#nuanced characters

Since the first 4 minutes of season 3 part 2 of Bridgerton has been released, people have been getting angry at Eloise for her actions in Bridgerton.

I think people forget that it is okay to have nuanced characters. Its okay to have characters that make mistakes and don't handle situations perfectly.

That's what makes a lot of the characters in Bridgerton great because they have some realistic human traits. They make mistakes. They don't always say the correct things.

And they don't make up in one episode. Arguments and fights take time to get over, they take time to heal from. They take time understand.

All of what I'm saying applies to Penelope as a character as well.

Did Eloise act like a bad friend at times? Absolutely! But is she irredeemable? Absolutely not!

In Eloise and Penelope's friendship, Eloise was the talker and Penelope was the listener. They were also happy with that dynamic. But this is what fundamentally ruins their friendship because they didn't take the time to actually truly know the person. They both gave each other the attention that they needed and craved at the time. Eloise wanted to talk about herself (which is okay) and Penelope wanted/needed a friend.

I also want to point out that these characters are young, they are women in the regency era, and both come from high society. I don't want it to come off as if I think they are stupid, but I do think they are very sheltered and privileged. They haven't really be exposed to a functional and/or healthy friendship. Yes Eloise has her family - but family friendships are completely different.

Eloise made most of the conversations with Penelope about herself. Eloise treated Penelope like she does with all of her family and her family love her. She continued that dynamic with Penelope because that's all she knows.

Penelope grew up in a family where she wasn't noticed or really cared for. It makes sense that she wouldn't talk to Eloise about her secrets or confess to Eloise about loving Colin, the trauma of growing up in a household like hers would make anybody want to stay in their shell. If her family couldn't love or even like her for who she was, why would she open up to somebody outside of her family? She was never taught or shown how to confess one's feelings.

Both of the characters are flawed in their friendship. They both have things to apologize for, and I think once they do, they will actually be able to have an adult friendship.

So let's stop the hatred of characters, let's stop the division within ships, let's just stop the hate. (I know that will never happen, but one can try to make at least one person see the light)

It is okay to be critical of things and not like where a character is going. But let's step back, breath, and know that people are people. They fuck up. They aren't perfect. They will all have good and bad qualities.

Ahh...the funniness that is bigger fandoms. One slightly negative post and I get a rude anon.

Owen needs to work on his parenting skills (like a lot). And his anger management. And so many other things cause they've written him as a nuanced character with strengths and weaknesses.

Like yes, Wilhelm is the impulsive crown prince not ready to fill his big brother's shoes, who doesn't really get how laymen think because of all the structures he needs to represent as crown prince, but he is also just a trapped teenaged boy who loves and cares deeply, who wants to BE loved and cared for.

Yes, Simon is a beautiful person whose smiles are like the sun and voice is like an angel's and he's an individual with a strong personality who doesn't give two shits what others think, but he is also stubborn and driven by emotion, and sometimes vindication. He makes mistakes.

And August. God, August. I could write a whole meta post about that guy. He dreams of being bigger than he is, he strives for power, and yet he craves intimacy. He genuinely loves Sara, he genuinely did feel bad for what he did to Wilheim - whether it was for fear of his own fate or out of guilt - he did try to make ammends, but the need to make ammends is overriden by his want for power. He strives for power because he has just lost power, his fortune, his father. He is vindictive, and impulsive and he just wants everything. He wants to preserve the royal family's power so much he is blinded by what his actions do to others. He genuinely thinks that's the right thing to do. He wants to be the good guy that everyone loves, but he also does things that are just blatantly wrong. Like what did you expect, man? Threatening the brother of the girl you love? Really???

And Sara. I love her so much. It's such a tender way of representing someone who has had nothing to do with sex, who also wants to be more than she is. I honestly think that's why she and August hit it off so well. Because they both are wanting of something - to be better, to be more, to be included (August in the royal family, Sara in Hillerska). The only difference is that Sara has a bit (a lot) of a better moral compass than August. She sees that August wants to change, he is two steps behind the line to redemption. She just didn't think that he loved power more than anything else.

Awwww thank you for your kind words, darling <3 <3 <3

I’m glad you liked my entry for the Wattpad SW related Challenge. When I saw I could write a fanfic, I thought why the hell not write something with Hux? It’s just a pity it couldn’t go past 500 words. I always get excited when I write about Hux and I struggled to keep up with the 500w limit xD

“How come you can craft such a perfect picture of Hux when Disney executives can't even scratch the surface of his personality?”

Awww thank you <3 <3 <3 It’s the highest compliment for any author to have readers saying they nailed a character, for us fanfiction writers it’s the best thing ever <3 I mean, Hux is quite a complex character, but at the same time we know very little of him, with him being a secondary character and with Disney giving him a different personality each movie (don’t get me started at what they did to him in TROS) and any good material we get from him comes from other media, and honestly it’s not enough, cause he’s hardly ever the main character, except for his comic.

Gosh I so hate this movie

It’s a pity the movies didn’t do him justice. Cause Hux had the potential to he so much more and Domhnall definitely had the ability to deliver so much more, but considering what he was given, he did good enough. He’s a villain, alright, but he has a very interesting background, I dare say his background is richer and far more interesting than Kylo Ren/Ben Solo. He’s a genius, he’s ruthless, but deep down he’s many insecurities resulting from his harsh upbringing, but it’s hardly explored in the movies... or anywhere at all. Which is kind disappointing, a good writer could deliver a nuanced characters, and let’s be honest, Kylo Ren is the one who gets closest of being nuanced and even with him they did a quite poor job.

Anyway, I quite enjoy writing with him and getting such compliments make my day. So I should be the one to thank you for your kind and encouraging words. Thank you for dedicating your time to leave such a lovely message.

yeah, that’s fair. I think I mean more in the setup phases, and intent - Daredevil’s got nuanced motivations (villains are not caricatures) and side characters who have arcs that matter.