We like our intimate scenes with character development and relationship furthering

Bridgerton’s first season tossed viewers into a lush alternate-history romance and made one thing very, very clear: Unlike in period romances of the past, these characters fucked. A lot. So much.

When the first season dropped in the cold doldrums of late 2020, its reputation for being steamy spread like Lady Whistledown’s gossip pamphlet. Daphne and the duke got it on across every surface of their estate, and fans were thrilled. But then seasons 2 and 3 had a sharp decline in the number of sex scenes, leading some viewers to complain about the lack of horniness in their torrid Regency romance.

Here’s the thing, though: Horniness isn’t just about the actual act of sex. It’s about the buildup, the pining, the yearning, and both seasons 2 and 3 have that in buckets. Bridgerton’s sex scenes are going for quality, not just quantity — at least when it comes to the main romantic pairs of each season.

Thanks to Regency-era double standards, Bridgerton will always have some single man having a threesome with prostitutes in the background, if you just want fornication for the sake of sex scenes. But Bridgerton’s main couples have always been much more than that. From the get-go, the intimate scenes between the romantic leads were always about the nature of their relationship instead of just being sexy for sexy’s sake. It just so happened that Daphne’s whole arc was discovering sex and passion, so there was a lot of boning going on for her.

But Kate and Anthony’s enemies-to-lovers slow burn wouldn’t have worked if they just made out immediately. Instead, each longing gaze and lingering hand touch slowly stoked and simmered till it boiled over. They had just a single sex scene, but by God, it was so cathartic after a season of verbal sparring and angsty pining. They finally let go! They shed their burdens and responsibilities and found solace in each other’s arms. (And season 3 shows them blissfully happy and making love on every possible surface of their home.)

Photo: Liam Daniel/Netflix

Colin and Penelope’s scenes, meanwhile, are equal parts passionate and soft. You can tell these are two people who deeply care about each other — and two people who are dying to rip each other’s clothes off. They don’t have a montage of lustful positions; their few scenes are intimate and tender in a way that sparks a whole different sort of butterflies.

Bridgerton’s best intimate scenes aren’t just hot; they add to the character arcs and relationship developments. Case in point: Benedict’s biwakening threesome in this season. Of all the Bridgerton bros, Benedict’s had the most carefree sex throughout the three seasons. It’s easy to tune out exactly which new girl (or girls) he’s currently cavorting with, especially compared to the other more compelling romantic pairings. But this threesome actually means something. When he turns from his current female paramour Tilly and shares his first kiss with a man, there’s actually a burning tension that finally gets released. It’s a culmination of his character arc, one that gets to explode with fireworks, instead of yet another background hookup for ol’ Benedict.

The first season of Bridgerton had a lot of smutty scenes between its leading pair. But just because the other seasons haven’t lived up to the sheer quantity doesn’t make them any lesser. We shouldn’t be lamenting the discrepancy in sex scenes from Bridgerton season 1; we should be celebrating the fact that the showrunners and intimacy coordinators have taken the time and care to showcase different types of romantic moments — and still have them be incredibly hot.

All three seasons of Bridgerton are now streaming on Netflix.