Queen Charlotte’s Hugh Sachs Reveals Reynolds’ Tragic Fate 2023
Dear reader, a gentleman’s enigma will be told.
Hugh Sachs, who portrays an older Brimsley in Queen Charlotte, told Vulture why Reynolds didn’t appear in the Bridgerton sequel, and it’s tragic.
Shonda Rimes’ prequel to her Netflix hit has two great love stories: one between Queen Charlotte (India Amarteifio and Golda Rosheuvel) and King George (Corey Mylchreest and James Fleet), and the franchise’s first prominent queer romance between royal footmen Brimsley and Reynolds.
Sam Clemmett and Freddie Dennis play young Brimsley and Reynolds, respectively. The spinoff exclusively features the elder Brimsley.
In the show’s finale, Brimsley dances alone after younger versions of the two dance together.
Hugh claims Reynolds is alive despite viewers’ assumptions.
“There was a scene we didn’t film, because it was cut, where I was going to meet the older Reynolds,” he told Vulture. He was his life’s love, yet they couldn’t stay together. The deleted scene’s tunnel encounter wasn’t poisonous.
Queen Charlotte explains why race doesn’t matter in the Regency-era Bridgerton-verse, but Hugh said the show’s LGTBQ+ culture doesn’t appear as progressive.
“Because of the world they inhabited, it was still a hangable offence to be gay,” Hugh told Vulture. “A long-lasting romance between the two men was just not possible”.
Bridgerton had gay characters before Brimsley and Reynolds.
Bridgerton’s first season followed aristocratic artist Henry Granville (Julian Ovenden) and Lord Wetherby (Ned Porteous)’s troubled love. However, Brimsley and Reynolds had the first homosexual love story.
Freddie Dennis, who portrayed young Reynolds, told Netflix’s Tudum that he was proud to present the first primary LGBTQ+ storyline to this wonderfully rich and varied universe. “I hope fans love the storyline as much as Sam and I loved telling it.”
“We wanted the relationship to have layers,” Freddie said. “We talked about love and affection with [director and executive producer] Tom Verica, in particular.”
