‘Bridgerton’: Marina’s Storyline Could Take a Very Dark Turn in a Future Season
Netflix’s Bridgerton isn’t 100% faithful to author Julia Quinn’s books. But if the show follows the source material when it comes to one character, viewers should brace themselves for a sad ending.
[Warning: This article contains spoilers for the book To Sir Phillip, With Love.]
Marina Thompson was introduced in ‘Bridgerton’ Season 1
Bridgerton introduced Marina (Ruby Barker) in season 1. In the show, she’s a cousin of the Featheringtons who comes to stay with the family. Eventually, we learn she’s become pregnant out of wedlock by a soldier named George Crane. George isn’t responding to Marina’s increasingly desperate letters, so she cooks up a plan to get Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) to marry her. He eventually proposes, but when Lady Whistledown exposes the truth about Marina’s condition, he calls off the engagement.
Soon after, George’s brother Phillip arrives in London with devastating news. George has died in battle. Phillip, realizing the gravity of Marina’s situation, offers to do the honorable thing and marry her. Though she’s at first reluctant, she eventually agrees.
Marina appears again in Bridgerton Season 2, although only briefly. Colin visits Marina and Phillip at their home, where they’re living with their twins, Oliver and Amanda. He apologizes for the way he treated her, but she is unsentimental about the past. She tells him that he needs to let go of his fantasies and that she is content with her life, though she does not seem very happy.
She appears in one of Julia Quinn’s ‘Bridgerton’ books
While Bridgerton has introduced a number of characters that don’t appear in Quinn’s novels, Marina isn’t one of them. She’s featured in the book To Sir Phillip, With Love, which focuses on Eloise’s romance with Sir Phillip Crane. However, her story is somewhat different there than it is in the show.
In the book, Marina is seen only in flashbacks. As in the show, she’s Sir Phillip’s wife. But in this storyline, she’s a distant Bridgerton cousin rather than being related to the Featheringtons. Book Marina did marry her husband after the death of her fiancé, Phillip’s brother George. But the marriage was not arranged to cover up an unintended pregnancy.
Unfortunately, Phillip and Marina’s relationship was not a happy one in Quinn’s novel. As Phillip recalls, she was “melancholy” throughout their marriage, and her depression only worsened after the birth of her children. One day, she attempted to drown herself in a lake on their estate. While Phillip rescued her, she ultimately fell ill and died. That sets the stage for his romance with Eloise.
Will ‘Bridgerton’ give Marina a different fate?
Will Bridgerton’s Marina experience the same fate as the Marina of the books? At this point, we don’t know. The show’s writers have made a number of tweaks to Quinn’s original stories. But they have yet to change any of the major romantic pairings, which means that Eloise and Sir Phillip are likely to eventually end up together.
However, for a romance between Eloise and Sir Phillip to work, something will need to happen to Marina. It’s possible she’ll die, either by suicide or in some other manner. But that may be too dark a direction for the show, especially given everything the character has already experienced, including the death of her first love and being forced into a loveless marriage of convenience.
Another option might be for Marina and Phillip to separate. Divorce was rare during the Regency era, but Bridgerton isn’t exactly a stickler for historical accuracy. Having her and Phillip split up could give Marina the happier ending viewers may feel she deserves while still allowing Phillip and Eloise to end up together.
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