What's going on with Bridgerton?

It's clinical, it's bland, and it's lost it's sharpness. My mid-season review.

This season feels bland, insipid, boring. Maybe it’s the lead actors’ fault - Colin is simply too nice and kind to make for any kind of ravishing, sexy hero, and Penelope is the most unlikely poison pen writer (let’s be honest, Lady Whistledown is a meanie) imaginable. She’s too shy, too beaten down by the ugly sisters and Lady Featherington, and too scared of her own shadow. Colin and Pen’s (spoiler alert) sex scene in E5 was clinical and lame and it made me yearn for last season’s lust-ridden and angst-filled storyline.

But even Anthony and Kate, wallowing in their marital bliss, have become dull. Happy Anthony is lovely to look at, but he’s certainly not sexy. The Happy couple vibe is sweet and gentle - and really just incredibly boring. Kate wafts around energetically and capably; Anthony smiles and simpers and bows and claws at Kate; and as a viewer all I want is a bit of arguing and sulking and raunchy makeup sex.

Bridgerton’s S1 certainly had enough of sex, lust and angst to keep the pace going and to keep me hooked during a recent re-watch. Hastings had depth to him and his vulnerability mixed with his rakishness made him the perfect romantic hero. Daphne was sweet but also steely and strong. They made a great lead couple. They put the word sex into sexy.

Anthony and Kate took Bridgerton to new heights in S2. Their chemistry ripped through my screen and the sexual tension they exuded certainly led me to countless re-watches. Their one, long yearned-for, sex scene was perfect: classy, sexy, exciting. It would always be hard to follow these two.

So it’s a huge disappointment to me that S3 simply limps along, all verve and excitement stripped from it. Even Cressida Cowell has become unbearably bland, her sharpness removed, her abusive father and sad impending fate making her vulnerable and likeable - but at what cost to the show? Lady Featherington seemed to hold up her end of the bargain to be the show’s main bully, but by E5 she’s going around apologising to all and sundry. It seems that Eloise has taken on the ‘baddie’ role and thank God for that as I’m up for anyone giving this show some bite again. I’m infuriated by Penelope’s flip-flopping on coming clean to Colin. Her self-pity is stultifying and rather than taking responsibility and owning her Whistledown persona she is literally fainting away like an over-corseted Victorian damsel.

Apart from Eloise, the other potential saviour is Benedict. He’s still romping his way around London, he’s seriously good-looking, and there is hope for his season being a return to Anthony/Kate levels of hotness.

In short, I’m begging Eloise to get this show back on track by revealing all to the ton - and to Colin. I can’t see any other way for S3 to be anything other than a filler between Anthony and Benedict.