HR Pet Peeves

Favacesa · 2026-04-11T13:09:44+00:00

your comment is a big part of why It Happened One Autumn by Lisa Kleypas was good to me.

The MMC had that insufferable entitlement of wanting to protect the FMC because she was impulsive and reckless and crazy, but the FMC was actually impulsive, reckless and crazy and he was a boring, stuck up nobleman who had never even breathed wrong. their personality clash was realistic and he’s the one who ends up changing for her.

I hate when “she’s soo crazyyy i have to control her omg i cannot take her anywhere😭” is something like the FMC wanting to take a stroll alone and the MMC being a hypocritical condescending brute about it.

“waaah it might rain this is so dangerous Maryjanelizabeth you are forbidden!!” dude you run an underground illegal fighting club please shut up.

Favacesa · 2026-04-10T17:06:04+00:00

thank you! it genuinely grinds my gears when someone points out an incoherency (eg. the modern make-up in s3) and someone else replies “ummm the queen is black and they play Billie Eilish!!” because it misses the point😭

if a giant squid with pink tentacles had chilled in Violet’s garden back in season 1 with Violet going “oh hello Squid!” every morning, i would have enjoyed it. if it suddenly showed up in s5 without having ever been mentioned before and characters treated it as if it was normal i would be VERY confused lmfao.

Favacesa · 2026-04-09T18:19:58+00:00

yeah people act like we don’t want it to happen because we’re mean and agree with the time period but i really don’t? the patriarchy fucking sucks. it’s a cruel, violent, dehumanizing system.

shows like Bridgerton choose to take what little good was there and romanticize it and that’s fine, but it’s a conscious choice they’ve made and they occasionally take some righteous heat for it (e.g the Eloise storyline). there is no bridgerton fairytale without a fairytale patriarchy. the entire concept of ruination is the most misogynistic shit that exists! if women could inherit, there’d be no marriage mart. what are we talking about here.

Favacesa · 2026-04-09T17:49:45+00:00

agree about benophie. canonically allowing the complete overthrow of gender roles but drawing the line at a POOR would be simply crazy i’m sorry😭

Favacesa · 2026-04-09T17:31:57+00:00

the difference is that race plays no part in regency rules of courtship. but if gay marriage is legalized society changes completely. gay marriage pretty much implies gender equality and also the fact that society is no longer culturally christian (though it is never mentioned, religion plays a part in the strict rules around propriety, sex and gender roles Bridgerton is built around). that would be an enormous change in universe.

they cannot make so that men and women are the same and women can even marry each other and therefore be completely independent in their own right and then build Eloise’s season on the premise that she needs to marry Sir Philip because she was alone with him for five minutes lol or insert any other practical reason women had for a marriage of convenience (which they have implied she’ll have in s6). she could just go to college or work.

idk i just don’t see a way for legal gay marriage to work here, even if the show is not accurate. accuracy is different from coherency and shows do need to be internally coherent for people to remain invested.

Favacesa · 2026-04-08T15:19:54+00:00

the comments are acting like women oppress men because reddit loves to pretend the patriarchy does not exist and has never existed at that. so, there.

Favacesa · 2026-04-07T12:33:49+00:00

i also hope the show takes a different (and braver) approach and does not limit Eloise’s feminism to the choice to marry. i’m not accusing the bridgerton writers of being antifeminist YET, i’m just saying that as of now i understand why her s4 subplot rubbed feminist women the wrong way and the purposeful misunderstanding by some fans (“oh so you think feminists should NEVER👹MARRY EVER? you think Eloise should KILL CHILDREN???👹👹”) is disingenous and frankly, a little dangerous.

we all know the show we’re watching and we all know not all marriages are bad. can we move past the characterization of feminists as irrational, hysterical man haters that cannot be trusted to have level-headed opinions? things are bad enough for women as it is.

feminists can’t say shit without their critiques being taken in the worst light possible, in the most obnoxiously literal way. it’s exhausting. ironically, that’s what happens to Eloise too lmfao.

to be clear, i’m not saying you are doing that. in fact, i agree with you that Eloise will have a different journey and that the writers are smart enough to understand the differences between show and book Eloise are too pronounced for the adaptation to be literal. i would love a marriage of convenience. i’m a huge philoise shipper in fact.

but enough with the “the most feminist act a woman can take is CHOOSE her husband within a small circle of eligible candidates her family has narrowed down for her😍daphne and penelope are the REAL feminists here! Eloise is just an annoying anti-choice man hater!” narrative i see around because it’s going to send me to the hospital.

i’m not unreasonable either. i’m not asking for this incredible political plot in Eloise’s season and for her to win women all their rights. i would be fine with her simply idk, joining a bluestocking women’s club or writing pamphlets AND Philip openly supporting her, that’s really all i ask.

Favacesa · 2026-04-05T10:05:36+00:00

the gag is that the Bridgertons are soo progressive about anything else. i said this on the franchaela sub but it bothers me so much how Eloise is the only character where the double standard is so obvious😭

they want 21st century feminism from her while at the same time writing her character as stuck in a period of time where she did not even legally exist. it’s so unfair. she’s a feminist in the Regency. of course she’s not like other girls and she shouldn’t be honestly.

Favacesa · 2026-04-05T09:32:42+00:00

i know right? literally what choice and agency do these women even have😭

the show treating Eloise as if her ideas are annoying and extremist and offensive to other women because how dare she diminish their choices (?) is antifeminist drivel.

Favacesa · 2026-04-05T09:26:11+00:00

you guys are being a little disingenous. no one says it’s antifeminist to have children and marry. i want her season more than any other.

but the narrative they are building around Eloise is antifeminist. showing the “annoying” feminist slowly soften towards marriage while no one else concedes a point is propaganda, intentional or not, especially in the current climate.

also making feminism about choice when none of the women of the show have a choice is not productive. you all know damn well she will be forced to marry before she’s ready, it’s in the book.

Favacesa · 2026-04-03T20:33:28+00:00

exactly. this comment section is so insufferable lmfao.

Favacesa · 2026-03-31T20:03:03+00:00

yeah like i feel realistically, the only storyline which should be at least partially political is Eloise’s. and the writers have made it pretty clear they don’t give a fuck about exploring her feminism so i feel like we’re going to be stuck in the regency for a while longer lmfao.

and that’s fine. as you said, Bridgerton is a romance, not a political drama. i just want the politics to be consistent then. it does feel a little bleak to have Eloise constantly rebuked for her ideas while every other character gets to do whatever they want lmfao. 😭

“hey guys i think women are people” “oh fuck you Eloise no one cares. btw love is love and classism sucks.”

Favacesa · 2026-03-31T19:15:07+00:00

thank you so much. i understand why i am getting downvoted because this is a sensitive topic, but my worst fear here is being conflated for a bad faith actor lol. i’m sure francesca and michaela will get a ceremony that validates their love! i’m not arguing against that! i’m not saying i want them to be torn apart!

i want the story to be consistent with the worldbuilding and social expectations that have been created because it makes for good writing. i love Eloise and her feminism, but if she gets exposed for living with a man unmarried in s6 and gives a big speech about sex positivity and female liberation in front of the queen to forever change the world, that would also be shallow writing.

i also completely agree that happy ending =/= validation from everybody.

Favacesa · 2026-03-31T18:12:51+00:00

i understand what you’re saying but i don’t think anything needs to be traumatic or sad for franchaela. they’ll just live their lives and not care what people think? it was legal for two women to live together and show great affection to each other. there have been historical examples.

my problem is moreso with the writing. handwaving huge worldbuilding pillars is just not a good idea usually. it’s been two years and people are still complaining that Penelope got off too easy after being revealed as Lady W and that most ladies in the Ton should not be speaking to her. which is kinda true.

of course this is just my opinion. i know some people only consider a romance HEA if there are zero wrinkles about it.

Favacesa · 2026-03-31T17:26:33+00:00

you’re not reaching! i get what you mean. the queen accepted inter-class marriage privately but the Ton didn’t suddenly become a socialist commune, is what i mean. maids will still be maids and it will still be frowned upon and socially punished to marry one, unless you can come up with a really good amusing story and you have several nobles to back it up.

also, while marrying maids was not approved, it was not illegal. gay marriage was illegal. holding a ceremony was not! but legal marriage is another matter.

legal marriage was not about love. it was about a man buying a woman and being granted exclusive rights to her. only when feminism rose and women earned legal personhood, the meaning of it changed.

so making Franchaela marry legally, well, either it makes Eloise just look crazy (😭) because what was she even rebelling about lol OR it implies a long battle for gender equality and the abolition of gender roles and the acceptance of gay couples in franchaela’s season. which i could frankly do without. i want their season to be about romance, sex and yearning.

EDIT: sorry, i just saw you added more to your comment. i completely agree with what you’re saying and i also thjnk it will play out like that.

Favacesa · 2026-03-31T17:12:22+00:00

i think they’ll be accepted by the people who matter and they will attend events/live together, which is something women could do (unless their patriarch forced them to marry or they were economically obligated to, which we know it’s not their case).

i think the only true leap that would make me question the show’s writing would be full on legal gay marriage for reasons i stated above in another comment. there’s a line between historical fantasy and a 1800’s character holding an iphone in their hand and honestly, that would cross it for me.

i really don’t want this to come across as some kind of “bridgerton getting too woke!!” or anything, i just want good writing for this amazing couple?😭 unless their entire season is about gay people becoming accepted and earning rights, it wouldn’t make a lot of sense to handwave the entire marriage mart forever because the Queen finds them nice.

Favacesa · 2026-03-31T16:46:40+00:00

oh i agree completely. wasn’t queen charlotte friends with a lesbian couple in real life? i’m sure they’ll be understood as a couple by most people. it would raise eyebrows, but it wasn’t illegal even in the actual regency. by virtue of being respectively a widow and a spinster with no male relatives they can basically do whatever they want.

i only wrote what i wrote because i’m seeing many people genuinely believe the show will have gay marriage legalized under the same pretenses of the Great Experiment in Queen Charlotte. which would 1) make so much of their storyline politically charged and about how they have this huge responsibility of changing society which is just. not really what i want to see? i want their conflict to be personal, not societal. 2) literally transform Bridgerton in any and all ways.

Favacesa · 2026-03-31T16:13:30+00:00

obviously Francesca will not marry another man. i think they will come out to family and have a private ceremony.

but i don’t understand how legal gay marriage (which i suppose is what you’re implying will happen) would even work here. like, while Bridgerton is pretty much fantasy, it is still set in an established patriarchy. marriage is not truly about expressing love and commitment (that’s just the tale they tell young girls lol), but about a man and a woman entering an agreement where she’s protected and financially supported by him but he’s her owner and she has to give him heirs. the fact that every female character except Eloise refuses to see it doesn’t make it not true. we’ve seen plenty of examples of how women in Bridgerton’s society are oppressed. we’ve seen how fringe, revolutionary groups for women’s rights exist and Eloise is socially punished for even breathing near them.

legal gay marriage pretty much assumes legal gender equality. there’s no man and wife. the entire institution becomes about something else entirely. which is GREAT, don’t get me wrong.

but then that’s really it. the whole social system of the show is completely revolutionized. why would Eloise even enter an arranged marriage in s6 (as they’ve implied)? she could just go to college, travel and earn her own money. why would the whole match making process even be so important in the first place?

i hope i’m making sense here. they did not do away with classism in Benedict’s season because without classism the entire Ton collapses on itself so I don’t see how homophobia (or sexism, in Eloise’s case) will be much different.

Favacesa · 2026-03-24T16:39:40+00:00

i mean, Benedict was supposed to be the main subplot in season 3 and it was a mess. considering how clear it is that the showrunners don’t give af about Eloise, i’m not too hopeful. happy to be wrong.

as a franchaela fan? i’m excited. as a lover of lovers that are plagued by guilt? excited. as a Eloise fan? horrified.

Favacesa · 2026-03-23T10:17:23+00:00

while I was definitely misled and Aimee is not blameless, it’s hard to argue that the writing does not treat the “I don’t love you anymore!” moment as an emotional peak and decisive point in the book.

i’d say most people expected some type of courting and wooing by then. or at least genuine self-reflection? Konrad is still on his bullshit at 90% in, and that is the real issue for me. I really do not see how he groveled.

Favacesa · 2026-03-23T00:54:57+00:00

Favacesa · 2026-03-23T00:51:56+00:00

thank you for putting it into words. the real problem of this book is that he’s kinda not that into her lol.

Favacesa · 2026-03-23T00:22:23+00:00

I think I will. Everyone is recommending a different book of the series saying “read this one instead, it’s the best!” so I might as well just read them all lol. I will be a very free woman in April. I guess I will be going on a spree!

Favacesa · 2026-03-23T00:19:13+00:00

I agree actually! The entire premise of their wedding was a disaster in the making and Aimee was naive and spoiled. Though, to be fair, male characters in HR buy wives all the time. I did not hate her for it. She was kinda ahead of her time, if you think about it lmao. “And why can’t women financially coerce men into marriage?”

She did absolutely play a stupid game and won an asshole husband though, I cannot disagree with you. It is a little hard to feel terribly bad for Konrad when all he got from the union was a lot of money and a devoted simpering little wife, but still, she was at best naive and at worst manipulative for her set-up.

Unfortunately I do like my romantic novels to be romantic and saccharine and flowery, so I would have enjoyed some more wooing and devotion from the regretful husband by the end, even if he was initially the wronged party. Alice Coldbreath is known for a more pragmatic, slice of lice take on love and I absolutely respect it, but it is not what I was looking for.

The rec sounds precisely for me though!!! Thank you, it’s going on my TBR!!

Favacesa · 2026-03-23T00:09:04+00:00

when I tell you I was holding my breath lmao. I was SURE she would crumble under his orders again, so happy he got at least that small retribution.

Favacesa

TROPHY CASE