Painful to Watch: The One Bridgerton Scene That Totally Ruined Saphne
Let's face it: if you're reading this article, you probably already know which scene I'm talking about.
But as a recap for those who a) stumbled here by accident, b) haven't seen Season 1 of Bridgerton, or c) crawled out from under a rock:
Daphne Bridgerton is determined to marry for love. Simon, Duke of Hastings, is determined not to marry at all, mostly because a neglected childhood has left him dead set against having kids. But in the traditional way of romances, Daphne and Simon can't seem to keep their eyes (or hands) off of each other. When a scandalous encounter forces them to marry, Simon tells Daphne that he can't have children. That wording is key: he says can't, not won't.
Daphne's Regency-era sex education consists of a single awkward conversation, proceeding along the lines of "on your wedding night, lie back and then… oh, is that the time?" So she doesn't realize that when her husband – ahem – pulls out, that's not the usual way of doing things. When Daphne discovers that Simon lied about not being able to conceive, she comes up with a plan.
In episode six, Swish, Daphne determinedly initiates sex with her husband. But instead of allowing him to separate from her at the crucial moment, Daphne climbs aboard and – double ahem – clamps down, forcing him to finish while still inside her. Simon, realizing what's about to happen, tells her to stop and is ignored.
The return of his childhood lisp when he asks her what she's done makes the moment particularly painful.
The creators of Bridgerton have been quite clear that they recognize this as a moment where Simon's consent is breached. Alison Eakle, one of the show's producers, said in the new book Inside Bridgerton:
…that was a crucial, crucial moment, one that we had already adapted from the book to make it more understandable from Daphne's perspective. She is in a moment where she is trying to understand the truth – she has been lied to and is figuring it out. Ultimately we decided we would accept the warning label [of sexual violence] because we needed to have that moment. And there absolutely are consent issues around Daphne and Simon's moment.
What makes this moment particularly problematic is not that it presents an assault so much as the fact that the show itself doesn't seem to think the violation is that big of a deal. Daphne defends her choices with a passionate argument that it's basically tit-for-tat: Simon took advantage of her, so she took advantage of him. Simon has no rebuttal for that, and neither does Bridgerton as a whole.
The real-life repercussions of rape for both the victim and the perpetrator go completely unaddressed. Daphne never comes to realize what she's done. Neither do the two of them ever have a conversation about what transpired – they eventually move on to happily ever after without any apparent aftereffects.
Bridgerton has an advantage over many shows in that it has a narrator, the mysterious Lady Whistledown, who is handily available for any commentary that might be needed. But in this case, Lady Whistledown's commentary offers us no more than the question, "can the ends really justify the means?" as we see Daphne hugging her legs to her chest, hoping that she's managed to conceive. Hardly a repudiation of her actions. More of a gentle chastisement.
Sure, it's 1813. But in a TV show that's joyfully anachronistic in almost any other way, it's hardly a strong argument to simply say, "they didn't understand consent back then". They also didn't dance to Ariana Grande. The point is moot.
As proven by Bridgerton's still massive fanbase, the scene of assault wasn't enough to turn many fans away from the juggernaut of a TV show. But for many of us, this scene totally soured what could otherwise have been a romance for the ages.