The bisexual storyline could have been part of that, but instead I'm supposed to believe that a woman who is freaking out at the idea of being a mistress would be like "oh yeah, sex with men, cool" and then move right along? In Regency England? Sorry, but no. It makes no sense.

I totally agree with this. They just totally glossed over Benedict’s bisexuality. There’s no way Sophie wouldn’t have been shocked.

Also, in the last episode of the season Sophie was a perfect dancer - she knew all the steps. But didn’t she say in episode 1 that’s she’s not a good dancer? How would she have learned that dance while working as a maid? It doesn’t make sense.

Also, Mrs. Mondrich and Lady Danbury had told the Queen that Benedict had fallen in love with a maid. But then when they presented her, they said she was actually nobility. Did the Queen wonder what happened to the maid? Wouldn’t she have been angry with Mrs. Mondrich for lying about the maid story?

I think Sophie was present for Hyacinth's dance and etiquette lessons. Still, I'd expect her to be a little more awkward since she hasn't had practice.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think Varley is the new Whistledown

That would be fun.

I love how she was like "is that an automated roasting spit?!" when entering the Bridgerton kitchen.

I do hope she gets a significant raise.

I loved that line! Varley, I am there with you checking out the neighbor’s kitchen equipment. Bring it with the 18th century technical details!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've only watched the first two of the last four episodes, but totally agree that so far it's lackluster. I thought the scene where Benedict and Sophie finally do it was so boring, and that Benedict in particular came off as whiny and boring.

In theory, the social conflict of Benedict not being allowed to marry a maid due to social convention, and Sophie being unable to accept being his mistress because of what happened with her mom and her own experience growing up illegitimate, is interesting to me. But the way it's portrayed is so dull. It's too much standing around explaining the unfairness of the situation to each other, not enough action.

I also thought it was very unrealistic when Benedict tells Sophie he's had relationships with men, and she takes like zero beats to be like "sure, yeah, I get that -- what a dumb social convention and I have absorbed and moved on from your bisexuality easily." I'm not saying she needed to object to it, I like the idea of her being open about it. I just think it's incredibly unrealistic that it would be like a side note for these characters. I agree with the PP who said it would have been more interesting to see a transformation in Sophie, where she goes from super restrained (out of necessity) to being willing to buck social rules in pursuit of her own freedom and happiness. The bisexual storyline could have been part of that, but instead I'm supposed to believe that a woman who is freaking out at the idea of being a mistress would be like "oh yeah, sex with men, cool" and then move right along? In Regency England? Sorry, but no. It makes no sense.

I totally agree with this. They just totally glossed over Benedict’s bisexuality. There’s no way Sophie wouldn’t have been shocked.

Also, in the last episode of the season Sophie was a perfect dancer - she knew all the steps. But didn’t she say in episode 1 that’s she’s not a good dancer? How would she have learned that dance while working as a maid? It doesn’t make sense.

Also, Mrs. Mondrich and Lady Danbury had told the Queen that Benedict had fallen in love with a maid. But then when they presented her, they said she was actually nobility. Did the Queen wonder what happened to the maid? Wouldn’t she have been angry with Mrs. Mondrich for lying about the maid story?

The queen knew, but let it slide. You could see it in her face and her tone.

How would she know when Sophie was presented as nobility?

Because the tone of voice was very “wink wink”—everyone paused like “are you good with that” and there was a dramatic moment before the queen said something indicating she was okay with it. It was a good fun hijink—which is exactly what the queen said she was missing. So letting her in on the shenanigans was like lady D’s gift to her., since she’s so clearly bored with everything.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lady F could have been more gracious.

She could have, but actually her admitting she was wrong in how she treated Varley previously was kind of a big deal for her -- Lady Featherington usually goes out of her way to avoid admitting she was wrong even when she clearly was. I think she has evolved slightly as a character since we met her in Season 1 and she was so aggressively unkind to Penelope.

I like how this season fleshed out Varley as a character too. Like when she goes to work for Lady Penwood, her first instinct is to just trust what her new boss tells her and take her at her word, but when she discovers that Lady Penwood was not only lying about Sophie but also that she'd kept Sophie as a maid for years without paying her, she flips to help Sophie. It shows some strength of character we haven't seen in her previously, but it doesn't feel totally out of left field because we were already primed to consider that Varley would have strong views on a servant being treated, and especially paid, unfairly.

Hers was one of the better storylines of the season, especially given that it was a C plot.

Honestly I think the Featherington stuff works as well as it does because the actresses playing Lady F and Varley are fun to watch. They elevate the material.

Agreed, they are comedic/character actors and know how to milk even lazy writing for humor and fun. The Featherington House stuff is almost always the comedic relief on the show and they did a good job casting that whole house (including Penelope and her sisters) so that it works. The Queen is the same -- she's pure comedy and the actress who plays her really understands the assignment.

It's essential to making the show work because while sometimes the romance stuff sings, other times it falls flat, and if you didn't have the comedy or the over-the-top visuals, it would be like a lot of period romance shows just with smuttier sex scenes. Meh.

I find the Queen really boring. I don’t care for most of her scenes to be honest. I don’t like her personality.

I mean I don't like her personality but I don't think I'm supposed to? She's imperious and selfish and a narcissist. I feel like that's kind of the point.

But I sometimes like the drama her bad behavior causes. It's like enjoying the character Tanya on White Lotus -- she sort of awful but also funny to me.

Tanya is actually nice though. I just don’t care for the Queen’s scenes. Her over the top hair pieces are annoying too. I’d rather watch other characters. She is boring to me. I detest how she treats others, including Agatha.

Agree to disagree I guess.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lady F could have been more gracious.

She could have, but actually her admitting she was wrong in how she treated Varley previously was kind of a big deal for her -- Lady Featherington usually goes out of her way to avoid admitting she was wrong even when she clearly was. I think she has evolved slightly as a character since we met her in Season 1 and she was so aggressively unkind to Penelope.

I like how this season fleshed out Varley as a character too. Like when she goes to work for Lady Penwood, her first instinct is to just trust what her new boss tells her and take her at her word, but when she discovers that Lady Penwood was not only lying about Sophie but also that she'd kept Sophie as a maid for years without paying her, she flips to help Sophie. It shows some strength of character we haven't seen in her previously, but it doesn't feel totally out of left field because we were already primed to consider that Varley would have strong views on a servant being treated, and especially paid, unfairly.

Hers was one of the better storylines of the season, especially given that it was a C plot.

Honestly I think the Featherington stuff works as well as it does because the actresses playing Lady F and Varley are fun to watch. They elevate the material.

Agreed, they are comedic/character actors and know how to milk even lazy writing for humor and fun. The Featherington House stuff is almost always the comedic relief on the show and they did a good job casting that whole house (including Penelope and her sisters) so that it works. The Queen is the same -- she's pure comedy and the actress who plays her really understands the assignment.

It's essential to making the show work because while sometimes the romance stuff sings, other times it falls flat, and if you didn't have the comedy or the over-the-top visuals, it would be like a lot of period romance shows just with smuttier sex scenes. Meh.

I find the Queen really boring. I don’t care for most of her scenes to be honest. I don’t like her personality.

I mean I don't like her personality but I don't think I'm supposed to? She's imperious and selfish and a narcissist. I feel like that's kind of the point.

But I sometimes like the drama her bad behavior causes. It's like enjoying the character Tanya on White Lotus -- she sort of awful but also funny to me.

Tanya is actually nice though. I just don’t care for the Queen’s scenes. Her over the top hair pieces are annoying too. I’d rather watch other characters. She is boring to me. I detest how she treats others, including Agatha.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lady F could have been more gracious.

She could have, but actually her admitting she was wrong in how she treated Varley previously was kind of a big deal for her -- Lady Featherington usually goes out of her way to avoid admitting she was wrong even when she clearly was. I think she has evolved slightly as a character since we met her in Season 1 and she was so aggressively unkind to Penelope.

I like how this season fleshed out Varley as a character too. Like when she goes to work for Lady Penwood, her first instinct is to just trust what her new boss tells her and take her at her word, but when she discovers that Lady Penwood was not only lying about Sophie but also that she'd kept Sophie as a maid for years without paying her, she flips to help Sophie. It shows some strength of character we haven't seen in her previously, but it doesn't feel totally out of left field because we were already primed to consider that Varley would have strong views on a servant being treated, and especially paid, unfairly.

Hers was one of the better storylines of the season, especially given that it was a C plot.

Honestly I think the Featherington stuff works as well as it does because the actresses playing Lady F and Varley are fun to watch. They elevate the material.

Agreed, they are comedic/character actors and know how to milk even lazy writing for humor and fun. The Featherington House stuff is almost always the comedic relief on the show and they did a good job casting that whole house (including Penelope and her sisters) so that it works. The Queen is the same -- she's pure comedy and the actress who plays her really understands the assignment.

It's essential to making the show work because while sometimes the romance stuff sings, other times it falls flat, and if you didn't have the comedy or the over-the-top visuals, it would be like a lot of period romance shows just with smuttier sex scenes. Meh.

I find the Queen really boring. I don’t care for most of her scenes to be honest. I don’t like her personality.

I mean I don't like her personality but I don't think I'm supposed to? She's imperious and selfish and a narcissist. I feel like that's kind of the point.

But I sometimes like the drama her bad behavior causes. It's like enjoying the character Tanya on White Lotus -- she sort of awful but also funny to me.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lady F could have been more gracious.

She could have, but actually her admitting she was wrong in how she treated Varley previously was kind of a big deal for her -- Lady Featherington usually goes out of her way to avoid admitting she was wrong even when she clearly was. I think she has evolved slightly as a character since we met her in Season 1 and she was so aggressively unkind to Penelope.

I like how this season fleshed out Varley as a character too. Like when she goes to work for Lady Penwood, her first instinct is to just trust what her new boss tells her and take her at her word, but when she discovers that Lady Penwood was not only lying about Sophie but also that she'd kept Sophie as a maid for years without paying her, she flips to help Sophie. It shows some strength of character we haven't seen in her previously, but it doesn't feel totally out of left field because we were already primed to consider that Varley would have strong views on a servant being treated, and especially paid, unfairly.

Hers was one of the better storylines of the season, especially given that it was a C plot.

Honestly I think the Featherington stuff works as well as it does because the actresses playing Lady F and Varley are fun to watch. They elevate the material.

Agreed, they are comedic/character actors and know how to milk even lazy writing for humor and fun. The Featherington House stuff is almost always the comedic relief on the show and they did a good job casting that whole house (including Penelope and her sisters) so that it works. The Queen is the same -- she's pure comedy and the actress who plays her really understands the assignment.

It's essential to making the show work because while sometimes the romance stuff sings, other times it falls flat, and if you didn't have the comedy or the over-the-top visuals, it would be like a lot of period romance shows just with smuttier sex scenes. Meh.

I find the Queen really boring. I don’t care for most of her scenes to be honest. I don’t like her personality.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lady F could have been more gracious.

She could have, but actually her admitting she was wrong in how she treated Varley previously was kind of a big deal for her -- Lady Featherington usually goes out of her way to avoid admitting she was wrong even when she clearly was. I think she has evolved slightly as a character since we met her in Season 1 and she was so aggressively unkind to Penelope.

I like how this season fleshed out Varley as a character too. Like when she goes to work for Lady Penwood, her first instinct is to just trust what her new boss tells her and take her at her word, but when she discovers that Lady Penwood was not only lying about Sophie but also that she'd kept Sophie as a maid for years without paying her, she flips to help Sophie. It shows some strength of character we haven't seen in her previously, but it doesn't feel totally out of left field because we were already primed to consider that Varley would have strong views on a servant being treated, and especially paid, unfairly.

Hers was one of the better storylines of the season, especially given that it was a C plot.

Honestly I think the Featherington stuff works as well as it does because the actresses playing Lady F and Varley are fun to watch. They elevate the material.

Agreed, they are comedic/character actors and know how to milk even lazy writing for humor and fun. The Featherington House stuff is almost always the comedic relief on the show and they did a good job casting that whole house (including Penelope and her sisters) so that it works. The Queen is the same -- she's pure comedy and the actress who plays her really understands the assignment.

It's essential to making the show work because while sometimes the romance stuff sings, other times it falls flat, and if you didn't have the comedy or the over-the-top visuals, it would be like a lot of period romance shows just with smuttier sex scenes. Meh.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lady F could have been more gracious.

She could have, but actually her admitting she was wrong in how she treated Varley previously was kind of a big deal for her -- Lady Featherington usually goes out of her way to avoid admitting she was wrong even when she clearly was. I think she has evolved slightly as a character since we met her in Season 1 and she was so aggressively unkind to Penelope.

I like how this season fleshed out Varley as a character too. Like when she goes to work for Lady Penwood, her first instinct is to just trust what her new boss tells her and take her at her word, but when she discovers that Lady Penwood was not only lying about Sophie but also that she'd kept Sophie as a maid for years without paying her, she flips to help Sophie. It shows some strength of character we haven't seen in her previously, but it doesn't feel totally out of left field because we were already primed to consider that Varley would have strong views on a servant being treated, and especially paid, unfairly.

Hers was one of the better storylines of the season, especially given that it was a C plot.

Honestly I think the Featherington stuff works as well as it does because the actresses playing Lady F and Varley are fun to watch. They elevate the material.

Anonymous wrote:Lady F could have been more gracious.

She could have, but actually her admitting she was wrong in how she treated Varley previously was kind of a big deal for her -- Lady Featherington usually goes out of her way to avoid admitting she was wrong even when she clearly was. I think she has evolved slightly as a character since we met her in Season 1 and she was so aggressively unkind to Penelope.

I like how this season fleshed out Varley as a character too. Like when she goes to work for Lady Penwood, her first instinct is to just trust what her new boss tells her and take her at her word, but when she discovers that Lady Penwood was not only lying about Sophie but also that she'd kept Sophie as a maid for years without paying her, she flips to help Sophie. It shows some strength of character we haven't seen in her previously, but it doesn't feel totally out of left field because we were already primed to consider that Varley would have strong views on a servant being treated, and especially paid, unfairly.

Hers was one of the better storylines of the season, especially given that it was a C plot.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've only watched the first two of the last four episodes, but totally agree that so far it's lackluster. I thought the scene where Benedict and Sophie finally do it was so boring, and that Benedict in particular came off as whiny and boring.

In theory, the social conflict of Benedict not being allowed to marry a maid due to social convention, and Sophie being unable to accept being his mistress because of what happened with her mom and her own experience growing up illegitimate, is interesting to me. But the way it's portrayed is so dull. It's too much standing around explaining the unfairness of the situation to each other, not enough action.

I also thought it was very unrealistic when Benedict tells Sophie he's had relationships with men, and she takes like zero beats to be like "sure, yeah, I get that -- what a dumb social convention and I have absorbed and moved on from your bisexuality easily." I'm not saying she needed to object to it, I like the idea of her being open about it. I just think it's incredibly unrealistic that it would be like a side note for these characters. I agree with the PP who said it would have been more interesting to see a transformation in Sophie, where she goes from super restrained (out of necessity) to being willing to buck social rules in pursuit of her own freedom and happiness. The bisexual storyline could have been part of that, but instead I'm supposed to believe that a woman who is freaking out at the idea of being a mistress would be like "oh yeah, sex with men, cool" and then move right along? In Regency England? Sorry, but no. It makes no sense.

I totally agree with this. They just totally glossed over Benedict’s bisexuality. There’s no way Sophie wouldn’t have been shocked.

Also, in the last episode of the season Sophie was a perfect dancer - she knew all the steps. But didn’t she say in episode 1 that’s she’s not a good dancer? How would she have learned that dance while working as a maid? It doesn’t make sense.

Also, Mrs. Mondrich and Lady Danbury had told the Queen that Benedict had fallen in love with a maid. But then when they presented her, they said she was actually nobility. Did the Queen wonder what happened to the maid? Wouldn’t she have been angry with Mrs. Mondrich for lying about the maid story?

The queen knew, but let it slide. You could see it in her face and her tone.

How would she know when Sophie was presented as nobility?

Because she knew that Benedict was in love with a "maid".

summary:

Lady Danbury told Queen Charlotte that Benedict had fallen for a maid. The Queen was delighted and scandalized by the unconventional romance, and accepted the lie as a way to win her wager regarding Benedict's marriage.

To expand, the family wants to spread the rumor that Sophie has an aristocratic background in order to make the ton accept her and accept her and Benedict's marriage. Because Benedict Bridgerton marrying a maid would be a huge scandal and, as Violet kept saying, could negatively impact the marriage prospects of all his younger siblings (because the ton was kind of like DCUM and if they thought your family was "trashy" in any way, they wouldn't want anything to do with it). The plan is to spread the rumors that Sophie is legitimate and a noble, then go live in the country for a while so people stop talking about it, and then with time everyone forgets and just accepts her.

So the story about her being related to the new Lord Penwood is intended to tamp down the rumors about her being a maid. And it's technically true -- Sophie *is* a relative of both the old and the new Lord Penwood. Also, her father never intended for her to be a maid and set aside a dowry for her -- he clearly intended to legitimize her. The only reason Sophie is in a situation where it is so scandalous for Benedict to marry her is because Lady Penwood turned her into an indentured servant and stole her dowry money.

She would still be considered a less-than-desirable match had her father's wishes been observed, as no doubt some people would find out she'd been born out of wedlock and her mother had been a maid, but between her dowry and her father's choice to acknowledge her, and her being raised as nobility and well educated to be a marriageable woman, it would have been far less scandalous than it was. She could have had a proper coming out, even. Her background would not have been that different than, say, Kate's.

Lady F could have been more gracious.