Netflix‘s ‘Bridgerton’ is one of the most watched series. With the latest season, ‘Bridgerton‘ has become one of the most watched series on the streaming service. The series is based on Julia Quinn’s book series based on the Bridgerton family. However, the showrunners have incorporated some major changes throughout the three seasons.
Today we are here to discuss the top 10 such changes that were made in the series. Some changes have been welcomed by fans while others not so much. However, showrunner Jess Brownell says that she made all the changes after discussing with author Julia Quinn.
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10. Lady Whistledown’s Role
Unlike the series, in the books, Lady Whistledown is not such a big character. In the books, ‘Lady Whistledown’s Society Papers’ are used as framing devices to bookend the chapters, but there isn’t as much interest in finding out her identity. This is partly because she does not write anything as scandalous as what they have shown in the series.
Netflix’s ‘Bridgerton’ uses Lady Whistledown to portray more of a sense of freedom for Penelope. Lady Whistledown is a sign of feminism in the series as Penelope uses it as a means of escape from her family and the judgemental society.
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9. Eloise Bridgerton And Cressida’s Friendship
One of the highlights of season 3 was Eloise and Cressida’s friendship. It was both unusual yet it meant a lot to Cressida since Eloise is her first proper friend. This also adds to Cressida’s story arc. But in the books, Cressida Cowper is even more brutal and nasty to Penelope.
She never befriends Eloise in Romancing Mr. Bridgerton. Instead, Cressida is married and even more hostile towards Penelope. However, the series shows a bond of friendship between Eloise and her. This bond showcases their strengths, being tough but fair, open about their problems, and supporting each other despite their differences.
8. Kate And Anthony Bridgerton’s Bee Scene
The highlight of season 2 of ‘Bridgerton’ was undoubtedly Kate and Anthony’s bee scene. The scene showed how much they actually cared about each other and solidified the chemistry between them. It almost sizzled our screens.
But in the books, the scene is pretty wild. What the showrunners adapted for the screen is much more sensible and acceptable. In the book, after Kate is stung by the bee, Anthony strips her naked and proceeds to suck out the venom. This is not what one should do in case of a bee sting.
7. Another Fetherington Sister
The three Fetherington sisters may bicker, hate and make fun of each other but season 3 was proof enough that they love each other to death. Penelope, Philipa and Prudence may not be such prominent figures of the ton initially. But you would agree that the series is no fun without them.
However, in the books, there is a fourth Fetherington sister named Felicity. Felicity Fetherington has been cut off in the series and it is unlikely she will be present in the future seasons as well. In the books, Portia actually misunderstands Colin and thinks that he wants to marry Felicity instead of Penelope. But no such arc is present in the series.
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6. Colin Bridgerton And Penelope’s Carriage Scene
Season 3 of ‘Bridgerton’ offered us two very steamy and hot scenes between Colin and Penelope. These scenes did not differ much from the books but there are still some major changes in them. One of the most talked about scenes is their carriage ride together which turned into a steamy make out session and ended with Colin Bridgerton proposing to Penelope.
However, in the books, the circumstances of the carriage scene are very much different. Colin follows Penelope to Bloomsbury, where she is revealed to be Lady Whistledown. This revelation leads to a big fight between them, which ultimately leads to their carriage hookup. But in the series this revelation has been made much later on.
5. Eloise Finding Out About Lady Whistledown
Since Lady Whistledown is not such a prominent figure in the books, there is not much of an ado about finding out her identity. Especially the arc of Eloise finding out about her first is not present at all. In the series, Eloise Bridgerton is very much vested in finding out Lady Whistledown’s identity. She also plays a major role in Colin finding out about it from Penelope. In the books, only Colin finds out about it and later Cressida figures it out. And it is Hyacinth who shows any interest in finding out about Lady Whistledown.
4. New Characters
Netflix’s adaptation of Julia Quinn’s books have been very interesting so far. Although they have done a pretty good job of sticking to the books, the show runners have added their own twists too. In all the seasons so far, we have seen some new characters that do not exist in the books.
In season one, it was Prince Friedrich. The handsome, Prussian prince with whom Daphne almost got married does not exist in the books. Neither does Lord Debling. Colin’s competition in season 3 and Penelope’s potential suitor also does not exist in the novels. Another character from season 3 Tilley Arnold is also a series addition. She is the latest love interest of Benedict’s. The series added these characters to add a little bit more spice to the love stories.
3. More Diverse Characters
Julia Quinn wrote about the regency era London so she did not include much diversity in the characters. One of the most important lead characters of season 2, Kathany Sharma is very different in the books. Shonda Rhimes played a genius move in making her have an Indian heritage.
In The Viscount Who Loved Me, Kate Sharma is actually Kate Sheffield. She is 21-years-old and described as having blonde hair and fair skin. However, in the series she is played by Simone Ashley and she makes a beautiful Kate. Her Indian heritage and much older age in the series adds more diversity to the series. Not only this, by the end of season 3, Anthony also wants their unborn child to live and understand their Indian culture. So the couple embark on a journey to India to visit Kate’s ancestral home.
2. Michaela Sterling’s Introduction
One of the major changes that the series introduced has to be this. This has also divided the fandom. While some have welcomed this change, others are sad that the storyline has shifted quite a bit from the books with this. We are talking about the gender swap of Michael. In the books, Michael is John’s cousin and Francesca’s future love interest.
However, in the series, the character is introduced as Michaela Sterling. The gender swap was indeed a big surprise to the viewers. This also makes things interesting in future seasons. This also implies that Francesca will be part of the queer community soon.
1. Queer Characters
This brings us to our most important change from the books. The series introduced queer characters which do not exist in the books. This is a big change which also has made the series much more inclusive. Benedict Bridgerton is a member of the queer community as he joined a throuple in season 3. It seems Francesca Bridgerton will be part of the queer community as well. Viewers are also speculating that Eloise Bridgerton might be one such character as well. The series has taken the LGBTQ representation very seriously and even delivered on it.
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