In case you haven't noticed, people are still talking about Bridgerton. That's right, the now nearly universally beloved Regency era romance, which has made stars of its cast and helped show those who typically haven't respected romantic stories that people do care about such sensual tales and the sexiest sex scenes they lead to, has managed to stay at the forefront of many minds, even almost a full six months after its debut. As we await new episodes, though, Season 1 star Regé-Jean Page (who won't be a part of the Bridgerton Season 2 cast), has a message for fans who keep quoting one particular line.
Bridgerton Season 1 follows a lot of dramatic, romantic storylines throughout, but the main focus is on Regé-Jean Page's Simon Basset, The Duke of Hastings, and Phoebe Dynevor's Daphne Bridgerton. Soon after their "forced" marriage, the duo realize that they both indeed do have hot-in-the-pants feelings for one another, after half a season of going from enemies to friends and, finally, lovers.
The scene which shows their wedding night has been adored by fans, who have taken to quoting the line "I burn for you," as though a hot-n-bothered Duke growled it at Daphne before they engaged in some sexy consummation. In a conversation with Dynevor, who both spoke to Variety about the scene, though, Page set the record straight, and noted:
I do not say, 'I burn for you.' It's not my line. That's Daphne's line. It's not a thing. It's the Mandela effect. Everyone clearly was feeling very burned for, which I'll take as a compliment.
Well, not only is the recollection of Regé-Jean Page correct, but as what many would call the breakout star of Bridgerton, it does make sense that people would attribute the line to him, and not Daphne. The virginal young lady wasn't the only one who fell for Simon, and there are certainly a ton of fans who would love to have Page / the Duke tell them he burns for them, which is how this collective misremembering (that's "the Mandela effect" he spoke of) probably got started.
If you don't quite remember the scene in question (No judgements here, but, who are you?), here's what happens. After marrying in a grand ceremony, Daphne and Simon head to his estate as a couple for the first time, but need to stay overnight at an inn. Because he believes she still hates him, he's booked separate rooms, but when they come together they finally admit how they feel, leading to this exchange:
I mean, come on! It's pretty easy to switch those lines around in one's mind, don't you think? It's possible that if Simon hadn't first barked "when someone burns for someone who does not feel the same," at Daphne when she asked about why he was flushed, that so many fans wouldn't have committed her later "I burn for you" like to the wrong character. Add this to the fact that when Regé-Jean Page hosted SNL in February, he did say the line during his opening monologue, and we have the Mandela effect...in full effect.
Phoebe Dynevor, for her part, doesn't seem to be especially miffed that fans are attributing the line to her co-star, but she is a bit baffled that it's become such a thing among fans, and said:
You have no idea what lines people are going to care about. That was surprising to me. It wasn’t like I saw ‘I burn for you’ in the script and was like, ‘This is what people are going to talk about.'
She makes a very good point, and I'd say that Regé-Jean Page, Phoebe Dynevor and the rest of the cast and crew at Bridgerton are probably still overjoyed at the fact that their show connected with so many viewers, regardless of what it is their millions (upon millions) of fans loved about the series.
Bridgerton Season 2 is filming right now, but doesn't have a set release date, so until we know more, catch up on all of the upcoming romantic TV shows, and see what you can watch in the coming weeks with our 2021 guide to summer TV!
