Anonymous wrote:Binged the entire season over the last two days. Simon is HOT. To paraphrase a cliche, I could watch him recite the ABCs for hours as long as he had that look of love/longing in his eyes. I think this show will be the catalyst to revive my comatose bedroom.

He is the only reason most people I know finished the season. And the only reason most people I know would watch season two. He is beautiful and sexy.

Anonymous wrote:Another point about Daphne and Simon and the infamous scene - at this point in history, marriage was very much a “contract.” Children were expected. Simon did indeed misrepresent himself when he told Daphne he “couldn’t” have children. When she finally figured out that he simply *wasn’t* going to have children, she realized that it was his DUTY to do so, and that as his wife, she deserved children. In that context, I found it perfectly understandable that she did what she did. Of course, nowadays, that’s considered tricking/trapping the man, etc. But at the time, she was fully entitled to children by her husband.

Having a boy would have cemented her financial security in the event of Simon's death, I think -- I guess Daphne had her dowry put away for her, but typically the wife lived on the estate of the husband or son, and didn't get much (if anything) if the husband died without an heir. And not having kids would have harmed her social standing. Neither of those comes up on the story, though.

I read somewhere that the author didn't consider it a rape scene when she wrote it (what, 20 years ago?), I'm guessing because he's a guy. Interestingly my DH is Team Daphne as far as her doing what she did. I think the stupidity of Simon's reasons makes us more forgiving toward Daphne.

I was not okay with it because there were so many non-rape ways to accomplish the same plot point. She could have asked him why he was pulling out and received an honest answer. They could have a pregnancy scare (pulling out is hardly foolproof) leading her to find out he knows he can have kids. She could know the basics of sex -- or, say, see a couple of animals doing it -- and realize the import of him pulling out. Any of those would have led to them being mad at each other, without rape.

Anonymous wrote:What would’ve happened to Daphne if they had decided to separate? Would other men in societies still go for her?

It would have been very difficult, almost impossible, to divorce at that time. But living separately was common -- one of the other characters alluded to it -- and both of them might have taken other lovers. In the book it is a minor scandal that the newlyweds in a famous love match seem to have had a rapid falling out, but I don't know how long that scandal would really have lasted.

If they had managed to divorce, though, she probably would not have been invited to any social gatherings again. I'm shaky on the history but I believe it would have taken an act of Parliament for either of the divorced people to become eligible to remarry, which hurts her more than him.

Anonymous wrote:What would’ve happened to Daphne if they had decided to separate? Would other men in societies still go for her?

Well, since this show was in its own alternate reality, then sure. In the real world, absolutely not.

What would’ve happened to Daphne if they had decided to separate? Would other men in societies still go for her?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a question (spoilers included):

When Daphne and Simon moved into their London home and were ‘on the outs,’ why did he go down on her on the staircase if he was going to dump her immediately afterward?
What was the point of this?

Ratings.

Exactly. They clearly know their audience. 🤑

Binged the entire season over the last two days. Simon is HOT. To paraphrase a cliche, I could watch him recite the ABCs for hours as long as he had that look of love/longing in his eyes. I think this show will be the catalyst to revive my comatose bedroom.

Anonymous wrote:Absurdity taken to an extreme. Wasted an hour of my life watching ep.1.

Exactly how I felt.

Anonymous wrote:I have a question (spoilers included):

When Daphne and Simon moved into their London home and were ‘on the outs,’ why did he go down on her on the staircase if he was going to dump her immediately afterward?
What was the point of this?

One last hurrah

Anonymous wrote:I have a question (spoilers included):

When Daphne and Simon moved into their London home and were ‘on the outs,’ why did he go down on her on the staircase if he was going to dump her immediately afterward?
What was the point of this?

Ratings.

I have a question (spoilers included):

When Daphne and Simon moved into their London home and were ‘on the outs,’ why did he go down on her on the staircase if he was going to dump her immediately afterward?
What was the point of this?

Absurdity taken to an extreme. Wasted an hour of my life watching ep.1.

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Anonymous wrote:I have a love-hate relationship with this show. The storyline is fun but I got really confused during the first 15 mins because I did not expect it to be in an alternte reality. When I saw the costumes in the beginning, I thought, oh ok, it’s Jane austen era, but then, as the story goes, I realize it’s not your typical period piece. The only casting that I liked is the duke and the opera singer. The queen is horrible and I wonder if she was added there to poke fun at the idea of royalty. Dapne is so plain, it wiyld not be an issue if she was not depicted as someone who’s supposed to be gorgeous, ditto with Marina.

I loved the queen. She was hilarious. Marina was pretty and her hair was beautiful.

DP. I loved the queen too. She played the role deliciously and pitch perfectly.

Disagree on Marina. Her hair may be beautiful, but she lacked charm from get go.

Do you have to be charming in order to be pretty?

It made no sense that Marina would have the number of suitors that she had. She had a pretty face, but her attitude was always sullen and flat. Women of that class would have been expected to be polite, to be able to make conversation, to be charming. Plus, she was not from an important or high-ranking family, and we saw no indication that she came from a lot of money or had a big dowry. She would have a few suitors because she was pretty, but she would not have been so sought after without rank, money, or social grace.

This is fantasy. You can't apply real Regency standards and attitudes to it. The show writers and producers aren't going for an accurate production, but playful romance fiction.

Read Austen if you want something more real.

That's what I mean about inconsistency, though. They insisted on some Regency realism -- otherwise, the entire Daphne-Simon forced marriage plot makes no sense -- but then they just chuck that whenever they need for the plot to work. We are shown how one girl's suitor abandons her after learning that she has no dowry. We are shown that people care a lot about wealth and social standing and family lineage. And then suddenly it all goes out the window for Marina? And even in a fantasy world, why would a sullen, middle-class commoner have throngs of aristocratic suitors?

That’s the point of an alternative reality. You can pick what you want to PLAY WITH and discard the rest. It’s why you can get Shakespeare set in 1930s Germany.

Like I said, I enjoy alternative history and fantasy. I just expect some *internal* consistency. If you choose to depict a society with strict rules and conventions, in which those rules and conventions have serious consequences for the characters, and then just ignore the rules and conventions when you feel like it, I'm going to think you're lazy and sloppy.

Then, even Shakespeare himself was lazy and sloppy.

Oh my lord people are allowed to dislike the show for reasons you don’t agree with. Move on!!!! (New poster!)

+1,000
Don’t you love people who insist you’re “wrong” if you don’t agree with them?

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Anonymous wrote:There are SO many pages here I can't go through them all. Why was Penelope Miss Whistledown? Why would she reveal the secret about Marina being pregnant? Because she didn't want Colin to marry her? It wreaked havoc for her family? Will Marina marry George's brother?

google the plot of Colin's book

Was Pen actually overweight in the book? What becomes of Marina at the end?

In book 2 Penelope says she lost two stone (28 pounds) since the year before, when she was supposedly still carrying baby fat because her mother forced her to debut relatively young. I’ll be interested to see if the brilliant actress portraying her loses weight, since in book 4, which is about her romance with Colin, the author makes it a point that although she’s quite curvy she’s much slimmer than she used to be and Colin discovered he was extremely attracted to her. It would be a shame for the awesome actress to feel compelled into losing weight, but I’m curious to also see how a blockbuster bodice ripping tv series centers an entire season around sexual scenes with an actress who’s not traditionally skinny and “sexy.”

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are SO many pages here I can't go through them all. Why was Penelope Miss Whistledown? Why would she reveal the secret about Marina being pregnant? Because she didn't want Colin to marry her? It wreaked havoc for her family? Will Marina marry George's brother?

google the plot of Colin's book

Was Pen actually overweight in the book? What becomes of Marina at the end?