Bridgerton Season-To-Season Trend Doesn't Look Good For The Show's Future

Summary

• Many Bridgerton viewers felt that the story of Penelope and Colin Bridgerton was lacking.
• And it seems that this feeling has a reason based on actual numbers.
• A fan on Reddit analyzed all three seasons of Bridgerton and came to a troubling conclusion.

If, after watching Bridgerton Season 3 Part 2 last week, you felt that the story of Penelope and Colin Bridgerton was somewhat lacking, you are not alone. Many viewers have taken to social media following the Season 3 finale to express their disappointment with the writing and creative choices of the chapter.

It may seem that the reasons for the backlash are purely emotional, but in fact, Bridgerton fans have found a way to put their discontent into numbers. A way that revealed a disturbing trend that threatens the future of Netflix's flagship show.

Troubling Trend

Redditor u/patorodil went through all three seasons of the bodice-ripping series, counted the time the main Bridgerton couples spent together on screen, and came to a underwhelming conclusion: the more the show evolves, the less screen time each couple's arc gets.

The breakdown is as follows:

• Saphne (Simon + Daphne Basset): 113m28s
• Kanthony (Kate + Anthony Bridgerton): 99m13s
• Polin (Penelope + Colin Bridgerton): 99m32s

It is shocking that the Season 1 couple got much more screen time than the other two pairings, even though they were never seen on screen after the first finale. At the same time, Kanthony has about the same amount of time over two seasons (Kate was introduced in Season 2) as Polin has over three. The downward trend is obvious.

This calculation only includes the time the couples spent interacting directly with each other, not the moments when they looked at each other from a distance or had romantic thoughts or dreams. But the fan's findings actually fit very well with what many viewers felt while watching Season 3.

Multiple Subplots

After Season 2, many viewers noted that the Bridgerton writers were including too many side plots that took away from the main couple. And in Season 3, this trend seemed to have become even more pronounced.

There was Francesca's debut and marriage, the Mondrich family's rise to nobility, the Featheringtons' struggles, Benedict's sexual explorations, Eloise's self-doubts, Cressida's horrible home situation, Lady Danbury's grudge against her brother, Violet's flirtation with that same brother, and on and on. Every subplot is even hard to remember.

There's no doubt that as Bridgerton moves into Season 4 and beyond, the storylines with familiar characters will continue to pop up and multiply, slowly transforming Bridgerton from a romantic anthology into an ensemble show. But that could be a recipe for disaster.

Jeopardizing the Future

Bridgerton is based on Julia Quinn's romantic book series, where each novel delves deep into one love story of one Bridgerton sibling. The rest of the family exists as a sort of backdrop, allowing the romantic lead to take the spotlight with a new, exciting tale.

Given the fan-discovered trend, it seems that Netflix's Bridgerton is moving away from this scheme and relying on the ensemble cast already beloved by fans. However, this poses some serious problems for creators.

Fan-favorite characters need some sort of ongoing development and conflict, even after their happy endings, or they risk becoming stale. At the same time, taking too much time away from new couples means a lack of audience investment and, as a result, declining ratings.

Of course, the main concern is that with a confirmed two-year wait between seasons, many original cast members will want to move on, leading to awkward character absences and recastings that are also sure to alienate viewers.

All in all, it feels like the Bridgerton creators are writing themselves into a corner.

Source: Reddit.