Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story brought back the fan-favorite character Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel and India Amarteifio) to explore her youth and the love story between her and her husband, King George III (James Fleet and Corey Mylchreest). Long before the events of Bridergton, Charlotte arrives in England to marry the King, quickly learning that married life is not what she expects. With romance, drama, and beautiful costumes, the series is everything we could want from a Bridgerton prequel. The spin-off not only explored the history of the Bridgerton Queen and her relationship with her husband, but it also delved into other characters in the universe. With a “present day” story taking place between Seasons 2 and 3, the series adds to the current Bridgerton timeline by showing Charlotte’s grown children in the midst of a potential succession crisis and even includes other familiar faces, like Agatha Danbury (Adjoa Andoh and Arsema Thomas) and Violet Bridgerton (Ruth Gemmell and Connie Jenkins-Greig). The two shows fit together well, but Bridgerton Season 3 does not use the material Queen Charlotte established.
With interconnected stories, Bridgerton Season 3 should have more than a few references to the current events in Queen Charlotte, yet the flagship series does little with the changes made in the spin-off. The spin-off showed great potential, deserving to have its stories continued, and, with a second season yet to move forward despite its popularity, Queen Charlotte seems to be dependent on the other parts of the franchise for continuation. With Charlotte, Danbury, and even Violet appearing, the two series are more than set in the same world, but they are not interconnected in the way they should be. The spin-off explores the character of Brimsley (Hugh Sachs and Sam Clemmett), who has now proven to be a valuable participant in the story, develops drama between two crucial Bridgerton characters that remain unburdened by the time of Season 3, and even opens the potential for a new romance in the future. Though interesting, Queen Charlotte is unnecessary for understanding the new season, and that’s a shame.
‘Queen Charlotte’ Should Make Brimsley More Relevant to ‘Bridgerton’
Appearing since Bridgerton Season 1, the Queen’s right-hand man played a small role until the prequel gave him more time. Brimsley watched Charlotte find her place as Queen, showing her loyalty at every turn and seemingly continued to do so as he is still at her side decades later during the original series. He is a key player in Queen Charlotte, helping Charlotte navigate her new role, supporting her, and helping to discover the secret George is hiding. Brimsley’s dedication to the crown and Charlotte motivates almost everything he does, but he also marks the first gay relationship in the franchise. He and Reynolds (Freddie Dennis) sneak off together whenever possible as they attempt to balance their demanding jobs and feelings for each other. It is a rare look at a gay relationship in a somewhat historical era, and Bridgerton is better for it. Yet Queen Charlotte‘s finale implied that their relationship didn’t work out without giving a full explanation of what transpired. A lot can change in fifty years, and fans would love to know the details.
Given his standing role in Bridgerton, it should be the logical place to look for more clues, yet in Season 3, he’s back to being a side character. Certainly, Brimsley is much more of a fixture for Charlotte than the titular Bridgerton family, but he is beside the Queen as she attends parties and reads the new editions of Lady Whistledown. Now that he’s a proven entity in the world, it is reasonable to anticipate more of him. However, Season 3 delivered very little Brimsley, allowing him to share a few quips with the Queen but not an active part of the story.
‘Bridgerton’ Season 3 Part 1 Ignored the Drama Between Violet and Lady Danbury
Some of the most familiar characters to appear in Queen Charlotte were Lady Danbury and the Bridgerton matriarch, Violet. Not only did the series introduce them as much younger women, but it showed them in the months between Bridgerton Seasons 2 and 3, setting up drama. In this plot line, Violet discovers that decades earlier, Lady Danbury had an affair with Lord Ledger (Keir Charles), Violet’s father. This is an awkward situation, to say the least, but the two friends have no lasting drama between them in Season 3. These two friends uncovered their awkward connection at the end of Queen Charlotte. Though Lady Danbury, who was aware of all the facts, remained unchanged by this knowledge, Violet is a different story.
Despite the intervening years, it would be reasonable for Violet to be surprised or even hurt by her friend not only having an affair with her father but concealing it from her. Yet all this baggage seems to have been put aside off-screen when it would be a beneficial direction for the show to give Violet and Lady Danbury something more to do than interfere with the love lives of the younger characters.
‘Bridgerton’ Season 3 Doesn’t Rely on ‘Queen Charlotte,’ but They Fit Together
There is one way the spin-off’s plot carries over – Violet is seemingly ready for love again in Season 3. No, there is no mention of the conversations about Violet’s “garden” that she had with Lady Danbury in Queen Charlotte. However, fans who watched both couldn’t miss the connection. When Lady Danbury’s brother Marcus (Daniel Francis) comes to stay with his sister (unwantedly), sparks fly between him and Violet. This potentially creates another relationship to dredge up drama between the two women if the series commits to doing so. But more importantly, it shows Bridgerton‘s ability to expand on the twists of Queen Charlotte when it chooses to do so. This story not only follows Violet’s journey in the spin-off but also fills out the series, giving the mother a plot of her own.
Yet, Violet’s new romance fails in one way: it has no direct references to the events of Queen Charlotte, although there is still time in the back half of the season. Those who didn’t watch the spin-off can see Violet’s interest in a new relationship without knowing the events of the other series. Before the affair is revealed, Violet and Lady Danbury actually bond over Violet’s renewed interest in love, as Lady Danbury takes it on herself to be a confidant for the widow, but that is not continued. Instead, Lady Danbury sees the two interacting and seems to catch on. With her skill for match-making, Lady Danbury can push this along, but it would be nice to see these friends talk through something. With Queen Charlotte Season 2 looking less likely by the day, Bridgerton should take over these stories, connecting these two series as closely as they should be.
Bridgerton Season 3 Part 1 is available to stream on Netflix in the U.S. Part 2 will premiere on June 13.
