Hi, hello friends! It’s Caitlyn and Cossette here, and we’re back with another cozy convo. We’re so excited to chat about Bridgerton today, especially since we both loved the newest season and did a deep dive into the books! As is the norm with the two of us, this post is quite long, so grab a cup of tea, and get cozy!
Q: What’s your ranking of the books?
Cossette: The Viscount Who Loved Me is my absolute favorite — It’s the one that I read on a whim, and then made everyone and their mother read. I’m serious; I was screaming from the rooftops, begging everyone I know to read it with me. It’s how we ended up here.
Caitlyn: If your first choice is not The Viscount Who Loved Me, I’m sorry…did we read the same series? It is truly the superior book in the series.
Cossette: Okay, but seriously; I really just loved The Viscount Who Loved Me. Not only am I a huge fan of the enemies-to-lovers trope, but the way that this book tackled grief, duty, and familial responsibility just really got to me. I love the witty banter between Kate and Anthony, and honestly, the two of them are some of my favorite characters in the books.
Caitlyn: I agree with everything that Cossette said, I really love everything about Anthony and Kate’s relationship and how they bring out the best in each other.
Cossette: Following The Viscount Who Loved Me, I think I’d have to go with Hyacinth’s book — It’s In His Kiss. I just adore Hyacinth; she’s a little firecracker. Do I particularly care for Gareth? No. But do we love Hyacinth? Absolutely. Also, I think the mini heist is fun!
Caitlyn: We are Hyacinth stans first and humans second. I adore her! Truthfully, I was kind of bummed that we had to wait so long in the series to get her book (yes I understand why, yes I could’ve read them out of order, but that’s irrelevant) but it was worth it! Gareth wasn’t my favorite, though I definitely liked him more than some other Bridgerton love interests (we’ll get to that later). And since I love mysteries, I thought that the heist part of the storyline was so fun! So, in terms of enjoyment, I would have to rank It’s In His Kiss second.
Cossette: After that, I think I’d have to go with Romancing Mr. Bridgerton, which is Colin and Penelope’s book. Colin is very much giving Laurie from Little Women vibes, and in a way, his dynamic with Penelope reminds me of Amy and Laurie. Don’t get me wrong; I don’t think that Penelope is like Amy, just that I think she was sidelined as a romantic prospect in his mind, it took him a while to realize his feelings, and both Laurie and Colin do something with their lives because of Amy and Penelope respectively.
Caitlyn: Colin and Penelope in Romancing Mr. Bridgerton have what TV show Colin and Penelope wish that they had (I have thoughts). They’re so cute in the books! Cossette is right, Colin absolutely gives off the Laurie vibes. I thought it was really sweet how proud Colin was of her for creating a life’s work, and how it inspired him to publish his journals. I could just imagine them writing and proofreading pieces for each other which was so sweet.
Cossette: I think following that, I’d have to say Francesca’s book — When He Was Wicked. I’m glad we got to see more of Francesca, especially since she’s not really present in the other stories or in the show very much. I also just really liked her dynamic with Michael; I thought the two of them were really sweet.
Caitlyn: Francesca is definitely the Bridgerton that I felt the least connected to in the series, simply because we don’t know much about her, so I was really excited to read her book and learn more about her. I loved Francesca! The dynamic between Francesca and Michael was great and I was rooting for them right away, so When He Was Wicked ranks fourth for me!
Cossette: I’m going to have to say Gregory’s book, On the Way to the Wedding for my fourth pick. I loved how Gregory wanted a love match just like the ones his siblings have, and I loved reading the Kate/Anthony scenes. Some of my favorite moments of the series happened in this book, and reading about how Anthony was a parent to all his siblings, but particularly Gregory and Hyacinth, will never fail to make me emotional. I also love Lucy! This entire book was a rollercoaster ride, and I had no idea what was going to happen next. On a side note, can we just talk about the very creative name that Julia Quinn used for Lucy’s best friend, Hermione Watson?
Caitlyn: Something that I thought was really sweet about the books focused on the youngest Bridgerton siblings, and something that was really evident in Gregory’s book, On the Way to the Wedding, was that they all really wanted a love match just like their siblings. I love that in a time when marriages were mostly planned for social benefit, the Bridgerton family was more so focused on love.
Gregory and Lucy were super cute! I loved their friends to lovers vibe, and how much Lucy loved Hemione that she would do anything for her, including helping the man that she loves woo her best friend. This book really was wild, and I had a lot of fun reading it! Oh, also, this book is automatically better than some others because there is so much Kate content and we know how much I love Kate!
Cossette: Up next, I think I’d have to go with To Sir Phillip, with Love. This ranking is purely because I love Eloise as a character, not so much because I liked Phillip. Eloise deserved better than a man who really just wanted a MOTHER for his children, not a wife. While I found Phillip to be as interesting as watching paint dry, I adored his children, Amanda and Oliver, and thought they were absolutely adorable. Eloise’s interactions with them made the book what it is.
Caitlyn: If you don’t know already, I love Eloise Bridgerton, and I’m sorry, she did not get the story that she deserved. I was really excited to read To Sir Phillip, with Love and while there were moments that I enjoyed, overall I was disappointed by it. To me, Eloise has some real Jo March vibes, and just like with Jo, when Eloise decided to get married, I wanted her to have this big, huge, epic love story because that’s what she deserved and then she got…that. It’s not that I hate Phillip or anything, but I just found him boring and he only wanted a mother for his children, which like…okay I’m glad you want your children to be taken care of (which, like, you should do yourself but okay) but I think that did everyone a disservice.
That being said, I absolutely loved Amanda and Oliver and the relationship that they built with Eloise. I could read about the three of them all day long!
Cossette: I’d have to go with An Offer from a Gentleman next. Sophie is one of my favorite love interests, and had this been a question of who our favorite love interests were, she’d be ranked much higher. There were just a lot of things about this book that made me uneasy — I know it’s a loose Cinderella retelling, but Sophie doesn’t have a lot of agency, and the way Benedict pressures her into being his mistress or working for his mother just didn’t sit right with me… Show Benedict is much better than book Benedict, that’s all.
Caitlyn: An Offer from a Gentleman is…oofie woofie, friends. I hardcore had to set aside femisim while reading this one, and while I know that going into pretty much any historical romance that I read (especially regency era) it was bad with this one. That being said, I adored Sophie and she deserves the world! Cossette pretty much covered it, but yes, show!Benedict is way better than book!Benedict.
Cossette: Lastly, I’d have to go with The Duke and I. It’s my least favorite book for many reasons, but mostly, the sexual assault. I just don’t understand why that was necessary to put in this book.
Caitlyn: If I had read The Duke and I before reading any of the other books I truly never would’ve picked up this series again. The first time I tried to read it I couldn’t even get through the first chapter. The first chapter!! I have a lot of issues with it, which Cossette also touched on. This book is definitely my least favorite and while there are some books in the series that I would probably revisit, this is absolutely not going to be one of them. Also, let’s be real people, Daphne has the personality of a kumquat and I am very confused as to why she was the diamond of the season.
Q: Who are your favorite characters?
Cossette: Without a doubt, my favorite characters are Anthony and Kate. They’re both so sharp-witted, have so much love to give, and carry so much on their shoulders. I just want to give them both a hug. And maybe refer them to a therapist. I really connected with both Anthony and Kate for so many reasons, but particularly their commitment and duty to their family, and their individual grief and trauma storylines. My poor little meow meows.
And of course, I adored Hyacinth and Sophie as well — I can’t wait to see more of them on screen. In terms of the show, I’m a huge fan of Benedict — I’m really liking him more than I did in the books, and I think Luke Thompson did a phenomenal job of not just bringing Benedict to life, but truly elevating his character and personality.
Caitlyn: Eloise Bridgerton my beloved! I watched the show before reading the books, and Eloise was the character that I connected with the most, so she’s definitely my favorite. I just appreciate that she has her own mind and she’s not afraid to speak her truth, even if it’s going to ruffle the feathers of the Ton. Also, Hyacinth is a true icon, we adore her.
Obviously, I love Anthony and Kate with every fiber of my being. From the second I started The Viscount Who Loved Me I knew that I was absolutely going to adore Kate. I really connected with her and I could read multiple stories centered around the two of them. I just…those are my besties!!!
Shoutout to Lady Danbury, I love her and how much she meddles in everyone’s lives! I would 100% do the same thing if I were in her shoes.
Q: What were some things that you liked better in the show? What were some things you liked better in the books?
Cossette: The main reason I started watching Bridgerton in the first place was because of Julie Andrews’ involvement — I think it’s such a fun touch. I remember waking up one day and hearing about “Julia Andrews Regency Era Gossip Girl” and absolutely losing my mind over this concept.
Caitlyn: Yes, me as well! If Julie Andrews is involved I can 100% promise you that I will be watching, that woman is a queen.
Cossette: But more importantly, the main reason why I stuck with Bridgerton is for the diversity. There are many issues with Bridgerton, yes, and it isn’t my place to say if specific representation is good or not, but something that I’ve always appreciated about it is that Bridgerton exists in a sort of fantasy world where racism isn’t a thing. I was watching a TikTok earlier that puts it more eloquently than I could:
“Bridgerton creates an alternate reality, a fantastical version of our world’s history where racism doesn’t exist – or at least not in the way that it does in our reality or our history. This makes it safe and non-traumatic for people of color to watch. Period pieces set in our universe and our version history either do not include people of color at all or they do include people of color and is traumatic because historically, truthfully, it was traumatic. Even in fantasy media, since authored and created in the western world […] When watching media set in our universe, our options are white savior, white savior, slavery, slavery. In other words, trauma, trauma, trauma, trauma. The other option is the complete other end of the spectrum; New Girl, Brooklyn 99, set now, set now in our universe, but is just as fantastical as Bridgerton is, because somehow, actual real life racism doesn’t seem to occur in these shows because they’re meant to be happy, fun, upbeat and positive; there’s maybe one episode in each shows where they face racism. And since they’re set in our world, our universe, our timeline, that’s still painful to watch because you know that’s not real. You know that’s not what life is like; you know they’re just plastering over the actual trauma of racism in our reality. The reason why Bridgerton works as a perfect, safe representation of people of color in media is because it is clearly not set in our reality. We get to feel safe, and at ease, and not on edge that a hate crime’s about to happen. We get to experience their stories that we would for Elizabeth Bennet. In the world of Bridgerton, we are allowed the opportunity to live that main character storyline with all of the normal complications. There was something so soothing and healing that within this reality and this universe, we got to experience a world where it didn’t matter that they weren’t white. […] They built a fantasy world where we got to be safe, and it’s not a lie. It doesn’t feel deceitful like New Girl does, because it isn’t set in our universe.”
Caitlyn: I agree that I really appreciate that there is so much diversity within the world of Bridgerton. Something that really bothers me in a lot of period dramas is when there is literally not one person of color either as a main character, or even in the background of a scene. The world has always been diverse, but we’re so used to seeing stories centered around white people, that it’s so nice to see a regency era show have so much diversity.
As Cossette said, it isn’t my place to say that if the representation is good representation, but I also appreciate that many characters that are highly ranked in society, such as The Queen, Lady Danbury, Simon, etc. are people of color.
Cossette: Obviously, Bridgerton is not perfect, and has a lot to go in terms of representation — especially with the lack of queer, canonical representation, as well as the representation of people with disabilities. And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the classism that occurs in Bridgerton either. But it is just so refreshing to get to watch something and not be on edge the entire time, waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Caitlyn: The thing that really does keep bringing me back to the show is the Bridgerton family themselves. I love their relationship and how they truly love and respect each other. Just like a real family, they argue and bicker and poke fun at one another, but at the end of the day, you know that any of those kids would lay down their lives for each other.
We see a lot of serious moments between the family, but we also see so many fun moments. One of my favorite scenes in the entire series is in Episode 3 of Season 2, when the family plays Pall Mall. The way they all had the specific mallets that they used, how Colin says that Anthony threatened him the last time he joked about using the black mallet (please that was SO funny, Anthony is truly vexed in that moment), the way they try to sabotage each other. I JUST LOVE IT! My other favorite scene is in Season 2, Episode 7 when no one has arrived at the ball, and Anthony calls Gregory and Hyacinth down to join the party and Anthony and Hyacinth dance together. I squealed when I first saw it. It’s the most precious moment!
I just finished doing a rewatch of the first season and am now moving on to season 2 (Kanthony brain rot let’s go!) and I couldn’t help but laugh when Colin was leaving for his trip to Greece and Gregory said something along the lines of “Bring me back a gift!” and Hyacinth tells him that “It’s not a gift if you have to ask for it” and then turns to Colin and says, “But I would like anything in blue…or white” that’s just such a sibling moment that always brings a smile to my face!
I especially love that the Bridgerton family does not follow convention. I love that they all eat dinner together and don’t separate the “children” from the rest of the family, they are just such a unit and I adore them.
Cossette: I agree; the family is truly the highlight for me. Some of my favorite moments in Bridgerton aren’t the romantic ones, but rather, the tender hearted ones between the siblings. In Season 2, Episode 7, when Anthony calls down Hyacinth to dance, or when Anthony talks to Gregory about their father in Season 2 Episode 8, it just makes me so emotional. And of course, as a contrast, we have the funny, lighthearted moments — like Caitlyn touched on with Pall Mall. I just really appreciate that the Bridgerton family is so … siblings-y. They have so much love for one another, and are always there to support, vex, and protect each other.
On a similar note about family, I really missed the Sharma/Sheffield family dynamic from the books. In the books, Edwina is so sweet, and I think she just wasn’t given as much time to shine in the show outside of her storyline with Anthony. I particularly felt like Mary Sharma was sidelined — her relationship with Kate is one of my favorites, and it was really disappointing for me to see that they had cut out so much of it. In the books, Kate tells Anthony
“Mary has been wonderful. She loves me as a daughter. In fact—” She broke off, startled by the sudden wetness in her eyes. When she finally found her voice again, it was an emotional whisper. “In fact, she has never once treated me differently than she has Edwina. “I—I don’t think I could have loved my own mother any better.” and “She’s so funny about it sometimes. She visits my mother’s grave, just to tell her how I’m doing. It’s very sweet, actually. When I was small, I would go with her, to tell my mother how Mary was doing.” and it was just really meaningful.
Caitlyn: I fully agree! One of my favorite parts of The Viscount Who Loved Me are the scenes between Mary and Kate and it made me really sad to see how downplayed it was in the series. I understand that certain things need to be changed, and not everything can be translated from page to screen, but I do wish we had gotten to see more of their dynamic.
Cossette: In terms of book-show adaptations, I’m glad that they changed the storyline of The Viscount Who Loved Me so that Kate and Anthony didn’t get married as a result of being caught alone in the gardens. This way, Anthony and Kate really had to work for each other, and it was more rewarding to watch. However, I was really tired of the love triangle storyline by around episode four, and was just screaming at my computer for them to get it together already. I particularly missed the original thunderstorm scene, and how Kate and Anthony bonded over their shared fears, trauma and grief.
Caitlyn: I think that the conflict could have existed without the love triangle, as it does in the books. Personally, I’m just really tired of love triangles, and for me, it didn’t add anything to the storytelling besides me being incredibly frustrated. I also think that focusing so much on the love triangle took away from Anthony and Kate’s love story, as well as the bond between Kate and Edwina. Additionally, I feel like adding in this pettiness that Edwina shows toward Kate before Kate’s accident completely ruins Edwina’s character. Part of what I love about her in the books is that she truly is just a sweet girl who is looking for happiness, and just like Kate, all she wants is for her sister to be happy. Adding in the love triangle and making Anthony and Edwina get all the way to the altar tarnished the whole storyline for me.
Cossette: I also felt like there were some moments that could’ve been written better. I felt like the Featherington subplot was quite unnecessary, and I wish that Eloise’s character arc this season didn’t need to be aided by Theo. I think it just cheapened Eloise’s character by making it romantic in a sense. Also, I’m a firm “Eloise is gay” believer, as is Benedict. I mentioned it earlier, but I loved show!Benedict; he’s truly a highlight. I think he’s so much better than book!Benedict.
Caitlyn: I agree with everything that Cossette said here! The thunderstorm scene is one of my favorite scenes in The Viscount Who Loved Me and it was the moment where I really became emotionally invested in the story, so while I understand why it was cut from the show, I really missed that scene.
Yes, having Eloise’s storyline that’s focused in forward thinking, rights for women, and general feminist themes be so heavily influenced by a male character cheapened it, especially since Eloise has always had these thoughts and beliefs, she’s simply exploring them more and connecting with others who feel the same. I just couldn’t connect with that aspect of her arc, and again, as someone who really loves Eloise, that was disappointing. Do I think in general that Theo is a more interesting partner for Eloise than Sir Phillip is in the books? Yes. But, I’m not sure how this will play out, so I guess I’ll just have to wait and see.
I actually have a big problem with the series, and that is how Penelope and Lady Whistledown was handled. I feel that in the books Lady Whistledown’s columns focus more on poking fun at society and making lighthearted jokes about certain people. In the show, however, she is downright cruel. She’s unhappy with her life, so she sets out to make others miserable, and for what? Money?
We see parts of this in the first season, before it’s revealed that she’s Whistledown in the way that she sabotages the relationship between Colin and Marina. Marina was nothing but kind to Penelope — in fact she tells her multiple times how she values her friendship — and yet, Penelope does anything and everything she can to ruin their relationship. Do I think that Marina should’ve been honest with Colin from the start? I absolutely do, but that does not give Penelope the right to do what she did. Because ultimately, she did not do that for Colin, she did it for herself.
Then in season 2, she turns on Eloise. Eloise is her best friend, the one person who has always been there for her and supported her, and how does Penelope repay her? By ruining her in the eyes of the Ton. That’s a real great friend right there! Eloise literally thanks Penelope for being such a great friend and always being there for her, and then she completely throws her under the bus. There are other ways that Penelope could’ve gotten The Queen to stop looking at Eloise as Whistledown, and yet she chose the “solution” that causes her so-called best friend pain and suffering. Penelope can try to spin it and say that she did it for Eloise, but really she’s doing it to save her own ass. I find show!Penelope to be very manipulative and deceitful. I don’t find her likable at all.
While I think the scene outside the ball with Eloise and Penelope in the gardens and Penelope tells Eloise what it’s like to be a “wallflower” in the second season is a very sweet scene, knowing what Penelope does later on in the series completely taints that scene and any other scenes between Penelope and Eloise, as well as scenes between Penelope and Colin.
They’re going to have to do some serious damage control to fix this absolute mess that they’ve created in the third season, because I truly do not see a world where Colin Bridgerton will fall in love with someone who ruined his sister.
Cossette: I totally agree with Caitlyn; I’ve been pretty disappointed with how Penelope’s been written this season. Her reasoning for why she’s Lady Whistledown makes sense in the books, but the way she’s been behaving makes it seem a little more malicious. I’m curious to see what’ll happen next season.
Q: What do you hope will happen in Season 3?
Cossette: I would love to see more Kate and Anthony scenes, especially since we didn’t really get to see them happy and in love the way that we did Simon and Daphne. More specifically, I’d love to see Edmund (Kate and Anthony’s first child) introduced, and a conversation between Anthony and one of his family members about how he’ll be a great dad because he stepped up to the plate for them all. It’s so clear how much Anthony cares for his family, and I think that it’d be really validating and healing for Anthony to hear that from them. Personally, I’d prefer this scene between either his mother and Anthony, or Anthony and Hyacinth (since Hyacinth never got to know Edmund, and Anthony was the only father she knew), but I’m not picky! I’d also love to see some cameos from Newton (of course), and Mary, and to see Edwina get her happy ending as well.
I think the way Season 2 left off opens up a lot of possibilities, including Eloise running off (like she does in her book), Penelope/Colin to happen, and also maybe Francesca’s season? It wouldn’t surprise me if all three of those storylines happened next season, since they all take place at the same time in the books. With Penelope/Colin, I’m not really sure how this will go. A lot of their storyline is a lot of internal work and character development, which I don’t think the show is necessarily the best at highlighting. Just look at Season 2, and how little character growth there truly was. I’ve sent Caitlyn countless voice memos ranting about it. Colin has a lot of growing up to do — and a lot of groveling, whereas I think Penelope needs to grow out of her shell and also learn who she is outside of Lady Whistledown, another Featherington, and outside of Eloise’s shadow.
I’d really like to see Benedict/Sophie’s storyline be completely changed as well. I’d love bisexual Benedict, and I just think there are a lot of things about the Benedict/Sophie storyline that make me uncomfortable. Oh, and I’d love to see some Hyacinth/Lady Danbury hijinks!
Caitlyn: If we’re being completely honest, the biggest thing I want to see in Season 3 is domestic Kate and Anthony — and a lot more of Newton! I would like way less Featherington content, I do not find them interesting nor likable and I don’t think they add to the plot. I understand a lot of Penelope, but I could definitely do with less of her family. Especially once we get into Benedict and Sophie’s storyline with Sophie’s step-mother and step-sisters.
I would love more scenes with the entire Bridgerton family scenes, especially with the youngest Bridgertons!
And there you have it, friends! Our second installment of Cait and Coco’s Cozy Convos! Have you read Bridgerton, or watched the newest season? What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments below!
