Queen Charlotte: Tempting, but wait…
After the previous two relatively successful seasons, Netflix and Shondaland recently released a new season of the Bridgerton TV Series called Queen Charlotte. It was thought that the third part of the series would tell the story of Colin and Penelope, continuing the previous one, but unexpectedly this was a spin-off, following the life of Queen Charlotte.
Following the life of the above character, the film is the journey from when she was a princess in far away Germany, until she married King George III and then became Queen, responsible for finding a successor. Next, the whole court fell into chaos.
While parts 3 and 4 are still filming, focusing on a supporting character compared to the line of the previous 2 Bridgerton parts could be a completely smart calculation, when Shondaland needs to consider more in the new part, when the previous part received quite a few negative reviews.
The “great experiment” between two skin colors and two races?
Consisting of 6 episodes, Queen Charlotte has two story lines told in parallel, not in a linear fashion but interwoven to create a multi-meaning and quite complex structure. After just a few days of launch, it climbed to the Top 1 Netflix globally with about 150 million hours of viewing at launch. What makes this work successful?
First, it tells a story that is extremely different from other works in the same line. The fact that Queen Charlotte has dark skin is a recent controversy, but what is more important is the meaning and content cleverly included by the film crew.
In this work, Princess Augusta (mother of King George III) as well as the court called the combination of two skin colors and two races the “Great Experiment”. They follow each step of the marriage, to evaluate whether a seemingly crazy idea will come true?
Not only does it depend on the two main characters, but the experiment also helps add diversity to the nobility. During the ball, we can see a recognition of both Asian as well as African descent. This is almost unimaginable, and it can be seen that Queen Charlotte is aiming for a greater sense of unity, even though this is just a work of fiction.
Therefore, even though it is not yet consistent with historical events, the film has still created quite a few positive impressions, attracting a large number of viewers. From skin color, ethnicity, gender… the film also evoked other more current issues that are still alive today.
One of them is the role of women. Besides portraying many of the shackles that held them back, such as giant dresses, arranged marriages… the film also showed relatively secret desires, like when D.H. Lawrence first wrote Lady Chatterley’s Lover.
Representing this perspective are two ladies Danbury and Violet. Even though they encountered the “high fences” of that era, the two always wanted their “garden” to truly bloom. Danbury is a man of color from the rich kingdom of Sierra Leone and is also a symbolic image of the struggle to rise to the aristocracy, as well as protect the estate when her husband died.
In addition, the role of motherhood is also explored somewhat touchingly. Although not expressed through dialogue, Princess Augusta and Charlotte both show us a mother’s instinct to always protect her children. Even though they are misunderstood or underestimated, they still shine with that calling.
Deep love or love surpasses everything?
In addition to the fighting issues mentioned above, love is also another factor that makes the work different. Although this spin-off is not based on the original works of novelist Julia Quinn, the romantic and sweet nature remains the same.
Here we can still see love at first sight, noble feelings, “love at first sight”… told between the princess and the prince as if in a dream. The story shares the same motif of a stubborn opening and then gradually changing, which is a classic in romantic works.
The biggest highlight of this film is the relationship between Charlotte and King George III, and the complexities in the relationship between the two of them. Viewers go from skeptical, confused… and then finally realize that sacrifice is the most important thing, and it helps love have a truly different position.
However, the film also deeply explores other routes. These are characters that seem to be secondary, such as the two assistants, Charlotte’s personal friends – Princess Danbury as well as Violet. Relationships that transcend the walls of gender, skin color, age, limits… in the secrecy of a somewhat harsh institution, bring viewers a lot of sobs.
