The Netflix adaptations of the Bridgerton book series by author Julia Quinn have taken the world by storm. Bringing the literary romanticism of the Regency Era to life, Shonda Rhimes has added another success to her repertoire. And where there is a success, there is always a desire for more – and a potential spin-off in the wings. While many times a prominent unseen figure within Bridgerton, Queen Charlotte has been a domineering force throughout the first two seasons. Her choice of the “Diamond of the Season” hangs on women searching for their matches, adding a heavier weight to the duty they already carry.
Yet, where the series has focused on the love matches of the Bridgerton children, it has taken moments throughout to grace viewers with snippets of a timeless love shared between a King and his Queen. Glimpses of madness, affection, and devotion, paired with a commanding performance by Golda Rosheuvel, have not only alluded to something greater but the potential for further exploration. And thankfully, Shondaland has delivered.
Creating a Queen
Queen Charlotte is quick to unite the spin-off with its source material, the voice of Julie Andrews heard as Lady Whistledown once again invites her gentle readers to join in this new tale. It is also quick to throw us into the action. This is not a story about Charlotte, the young German who would marry into royalty – this is a story about a Queen. As Queen Charlotte begins, it brings us in with a snappy score, accelerating viewers through marriage contracts and travels to foreign countries. As we learn, Charlotte (India Amarteifio) has been betrothed to King George III (Corey Mylchreest) of England in exchange for the British protection of the land her brother Adolphus (Tunji Kasim) rules. In a brilliant move of casting, as the spin-off will regularly exercise, the young Charlotte is presented to audiences exactly as we would expect – sharp, commanding, and sassy. Amarteifio is what makes the series a success, especially in its early moments. She emulates the performance of Rosheuvel, transversing time while making the performance uniquely her own.
Audiences will welcome Amartieifio‘s Charlotte with open arms, rooting for her as she arrives in England, determined to climb the garden walls to escape the fate that awaits her. As she is reminded of her place as a woman and her duty to her family, King George presents himself as a trusted companion, extending an arm of unity and marriage. Where the first two seasons of Bridgerton ended with marriages or the final pairing of our coveted couple, Queen Charlotte starts with the union, young love on the horizon only to be thwarted in the first episode’s closing moments. It is as engaging of a first episode as the seasons before it, growing the world of Bridgerton and lowering the palace walls to give us a look inside – for better or for worse.
Queen Charlotte balances the good and the bad well. This is not a perfect marriage, but one that needs growth and nurturing. If there is one complaint I had to issue, it is that there are not enough episodes. Rhimes brings her story of Queen Charlotte to life with elegant and royal craftsmanship, yet she does it so well, I wanted to spend more time with these characters. For Queen Charlotte and King George, their love is given a full journey, one that will leave tears of joy by the series’ closing moments. There is a justice done to their love story, one I would have liked to see even more of. And while the series is about a Queen, no ruler stands alone.
Expanding the Universe
As the series weaves from present to past for Queen Charlotte, it does so as well for Lady Danbury (Adjoa Anodoh) and Lady Bridgerton (Ruth Gemmell) – each perfectly casted with their younger counterparts in Arsema Thomas and Connie Jenkins-Greig. Where Lady Bridgerton initially feels like an inclusion to connect the core series with the spin-off, cleverly placed details moving the stories of the Bridgerton children along, her story becomes so much more. For her and Lady Danbury, theirs is an exploration of learning to live for themselves and not the matriarchy – to recognize their needs and desires and to make the, at times, life-changing decisions to honor them. And where there was a broadening of Lady Bridgerton, allowing her to be a woman rather than a person defined by just her children, it is Lady Danbury that feels the most developed between the two.
In Bridgerton, she is a guiding hand, but for Queen Charlotte her character truly grows into something more. Where Queen Charlotte learns to harness her voice as Queen, Lady Danbury learns to harness hers as a newly titled member of the Tan. In an effort to expand the Queen’s court to show the support of the Royal family’s acceptance of the color of her skin, Agatha and her husband are titled Lord and Lady Danbury. Yet, for Lady Danbury and her husband, it is just that – a title. As Lady Danbury begins to spread her wings and finds favor within the court, she takes command of her future. Like Armarteigio, Thomas emulates Anodoh, connecting the past and present of Lady Danbury, all while making this performance her own. And audiences will love her for it.
Love fills the spin-off, much like the seasons before it. Love in the face of adversity and learning to love one’s self, Queen Charlotte also embraces the timeless concept of forbidden love. Beloved and devoted aid to the Queen, Brimsley (Hugh Sachs) too is given his own back story. Reminiscent of George O’Malley of Grey’s Anatomy in performance, Young Brimsley (Sam Clemmett) becomes our snippets of a love story that yearns to be heard. There is much left out of Brimsely’s love story, yet the parts we are given are anything but subtle. As each moment is shared between him and the King’s aid, there is a deep love that will leave a yearning by the series’ end and will weigh on the hearts of even the gentlest of readers.
Conclusion:
With only six episodes, the last two running almost an hour and a half each, Queen Charlotte not only manages to successfully connect and expand the Bridgerton Universe, but create a desire for more. As the spin-off has woven in and out of both the past and present, it has presented new characters with new desires, loves, and challenges. Yet, even with the universe expanded, Queen Charlotte has delivered once more to the gentle viewer a love story that defies time, grounded in the epic love, devotion, and command of a Queen.
Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story will release on Netflix on May 4, 2023!
Watch Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story
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