Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story returns fans to the world of Bridgerton, with familiar faces from the titular Queen (Golda Rosheuvel) to the strong and confident Lady Agatha Danbury (Adjoa Andoh). But as the series jumps between the time of Bridgerton and the story of young Charlotte’s (India Ria Amarteifio) arrival in England, it explores a new side of these characters. In particular, Agatha’s backstory isn’t what fans may expect. Lady Danbury became a fan favorite in Bridgerton for her classy wit and undeniable wisdom, but Queen Charlotte’s younger version (Arsema Thomas) has a lot of evolving to do, as so many years before the original series, Agatha has not yet come into her power .
At the beginning of the series, Agatha is married to a much older man who doesn’t even have the title of Lord. Agatha attempts to make deals with the King’s mother, Princess Augusta (Michelle Fairley), in order to gain power for herself and her husband as she becomes the Lady seen in Bridgerton. Yet Queen Charlotte is not kind to Agatha as a character, as it depicts her loveless marriage and the repetitive marital rapes she endured — and this element of Agatha’s past isn’t always shown as it should be. As the series goes on, Agatha does find a brief love of her own, but the comparison isn’t as drastic as it should be due to the show’s minimization of her trauma.
‘Queen Charlotte’s Depictions of Agatha’s Situation Are Jarring
The situation Agatha finds herself in was common during the time period, but Bridgerton has always focused more toward love stories, which makes the deviation jarring. The show doesn’t bring the audience in gradually, instead opting to introduce Agatha and her husband, Lord Danbury (Cyril Nri), in the act. Upon this introduction, it’s clear that there is no love in the marriage, but the way these rapes are shown takes away from the trauma of it all. The scenes between the Danburys are portrayed as monotonous and perhaps awkward, but not shown with the horror they deserve. As this was seen as a marital duty, Agatha herself knows no better and believes there is no other way to live, but that doesn’t invalidate the trauma of it, even if this isn’t the first time. The show doesn’t shy away from showing the grim reality of this marriage. In fact, it makes a point to do so. During the Danburys’ several non-consensual sex scenes, Agatha is shown to be uninterested and bored, yet she cannot refuse. It’s clear what’s going on, yet Agatha isn’t allowed to have an appropriate reaction. Her disdain for her husband is well-documented, but the hurt and horrors he’s caused are glossed over.
By the third episode, these scenes culminate in the near-comical death of Lord Danbury during the act, which further distracts from the reality of what Agatha is enduring. Lord Danbury keels over, tumbling out of bed while in the midst of the act itself. Agatha first calls her maid, Coral (Peyvand Sadeghian), to celebrate her fortune in this turn of events before playing the mourning wife as others arrive. After her husband’s death, Agatha explains that she was betrothed to Danbury when she was three years old and never had the luxury of making her own decisions. Although not as traumatic as what came after the wedding, this certainly set the stage for her life until that very moment. Of course, there is a sense of freedom when he does. No one can blame Agatha for her reaction after what she was put through, but it’s not the response of someone in a healthy situation. Yet the rest of the time, she is quietly resigning to her lot in life. Notably, the death and body were not shown on screen, yet the non-consensual sex was. While it’s certainly better for Agatha that he’s gone, the humor of the moment detracts from the seriousness of what’s going on.
