Hide from the heavens with us as we explain the ending of Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story.
Netflix’s original movies and series are the biggest game of hit-and-miss in the entertainment world. One of the most popular projects from the popular streaming site is the Bridgerton franchise. This world of royalty, class, and mouth-watering romance has captured the attention and hearts of audiences for years. Based on the popular Bridgerton book series written by Julia Quinn, Netflix’s Bridgerton is one of the most swoon-worthy shows to appease your love-stricken heart. The latest installment for the franchise, Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story is a spinoff that quite literally took our hopeless romantic dreams and made all of them come true.
Queen Charlotte is a Bridgerton prequel detailing the early reign of a young Queen Charlotte (India Amarteifio) and the pasts of some notable characters from the main show, specifically a young and headstrong Lady Danbury (Arsema Thomas) and a young Violet Bridgerton (Ruth Gemmell) ). The show, which spans an easy-to-binge six episodes, has every old-school romance trope under the sun, from an arranged marriage to an interesting enemies-to-lovers storyline.
Now that we are all patiently awaiting the arrival of the third season of Bridgerton, let us dive deeper into the tragic yet incomparably beautiful ending of Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story.
Season Recap
In the main Bridgerton show, all of us fell completely head over heels for the eccentric and ethereal aura of Queen Charlotte. Whether it was her intimidatingly confident style of ruling or her perfectly polished tower of hair, Charlotte and her relationship with the king were always kept under wraps, the intimate details of her life hidden from the audience. That is, until we were given Shonda Rhimes’ latest masterpiece in Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story.
The Netflix series jumps between current and past timelines that begin from the very beginning of Charlotte’s reign as a carriage hauls her to her wedding with King George (Corey Mylchreest). In a harrowing attempt to flee the wedding and maintain her freedom, Charlotte is halfway up a garden wall when she finally meets her husband-to-be, George — just George. Completely charmed by the King, Charlotte finds comfort in the arrangement and decides to perform and fulfill her duties as a royal, and the wedding goes off without a hitch. With all this going on, the show also reveals how a young Lady Danbury cemented her place in society as she persevered through her marriage and developed a relationship and companionship with the young Queen.
Charlotte’s picture-perfect marriage soon hits a plethora of road bumps as George’s mental illness hinders Charlotte’s ability to fully commit to the relationship they have developed, and as his mental state deteriorates and Charlotte begins to discover the dark secrets behind the King’s struggles, she finds the courage to love him without bounds and to stick by him through it all. With persistence, will, and unbreakable love between the young King and Queen, the two find the perfect middle ground, committed to fighting for the life they were given, now on their terms.
Interlocking Storyines: Lady Danbury and Violet Bridgerton
Throughout the Queen Charlotte origin story, we are blessed with a side story for the ages. Lady Danbury’s story and her friendship with the Queen has its own arc throughout the six episodes. Lady Danbury was always presented as the pinnacle of women’s independence: strong, confident, and increasingly cunning and threatening in her own right. Queen Charlotte takes a deep dive into Lady Danbury’s fight against societal norms and expectations that define the social standing of her and her people. She knows what it takes to make a name for herself in the society she lives in and when presented with a marriage to Charlotte’s brother that will maintain her lifestyle and titles, she refuses, choosing the path towards actual change, pulling through with “The Great Experiment,” instead of comfort.
This inspiring storyline is also amplified with the entire romance aspect of this franchise. Lady Danbury falls head over heels for Violet’s father, complicated entirely due to his marital status. This detail makes her relationship with Violet in the current Bridgerton timeline all the more heartbreaking and heartwarming. It reveals so much about what Lady Danbury was willingot sacrifice for not just herself, but the people around her. If the scene with the crowns didn’t make you at least tear up, we don’t know what to tell you.
I Will Stand With You Between the Heavens and the Earth
King George struggles to control his wandering and erratic mind in order to not just rule as a proper King, but to be a husband to Charlotte. Towards the end of the season, we see Charlotte struggling to come to terms with the hand she was dealing with in her marriage to George.
