Wow, Regé-Jean Page Really Didn't Understand Bridgerton's Simon
Comments made by Bridgerton break-out star Regé-Jean Page suggest he really didn't understand his character, Simon Basset. Having signed on for only one season and sat out season 2, Page has confirmed that he is happy Bridgerton recasting the Duke, ending speculation that he could return in future. Any suggestion that he didn't enjoy his time in Netflix's Regency drama is misplaced, though, but Page did have some harsh words for the character that has thrust him into the limelight, saying the Duke was «horrific».
There's a rich vein of Regency dramas featuring problematic men who ultimately find redemption, and Page's comments also include praise for how well Simon was redeemed, given that he was the ultimate "Regency f**kboy". In that respect, he would sit alongside Mr Darcy, Heathcliff, and Bridgerton's own Anthony Bridgerton, the true rake in residence. And it is true that Basset seems to have been a libertine prior to marrying Daphne, to the point that Anthony refused to accept his engagement to his sister. The hypocrite.
Related: Bridgerton: Will Regé-Jean Page's Simon Return In Season 3?
But is Regé-Jean Page right about Bridgerton's Duke? Was Basset on an irredeemable path that was righted only by Daphne's influence? Was he truly horrific? Was it fair to call him "the best example of a Regency f**kboy that any of us had come across"? Well, no, frankly. To criticize the Duke in those terms is to completely ignore the nuance of his arc and the pain of his backstory. When he's first introduced in Bridgerton, he is there to do his duty as a son, and settle the affairs of his dead father, and he only appears on the social scene because he's cajoled by Lady Danbury. Simon is a man of honour, reserved in his emotions,
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