Everyone with a Netflix subscription who likes to indulge their romantic side is still really digging Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story. The series, which follows the young monarch as she begins her royal journey with King George, has clearly intrigued and delighted many, and it gives viewers tons of wonderful new Queen Charlotte moments, as well as helping us see who the man she fell for was before his illness took over. But, something about the Bridgerton franchise addition that’s confounded many is why we don’t see a new character, Reynolds, in the Regency era. Now one star has explained it, but I don’t think fans are going to like it one bit.
Why Don’t We See An Older Version Of Reynolds In The Regency Timeline Of Queen Charlotte?
One of the reasons why this show was so exciting to fans (aside from it hitting the streamer during our long wait for Bridgerton Season 3 to arrive) is that it both showed us younger versions of several characters we love and also brought back the actors who portray those characters in the Regency timeline of the original show. One of the great joys was finding out that the queen’s right hand man, Brimsley, gives the franchise more LGBTQ+ representation, as we see his relationship with Reynolds (Freddie Dennis), who just happens to be the king’s right hand man.
Unfortunately, when the show gives us glimpses of older Brimsley, Reynolds is never anywhere to be found, and no reason is given for his absence. Well, in a chat with Vulture recently, star Hugh Sachs, who plays older Brimsley, explained what happened to his character’s lover, and said:
There was a scene that we didn’t film, because it was cut, where I was going to meet the older Reynolds. He was the love of his life, and for whatever reason, they could not stay together. So when they would pass each other in the passageway in the deleted scene, it wasn’t a toxic moment. Because of the world they inhabited, it was still a hangable offense to be gay, and it was just not possible.
OK. I can only assume that there are now thousands, if not millions, of fans whose emotional states range from annoyed to sad, to maybe even angry right now. And, I totally get it! I don’t think most viewers, going into Queen Charlotte, had given much thought to Brimsley’s love life, and we got the treat of seeing him have a number of hot dalliances with Reynolds, who clearly enjoyed their time together as much as Brimsley did.
Knowing that there was a scene that got cut, of older versions of the characters, before they even filmed it is bad enough, but learning that they were forced apart because of the time they lived in is even worse. This outcome is understandable from a historical standpoint, but it’s also yet another thing that led me to call Queen Charlotte really sad, and this info from Sachs doesn’t make it any better!
Also, not for nothing, but this is a franchise that made pretty quick work of rewriting the actual history of racism and how it’s impacted people of color for many generations, so it makes no sense that it would stop two dudes from being in a relationship, even if they did have to keep it secret for decades.
Look, I suppose the one good thing we can take away from this is that, because the scene was never even shot, it means it’s not canon. Soooooo…we could get a visit from older Reynolds at some point down the line in Bridgerton. Maybe, after seeing how disappointed fans were by the planned outcome of the Brimnolds (Reysley?) romance, the writers will find a way to reunite the two in their later years. It’s a thing that happens in real life, and I like to think that, if nothing else, a show like Bridgerton would be brimming with romantic hope for all of its characters.
