Queen Charlotte
When Queen Charlotte was announced I honestly think that I was more excited to see it than I was another season of Bridgerton. I have many issues with Bridgerton. Many. Mostly musical. In fact almost none of my issues involve the cast, which is lucky because several of them appear in Queen Charlotte as a "current" framing device, which honestly, aside from two heartbreaking scenes in the final episode they could have done without. But I have a feeling Shonda Rhimes might be playing the long game and was sneaking in a backdoor pilot to a new series starring Lady Danbury and Violet Bridgerton. Because as Lady Danbury so succinctly puts it, the likes of Lady Whistedown don't talk about the likes of them. Older women and their needs and their stories aren't talked about, they are fed on gossip and forgotten, which I heartily agree with and will agree with even faster if I never have to hear about euphemistic gardens ever again. As for the rest of the show? I'm of two minds. Part of me loved every single second of it, they obviously had a bigger budget, which apparently couldn't stretch to original music, please, seriously, stop it with the bad covers, but another part of me is seriously questioning the underlying meaning of the show. While this show is all about love conquering all, even mental illness, there's this other message that everything is in service to the King. The Queen loves the King, that I do not doubt, but her way of sacrificing all else for him means that she lost out on connecting with her children. She is a good Queen, but not a good mother, which is where the "current" storyline is important. But it undercuts this message that love conquers all. The dynastic push that George will live on is heartbreaking because it takes the journey we've been on and makes it transactional. Get wife get heir. And while their story starts out that way they find love. We don't see this happening with any of her children, which is why I think they should have been left out. The vision would have been clearer had they taken one concept and told it perfectly. And that one concept should have been love conquers all. Because Charlotte's love for George is all that matters in the end, much like George's mother loves him, and in a wonderful secondary plot how Brimsley loves Reynolds. This is what matters, love. And hella amazing acting. Seriously, I know Yellowjackets has really raised the bar on casting when it comes to the same character at different ages, but I really think that India Amarteifio takes it to a whole other level. I think that she and Golda Rosheuvel might be the same person at different ages. It's uncanny. But in the end, would I watch another season? Again, more willingly than Bridgerton but honestly I'm more excited to read the book and see how Julia Quinn put her spin on it.
Post a Comment