‘Bridgerton’: The Bee Motif is a Bit Morbid, Some Fans Think
TV shows love leaving Easter eggs for their fans to find. Many of said Easter eggs allude to an even bigger picture in the upcoming season, leaving fans wanting more. Bridgerton is one of Netflix’s biggest hits for various reasons outside its perfect storylines.
Some eagle-eyed fans have noticed several symbols in the show, and while they agree that some are cute, a section feels others, like the bee motif, are a bit morbid.
‘Bridgerton’ features several bee motifs
If you watched Netflix’s hit show Bridgerton once, you might have missed some of the Easter eggs in the show. However, a rewatch makes it clear that there is heavy symbolism employed by Chris Van Dusen, Shonda Rhimes, and co.
Bridgerton‘s costume department had an uphill task creating the costumes given how many they had to make (7,500 pieces per Cosmopolitan), and while the costumes were many, the designers took great consideration for each character.
For instance, the Featheringtons have butterflies in certain parts of their outfits. This symbol constantly appears for the struggling noble family, including on their staircase. Similarly, the Bridgertons had an insect as part of their family symbol.
Bridgerton uses a bumblebee motif throughout the show, both in animations and in costume. Benedict Bridgerton especially dorns the motif in several of his clothes, from the lapels on his coat to the collars on his shirt. In some episodes, Eloise wears a bee hairpin.
In an interview with BuzzFeed, Colin’s portrayer Luke Newton, spoke of the fateful bee, saying, “On a personal level, in our costumes, there’s so much attention to detail that you just wouldn’t even realize.” He added, “The symbol of the Bridgerton family is the bumblebee, and there’s tiny little bumblebees on our waistcoats that you wouldn’t even notice.”
Some fans think the bee motif is morbid
The bee first appears in the first season of Bridgerton, with the most obvious being in the first shot when the insect lands on the door knocker. The bee was a teaser for what was to come in the second season, which was death. The Bridgertons are close, and while they are a strong unit, one family member is presently absent from the events, and that person is the patriarch.
In the second season, fans learn that the Bridgerton patriarch Edmund died from a bee sting. His untimely death resulted in Anthony’s debilitating fear of bees which leads to an intimate moment between him and Kate when he panics after a bee lands on her.
This little (or major) detail has resulted in a debate among fans of the show who don’t understand why the series would use the bee as a symbol of the family. Some Reddit fans called the bumblebee motif “morbid,” arguing that whoever decided it would be a fitting symbol had either not read the books or had a weird sense of humor.
Some fans had an issue with Benedict constantly wearing bee motifs around his siblings, knowing how Anthony feels about the insect. However, others felt the bee was a nice reminder of their father and a sort of tribute to him.
What does the bee symbolize?
The Featheringtons use butterflies in their clothes as an indicator that despite their financial situation, they are still lovely and social. In the same vein, the Bridgertons may use bees as a symbol of change and power.
Showrunner Van Dusen tweeted, “It’s cute, but it’s also backstory, history, HIERARCHY. Queens & drones.” A queen typically runs bees’ nests. The purpose of the worker bees is to feed the colony while the drones mate.
The drone bees tend to leave the nest to look for new queen bees to mate with. Violet Bridgerton is the matriarch of the family, and her sons have to find wives to further the Bridgerton name. She also holds considerable influence in social circles.
