TRIGGER WARNING: This article contains content about rape.
One of the most highly anticipated series of 2020 finally hit Netflix last week, and people already have a lot of opinions about it. In fact, one sex scene from Bridgerton is causing some serious controversy as people wonder if the show handled what many view as a male rape scene in the right way.
'Bridgerton' is a Regency romance set in London, and it features a lot of steamy scenes.
Because the Netflix show is mainly focused on Daphne Bridgerton, who marries Simon, the Duke of Hastings, much of those steamy scenes involve this couple — and one of them isn't exactly romantic. Though Simon had led Daphne to believe he couldn't have children once they wed because he was infertile, she later found out he was actually childfree by choice, and this resulted in her refusing to let him pull out while they were having sex — his chosen method of birth control.
Fans on Twitter are split on the issue, with many of them feeling outraged by the scene.
Many people have taken to social media to share that they were disturbed by the scene, with some taking issue that what happened between Daphne and Simon was brushed off, without the show discussing it any further. They believe that what Daphne did was worse than Simon's betrayal and that the series should have taken more of an opportunity to shine a light on marital rape and revoking consent.
Others don't consider that scene rape at all.
Considering that the scene was changed a bit to be less controversial than how it was written in the original Julia Quinn book, some fans are arguing that this is a nonissue, though that definitely seems to be a less popular opinion. No matter how we slice it, the scene was problematic at best and totally left behind without being addressed in the series with the attention it deserved.
'Bridgerton' showrunner Chris Van Dusen has addressed the scene himself, too.
Talking to Entertainment Weekly, Van Dusen admitted that there was a lot of discussion about exactly how the scene should be handled, and ultimately, he decided it was an essential part of Daphne's journey.
"That incident really goes along with that overarching theme that she starts out as this picture-perfect, wide-eyed, innocent debutante," he said. "And we watch her grow into this woman who gets to shed all of the constraints society has held her to, and she finally figures out who she really is and what she's capable of."
It'll be interesting to see if this backlash affects the show going forward.
So far, Netflix has yet to announce whether Bridgerton was renewed for a second season, although it's definitely looking likely at this point, considering how popular it's become less than a week after the first season was released. Maybe the fan reaction to this scene will end up coloring the way the show addresses possible similar scenes going forward — or whether they backtrack to pay attention to what happened between Daphne and Simon the way they should have in the first place.
