Bridgerton: Is it okay to watch it with my twelve-year-old?

Bridgerton. Just the word alone makes me smile. The costumes, the scenery, the characters. And of course, the sex. Eeeks, it makes me blush a little. In the first episode alone, we see two people doing it up against a tree. Ouch, is there such thing as trunk burn? But season 2 hasn’t had nearly the racy scenes as season 1. It’s been downright tame.

So as I was watching it, something occurred to me. Zoey would LOVE this! She could totally watch season 2!! She’s going to swoon over the ballroom scenes and the promenade scenes and the garden scenes. Not to mention the love stories. So I set it up on our TV and called her down to watch it with me, at which point she rolled her eyes and said…

ZOEY: Not now.

ME: Zoey, pleeeease, I swear you are going to love this.

ZOEY: I can’t, Mom, I have homework (translation: she wants to lie in her bed and play stupid games on her phone).

Grrrr. Getting your tween to come out of their room and watch a show with you takes some serious arm-twisting. 

ME: Come on Zoey, you can have extra screen time tonight, and a big dessert, and stay up late, and get a Tesla when you turn 16?

ZOEY: Fiiine.

So we sat down on the couch together to start season 2, and that’s when she asked something very important.

ZOEY: How am I gonna understand season 2 if I haven’t seen season 1?

It was a totally legitimate question. I thought about it. I think you can understand season 2 of Bridgerton without seeing season 1, but it would be sooooo much better seeing it from the beginning. Is she too young for it, though? What about all those racy scenes? Like the tree scene and the honeymoon scenes. So I answered her honestly.

ME: Ummm, there’s a lot of sex in season 1, and I don’t know whether you’re going to want to watch that yet, especially with your mom.

ZOEY: Mommm, I’m in 7^th grade. I know all that. It’s fine.

So, without a lot of thought, I queued up season 1 and pushed play. From the second I did, Zoey’s eyes lit up like you can’t imagine. She wanted to wear every dress, go to every ball, attend every party, and she must have muttered the word “awwww” like 9000 times. She thought Daphne was beautiful, fell in love with Eloise, and was utterly disgusted by Lord Berbrooke. I was so happy I decided to watch it with her.

And then the first sex scene came on.

ZOEY: Oh. (pause) Oh, wow. Are they?

ME: Uh-huh.

And I just kind of left it there.

There were a couple more scenes like that—racy but not TOOOO graphic (comparatively speaking). The really graphic stuff happens later in the season.

Like when Daphne starts touching herself. Ruh-rohhh, I totally forgot about this scene. Yikes, but there was no turning back. I mean don’t get me wrong, we’re not seeing what her hand is doing, but we definitely see her face the whole time. And wellll, let’s just say watching that next to Zoey was a wee bit awkward. But it came (no pun intended) and went, and we got through it okay.

(SPOILER ALERT: STOP reading now if you haven’t watched Bridgerton season 1 and are planning to!!!)

And then, Daphne and Simon tied the knot. Honeymoon time!!! Bow chica bow bowwww. In other words, time to go make dinner while Zoey watches that scene by herself. Nahhhh, tempting but just kidding. Watching Daphne and Simon get it on was GRAF-FIC. Say hello to Simon’s derriere. A lot. Often thrusting. And two questions entered my mind as I watched naked Simon. 1. Holy crap, did someone turn up the thermostat in our house? And 2. Was watching Bridgerton with my twelve-year-old a total mistake?

And this is what I decided.

I don’t think so. Because here’s the thing. Daphne and Simon aren’t just having sex. They’re making love. Like I’m pretty sure Daphne and Simon are more in love than anyone else has ever been on the face of this earth. So I think it’s okay for Zoey to watch the natural evolution of their beautiful relationship. At least I hope it is. I pray I’m not scarring her for life or anything.

But come on, kids these days are watching shows like Bachelor in Paradise, and Love Island, and Too Hot to Handle. Shows where complete strangers hook up. And then hook up ten minutes later with someone else. And then have threesomes, foursomes, affairs, cheating, backstabbing, etc etc etc. All while wearing bathing suits that are so minuscule, they have to blur them out.

Versus Daphne and Simon who gradually grow from strangers, to friends, to best friends, to true love, to marriage. And Zoey and I are still in the middle of the season, and their relationship certainly isn’t without complications, but so far Zoey hasn’t been too grossed out or embarrassed during it. She’s been smiling ear-to-ear. And every time Simon looks at Daphne with puppy dog eyes in the middle of you-know-what, Zoey says the same thing…

ZOEY: Awwwww.

And I’m sitting here right next to her the whole time. Ready to answer ANY questions she has. Praying she doesn’t, but happy to answer if she does. 

If you liked this, please don’t forget to like and share it! Thank you!!