Queen Charlotte review: The best Bridgerton show so far

I wasn’t expecting a prequel about Queen Charlotte, a real historical figure, and King George III, the guy in Hamilton who sings “You’ll Be Back” (and also a real historical figure) would make me incredibly emotional, but here we are! Shonda Rhimes, you’ve done it again.

Then there’s the fact that Queen CharlotteThe main line is not only better, it is also more interesting. Bridgerton series. Does that constitute blasphemy? Perhaps, but Queen Charlotte manages its expansive cast and multiple plotlines with more finesse and better pacing than the main series — with the added challenge of two different time periods. This ambitious series tackles a great deal more and still manages to pull it off.

Queen CharlotteIt is also a kind of prequel between Bridgerton seasons. The main storyline takes place in the past, focusing on a young Queen Charlotte (played by India Ria Amarteifio) and her arranged marriage to King George (Corey Mylchreest) — and the ramifications that union had for English society. It’s sprinkled in with bits of the main Bridgerton timeline, where Charlotte attempts to pair her children up with respectable matches after her oldest son’s wife dies in childbirth. In both the storylines of past and future, characters from history like Lady Danbury or Violet Bridgerton appear. And ultimately, the two time periods work well together; it’s compelling to see how the decisions the younger versions of the characters made and the hurdles they’ve had to overcome affects their outlook in the present day.

Liam Daniel/Netflix

Liam Daniel/Netflix

The timeline that we have today is a good example of Bridgerton, Charlotte mostly rules on her own, while her rarely lucid husband’s mental health declines. The romance is a little more intense. Queen CharlotteAll the more powerful. Core BridgertonCharlotte and George is a series that tells us about the characters. You can find out more about this by clicking here.They were deeply infatuated, despite current conditions; Queen Charlotte shows how that love came to be: A headstrong young woman and a troubled young man defied their own expectations — and the expectations of those around them — and found kindred spirits in one another. Both of them want to challenge societal expectations, and it’s through Charlotte that George finds the strength to do so even if his mental health struggles make him feel like an outsider (let’s not think too hard about the actual historical facts here). They overcome all odds and triumphantly find one another, even if it’s all juxtaposed with the bittersweetness of the present day.

Young Charlotte, George, and Lady Danbury are all magnetic characters, as are Brimsley and Reynolds, the Queen and King’s respective right-hand men. The latest season is not like the previous one. Bridgerton, which suffers from too many side plots that don’t really have anything to do with the main storyline, Queen Charlotte’s B-plots all weave into the greater overarching plot and bolster it nicely. There are so many things that BridgertonIt was impossible to pull that off, but it worked excellently. Bridgerton Story: Queen Charlotte. Fitting for a queen.

Liam Daniel Photo by Netflix

Then there’s a problem. Queen CharlotteIt is the story that has been inherited Bridgerton’s weird approach to race and can only do so much with it in its limited six-episode run. Bridgerton exists in a fuzzy space between fantasy and reality, where racism at one point existed but hasn’t for some decades — as such, the main show’s approach to it is usually something like, “Don’t think too hard! Queen Charlotte and King George’s love solved that problem Ages ago. Just dance to ‘Wildest Dreams!’”

Queen Charlotte is, however, about that love, which means that it can’t just handwave the problem away. The show doesn’t really engage in a deeper exploration of race. One, the cast never actually discusses race. The following is a list of words that begin with the word “you” it’s about race. They just refer to people of different races as “our side” and “their side.” The show does highlight some of the characters, most notably young Lady Danbury (Arsema Thomas), proving their legitimacy with these new societal norms. The focus of this show is on the characters, but because they are so prominent. It is a good idea to use a bilingual translator on Charlotte and George’s blossoming relationship and the arranged-marriage-to-genuine-lovers romantic arc — and not their time as rulers making the big decisions, even if some of those big decisions are happening outside their control — it never really goes full throttle into how they dismantled institutionalized racism. It is only hinted at in the final scene, and not nearly enough to satisfactorily answer all the major questions. BridgertonHas tried to conceal himself behind a silk curtain covered in pastels.

Nick Wall/Netflix

Liam Daniel/Netflix

But as far as arranged-marriage-to-begrudging-allies-to-genuine-lovers-to-doomed-romance arcs goes, Queen Charlotte soars. There is palpable chemistry between Amarteifio and Mylchreest (whose chaotic yet charming performance feels in line with Nicholas Hoult’s King Peter in Hulu’s Great Britain — this is a compliment). But unlike BridgertonPrior, the storyline felt either rushed, or it was too long. Queen Charlotte’s pacing is positively perfect. It is the perfect amount of tension and release in this central romance that makes it so compelling. A good romance requires a delicate balance between external and internal tension. You may wonder why a couple is even together, and if there’s too much tension between them. But if the tension becomes excessively external you risk losing the story. If you want to know more about But, click here.Queen CharlotteAll of it is balanced with finesse.

The main difference between the two Bridgerton series, Queen Charlotte doesn’t end with a sweeping happily ever after. Charlotte and George’s story was marked with tragedy from the beginning; fans of the original show (or the history of the real couple, I guess) know this all too well. It is as if there’s a constant echo of sadness throughout the whole series. This makes both the sad and happy moments even more meaningful. The series ends on an unusually happy but also not entirely sad note. Even with George’s declining mental health, there are snippets of the man he used to be — the relationship they used to have — buried within him. These six episodes show how the two complex and fiery people fell in love and challenged each other. The final scene from Queen Charlotte This is an aching punch in the stomach, well-earned. So goodThe same level of tenderness as The Notebook, TitanicThe book is a collection of tragic love stories and shows that the love you have for someone will always be worth it.

Bridgerton’s Queen CharlotteNetflix is now available.