I know I have already put up my review of the first episode (which can be read here), but now that I have seen all of part 1 I thought I would do a brief overview of my general thoughts.
Image Credit: Netflix
The Good
- Yerin Ha. She is a dream and is the perfect Sophie. I can't wait to see Sophie's story continue.
- The Chemistry between Yerin and Luke Thompson fits Benedict and Sophie's story so well. While the chemistry between them is different to that of Simone and Jonathan in season 2, and doesn't come across as charged, I think it is a great fit for the story they are telling.
- The Penwood/Li family. I know Araminta and Rosamund are meant to be the villains, but they were so well cast, and I just love Michelle Mao as Rosamund. As for Posy, what can I say, she is adorable, and Isabella Wei is so wonderful bringing a wide eyed innocence to the role.
- The increased focus on the leads. Not since Season 1 has it felt like a season put the main spotlight on the main couple, but also it is not since Season 1 that we have had a season that is as close to the boook as this one is. It almost feels like if they stick with the book plot it works well. Of course this season is not perfect, but it does feel a lot better than the previous season. I hope that it continues into part 2.
- Sophie's costumes. It is something when the best costumes are a maid's! But it is not just her maid costumes, but also the dresses she wore at My Cottage, what we saw was something that felt like the Bridgerton of Season 1 and Season 2, they were understated and simple, something that fit the story well. Overall the costumes this season appear to be toned down from last season, which is a move in the right direction.
- Flashbacks for Sophie. Flashbacks is something that was missed both with giving more context to Kate and her situatioin in season 2. Seeing the flashbacks for Sophie really helped with fleshing out her character and giving context to her story and situation.
- The Maid Wars and Servants storyline, is a nice addition to the Bridgerton world, and works as it ties in with the main story, unlike some of the subplots.
- Makeup on the lead. I think that the make up we saw on Sophie was well done, and fit her role and position, it will be interesting to see what they do with it after she becomes a Bridgerton and is no longer working as a maid. I will note that SOME of the other characters also had much better makeup than in the previous season, but as per below some did not.
- No more gauze fingerless mittens, and seeing Penelope actually wearing stockings, was a vast improvement over S3 where Penelope was wearing no stockings (not even prostitutes went without stockings) and was wearing fingerless mittens that looked like gauze wrapped around her hand.
The Bad
- The lack of full family scenes was noticeable, as was the absence of Kate and Anthony. My hope is that this is remedied in part 2 and with Gregory back, and the return of Kate and Anthony, we will see the return of the family dynamics we all love.
- The constant reference of Mrs Bridgerton, Mrs Colin Bridgerotn, or Penelope Bridgerton, to ram home that Penelope is now a Bridgerton, was not only not subtle, it highlighted that this show sees Penelope as a Bridgerton (and wants everyone to know this) whilst Kate is mostly not referred to in a manner that positions her as a Bridgerton (once or twice in S3, and not at all in part 1). This differentiation in how the show presents the two women who married into the Bridgerton family is obvious, and gives us the sense they are hitting us over the head about Penelope, while wanting the viewers to forget that Kate is both a Bridgerton, and the Viscountess.
- Makeup on supporting characters. Most notably the make up on Penelope and Alice felt much heavier and more noticeable than on Sophie, and some of the other characters. Penelope's makeup in episode 2 really stood out, she was at home but had a full face of heavy makeup and noticeable lipstick. Unlike some fans I will not comment on the makeup seen on Kate in the teaser, because without context I don't feel it can be judged. In contrast to the heavier makeup on Penelope and Alice, Eloise's makeup had her looking washed out in a lot of scenes, which aged her a lot.
- CGI, especially in episode 4. There was some very obvious, and badly done CGI in epsiode 4 which takes the viewer out of what is happening onscreen and distracts from the story.
Overall this was a good start to the new season, I am looking forward to how it goes in part 2, but based on part 1 I can see this displacing season 1 as my second favourite season.
