What Would Danbury Do?

We conclude our two-part episode by diving back into Bridgerton Season Four Episode 8. When we left Sophie, all was despair. Will she find her happy ending? Not without a few bumps along the way…

Featuring:

- Math not mathing

- Sapphic panic

- Self-awareness

- Mutually beneficial recounting of events

- Stakes not staking

- Truly underwhelming apologies

- A new columnist

Here are is the media we talk about in this episode:

- WWDD, episode 59: Money for Nothing

- Bridgerton, a television series

- Pride and Prejudice, a book by Jane Austen

- Red, White and Royal Blue, a book by Casey McQuiston

- Captain Pugwash, a television series

- When He Was Wicked, a book by Julia Quinn

- The Northwest Passage, a series of disasters

- Scandal, a television series 

- An Offer from a Gentleman, a book by Julia Quinn

- ‘Marry You’, a song by Bruno Mars

- ‘With Arms Wide Open’, a song by Creed

- Encanto, a film by Disney

- Pretty Little Liars, a television series

- Heated Rivalry, a television series

- The Other Bennet Sister, a television series

Our guest host this episode is our favourite, Ben McKenzie. He brought along the fantasy novel, The Ruthless Lady’s Guide to Wizardry by CM Waggoner for our TBR piles. You can hear more from Ben on his own fantastic podcast, Pratchat, or by visiting his website.

Don’t forget you can find us on facebook @bridgertonpod and instagram and bluesky @wwddpod and join the conversation using the hashtag #WWDDpod. 

Please follow us on your favourite podcast provider! Leaving a 5-star rating and a review will guarantee a life full of fantastic friends.

This episode was recorded on the traditional and unceded land of the Kaurna, Gadigal, Wurundjeri and Boonwurrung people.

Our editor is Ben McKenzie of Splendid Chaps Productions. If you need production work completed, you can find them here: splendidchaps.com

Thanks so much for joining us for this season! We look forward to talking to you next year for Francesca’s season!

In this first part of the final episode of this season, all appears to be despair. Sophie is missing, presumed at sea, but in reality in prison thanks to the capricious whims of her stepmother. Benedict and the rest of the Bridgertons are facing their own scandals and heartbreak, and it appears that all will be lost. But this is Bridgerton, and there is still time for old friends to rise, new villains to fall, and shoes to play an important plot role. 

Featuring:

• Mice and lice

• Narrative hockey sticks

• Servants know everything

• The theoretical existence of Australia

• Too many villains spoil a plot

• Dibber dobber energy

• Man in the bin dot gif

• Top-tier sex scene

• But where’s the apology?

• Plot abysses

Here are is the media we talk about in this episode:

• Bridgerton, a television series

• Heated Rivalry, a television series

• American Psycho, a film by Mary Haron

• Skyrim, a video game

• When He Was Wicked, a book by Julia Quinn

• An Offer from a Gentleman, a book by Julia Quinn

• Ever After, a film by by Andy Tennant

• The Crucible, a play by Arthur Miller

• The Other Bennet Sister, a television series

• Queen Charlotte, a television series by Shonda Rhimes

• To Sir Phillip, With Love, a book by Julia Quinn

Our guest host this episode is the inimitable Ben McKenzie. You can hear more from Ben on his own fantastic podcast, Pratchat, or by visiting his website.

Stay tuned for part 2!

Don’t forget you can find us on facebook @bridgertonpod and instagram and bluesky @wwddpod and join the conversation using the hashtag #WWDDpod. 

Please follow us on your favourite podcast provider! Leaving a 5-star rating and a review will ensure any imprisonment you experience may be awful, but at least it won’t be overrun with vermin.

This episode was recorded on the traditional and unceded land of the Kaurna, Gadigal, Wurundjeri and Boonwurrung people.

Our editor is Ben McKenzie of Splendid Chaps Productions. If you need production work completed, you can find them here: splendidchaps.com

Episode seven, The Beyond, unfolds in the wake of John’s death as the Bridgertons gather to grieve and their own worries and cares pause around them. For Benedict and Sophie, the support and love of the Bridgerton family throws their decision into sharp relief: the cost of being together is too high, and Sophie prepares to leave London rather than be the reason Benedict loses his family.

Elsewhere, Lady Araminta intensifies her hunt for Sophie, Michaela and Francesca take very different approaches to marking John’s loss, Eloise appears to be maturing, and Hyacinth decides that if love means losing your husband, she wants no part of boys at all.

Featuring:

- The rituals of grief

- Wife guys

- Balls (too many or not enough)

- Acts of caring

- Familia Ante Omnia

- The radical openness of love

- The role of mothers

- Consequences

- Self-awareness in heroines

Here are is the media we talk about in this episode:

- Bridgerton, a television series

- An Offer from a Gentleman, a book by Julia Quinn

- When He Was Wicked, a book by Julia Quinn

- Queen Charlotte, a television series by Shonda Rhimes

- To Sir Phillip, With Love, a book by Julia Quinn

- ‘Panning for Gold’, a Grave Matters podcast episode

- And Just Like That, a television series by Darren Star and Michael Patrick King

- 101 Dalmations, a Walt Disney film 

- Spare, a memoir by Prince Harry

- Pride and Prejudice, a novel by Jane Austen

- Ever After, a film by Andy Tennant

- Wandavision, a Marvel tv series

- Cinderella, a fairytale

- Lady and the Tramp, a Walt Disney film

Note: Melanie Lynskey’s character in Ever After is named Jaqueline.

Our guest host this episode is the. You can hear more from Nadine J Cohen on instagram, listen to her podcast Grave Matters or read her beautiful novel. 

Good guests never arrive empty-handed. Nadine has brought new book recommendations: My Cursed Vaginaby Lally Katz. You can find it wherever you buy your books!

Don’t forget you can find us on facebook @bridgertonpod and instagram and bluesky @wwddpod and join the conversation using the hashtag #WWDDpod. 

Please follow us on your favourite podcast provider! Leaving a 5-star rating and a review will ensure you never lose a piece of jewellery.

This episode was recorded on the traditional and unceded land of the Kaurna, Gadigal, Wurundjeri and Boonwurrung people.

Our editor is Ben McKenzie of Splendid Chaps Productions. If you need production work completed, you can find them here: splendidchaps.com

Episode 6, The Passing Winter, finds Benedict doubling down on his cottage solution, convinced he has found a way forward for himself and Sophie. Sophie, meanwhile, is forced to reckon with the practical consequences of their intimacy, and the two of them begin confronting what their future might actually require.

Elsewhere, Penelope faces renewed pressure over Whistledown, Alice continues learning the realities of court life beside the Queen, and Anthony returns to London to dominate proceedings as the Bridgertons adjust to life with a new heir.

Featuring:

• Organisational queens

• Several consecutive character spirals

• Sibling rivalries

• A lot of unwelcome reality checks

• Cressida apologism

• Unrecognised power imbalance

• Kate apologism

• Actual and metaphorical cross-class cosplay

• Bridgertons always choose themselves

• A bummer of an ending

Here are is the media we talk about in this episode:

• Bridgerton, a television series

• An Offer from a Gentleman, a book by Julia Quinn

• When He Was Wicked, a book by Julia Quinn

• ‘A Husband for Fanny’, included in Snowdrift and other Stories, a short story by Georgette Heyer

• Heated Rivalry, a television series by Jacob Tierney

• Married at First Sight, an Australian reality television series

• The Beckham family feud

• The ‘Firm’, a description of the British Royal Family

•  Mean Girls, a film by Mark Waters

• Romancing Mr Bridgerton, a book by Julia Quinn

• ‘Just What I Needed’, a song by The Cars

• ‘Fields of Gold’, a song by Sting

• Jurassic Park: Rebirth, a film by Gareth Edwards

• Gosford Park, a film by Robert Altman

• Les Miserables, a novel by Victor Hugo

• Schitt’s Creek, a television series by Dan Levy and Eugene Levy

Our guest host this episode is the luminous Mirandi Riwoe. You can hear more from Mirandi on instagram or read her beautiful novels. 

Mirandi has brought something for your (heaving) TBR pile: Check out The Mission House by Carys Davies on her recommendation! 

Mirandi also asked us for recommendations. We suggested Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston, Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid, and The Ornithologist’s Field Guide to Love by India Holton. 

We also talked about The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley. 

Don’t forget you can find us on facebook @bridgertonpod and instagram and bluesky @wwddpod and join the conversation using the hashtag #WWDDpod. 

Please follow us on your favourite podcast provider! Leaving a 5-star rating and a review will not only help us find more listeners, but also keep you regular (iykyk).

This episode was recorded on the traditional and unceded land of the Kaurna, Jagera, Turrbal, Wurundjeri and Boonwurrung people.

Our editor is Ben McKenzie of Splendid Chaps Productions. If you need production work completed, you can find them here: splendidchaps.com

After the cliffhanger at the end of episode four, we see a number of Bridgerton siblings getting some education: Benedict in the ways of women, Hyacinth in the ways of boys, and Francesca in the ways of marriage. 

As Sophie considers her decision carefully, Violet has her own decisions to make, and Penelope faces some hard truths about how she’s used her Whistledown power. 

It’s episode 5, and we’ve all got questions. 

Featuring:

• A meditation on mistresses

• Intent versus impact

• Theme of the week

• The importance of planning

• A lot of garden metaphors

• Consequences (they’re a bummer)

• A cheeseboard palate cleanser

• A meta-commentary

• Different flavours of neurospicy

• The slut-shaming episode

Here are is the media we talk about in this episode:

• Bridgerton, a television series

• An Offer from a Gentleman, a book by Julia Quinn

• When He Was Wicked, a book by Julia Quinn

• The Odd Couple, a television series

• ‘360’, a song by Chali XCX

• Grey’s Anatomy, a television series

• ‘Birds of a Feather’, a song by Billie Eilish

• Glee, a television series

• ‘Lose Control’, a song by Teddy Swims

• Gone with the Wind, a film by Victor Fleming

Our guest host this episode is Melanie Saward. You can hear more from Mel on instagram and tiktok or read her fantastic novels. Mel always brings the best recommendations: this time, she told us about All That We Know by Shilo Kino.

Don’t forget you can find us on facebook @bridgertonpod and instagram and bluesky @wwddpod and join the conversation using the hashtag #WWDDpod. 

Please follow us on your favourite podcast provider! Leaving a 5-star rating and a review will not only help us find more listeners, but also ensure an appropriate soundtrack is always playing in your life.

This episode was recorded on the traditional and unceded land of the Kaurna, Jagera, Yuggera, Ugarapul, Wurundjeri and Boonwurrung people.

Our editor is Ben McKenzie of Splendid Chaps Productions. If you need production work completed, you can find them here: splendidchaps.com

Everyone is back in London, and what happened at the cottage has to stay at the cottage. Sophie takes a position below stairs at Bridgerton House, placing her firmly within the family orbit but very much outside its privileges. Benedict struggles with the distance that uniform creates, and when he makes what he believes is a generous offer, it lands as something else entirely.

Meanwhile, Lady Danbury nudges Alice into a public role she never asked for, Francesca says the quiet part out loud, and Violet redefines ‘the tea’.

Featuring:

• Capital-p Plot

• Snack wars

• The rules of society

• Visual metaphors

• The importance of good sex education

• Lack of Stakes

• Buttons…and buttons

• Alternative History

• The importance of good communication

• Sapphic panic

• Tea as a sex drink

• The Bridgerton Brother (Finger) Bang

Here are is the media we talk about in this episode:

• Bridgerton, a television series

• An Offer from a Gentleman, a book by Julia Quinn

• Cinderella, a fairytale

• Downton Abbey, a television series

• Queen Charlotte, a mini-series

• It’s in His Kiss by Julia Quinn

• RuPaul’s Drag Race, a television series

• To Sir Phillip, With Love, a book by Julia Quinn

• Lady Chatterley’s Lover, a book by DH Lawrence

• Pretty Little Liars, a television series

• Younger, a television series

• North and South, a television mini-series

• Les Misérables, a film by Tom Hooper

• Notting Hill, a film by Roger Michell

• Romancing Mr Bridgerton, a book by Julia Quinn

• ‘bad idea right?’, a song by Olivia Rodrigo

• Heartbreak High, a television show

• Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a television show

Some extra notes:

• Benedict’s lover in season 3 is named Tilly

• Sutton Foster’s character in Younger is named Liza

Our guest host this episode is friend of the podcast Patrick Lenton. You can hear more from Patrick on instagram, his fantastic newsletter Nonsense or read his fabulous debut novel, In Spite of You. 

For your TBR, Patrick brought Her Majesty’s Royal Coven by Juno Dawson.

Don’t forget you can find us on facebook @bridgertonpod and instagram and bluesky @wwddpod and join the conversation using the hashtag #WWDDpod. 

Please follow us on your favourite podcast provider! Leaving a 5-star rating and a review will not only help us find more listeners, but also help you achieve real pinnacles.

This episode was recorded on the traditional and unceded land of the Kaurna, Wurundjeri and Boonwurrung people.

Our editor is Ben McKenzie of Splendid Chaps Productions. If you need production work completed, you can find them here: splendidchaps.com

London is a world away as we arrive at Benedict’s My Cottage, where the isolation makes society’s rules feel ephemeral and avoidable. As Benedict takes the time he needs to heal, Sophie is able to play make-believe in a life that could have been – but will never be – her own. 

Meanwhile, back in town, the demand economy is in the workers’ favour and salaries and benefits go up as the Ton scrambles to maintain the staff necessary to keep up appearances – and Francesca attempts to scale a mountain. 

Featuring:

- The elasticity of Bridgerton geography

- Curiousity as kindling

- Labour reform

- Family versus workplace

- The elasticity of Bridgerton time

- A Bridgerton-specific orgasm gap

- Maps to a pinnacle

- One two true loves?

- Return to reality

Here are is the media we talk about in this episode:

- Miss Caroline Bingley, Private Investigator, a book by Kelly Gardiner and Sharmini Kumar

- Bridgerton, a television series

- Sense and Sensibility, a book by Jane Austen

- Call Me By Your Name, a film by Luca Guadagnino

- An Offer from a Gentleman, a book by Julia Quinn

- The Butterfly Effect, a mathematics term

Cinderella, a fairytale

- Beauty and the Beast, a Disney film 

‘- Macarena’, a song by Los Del Rio

- Mary Poppins, a Disney film

- Anne of Green Gables, a TV series by Kevin Sullivan

- Les Miserables, a book by Victor Hugo

- Les Miserables, a film by Tom Hooper

- Pride and Prejudice, a TV series by Simon Langton

- JJ Abrams, a director

- Star Wars: The Force Awakens, a film by JJ Abrams

- Mean Girls, a film by Mark Waters

- X-Men, a film by Bryan Singer

Some extra notes:

- Sophie’s dress is indeed a repurposed dress from Daphne’s wardrobe!

Our guest host this episode is the sharp and sassy Sharmini Kumar. You can hear more from Sharmini on instagram and buy her book at all good bookstores!

For your TBR, Sharmini brought us two recommendations! She recommends Babel and Katabasis, both by RF Kwang.

Don’t forget you can find us on facebook @bridgertonpod and instagram and bluesky @wwddpod and join the conversation using the hashtag #WWDDpod. 

Please follow us on your favourite podcast provider! Leaving a 5-star rating and a review will not only help us find more listeners, but also ensure you have an open invite to a cottage of your choice.

This episode was recorded on the traditional and unceded land of the Kaurna, Wurundjeri and Boonwurrung people.

Our editor is Ben McKenzie of Splendid Chaps Productions. If you need production work completed, you can find them here: splendidchaps.com

Hold on to your bonnets as we flash back in time to witness the ball – and the lead-up – from Sophie’s perspective. With more information about her life and circumstances, we’re able to see why Benedict has the luxury to stay frozen in a moment of time and Sophie simply does not.

Meanwhile, Lady Danbury and the Queen experience a relationship re-evaluation, and Posy and Alfie step up to become new favourite side characters. 

Finally our season villain emerges: Lady Araminta, who makes the much-missed Cressida look positively angelic.

Featuring:

• Our *own* lack of class consciousness

• Visual metaphors are visualing

• Weak Bridgerton genes

• Villain dressing

• Sad, sulky Sophie

• A stacked social calendar

• Mother manipulation

• Soul mates

• A hero moment

Here are is the media we talk about in this episode:

• Wayne’s World, a film by Penelope Spheeris

• Bridgerton, a television series

• An Offer from a Gentleman, a book by Julia Quinn

• Cinderella, a fairytale

• Black widow, a term

• Romancing Mr Bridgerton, a book by Julia Quinn

• Ever After, a film by Andy Tennant

• Game of Thrones, a TV show

• Mean Girls, a film by Mark Waters

• ‘Enchanted’, a song by Taylor Swift

• Queen Charlotte, a mini-series

• Pride and Prejudice, a film by Joe Wright

Some extra notes:

• For our international listeners, Penfold is a mainstream wine brand and SA refers to the state of South Australia (a wine capital of Australia)

• Alfie has a northern accent, and it’s likely actor David Moorst’s own real one. He’s from St Helens, where folks speak with a similar accent to Lancashire or Yorkshire.

Our guest host this episode is the romantic and riveting Bella Mason. You can hear more from Bella by following her on instagram and threads.

For your TBR, Bella has recommended The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig. Bella called it ‘stunning’ and like being wrapped in a ‘warm, gothic blanket’.

Don’t forget you can find us on facebook @bridgertonpod and instagram and bluesky @wwddpod and join the conversation using the hashtag #WWDDpod. 

Please follow us on your favourite podcast provider! Leaving a 5-star rating and a review will not only help us find more listeners, but also ensure you always have a plucky footman/friend by your side. 

This episode was recorded on the traditional and unceded land of the Kaurna, Wurundjeri and Boonwurrung people.

Our editor is Ben McKenzie of Splendid Chaps Productions. If you need production work completed, you can find them here: splendidchaps.com

Everyone loves a masquerade, where one gets to be someone completely different – at least until the clock strikes midnight. 

In this season opener, the questions of who we are, who people see us as, and who we’d like to be start early, as one magical evening kicks off a series of events that are sure to turn the Ton a-tizzy. Benedict is a rake, Sophie is a servant, and somehow Lady Whistledown is still a main character.

It’s season four, and we’re about to go downstairs.

Featuring:

• So many servants

• Definitions of a rake, definitions of self

• Finding the right person

• Introducing the boy diamond

• Big villain energy

• Curiosity, fascination, surprise

• A Cinderella story

Here are is the media we talk about in this episode:

• An Offer from a Gentleman, a book by Julia Quinn

• Romancing Mr Bridgerton, a book by Julia Quinn

• Bridgerton, a television series

• Jodi’s WWDD episode on virginity

• Jodi’s WWDD episode on romance series

• The Consummate Virgin by Jodi McAlister

• The Duke and I by Julia Quinn

• When He Was Wicked by Julia Quinn

• It’s in His Kiss by Julia Quinn

• Lord Byron

• Heated Rivalry, a television adaptation

• Queen Charlotte, a mini-series

• Queen Charlotte, a WWDD special episode featuring Maxine Beneba Clarke

• Cinderella, a fairytale

• Joan of Arc

• A Midsummer’s Night Dream, a play by William Shakespeare

• The Princess Bride, a film by Rob Reiner

• Cleopatra

• Marc Antony

• Zeus

• ‘Life in Technocolour’, a song by Coldplay

• ‘Masquerade’, a song from The Phantom of the Opera, a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber

• The Bachelor, a reality TV show

• The Bachelorette, a reality TV show

• ‘DJ Got Us Fallin’ in Love’, a song by Usher

• ‘Never Let You Go’, a song by Third Eye Blind

• Wicked, a musical by Stephen Schwartz

• Ever After, a film by Andy Tennant

Some extra notes:

• Both Mrs Wilson and John the Footman have been regulars since season one

• The Queen is dressed as the Queen of Hearts at the masquerade

Our guest host this episode is the seriously smart, seriously sassy Jodi McAlister. You can hear more from Jodi by following her on instagram and tiktok and by reading her latest novel, An Academic Affair. For your TBR, Jodi has recommended Power Moves by Leesa Ronald. Jodi says the characters ‘sprang to life’ for her and called the book ‘compelling’. 

Don’t forget you can find us on facebook @bridgertonpod and instagram and bluesky @wwddpod and join the conversation using the hashtag #WWDDpod. Please follow us on your favourite podcast provider! Leaving a 5-star rating and a review will not only help us find more listeners, but also help you find joy and beauty in your world. 

This episode was recorded on the traditional and unceded land of the Kaurna, Wurundjeri and Boonwurrung people.

Our editor is Ben McKenzie of Splendid Chaps Productions. If you need production work completed, you can find them here: splendidchaps.com

Dear Gentle Listeners. It is the last episode of Season 3, but is it also the last we will hear from Lady Whistledown? 

Colin has been keeping his distance from Penelope since their wedding, but the real drama begins when Cressida blackmails Penelope, threatening to expose her as Lady Whistledown. Meanwhile, other Bridgertons are experiencing their own revelations. It’s the happily-ever-after we’ve been waiting for – but with some surprises along the way

Don’t forget you can find us on Facebook as @bridgertonpod and Instagram as @wwddpod and we’d love for you to keep us in your online conversation using the hashtag WWDDpod.

Featuring:

• Triangles

• Cycle-breaking

• Visual metaphors

• Money

• The definition of lying

• Justice for John

• More visual metaphors

• Bugs!

Here are is the media we talk about in this episode:

• Bridgerton, Season One

• Bridgerton, Season Two

• The Bridgerton books, a series by Julia Quinn

• Romancing Mr Bridgerton, a novel by Julia Quinn

• Queen Charlotte, a Bridgerton spin-off

• You’re Dead to Me, a podcast

• ‘Wildest Dreams’, a song by Taylor Swift

• When He Was Wicked, a novel by Julia Quinn

• Barbie, a film by Greta Gerwig

• ‘Am I the Asshole’, a forum on Reddit

• ‘Lights’, a song by Ellie Goulding

• Derry Girls, a TV show

• ‘Give Me Everything’, a song by Pitbull

• An Offer from a Gentleman, a novel by Julia Quinn

• The Umbrella Academy, a TV show

• Game of Thrones, a TV show

We were joined for this episode by your favourite and ours, the deeply beloved and deeply missed Rudi Bremer. You can hear more from Rudi on Awaye and read her work (from the continent and elsewhere) here.

Rudi has gifted us with a recommendation for a new podcast: Normal Gossip. Listen in your favourite app!

Don’t forget you can find us on facebook @bridgertonpod and instagram @wwddpod and join the conversation using the hashtag #WWDDpod. You can also leave us a rating or review on your favourite podcast provider. Leaving a review guarantees you the right level of family proximity.

This episode was recorded on the traditional and unceded land of the Wurundjeri, Boonwurrung, Gadigal, Bidjigal, and Birrabirragul people.

Our editor is Ben McKenzie of Splendid Chaps Productions. If you need production work completed, you can find them here: splendidchaps.com