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Good news! Queer people officially exist in the sparkly, jewel-toned Bridgerton universe, and they’re going to fall in love with each other while wearing very stiff clothes. But along with boys kissing boys and girls kissing boys, it looks like we’ll be getting some lovely historically accurate homophobia represented in this fantasy world. And that seems an odd choice, for a show that prides itself on historical anachronism.

Netflix has announced that season 5 of the hit Shondaland show will give us the much anticipated queer love story of Francesca听补苍诲听惭颈肠丑补别濒补,听who have been foreshadowed over the last two seasons with some incredible sapphic panic moments. Before that,听Bridgerton聽season 4 gave us the聽handsomely bisexual Benedict Bridgerton, who gave us some of our first same-sex kisses on the Bridgerton screen too.

 

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However we’ve also seen the first hints that queerness is not going to be a walk in the park for these characters. In season four, Michaela gives a cryptic speech about “belonging”, and in one of the penultimate scenes, gets so flustered from Francesca holding her hands that she leaves London – implying that we’re being set up with another “forbidden romance” trope, where queerness is one, if not the main, hurdle. Maybe not – they certainly have enough other hurdles to overcome as it is.

Similarly, Benedict Bridgerton comes out of the closet to his love interest, Sophie Baek, in the last season.

鈥淚 am capable of caring for you, just as I was capable of caring for some women of the Ton鈥� and just as I was capable of caring for some men whom I have known intimately,鈥� he says carefully.聽 鈥淎nd I refuse to be, at all, ashamed about that.鈥�

There is a moment of comprehension on Sophie鈥檚 face, who then answers: 鈥淟ove is always a thing to be proud of. The world needs more of it鈥�.

It’s actually a beautifully done bisexual coming out scene – but even the concept of having to come out of the closet means that homophobia, or at least a lack of acceptance of queer relationships, exists in the world of Bridgerton. And that’s an interesting choice.

A world without shrimp

Bridgerton has never been historically accurate. The costumes are a bright mismatch of multiple styles throughout history, the bands enjoy playing Taylor Swift on their violins, and nobody seems too worried about the Spanish Armada or consumption. But most noticeable, and controversial inaccuracy is that Bridgerton decided to invent a world seemingly without racism, and has cast people of colour as significant portions of the British aristocracy, including the queen.

This admirable move makes sense when you remember how confected the world of Bridgerton is, a kind of blurry watercolour pastiche of history that focuses more on the aesthetics and romance of high society. Why not just wave your hand and remove not only racism, but the deep historical injustices that occurred towards people of colour in that part of the world at that time period?

There’s even been theories that Bridgerton is set in an alternate timeline, or perhaps a science fiction version of Earth as a result – but if you’re focused on that, then you’re not watching Bridgerton correctly. Just watch the beautiful people fall in love!

But it does beg the question – if the Bridgerton writers can create a world without racial intolerance, then why not do the same with same-sex and queer relationships?

In the Bridgerton prequel spinoff, Queen Charlotte, we’re treated to a covert gay romance between royal footmen Brimsley and Reynolds, with their arc ending on a beautiful moment of the two men dancing together. However, its clear that the two men don’t stay a couple, as an older Brimsley is then seen dancing alone. While this could imply Reynolds died, by Brimsley actor Hugh Sachs that a deleted scene proved this wasn’t the case.

It can be done – Schitt鈥檚 Creek wrapped up their six seasons while depicting a world entirely without homophobia, completely without any depiction of it. Show co-creator Dan Levy has talked about how he made the decision consciously to just let David be queer, without turmoil or strife from his sexuality.

鈥淲riting David as a queer character was something that I just wanted to do, I didn鈥檛 do it to make a political statement, it was just who he was in my head. And I was shocked at how novel that seemed to people.鈥�

In the Dungeons and Dragons podcast ,听there’s this hilarious moment where the players realise the story creator had canonically confirmed that 9/11 happened in his completely made up fantasy world – leading one of the players to state that in that world, the writer therefore made the choice to include a tragedy, almost making him culpable for it.

Just kinda feels funny that Bridgerton decided to canonically invent homophobia for their world.

Do we not deserve queer joy?

All romance narratives need a complication, and in the tightly monitored hierarchy of The Ton, many of those complications revolve around “suitability”. In fact in Bridgerton season 4, the forbidden romance trope was entirely about a nobleman falling in love with a maid – with multiple speeches about how it would never be “accepted”.

On a personal level, the Bridgerton family all embraced Sophie Baek, despite her low class – but the societal disapproval loomed over the entire season. We can only assume something similar will happen around Michaela and Francesca’s relationship.

For a long time, queer narratives on TV and film have been defined through the straight gaze and focused on the points of difference from straight relationships. The things that interest straight people, even well-meaning ones, have always been the tragedies of our existences – it’s why there was such a problem with the for so long, and why coming out stories became so popular. It’s why every gay male unlucky enough to be included on screen in the 2000s got a HIV plotline.

It’s extremely unlikely that Bridgerton will focus on gay tragedies – not only is this show a classic romance narrative which always has a “happy ever after” for the main characters, but showrunner Jess Brownell is a queer woman who has that the queer love stories the show in will include “queer joy”.

鈥淚鈥檝e said from the beginning that this show, in so many ways, is about allowing people to see themselves represented, allowing themselves to dream, and imagine themselves in these fantastical roles,鈥� Brownell says. 鈥淚t never felt right to not be inclusive of queer love as well within that fantasy.鈥�

If the season 4 coming out scene is anything to go by, I think we’ll see a really lovely queer relationship depicted, that will be full of romance and yearning and queer joy.

It’s just an interesting choice that in this fantasy, that joy will come despite and in opposition from some form of homophobic intolerance looming in the background, when it didn’t need to be there at all.