Bridgerton

Can we have the old showrunner back? Please.

There were only a handful of exciting episodes for season 3 and they didn't really make up for the others being so dull.

The plot structure they went for would have worked over at least 12 episodes instead of just 8. They clearly didn't want to give the romantic leads their time to shine which meant we didn't get time to fall in love with their love.

I think the assumption was that their friendship in was enough in previous seasons that we wouldn't need any time to buy their love. I need more time to see why after years they'd finally go for it. It was so awkward.

I absolutely love love Bridgerton, but what on earth happened this season? Polin didn't feel like the main characters AT ALL; they seemed more like secondary characters, with their screen time limited to just a few minutes per scene. Also, why was the season divided into two parts? It felt unnecessary, and by the time I got to the second part, my interest had waned and I felt disconnected from the plot, character development, and storyline.

Finally, the drastic changes they FORCED on the characters were abysmal. While it's normal for a movie or series based on a book to have some differences, changing the ENTIRE story is way too much. It loses the original purpose the author intended. This isn't an adaptation from the books; it's a completely new story. Not bad if they want to go that route and be inclusive but they shouldn't use the book titles, doesn't make sense.

Fun for those who enjoy the frothy visual thrust, light story and modern casual take on costume drama. It's a trashy soap opera in a dream version of Regency. I do like the diversity in casting and experimentation in costume. Casting is strong. However I can't seem to appreciate this production as much as I wanted. I find the direction and delivery of lines tends to self conscious, loud, stagey and over the top. Also the soundtrack is the same thing again and again, pizzicato strings, not creative, boring that flattens depth of emotion or drama. Otherwise a heady trip with lots of short scenes whipping from one character to another. It's good, just not totally my cuppa. A pleasant pretty distraction.

I enjoyed the first season, I loved the second season even more, third season was kind of boring, it go so boring I just read while it was running in the background.

I give Season One a 9. Season Two a 10 and Season Three like a 6.5 and I don't think the rest of the seaon will change my mind the way things are going.

The only thing that kept me interested was the delightfully subdued interactions between Francesca and John. I really enjoyed how their romance was so much different than the others, and not just a repeat of the same. I could see the chemistry in their interactions and how their love languages were so different to those around them, really refreshing.

As for the main story between Colin and Pen, BORING. It was like bad fan fiction. It was like there was no character development. I felt no chemistry between the actors. It was like they were just going through the motions to follow out a set outcome, and then they are just having sex in a carriage which would be scandalous for such a young woman.

I don't know what will happen in the rest of the season, but I seriously don't know how Colin could get over the utter betrayal of Pen being LW. It would be fan fiction bad writing to try and get out of that. If Pen gets found out for being a total life-destroying gossip who makes money of other people's suffering, and she gets a happy ending? I really don't know how it works out in the books, but this pushes my suspension of disbelief too far.

Claudia Jessie played Eloise with extreme class. Hope she continues to "stun the stage" in her future acting career!