Included in the stills released on Christmas Day 2023 was one of the Bridgerton Family, well most of them anyway.
Image Credit: Liam Daniel/Netflix
The image shows Eloise, Benedict, Kate, Gregory, Violet, Anthony and Hyacinth with varying expressions as they look at someone out of shot. The way that they are dressed indicates that this still is the day of Francesca's presentation. Let's look at the still more closely.
What or Who are they looking at?
The first thing that many have noted with this still is that each of the siblings, and Violet and Kate, are looking at someone out of shot, and based on the surprised expressions on the faces of some of the family members theories have arisen. One of the most common theories I have seen is that this is after Francesca's presentation and the family are looking at Colin surprised at his appearance and dress, however, I disagree with this theory. I think they are looking at Francesca at the piano.
In season 1 we saw the set up with most of the siblings waiting on Daphne in the foyer of Bridgerton House, in season 2 we saw the siblings and Violet waiting on a reluctant Eloise outside her bedroom. I think for season 3 the set up will have the family waiting on Francesca as she plays the piano, and why do I think this?
In the still we see that there is a piano in the bottom left corner of the image, and those in the frame appear to be looking at someone sitting at the piano. This makes me believe that they are looking towards Francesca sitting at the piano. Also, we see Hyacinth holding the Ostrich feather headdress, that the debutantes wear, in her hand, which again suggests it is Francesca the family are looking at and not Colin.
Based on the expressions of the family what can we speculate about this scene?
We see Eloise and Kate with an expression that suggests understanding, but perhaps also proud of their sister, whilst Gregory, Violet and Anthony look concerned, Hyacinth looks almost shocked, whilst Benedict looks amused. This makes me think that this scene could be pre-presentation, and the family are reacting to something that Francesca has said.
In the season 3 introductory article from Shondaland Hannah Dodd talks about how she sees Francesca as an introvert, and someone who gets intimidated going into the Ton. Building on this view of Francesca I believe that in this scene Francesca has possibly expressed her apprehension and/or unease at being the centre of attention during her presentation.
Styling:
I am going to briefly talk about the styling in this scene, however, it is important to note that as this is obviously from the Presentation this may not be a true indicator as to the season's styling for the characters.
Eloise: Eloise is back in Bridgerton Blue here, a move away from the lilacs and greens we saw her in during season 2, whether this remains her colour for the season or not can't be determined until more stills are released. I can't say I am overly fond of the cape and large bow, which makes it appear a little too juvenile for a young woman going into her second season, and the floral detailing on her dress - whilst in theme - seems a little overdone to me. I did see it suggested online that this dress could be designed to cover a cast that Claudia Jessie reportedly had on during the beginning of filming. What is noticeable about Eloise is that her hair is up, so this could indicate that we see her with a more grown up style for the season, it also appears that Eloise has a blue hair accessory to match her dress.
Violet: Violet's look is very much within the floral themes we have seen on other gowns so far, it appears to be a pale blue pelisse with a white or silver dress, all with silver embellishments. Again, Violet's hair appears to be curled more than in the previous season, which I think softens her look and actually makes her appear slightly younger whilst retaining the matronly look.
Hyacinth: Hyacinth is in a pale pink gown with silver and pearl embellishments. Hyacinth appears to have a sheer Spencer Jacket on over her dress, with silver and rose embellishments and puff sleeves. Again she has a frill around the neckline giving the feel of a dress for a juvenile, but not overly childish. Hyacinth's hair is done up in plaits (braided) with ringlets, and has a pink hair accessory to match her dress.
Kate: This is the look from the leaked filming pictures taken in August 2022. I did write about Kate's look in those images here, however, at the time I thought her dress, and overdress was cream, as we can see it is a blush pink, and what looked like green detailing on the dress appears as though it is in fact gold. We see that the embellishments are kept within the floral theme of the others, and are in gold as well. We can't see much of Kate's look here as she is partially obscured, however, I believe her hair adornments are leaves which could be to invoke a laurel wreath (as explained in my previous post on it). Under the sleeve of Kate's overdress we see some gold, which may be a sleeve of her dress, however, I think it is possibly a bangle that she is wearing instead of a wedding ring.
Benedict: We can't see much of Benedict's look here, but he appears to be wearing a single breasted jacket with tails, possibly in velvet, with a white or cream waistcoat that has gold detailing, a white shirt and white cravat. We can't see his trousers, but I believe that like Anthony and Gregory, Benedict is wearing breeches that stopped just below the knee with stockings. This style of breeches were the formal court dress for men in the Regency period.
Gregory: Gregory is also dressed in the single breasted jacket with tails, again most likely in Velvet, and the formal breeches worn by men at court. Gregory's waistcoat appears to be a dark cream colour, which is contrasted with his white shirt and cravat of a slightly lighter cream. What is nice about Gregory's clothing is that it is identical to Anthony's in terms of style and colour, whilst Benedict's stands out due to the different colour of the waistcoat and cravat.
Anthony: As mentioned above, Anthony's look is almost identical to Gregory's dark velvet jacket, dark cream waistcoat, and slightly lighter cream cravat. One thing of difference in Anthony's look is the medal around his neck, this is most likely some form of Order of Chivalry similar to the Order of the Garter, suggesting that Anthony has received some form of honour after his marriage. I don't believe it is anything relating to receiving a new title as some do, nor do I believe it is something he should have been wearing as a Viscount, as the regalia for a Viscount would not normally include something like this if the titleholder had not received the honour associated with it.
So who do you think they are looking at? What do you think is happening in this still?
Do you think it is before, or after, Francesca's presentation?
