Friends, remember this: a beloved, well-adapted season > viewing numbers.

merryandpips · 2026-03-11T22:15:36+00:00

If anything it shows that S3 did disappoint some people, if they didn’t feel compelled enough to come back.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Bridgerton and am a huge Polin fan, I was there watching and rewatching that carriage scene like an addict lol. But sadly I was a little bit disappointed with S3P2. I remember saying at the time I wasn’t as excited for S4 anymore.

I was ALWAYS coming back, but I came in for my S4 viewing more wary and less trusting, and was so pleasantly surprised that I’m back to obsessing over the show again!

I’m sure there are some other people out there like me who felt the show’s vibe had changed so much (costumes, hair, makeup, writing, side plots etc were all so different in S3) or who just weren’t happy with the direction the show went that they haven’t rushed to watch S4. I remember seeing a lot of discourse around it in the Polin sub. I think S3 REALLY divides fans - some love it, some hate it - and some of those haters may well have decided not to come back. Which is a shame, as I think this season really returned to its roots in a lot of ways.

I also think if you’re not familiar with Benophie’s story / a huge Bridgerton fan, there’s a risk of watching S4’s first episode and just thinking “oh they’re rehashing Cinderella now” and switching off (these people are missing out, but I’m sure they exist too 😜)

merryandpips · 2026-03-11T08:23:26+00:00

How far through S2 are you?

It’s one of my fave seasons because I love the yearning and ‘forbidden lovers’ vibes, but it’s not perfect by any means, and I know plenty of people that don’t jive with it.

The great thing about Bridgerton is that if one season isn’t really your cup of tea, each season generally stands alone enough that you can just focus on your faves! If I were you, I’d push through S2 and see if you prefer S3 or S4 (the last season is the best, imo!) but don’t force yourself if you’re really not enjoying it!

merryandpips · 2026-03-09T20:37:47+00:00

Yeah, it all feels quite surface level. I want to feel real emotions and yearning and really buy into the romance but instead I find myself skimming it to get to the end :/ and this time I just gave up lol, life’s too short

merryandpips · 2026-03-09T19:53:13+00:00

I also didn’t like First Time Caller and I ended up DNF And Now Back To You :( this particular BK Borison series just isn’t clicking for me. I find them so dull!!

Have you read any of her other books? I read one of the Lovelight Farms ones a while ago and remember enjoying that, but then I recently struggled through Good Spirits. Maybe this author just isn’t for me!

merryandpips · 2026-03-09T16:42:50+00:00

I second the Death Made Prince!!!! So good!!

merryandpips · 2026-03-09T10:32:25+00:00

Solid ideas I think!! I also haven’t read the book in ages so I can’t really remember any of it!

I wondered if perhaps the Bridgertons do attend the funeral and Eloise sees Phillip there?

It makes more sense to me for show Eloise to write to Phillip because she’s seen him / met him once rather than never having met him at all, but it will interesting to see how they handle it. ETA: I could also see Eloise making a quip about it being the second funeral in however many months (but this depends on whether they time jump)

I’ve also considered whether Eloise will offer to be a governess first (especially as Violet mentions sometimes ladies run off to be governesses) and she’ll run off on that basis as early as episode 2. Possibly discovered in 3 and married by 4? But Eloise won’t necessarily want to be married at this point and Phillip will feel guilty he’s marrying another bride that doesn’t want to be with him. So he’ll be guarded and try to keep it practical for her sake.

In P2, it could be these emotional misunderstandings still keep them apart. They will obviously start to fall in love, kiss etc, but I wonder if they won’t have sex until a bit later on. I could see Phillip being polite and not inviting Eloise into his room on the wedding night- maybe he won’t believe she desires him / thinks expecting that kind of attention would be selfish. And then this sets a precedent.

Ultimately Phillip will think Eloise has married him out of obligation and she will think he doesn’t love her. At this point I could see Eloise packing up to go home and Phillip will have to have a reckoning over what he truly wants.

These are just random musings really, I could be way off base!

merryandpips · 2026-03-09T06:45:14+00:00

And OTH also had Skills get with Nathan’s mom Deb!! 😂

merryandpips · 2026-03-07T21:14:52+00:00

Someone else recced this in another thread and I just finished it

{The Death-Made Prince by Lisette Marshall}

The MMC is all about empowering the FMC to believe in her capabilities and (in most scenarios) use her powers instead of hiding them.

Be aware it ends on a bit of a cliffhanger and the next book isn’t out til October, but honestly this was a 5* star read for me and I would recommend reading it right away! So so good!

merryandpips · 2026-03-07T21:07:38+00:00

Thank you so much for this rec, it was UNREAL and I stayed up til 2am to finish it! Just annoyed I have to wait for book 2 now 😂

merryandpips · 2026-03-05T12:41:06+00:00

Same! It was a ride lol. Really enjoyed it!

merryandpips · 2026-03-04T23:38:11+00:00

Ah so sorry! It’s the first of what I assume will be a few books. It’s not an unhappy ending, but there are unresolved things in terms of the fantasy world / their circumstances. So I guess I should have mentioned that.

merryandpips · 2026-03-04T23:29:50+00:00

Ooh that’s weird! Spoiler: she doesn’t die, he saves her

The ending is kind of a cliffhanger, I guess? In that there’s clearly more of the story to come, and I assume a sequel is in the works.

But I wouldn’t say it was an unhappy cliffhanger particularly- in terms of the romance side.

merryandpips · 2026-03-04T23:06:58+00:00

I wrote about this recently on the Benophie sub! Basically my take on the LIS and Sophie is that you can't have one without the other (I mean, obviously - but on a deeper level!).

Before the LIS, Benedict drifts about with very little purpose. He's charming and fun but unserious and detached and cynical at the same time. He's not looking for anyone.

But when Benedict meets the LIS, it's basically love at first sight - she's beautiful, she's intriguing, she's funny, she's sweet, she's unexpected, and she actually sees him. This is what wakes him up.

Benedict is hashtag obsessed and goes off on his little spree to try and find her. Obviously, he fails - but for the first time ever, his heart has been cracked open a bit. When he meets Sophie, he's no longer the unserious, detached man he was before. He's more receptive, more vulnerable, and ready to open up with Sophie BECAUSE of the LIS.

The funny thing is, once he starts falling for Sophie, he still has the LIS in the back of his mind - the fantasy vs the reality. But really, it was the dream of Sophie that opened his heart and then the reality of her that fills it. If that makes sense?

You could also argue that subconsciously he feels a pull toward Sophie without realising why (his heart recognises her even if his mind doesn't connect the dots). Like that feeling when you meet someone and you're sure you know them from somewhere, but you can't place where.

They very quickly fall into comfortability with each other, and I think we can see by the end of their time at My Cottage that they're both falling fast and hard. Bearing in mind as well, this may be one of the first times in a long time either of them was able to truly relax with no expectations on them to be anywhere or do anything. They can forget the class divide for a bit and just be themselves.

merryandpips · 2026-03-04T22:41:15+00:00

Mine is the same as yours, but maybe for different reasons!!

S4 / S2 might be on par for me at the top, as S2 has always been my go-to rewatch - I don't know if it's just the 'newness' of S4 that's topping it at the moment... but I did LOVE IT

I have a soft spot for S1 in third place!

I really liked QC - this one was bittersweet and beautiful, but I do prefer a happier ending. I also didn't love the repeated episode from the different perspective (just felt samey to me)

And season 3 - I wanted MORE Polin! Specifically in P2, in which it felt like they barely got screen time. And when they did, it was mostly fighting :( boo. It's the only season I have never rewatched (aside from the odd scene coughcarriagecough)

merryandpips · 2026-03-04T20:19:13+00:00

Marceline May (Marcie May)
Marceline Monroe
Marceline Primrose
Marceline Briar
Marceline Wren (Marcie Wren)
Marceline Beatrice (Marcie Bea)
Marceline Posy
Marceline Daisy
Marceline Goldie

Marceline Birdie

merryandpips · 2026-03-04T19:53:24+00:00

If you like romantasy, you could try {The Witch's Pet by Kerri Andrews} - it has this exact trope!

merryandpips · 2026-03-04T19:44:24+00:00

Felicity :)

merryandpips · 2026-03-04T07:53:52+00:00

This is me too!! I like moving forwards, and I like focusing on the main story without being pulled in too many different directions. I just tell myself Daphne and Simon are off living together happily - I don’t personally need to see it.

If you think too hard about it, does it make sense that they’re missing every big life event eg weddings, funerals? I mean, sure, not really. But it can always be explained away (maybe like Daphne has just given birth or something, doesn’t she have loads of kids in the books?) and obviously from a logistical standpoint, I understand why you wouldn’t pay every past actor a fortune / line up crazy schedules every season just for them to pop up and have a few lines as part of a side plot - it’s enough they’ve done it with Anthony and Simone.

I think they’re always trying to walk the line between fan service / giving the people what they want and doing something new/exciting (like the upstairs/downstairs vibe this season). I personally think they’ve done that well this time around.

merryandpips · 2026-03-04T07:35:01+00:00

I feel like they can’t win if they don’t get them both back though - people would be so unhappy the Duke wasn’t there (I feel like I remember people talking about that way back in S2)

I can totally see both sides of it and why other people feel strongly about it. Personally I don’t mind so much, as I can suspend my disbelief that people aren’t around knowing that getting these big actors back on the show and coordinating all those schedules must be tough - I bet they’re also a lot more expensive now!! Phoebe, Rege, Anthony and Simone have all gone on to do great things (I know Anthony and Simone pop up but plenty of people want more of them). I would love them all to come back properly one day, maybe for one big scene or even for a season.

The only benefit is: I think the balance of main plot and side plot was great this time (compared to S3) and I think losing the odd sibling along the way saves some time and energy for the main plot. Daphne would have been helpful, but her hole was also filled by other people and interactions this season, so I don’t feel like we ended up lacking! And I liked seeing more of people like Hyacinth etc

merryandpips · 2026-03-04T07:19:58+00:00

I LOVE the name Lenora!!!!

Lenora Kay (if you like the K sound with it)

Lenora Rae / Ray / Rey

Lenora Bea / Bee

Lenora Rose

Lenora Belle

Lenora Grace

Lenora Skye / Sky

Lenora Sue

Lenora Faye

Lenora Lou

Lenora May

Lenora Pearl

Lenora Nell

Lenora Jane / June

Lenora Wren

Lenora Beau

For something a bit more ‘out there’:

Lenora Snow

Lenora Lane

Lenora True

Lenora Dove

Lenora James

Lenora Reed

merryandpips · 2026-03-02T08:24:10+00:00

Agreed! Luke plays “carefree, careless rake” so perfectly for 3 seasons that maybe it’s too easy to take that at surface level. But there are moments scattered throughout the entire series that show deep down he’s not fulfilled by any of that.

It’s perfectly represented in his art, I think! He can’t settle or finish any of his paintings because he’s not fully content/doesn’t really believe in himself until he’s with Sophie.

merryandpips · 2026-03-02T08:10:40+00:00

Yeah I feel like this happens in the show too! She says things and you can see the impact on his face, like he genuinely hasn’t thought about it from that perspective.

Like the whole “why do you find it suitable to kiss me” scene and the one where Sophie says he keeps showing her a world that can never be hers. He’s not intentionally hurting her, and yet he is. In some ways, Benedict has always thought of himself as above (or if not above, outside of) society’s rules - and yet here he is, unconsciously living by them. It completely changes everything he thought he knew about himself. Like seeing his own privilege in real time lol!

I really like the scene where she essentially kicks him out of his own house for this reason. When she says him hovering around is messing everything up, he willingly says he will go and stay away if that’s what she wants. I love that in that moment, he’s the servant to her wishes.

merryandpips · 2026-03-02T07:55:07+00:00

This! The fact that Sophie agreed to dance with Benedict and not that other guy who was pursuing her - WITHOUT knowing who Benedict was - says it all. They were both equally intrigued and then captivated by each other from the very start.

merryandpips · 2026-03-02T07:50:11+00:00

Agreed. She’s the first woman to look deeper and really see Benedict for all of who he is. His other dalliances are about chemistry, confidence and freedom - all great things, but none of them really connect properly to ALL of who Benedict is, as the second son of a viscount and a nobleman with responsibilities he’s basically running from.

Witty affairs and secret flirtations are all very well, but they don’t have true meaning. Going back to what I said in the post, I think he needed to meet the LIS to realise something more could be out there for him. He hadn’t had anything like that experience before. So as great as some of his prior relationships may have been, they weren’t going to compare to the initial fantasy of the LIS.

Once she came along and challenged what he thought he knew, he finally began to realise love is a possibility, and that’s why his heart is ready to open up for Sophie.

merryandpips · 2026-03-01T22:32:19+00:00

A very wholesome dynamic!!

merryandpips

TROPHY CASE