Editor's note: Sarah Stewart is a film and culture writer living in western Pennsylvania. Her opinions expressed here are her own. See more opinions on CNN.
CNN —
“Bridgerton” is finally returning. The new season is infused with a much-needed aphrodisiac.
Netflix's adaptation of author Julia Quinn's series of Regency-era romance novels became the streamer's biggest hit ever with its spectacularly raunchy first season in 2020, and then, for some inexplicable reason, turned its focus to sex. The second season was released. But things heat up again in season three, with the show's mysterious gossip columnist narrator Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan), also known as Lady Whistledown, taking center stage.
When Penelope's long-time crush, Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton), returns from a trip abroad, he shows a slow but convincing burn, looking as if he's spent most of his time in a Regency version of the gym. She is still devastated to hear him say at the end of season 2 that he would never court her. He attempts to regain her favor by teaching her some of the flirting skills he has acquired so that she can find her husband.
It hints at the plot of a blossoming wallflower or a friends-to-lovers romantic comedy, but Coughlan is such a fine actress that even this familiar development feels fresh in her capable hands. .
As with the previous season, which starred Regé-Jean Page as Simon Basset, Duke of Hastings, and Jonathan Bailey as Viscount Anthony Bridgerton, the show has no problem objectifying Newton's Colin. He's rocking a very Mr. Darcy aesthetic, but we just couldn't help but see Darcy in the sweaty aftermath of a threesome with a sex worker or in the midst of an erotic dream about her female friends. Dew. (The Colin equivalent of the wet shirt scene in the iconic Pride and Prejudice movie adaptation, as his older brother Anthony dramatically fell into the lake fully clothed in season 2) There was a scene close to Jane Austen's (Reasonably Manageable).
Thankfully, someone pointed out to Netflix that a big reason many of us tune into this series is the sex, not just the longing stares. What's more, romance works of all kinds are a perennially popular genre. Our culture has always treated fiction by and for women, especially the romance genre, with disdain, even though it is one of the publishing industry's largest and most reliable sales segments.
Author Nathaniel Hawthorne immortalized this misogynistic scorn in an 1855 complaint to his publisher. “America is now completely surrendered to advertising.”[amne]It's a bunch of women doing graffiti, and I shouldn't have a chance of success while the public is obsessed with trash. ”
But despite Hawthorne and other haters, romance works, written primarily by women, continue to sell. Until recently, they were often sold secretly. That has changed in recent years, partly thanks to BookTok, partly due to exhaustion from a constantly compromised world situation, partly thanks to the increasing normalization of female sexual desire, which is now openly vulgar. The number of people reading books is rapidly increasing.
One author told the Guardian: It's so refreshing to see readers, especially young readers, embracing this genre. We are moving away from the idea that desire, especially female desire, is inherently shameful. ” It also helps that today's sexy cuisine is much more diverse and inclusive. There really is something to suit every taste.
In recent months, there's been talk about how sex is returning to movies after a long, boring period of mostly PG-13 productions. As The New York Times recently reported, Luca Guadagnino's “Challengers,” featuring a tennis trio led by Zendaya, along with Emerald Fennell's soapy, sultry “Saltburn,” really kick-started the trend. Ta. In the same article, actor and screenwriter Glen Powell, who stars in the upcoming movie “Hitman,” laments the lack of substantial love scenes in movies, like 1981's “Body Heat.” He was quoted as saying that he was nostalgically reminiscing about the ruins of his early erotic thrillers. He said the film had “a lot of foreplay, which is one of the reasons why it feels so intense, steamy, and carnal.”
It may not be quite as exciting as the combination of Kathleen Turner and William Hurt (what?), but this season of Bridgerton has also done a great job of foreplay, with secret glances and secret glances between the two main characters. I'm making fun of your fantasies. Take a closer look at some of the other boudoirs. And with the first four episodes of him already out and four more scheduled to be released on June 13th, there's still a lot to see (and feel).
This season's subversive approach to the theme of bookworm makeover is also noteworthy and worth celebrating. Although headlines and trailers hint at the brilliance of Coran's Penelope, she doesn't undergo any drastic physical changes to suddenly become attractive to Corin. The biggest change seems to be the color palette of her dress. Rather, the plot hinges on his dawning realization that Penelope is just as hot as she is.
And bravo to Coughlan for apparently leading the decision to go fully nude in at least one of the season's sexiest scenes. She revealed in her recent interview that she lobbied as a “for you” specifically to the body shamers who messaged her after the show first debuted. “People ask ignorant questions like, 'How do you feel knowing that when you go on Netflix, someone can see you naked?'” So I'm very happy,” she said. “There's a reason this show has become a phenomenon. It's about a woman not just being the object of a man's affections, but feeling her desires, owning her sexuality, and lashing out in those situations.” It’s about that.”
In fact, therein lies much of the appeal that drives vast audiences to erotic romance, whether on the big or small screen or even on paper. You may have heard about the huge success of Rebecca Jarosz's adult fantasy series The Fourth Wing and Sarah Maas' A Court of Thorns and Roses.
Colleen Hoover continues to gain popularity for her emotional thriller romances. An article from the pandemic era states: “In difficult times, people need to pick themselves up. Romance novels are great for when the world seems to be falling apart, or in this case, when the whole concept of 'being together' becomes more complicated than a love triangle.” It provides the diversion and peace that people crave when they are in a bad situation. ”
Even if the fun of “Bridgerton'' is somewhat familiar by now, it's still fun all the same, and especially welcome in a year when so much else around us feels unsettling and frightening. Masu. An escape to the candy-coloured, racially diverse, and endlessly naughty utopia of Mayfair might be the perfect sedative for the soul of 2024.
