On a Friday afternoon in the middle of January – when we should all be squirreling away for the end of the working week – there are roughly 580 tweets an hour about Bridgerton.
After all, there is so much to say. From the costumes and the characters to the Duke with his… spoon… the Netflix costume drama is literally all we’ve wanted to talk about for weeks now.
In its first month on the streaming service, 63 million households are thought to have jumped into the racy romance, proving we were not the only ones who binged all eight series before 2021 had even begun.
Naturally, it’s meant that Twitter and Instagram have been a breeding ground for opinions and musings on Bridgerton, which is based on a series of novels written by best-selling author Julia Quinn.
The memes especially have been giving us life because sometimes it’s reassuring to know that the whole world had the same reaction to TV as you. Other times, social media is the ultimate place to discover the things you might have missed.
Such as, where do you actually recognise Prince Friederich from. (And FYI, it’s not just Harry Potter.) Or the fact that Violet Bridgerton once had a fifth daughter that no-one ever speaks of. Her name was Tracy Beaker.
Needless to say, we’re out here praying for a second season because there is currently a Bridgerton-shaped hole that no true crime or rom-com can fill right now.
If you’re missing your fix, please enjoy the memes you may have missed, perfectly encapsulating our low-key obsession with the show.
On our thirst for the Duke of Hastings:
We came for the costumes, but we stayed for Rege-Jean Page. Despite growing up thinking we should all be searching for our Prince Charming, we are now officially on the hunt for a dashing Duke who’s anything but squeaky clean between the sheets.
Safe to say the thirst for the Duke of Hastings is real on social media with memes galore that perfectly sum up our thoughts on the handsome protagonist.
On the costumes
Feathers. Jewels. Crowns. Embroidery. We wanted to own everything the women wore to their high society functions in Bridgerton. Well, not everything – Penelope Featherington was given some stinkers. Nevertheless, it took until Episode 2 at the latest for us to embrace full-on Regencycore and start wearing our faux pearls again.
There are an incredible 6,000 complete costumes in the show that deliver a modern twist on regency style. Of course, they didn’t go unnoticed by the social media masses, who were memeing in their thousands about the veritable fashion feast.
On the graphic content
Remember when you still thought Bridgerton was a family-friendly Netflix drama to watch with mum and dad on Boxing Day? How wrong were we?
We’re agreed that the tone takes a turn post Episode 5, when things begin to heat up between Daphne and the Duke. Twitter echoed our feelings exactly after discovering that watching it with *literally anyone else* after this point is cringe-worthy – especially mum. If you were blushing even when you were alone, we can very much relate.
On the characters
If you were able to see past the Duke, some of the more underrated characters had our attention. Take Lady Danbury, for example. We know she’s not a Bridgerton but when will she be getting her own series? She’s the discerning noblewoman responsible for bringing up the Duke and Daphne, therefore, has a lot to thank her for. You know what we mean.
Then there’s Prince Friederich who caused quite the buzz on social media this week when fans finally clocked where they’d seen him before. Yeah, Harry Potter.
Remember Cormac McLaggen in the film series? He was played by Bridgerton’s very own Freddie Stroma. But did we also forget his *iconic* performance in The Inbetweeners 2, in which he plays a typical gap yaaah traveller, complete with bleached dreads.
But when it comes to relatable, we are 100% here for Eloise and her take-no-prisoners attitude along with her total disregard for marriage and tradition. She is our spirit animal.
On Bridgerton Series 2 *please, please, please*
The fact that there are only eight episodes of Bridgerton season 1 has left us bereft. (Hands up if you completed it before 2021 even started.) Already, demand for Season 2 has reached fever pitch and life essentially seems like passing the time until that day comes.
Since there are eight books in Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton book series, there has been wild speculation that there could, in fact, be seven more series of Bridgerton, which has almost brought Twitter to its knees.