See you swoon?

What is it about Bridgerton that keeps us hooked, even when its plotlines dim; even with new seasons awkwardly cut in two?

- Deepanjana Pal

Dearest gentle reader, it is time once again for us to succumb to the Bridgerton paradox. By which I mean, compulsively devour episodes of a show that has progressively lost steam with every season, but still somehow demands our attention.

When it first arrived, Bridgerton felt refreshing because of the show's decision to cast Black actors in prominent roles for a story set in Regency-era England. Season 2 saw a viscount fall in love with an Indian woman, and we turned a blind eye to the comically bad hat tips to Indian culture, because of the crackling chemistry between Kate Sharma (Simone Ashley) and Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey).

Then came Polin, in which Nicola Coughlan was so luminous as Penelope Featherington that little else registered. We even forgave the awkward, two-part release of that season.