Breaking The Scene (Bridgerton — A Fateful Meeting)

Bridgerton was one of the most surprising shows I’ve seen recently. It’s not at all something that I’d usually think to watch, and aside from the extraordinarily elaborate costume and production design, nothing about it necessarily piqued my interest. But after one episode, I was admittedly hooked, and this scene might be the reason why.

Written By: Chris Van Dusen

Scene Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTUBaUo4hfg

Scene Context:

Daphne is at a ball in which suitors are meant to admire her. Her brother has been controlling which men she talks to, and prefers her to speak with Nigel Berbrook. The Duke of Hastings is the most noted bachelor in this country, but is tired of people flirting with him.

Scene Conflicts:

• Daphne wants to get away from Nigel
• Hastings doesn’t want to be flirted with

Scene Outline:

1. Daphne leaves her brother to grab herself some lemonade. She’s approached by Nigel Berbrook.
2. Berbrook makes painfully awkward conversation with her. She excuses herself to go find her brother. Berbrook continues to beckon after her.
3. Daphne runs into Duke Hastings. She apologizes and, realizing that Berbrook is getting closer, asks who Hastings is, hoping to use him as a cover.
4. Hastings takes offense to Daphne’s apparent ignorance. Believes she’s doing this as an attempt at flirtation.
5. Daphne, offended, again asks for Hasting’s name.
6. Daphne’s brother appears, informs Daphne that Hastings is an old friend, as well as a newly prominent Duke.
7. Daphne sarcastically remarks that the Duke must be upstanding, considering he’s a friend of her brothers, who is a noted philanderer.
8. The Duke bids goodbye to both of them.

Why It Works:

Well-Set Stakes: Besides Berbrook being an all-around creep, the stakes of this world have been established to show that even one conversation between Daphne and Berbrook could spell unwanted marriage. This is a world in which marriage proposals are offered within a week of two people’s meeting, and similarly, women aren’t allowed much agency in refusing these proposals. This means that, if Daphne doesn’t escape this conversation with Berbrook, it’s entirely possible that he may propose sooner or later. And with Berbrook well-established as positively awful, we know Daphne needs to escape, and fast.

Clear Motivations: What I really love about this show is how nearly every character has distinct reason as to why they do the things they do. Daphne meets Hastings because she doesn’t want to marry Berbrook. Hastings is at the ball to appease his former caretaker, but hates flirting because of a formerly made vow not to marry. Daphne’s toxically overprotective brother continually watches over her because he has to make sure his family is well-represented among the socialites. By having such clear motivations for each character, everyone is afforded a fair level of audience sympathy (aside from Berbrook, who is, again, terrible in every way).

Expectations Subverted: What’s wonderful about Daphne’s encounter with the Duke is that they both expect praise from the other. The Duke’s been viewed as the ultimate bachelor of this country, while Daphne’s been named the country’s most eligible bachelorette by none other than the Queen. As a result, they figure everyone they run into is planning to flirt with them. So when the Duke takes offense to Daphne’s presence, she takes offense right back. They’re both amazed the other doesn’t know about them, and thus a playful confrontation is created in which both are faced by their own assumptions and apparent vanity.

Tables Turned: When Daphne finds out that the Duke and her brother are good friends, her conversational position suddenly rises. Now she’s not just someone in a relatively awkward social situation with him- now she knows something about him- that he wasn’t always the “honorable” man he poses as. Thus, when the scene ends, the Duke is promptly shown the true extent of his vanity by Daphne’s tongue-in-cheek shaming of him.

Reasoned Foreshadowing: In this scene, Daphne goes to Hastings and pretends to flirt with him specifically in order to avoid Berbrook. This serves as a lovely image of what’s soon to come, as the episode ends with Daphne and Hastings developing a relationship built on Daphne’s want to avoid marriage.

Summary:

What I find so amazing about this show is how the characters are almost as textured as their highly-detailed settings. When every character has a distinct desire attached to their specified motivation, scenes like this can develop with drama derived from the clever, passive-aggressive lines thrown back and forth. By putting the focus on character motivation, this show continually succeeds in creating wonderful exchanges where, despite the complex nature of this world, the character desires are always clear.