‘Bridgerton’ Season 3 Finale Unveils Long-Awaited Gay Romance
Warning: This story contains spoilers for Season 3 of “Bridgerton” as well as Julia Quinn’s “Bridgerton” books.
The hit Regency romance “Bridgerton” fulfilled one of fans’ biggest hopes with its Season 3 finale — gay representation.
“Bridgerton” has seen supporting characters from the LGBTQ+ community, but as of Season 3, the Bridgerton siblings all appear to be pursuing heterosexual relationships, in keeping with the Julia Quinn-written series that began in 2000.
“Queen Charlotte,” a 2023 prequel series that tells the story of Queen Charlotte’s love affair with King George III, focuses on the butler Brimsley — as well as his relationship with George’s servant, Reynolds. Their love story has fueled fans’ hopes for a major gay storyline in “Bridgerton.”
Season 3 showrunner Jess Brownell said conversations about bringing a queer storyline into the world of “Bridgerton” have been going on since Season 1.
The first season of “Bridgerton” introduced the character Henry Granville, who welcomes his second son Benedict Bridgerton into the art world.
Brownell told Teen Vogue that Benedict’s sexuality was “something we’ve talked about honestly in the writers’ room since Season 1, which is why I think people have latched on to it.”
But in the world of “Bridgerton,” Benedict’s apparent flirtation with Henry didn’t seem to go anywhere, and he continued a series of conventional romances with only women — until now.
‘Bridgerton’ Season 3, which debuted on Netflix on June 13, brought queer romance to the big screen, seemingly confirming that not one, but two Bridgerton siblings will have queer romances in the future.
Are any of the Bridgerton siblings LGBTQ?
The final two episodes of Season 3 of ‘Bridgerton’ introduced explicit queer romances between two characters — Benedict (Luke Thompson), who fans have long suspected is part of the LGBTQ+ community, as well as Francesca (Hannah Dodd).
Benedict
Benedict began a romance with Tilley Arnold (Hannah New) throughout Season 3. He eventually saw her kissing her friend Paul, and the two invited Benedict into a threesome. After initially rejecting them, he returned and had his first on-screen kiss with a man.
They slept together several times, and he revealed that he was particularly fond of “threesomes.” When Tilley asked for a monogamous, stable relationship, Benedict turned her down, saying that she “opened up his world” and he didn’t want it to close again.
Luke Thompson tells Bustle that he believes the best way to describe his character’s sexuality is pansexuality, or “being attracted to the way someone thinks and feels, regardless of gender.”
“It’s a word that can be used. But what’s refreshing about it, certainly in the way it’s being explored at the moment, is that there’s a sense of no labeling about it,” Thompson says.
