We bring you the Bridgerton: Season 1 Summary, a series that premiered in December 2020, which has been a tremendous success. Discover the great story behind the period drama brought to us by Netflix.
Historical context
Bridgerton: Season 1 Summary begins at a time when wealthy families wish to marry off their daughters of marriageable age, and to this end they organize a series of events to present them in society. This is how they get to know the wealthy young men. And so they are known by all the bourgeoisie.
Their first duty is to meet the queen: a woman with a lot of character and all the power to do and undo as she pleases. The presentation to the queen takes place and so we meet them. Prudence, Philipa and Penelope Federito, introduced by their mother and the protagonist Daphne Bridgerton.
Before the queen’s important approval, one of the Federito sisters faints. However, she perfectly fulfills the protocols before the queen, who gives her full approval.
The season begins
The dances and receptions dedicated to the young matchmaking girls to meet the suitors begin to take place. For this reason, both families prepare their girls for it. But in the house of Baroness Federito, who already has her three daughters, a young, beautiful and well-educated mulatto girl arrives: Marina Thompson, whom the Baroness, without knowing her, had offered to help her in her search for a husband.
Arrives in the city nothing more and nothing less than the Duke: Simon Basset of Hastings, who comes to town to settle the papers of his late father. However, he is received by Lady Danbury, who is in charge of organizing the fraternization balls for the young matchmakers and invites him to participate in them. Although at first the young duke (a mulatto man, handsome, with a spectacular plant and charisma) resists, excusing himself that his trip was only to settle inheritance matters.
Finally he is forced to participate in these social events and so begins the dancing season, with hundreds of young people from the bourgeoisie socializing and getting to know each other. Of course surrounded by their mothers and their brothers, who are dedicated to directing everything. We also meet Daphne’s more protective brother.
The firstborn of the Bridgerton
Daphne’s brother is overly protective and puts up a fight with all her suitors. Anthony Bridgerton, who is having an affair with a young opera soprano singer, Miss Ciena.
Daphne meets the Duke
Simon happens to be Anthony’s college friend and introduces him to her during the matchmaking dance. At first he doesn’t take much notice.
The next morning, the courtship of the young men to the matchmakers at the luncheons begins. At the Federito mansion, the only one who receives suitors is Marina Thompson.
At the Bridgerton’, Daphne’s brother continues to stand in the way of his sister’s suitors. So the season of dances and luncheons continues. Other things such as horseback riding or visits to the opera also occur. In this Lady Danbury invites Daphne and her mother to the theater box. There she convinces her to invite the Duke to dinner and thus change the bad reputation that had originated the behavior of his brother.
During dinner, a rather interesting theme of the series is discussed. Every day a free pamphlet is handed out around London explaining how socializing is going on between young men and girls. This is written by Lady Whistledown who was actually a pseudonym. At dinner with the Duke the whole family were all lucubrating who she really was. This is very interesting as everyone read these pamphlets and it influenced the decisions of all the characters and society.
The relationship between the Duke and Daphne
It is a seemingly lost relationship, but as the saying goes: opposites attract. The Duke is being overpowered by other young matchmakers. Which he doesn’t like. And this leads him to make a deal with Daphne. They pretend to be engaged so that her brother will stop controlling her and the Duke will be left by the other suitors and their mothers.
A problem with Marina Thompson
The baroness discovers that Marina is pregnant by her former boyfriend and keeps it hidden. Yet her daughters find out about the pregnancy. Penelope Federito and Daphne’s middle sister Eloise are close friends and she tells her that she suspects something about this.
Duke’s History
The dismal story of Simon, who was born when his mother died in childbirth, is told through flashbacks. He later grew up with speech problems, causing his father to reject him. Lady Danbury took him in and raised him, helping him with his speech problems and fears, until his father finally accepts him. But the latter, hurt with him, swears to him on his deathbed that he will never have a son and that his lineage will die with him.
The Berbrooke suitor
Daphne’s brother arranges an engagement with Berbrooke, who didn’t want Daphne even in the least after he tried to make a pass at her. Thus Daphne and Simon continue their deception of society by partying together at all the parties. In one of them Berbrooke and the Duke had a confrontation and Simon beat him up. Even so Daphne and Simon continue with their deception, until Lord Berbrooke tries by blackmail to force Daphne to marry him.
The story of Eloise Bridgerton
We continue the Bridgerton: Season 1 Summary with the middle sister of Daphne. She does not agree with the kind of life that society has in store for her. She would prefer to study and not marry. Something totally prohibitive at that time.
To fix Berbrooke’s big problem, Daphne’s mother, together with the servants, manages to find out his dark secrets and make them known to society. Thus they get rid of him.
The dances and parties continue with the deception of the protagonist couple. Contrary to their thoughts, they begin to fall in love. Even so, they continue with their plans. Daphne continues to meet suitors, but none of them attracts her. On the contrary, she has a growing affinity with the Duke.
On the other hand, Daphne’s brother, Anthony, after talking to his mother, decides to leave his lover Ciena. This results in her looking for another protector, which is how they called their lovers. And she ends up meeting Duke Heisthins, with whom she begins to party. At the same time Marina Thompson, who is still pregnant, is forced by Baroness Federito to look for suitors. To do this she has her corseted, so that her pregnancy is not noticed and so she can marry her before she has the child.
A new problem arises again. Prince Prussia arrives in the middle of the season and the queen demands him to conquer the one they call the diamond of the season, our dear Daphne.
The beginning of the relationship between Daphne and Simon
Daphne and Simon have a conversation in which the Dike urges her to pleasure herself. She at night does so, but in her thoughts Simon appears, as her love for him begins to blossom in her.
The next day they meet again and the Duke, after a conversation with Lady Danbury decides to leave his relationship with Daphne. So she decides to start partying with the prince. The bad thing is that she keeps thinking about the Duke. He also keeps thinking about her, although he avoids her because of the oath he swore to his father, not to give her descendants. Even so, every time they cross each other’s eyes, the sexual tension between them is noticeable.
Anthony, Daphne’s older brother, still remembers his lover, the soprano Ciena. Simon decides to leave London to forget Daphne. However before this he goes to the last ball that was being held. There he takes advantage of an exit of Daphne to the garden to take the air to say goodbye to her. This ends in a kiss of love, which is seen by Anthony, who beats Simon and demands that he marries his sister. But the Duke refuses and Anthony challenges him to a pistol duel. It is illegal in the country, but is widely used by the nobility to solve some of their problems.
Before the duel Anthony decides to go see Siena and they end up sleeping together.
The duel takes place, but Daphne crosses in the middle and fortunately without any wounded the thing ends in the future between Simon and Daphne, to which the Duke had already said that he would not give her offspring. But this does not seem to matter to her.
Summary of the wedding in the first season of Bridgerton
At last the wedding takes place. Daphne realizes her concern about not having children. After the wedding night they come clean and consummate the marriage in a scene full of passion and romance. Yet Simon takes advantage of Daphne’s total lack of knowledge about sex and executes the reversal.
Daphne and Simon arrive at the Duke’s castle and have a very busy relationship in terms of marital sex. However Simon continues to use the reverse gear. But as Daphne does not know this and is very happy starting her great story and her new life as Duchess. She knows her grounds and the people who live on them.
The life of Daphne and the Duke in the castle
They begin their new life on the Duke’s lands, who realizes that the administrator who had taken care of them was taking advantage of his tenants and squandering the riches. Therefore, it is up to him to fix all the problems that this entails. Also Daphne, as the new Duchess, has to learn to deal with her subordinates.
Yet they continue to sleep together continuously and Daphne ends up realizing the maneuver that Simon used every time they did. And so she ends up asking her governess and explains in detail how the women got pregnant. With this information, the next time she makes love with Simon, she tricks him so that he ends up running away from her. Simon asks for explanations and Daphne tells him that she had cheated on him. So they end up arguing and fighting.
Daphne’s brother: Colin
Another important event also occurs: the second of Daphne’s brothers, who had had encounters with Marina Thompson, decides to ask her to marry him (without knowing that she is pregnant).
Colin announces before the bourgeoisie, at a garden party, his engagement to Marina. His family, who knew nothing about it, is stunned. From this point on, the preparations for this new wedding begin (bearing in mind that Marina continued to hide her pregnancy from Colin, his family and the rest of the bourgeoisie). Also Colin’s brother, Anthony, as with Daphne, does not agree with this union.
Daphne receives a message concerning her brother Colin. The scandal to which Marina Thompson has led him has caused a big problem in his family. So they return to her house to try to brighten up the mess. While Eloise, Daphne’s sister, is trying to discover who Lady Whistledown really is. Something that also interests the queen, who demands Eloise to find out about her.
The ending of the first season
At this point, we are close to the end of Bridgerton: Season 1 Summary. Between Daphne and Simon there is still a lot of passion, but the Duke continues to resist having a child with her because of the oath he swore to his father on his deathbed. This he explains to Daphne, which does not mend their relationship.
While Marina Thompson decides to have an abortion and to do so she uses some herbs that she knew, which almost cause her death. And yet she does not achieve her goal.
Anthony manages to return with Ciena, although in the end she leaves with another gentleman.
Another of Daphne’s brothers begins an affair with Madame Delacroix, the seamstress who makes costumes for all the women, both the Federito family and the Bridgerton family. In addition to many other families of the bourgeoisie. Eloise believes that she is Lady Whistledown and warns her that the queen is after her. On the night of the last ball she learns that they are out to get her and tries to warn her.
The night of the last dance is organized by Daphne and Simon to put an end to her brother’s scandal. Everyone attends, but it starts to rain and although the ball is suspended in the middle, Daphne and Simon repaired their relationship and this time they make love without hindrance. This finally results in Daphne having Simon’s child. Thus ends the Bridgerton: Season 1 Summary. Knowing also who is Lady Whistledown: Penelope Federito. Something that leaves the viewer totally surprised, since at no time you come to suspect that it is her.
So much for the Bridgerton: Season 1 Summary. If you think we have left anything out, please let us know in the comments. Thanks.