Bridgerton has a queer baiting problem and we need to talk about it

Bridgerton season two has failed to give us even a crumb of anything other than heterosexuality. Don’t get me wrong, I am enjoying this season way more than the first but I can’t help but be put off by the lack of representation for people within the LGBTQ+ community – it’s embarrassing. 

Back when an early trailer for season one dropped, the creators faced backlash because they heavily hinted at a potential LGBTQ+ storyline with Benedict Bridgerton. But when it got to watching the actual season, there was no development and fans like myself were left feeling queer baited. 

The show’s creators have already openly been adapting the books and have been racially inclusive from the start and rightly so. It’s time we ditched the rigid constraints of the regency romance genre but why isn’t this the same for queer people too? I’m not saying the producers have to make a choice between including people of colour or having LGBTQ+ characters because that’s ridiculous. People of colour and queer people deserve to have their love stories told too.

via Netflix

In the first season, it was hinted Benedict might not be straight. We see him attend a sex party where he stumbles across two men having sex with one another. There was also clear sexual tension between Benedict and the party’s male host who admits he is attracted to men. But this relationship was not explored any further whatsoever and now in season two we see Benedict in a relationship with a woman. I don’t know who needs to hear this but flirting with the idea of being queer isn’t representation – we deserve on-screen romance just like heterosexual people. 

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Also Eloise was so queer coded in season one. She was the odd one out in her family and she showed absolutely zero interest in men. But now in season two, she’s developed an interest in Theo. It’s like the show’s creators have entirely destroyed any hints toward queer narratives and it is so unfair.

The few queer period dramas, or general shows for that matter, we have are depressing and tragic. Why can’t queer people have a happy ending? It really shouldn’t be this much of a fight to get some kind of representation.

Season two of Bridgerton is available on Netflix now. For all the latest Netflix news, drops, quizzes and memes like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook. 

Related stories recommended by this writer:

• Before his Bridgerton fame Luke Newton was in a cringe boy band that flopped so hard

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• A rundown of exactly how Kate and Edwina Sharma are connected and their family history