What Happens to King George’s Butler Reynolds in Queen Charlotte?

As viewers finish binge-watching Queen Charlotte, the brand-new Bridgerton prequel, one question comes to mind: What happens to Reynolds, King George’s butler and Brimsley’s love interest? Especially since one of the final scenes shows Brimsely dancing by himself.

The answer lies in deleted scene. “There was a scene that we didn’t film because it was cut, where I was going to meet the older Reynolds,” Hugh Sachs, who plays the older Brimsely, told Vulture. He said, “He was the love of his life, and for whatever reason, they could not stay together. So when they would pass each other in the passageway in the deleted scene, it wasn’t a toxic moment. Because of the world they inhabited, it was still a hangable offense to be gay, and it was just not possible.”Julia Quinn, who authored the Bridgerton series and co-authored the brand-new book about Queen Charlotte along with Shonda Rhimes, says she’s hoping for the return of Reynolds in future Bridgerton seasons. In the book, it’s revealed Reynolds was a playmate to the future King George when they were both children.

“I want Reynolds to be a secret duke,” Quinn told Insider. “He is so dukey. Especially the way Freddie [Dennis] plays him. I had read the scripts and then I went to the set and I heard Freddie talk. I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh. He’s got such a voice.'”

She added, “Literally, I’ve said that to Shonda so many times. I’m like, ‘Secret duke, secret duke,’ because I didn’t create him so I don’t get to decide this character as much.”

Quinn said she’s “not optimistic” that Rhimes will go with that storyline, but still, there’s no ruling out that a future version of Reynolds could return.