‘Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story Review: Not A Swooning Romance But A Heartbreaking Story About Love And Marriage
Watch it for the subplots!
Dearest gentle reader, after two successful matches in the past seasons, the third season of Bridgerton changed its course and tells the story of Queen Charlotte. It sheds light on her marriage to King George. This season, a prequel spin-off, based on the life of Queen Charlotte, was a rather emotional story that highlighted love does not come without sacrifices and pain, and that it is not always all rosy. It shows that you will have to walk on thorns with a smile on your face for the love of your life. Created by Shonda Rhimes and spanning over six quite long episodes, Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story is a must-watch. Read our full review below.
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The Plot Of Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story
The plot of this show swings between two timelines – one, when Queen Charlotte was young, and other, the current time when she is tensed over her children not having an heir to continue their succession. Both timelines switch effortlessly and draw parallels between the characters then and now.
The opening episode starts with the marriage of Charlotte and George. How they met for the first time is a rather sweet meet-cute moment. Love at first sight, if you may call it. But things change right after they get married because George announces he and Charlotte will live separately. Greatly disturbed by this decision, Charlotte has no option but to obey. But she is annoyed when George is gone for long stretches of time, leaving her alone at Buckingham Palace with nothing but the company of her butler Brimsley who keeps following her like a puppy.
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Why King George decides to live away from Charlotte despite being in love with her is something you will have to explore yourself. It is Charlotte who fights with him and for him against the world that makes this story a great example of what true love looks like.
There are also parallel storylines which run alongside the main plot. The show highlights how my most favourite character, Lady Danbury, became the woman you can easily go to with your problems but also must be afraid of if you step out of line. I love her story arc. Her beginning, her rise, her wisdom, her zeel and her determination make her a true inspiration.
The show also highlights how brutal racism was then. From looking down on royals of colour to openly calling them ‘the other side’, it made me feel quite uncomfortable to see this rampant discrimination happening. This was also ironic because the queen of England shown in the show is a woman of colour!
Apart from this, this season also sheds light on how natural it is for widowed women to feel the need to be sexually satisfied. This subplot is shown in the context of Violet Bridgerton, who feels her “garden is blooming” and it needs a “touch”. The aspect of the plot shows how sex, which is primarily considered the means to have a child, is not just that but also a human need.
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Cast and Characters of Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story
India Amarteifio essays the role of the young Queen, and oh, how perfectly she resembles the grown Queen who is played by Golda Rosheuvel. As we know, Adjoa Andoh reprises her role as Lady Danbury but her younger version was played by Arsema Thomas. Sam Clemmett essays young Brimsley whereas Hugh Sachs plays the older version of that character. The young characters deserve a standing ovation because they have done an exceptional job! They had a lot on their shoulders because the older characters were introduced previously and we already knew their characteristics and the younglings had big shoes to fill!
And oh, it was a sweet surprise seeing Michelle Fairley AKA Catelyn Stark from the Game Of Thrones essaying the role of George’s mother. You will hate her just like I do, and there is a good reason for it.
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The chemistry between India AKA young Charlotte and Corey Mylchreest who plays the young King George is there but not quite sizzling. The sexual tension is not as thick (pun intended) as it was in the first two seasons between Daphne and Simon; and Kate and Anthony. They love each other and are somewhat forced to live away from each other. This is all that is there to their relationship. Oh, but the confession scene! When George bursts his confession out that he loved Charlotte, is heartbreaking and beautiful at the same time. This is one of the scenes where India and Corey really nailed it (pun intended, again).
Verdict
Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story is more than the story of just the queen. It is a heartbreaking story that shows even the most royal marriages are not without struggles and fights. This prequel is not a sappy love story but rather it is a reality check that sometimes one has to go above and beyond for the person they love.
It also highlights all the characters, validates their emotions, and makes the audience understand why a character did what they did with valid reasons. Even though the episodes are long, they do not feel stretched. Every subplot is just as engaging as the main storyline with none of the characters getting sidetracked for the other.
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Also read: Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story To Get A Sequel? Here’s What Shonda Rhimes Said!
The show emphasises greatly on human emotions with all the characters feeling love, hate, misery, confusion, loneliness and anger which makes you feel happy and sad for them as well. If the ending does not make a sob break free from your mouth, then you are the most heartless person to exist on this planet.
All-in-all, you must not give Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story a miss, and go binge it ASAP. The show is available for streaming on Netflix.
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