The Gray Areas of Bridgerton: Ranking the Most Ethically Challenged Characters

Bridgerton took the world by storm when it was first released in December 2020, and while fans are eagerly awaiting season 3 (expected sometime in 2023), they are looking back on the characters in Season 1 and Season 2.

Bridgerton follows families in high-society Regency England as they navigate the world looking for security and love.

It doesn’t shy away from having some of its lead characters act in morally questionable ways.

In fact, Rege-Jean Page, who plays the broodingly handsome Duke of Hastings, called his character “kind of horrific.”

Devoted fans shared whom they thought is the most morally grey character on Bridgerton.

*This article contains spoilers for Seasons 1 and 2 of Bridegrton*

Penelope and Portia

“My first thought was Pen, but I think Portia is actually greyer. She’s done worse and felt little (no?) remorse, but I do think her primary goal is protecting herself and her family, with the few tools available to women. She really straddles the line between villain and hero for me. Pen has done questionable things but mostly for good reasons and has been way more conflicted, upset about her decisions,” wrote one person.

Portia

“Portia, hands down. She literally committed illegal acts and stole from her neighbors…but she was also trying to save her daughters from being destitute,” someone added.

Penelope

“It is Pen. Portia acts for the preservation of her young ladies, Pen acts to bolster her own self-esteem,” wrote one person.

 

Another added, “And for me, Portia is what she is. I can’t describe her as grey so much because it doesn’t feel like she’s caught between black and white morality, and it’s more than she operates entirely on her own rules. She’s got her own code of honour. Whereas Pen, I think, wants to believe she’s a good person and would like to believe she is moral in the conventional sense.”

 

The Queen and Lady Danbury

One person had an interesting answer, “Probably the Queen or Lady Danbury. The Queen stirs stuff up because she doesn’t want to be bored. Lady Danbury is pretty sheisty as she moves pieces to the proper spot on her gameboard as well. I think she is my favorite.”

 

A prequel that focuses on Queen Charlotte and Lady Danbury is coming to Netflix (probably in May 2023), so we will probably get to know more of their characters and see where they come from.

 

Cressida Cowper

“Btw, is no one going to mention Cressida Cowper? Like I get that she’s probably a product of her parenting (her mum and dad are pretty sleazy) but she’s like the mean girl of the ton. She’s a bully, she’s manipulative, she’s opportunistic, etc. What’s worse is that she thinks she can secure a match with Colin, even though she is constantly hostile towards Daphne and Penelope, so I don’t get how she thinks she can win him over when she has such a poor reputation with those he’s closest to,” someone said, picking one of the least-liked characters in the show.

 

Simon, Duke of Hastings

One fan agreed with Rege-Jean Page, “Simon (The Duke) is all the shades of gray in terms of morale! That’s probably the reason why he is so well-liked. He even managed to teach Daphne to keep up with ambiguous morals. The readers/viewers had to constantly guess what his next move will be because of the obscurity of his principles.”

 

Anthony Bridgerton

One person wrote, “Anthony. Interesting how very few people think his actions in both seasons weren’t just pathetic and borderline abusive. That’s the most grey character on the show(and the worst IMO).”

 

We hope you enjoyed this Reddit discussion of who is the most morally grey character on Bridgerton!

This post originally appeared on Swoon Hub.

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