We’re almost done with the show! Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story 1×05 “Gardens in Bloom” is the episode where Charlotte behaves like the queen she is and takes command of her life, her marriage, and her crown. Ready?
Here we go!
Duty Done in Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story 1×05 “Gardens in Bloom”
In Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story 1×05 “Gardens in Bloom,” Charlotte still doesn’t have a satisfactory explanation for what’s going on with George. She still has too many unknowns…and George isn’t there to answer them. The one that is there is Augusta. Upon confirmation of Charlotte’s pregnancy, the Princess Dowager wasted no time in moving in with Charlotte much to her chagrin.
To no one’s surprise, Augusta’s presence is not out of concern for Charlotte and her future grandchild, but rather to ensure that the crown will be safe. Augusta treats Charlotte like a womb. She already fulfilled her duty so she has nothing else to do. Augusta doesn’t even see Charlotte as a person, just as an incubator.
So much so that in Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story 1×05 “Gardens in Bloom,” Augusta even allows herself the luxury of humiliating her when she asks the painter to paint her skin lighter. Seriously, at this point, we wanted to come on screen and kick her racist ass. And it surprised me that Charlotte, with the huge character that she has and how feisty she is, didn’t say anything to her.
But in the context of Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story 1×05 “Gardens in Bloom,” we get it. Charlotte can’t stand Augusta and doesn’t hide it, but she doesn’t directly confront her either. She feels alone and misunderstood. Augusta tells her that now that she’s pregnant she doesn’t have to go back to George and Charlotte knows that everyone else thinks the same way. But no one understands her.
The Importance of Home
What Charlotte wants is to see George again, to walk by his side no matter what, to help him, and for him to allow her to be by his side and not take her away anymore. But Charlotte has none of that in Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story 1×05 “Gardens in Bloom.” While George is being tortured, Charlotte tries to contact him but never gets a response. That makes her feel more and more that she has no place there.
That palace is not a home for her. And she needs to go back to her house so she can start from scratch. She can have that child alone, but she can’t do it in a place that feels empty and hostile.
So in Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story 1×05 “Gardens in Bloom” Charlotte goes to her real family: her brother. But he doesn’t plan to help her and we don’t understand how Charlotte thought he would. He was the one who agreed to her marriage without even caring about her opinion and when she refused, he didn’t care. But we assume that Charlotte is too desperate to think rationally.
So, to the surprise of no one except Charlotte, her brother makes it clear that the heir’s well-being is important, not hers, and that she doesn’t count on him at all. This ends up sinking Charlotte and we see her as a withered flower in Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story 1×05 “Gardens in Bloom.” She is more and more depressed, less and less willing to go on and only breathing for her baby but not living.
A Withered Flower in a Blooming Garden in Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story 1×05 “Gardens in Bloom”
Brimsley is the only one who cares about Charlotte and wants to give her the strength to keep fighting, but when he sees that he can’t, he is loyal to her, not the crown, and lets her go. Charlotte ends up at Lady Danbury’s home causing her some trouble because, while Charlotte is her friend and wants to be with her, Agatha needs to make peace with Augusta if she wants her to recognize her son as the new Lord Danbury.
Charlotte looks for Lady Danbury in Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story 1×05 “Gardens in Bloom” because she is the only one who has shown her true friendship. As Charlotte confesses, everyone lies to her and betrayed her except Agatha.
Since Charlotte set foot in London, the lies, the deceit, the secrets began… and no one showed her the slightest consideration or concern. No one cared about her enough to be honest with her. No one except Lady Danbury.
Despite everything, Agatha never betrayed Charlotte’s friendship and takes this opportunity to cement her friendship with her. Agatha also needs a friend with everything that is happening to her. And she gives some very good advice to Charlotte in Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story 1×05 “Gardens in Bloom.”
The patriarchal society doesn’t take them into account at all and there is nothing more patriarchal than royalty. They must raise their voices and make them listen to them, that they know what they feel, what they think, and understand that their happiness matters. That they matter. And that is exactly what Charlotte does. She is the queen. She may, as queen, not have the freedom she would like, but she has the power to make her will law.
In Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story 1×05 “Gardens in Bloom,” Charlotte is determined to talk to George and find out what’s going on. And no one is going to stop her. And when she sees him, goddess, her eyes flash with anger. She wants to make pay whoever reduced George to this man who can’t stop shaking due to torture. She dismisses Monro and makes it clear that he is not welcome in the palace — and she takes too much pity on him.
Charlotte is not willing to let her husband be tortured. If his mental illness runs out of control, it will, but George will keep his dignity intact. And Charlotte will be with him every step of the way, no matter what happens. And that’s it. We love them, your honor!
Brimsley and Reynolds are a Married Couple
The tense situation between Charlotte and George in Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story 1×05 “Gardens in Bloom” affects the relationship between Brimsley and Reynolds. Brimsley is pissed off and disappointed that Reynolds won’t tell him about George. He’s asking him for Charlotte’s sake. She is more depressed every day, more dull, and just knowing about George can make her react.
Brimsley wants to protect Charlotte — seriously, when he was about to touch her to comfort her it was a MOMENT — he sees her fade every day and it’s killing him not being able to do anything to help her. That’s why he can’t ignore that Reynolds has the key to achieving it and refuses to help him. As for Reynolds, he is torn between his loyalty to George and his instinct that he is being tortured and that he has to help him. He is between a rock and a hard place.
Knowing Yourself for the First Time
Lady Danbury has more trouble than she thought adjusting to her new widowhood in Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story 1×05 “Gardens in Bloom.” She had always wanted Lord Danbury’s death so badly that she didn’t think about what she would do after it. She doesn’t feel sad, but she feels misplaced.
All her life she was shaped for the man who would become her husband. They didn’t let her know herself, they didn’t let her be herself. And now that he’s gone, Agatha has no idea who she is without him. But she plans to find out.
Her search leads her to an unexpected place and an even more unexpected encounter. Lord Ledger and the walks she shares with him become her favorite time of her day. With him, she can talk about everything, and share everything, without feeling judged. As Agatha gets to know herself, she begins to feel something she never thought she could feel. Without expecting it, she begins to look forward to the time to walk with him and be in his presence.
The Forbidden in Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story 1×05 “Gardens in Bloom”
As we see in Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story 1×05 “Gardens in Bloom,” Agatha doesn’t understand what’s happening to her with Lord Ledger any more than she understands herself. All her life she knew contempt and she never thought that she could feel attracted to a man, she never thought that she would feel desire for someone and would like to feel desired. Agatha never knew happiness, love… and she is beginning to explore it now, next to a forbidden man.
He is married, he is forbidden, but he is the only one who cared to know Agatha, to respect her, to make it clear that he was interested in her, not in her dowry or her body. Lord Ledger is the only one who listens to her without judging her, who understands her, who showed her how much she meant to him, and made her feel that passion and desire didn’t have to be something dirty and disgusting, but something pleasant. And that’s enough to shake the whole world out of her.
As Agatha’s garden blossoms for the first time, she must also deal with more earthly matters. Lord Danbury was broke and the first of Black ton to die, so what happens to his title will set a precedent for everyone else – and we have to confess we can hardly bear the outrage that they don’t have secured something that all white nobles have.
That forces Lady Danbury to consider the implications of her widowhood in Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story 1×05 “Gardens in Bloom.” Keeping the title of Lady for her would mean that she could maintain her newfound freedom and independence while not doing so would force her to remarry and return to her starting square.
But Agatha is not willing to accept that. She already sacrificed her life and her freedom once, and she had to endure years of being sexually assaulted by the man she was married to. She doesn’t plan on doing it again. So that only leaves her one way out Augusta. If Princess Dowager recognizes her eldest son as the new Lord Danbury, the transfer of the title will be assured.
The problem is that Agatha doesn’t know her own son, as we can see in Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story 1×05 “Gardens in Bloom.” Little Lord Danbury knows and loves his nursemaid more than his mother.
Agatha followed the customs of the nobility of the time and relegated the upbringing of her son to a wet nurse. And that he is the son of the man she most despises in the world didn’t help either. But now she depends on him and she is determined that things will change. Will she get it?
A Garden More Alive Than Ever
In the present that Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story 1×05 “Gardens in Bloom” shows us, Violet confesses to Lady Danbury that she is ready to meet someone else…in every way. Through Violet’s words, Agatha remembers how the only time she enjoyed sex was after being widowed and with someone forbidden.
So Agatha understands what Violet is going through right now and wants to keep her from feeling guilty. Edmund is gone, and Violet will always have him in her heart, but it’s okay to move on if she feels ready for it.
And we like that Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story 1×05 “Gardens in Bloom” openly talks about the sexuality of a mature woman. However, we don’t think this fits Violet too much. We mean, she could barely speak at the time she was talking to Daphne about sex. So it sounds strange that Violet now dares to talk about it so openly with Lady Danbury. And less so extensively.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, it’s clear that this Violet plot is something that Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story 1×05 “Gardens in Bloom” introduced to be developed in Bridgerton Season 3. Will we see any suitors courting her? We’d love to see it and, we’re not going to lie to you, we can’t wait to see the reaction of the Bridgerton brothers.
Love is a Choice in Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story 1×05 “Gardens in Bloom”
For her part, Charlotte takes control of her children’s lives and arranges a wedding for them. And it’s still very ironic that she’s now doing the same thing that she hated that was done to her. But the sad thing about this is what her children are demanding. Like Lady Danbury, Charlotte didn’t dedicate herself to being a mother to them. We get the feeling that she was always her queen, but never her mother, despite her initial intentions.
However, Charlotte gets the wedding she wants in Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story 1×05 “Gardens in Bloom.” And we love her speech about love. It’s the first time that we see her not only behave like a real mother with her children but also talk about what it was like for her to fall in love with George.
It wasn’t some unknown magic, it was a choice. Charlotte chose to love George from the moment she decided to marry him. No other choice arose. She chose him to be her love, her life partner, forever. And George ended up being the love of her life. And yes, we are emotional about how precious this is. Perhaps, her son will be just as lucky if he chooses to love his wife instead of driving her away.
Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story is available to stream on Netflix.
