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........

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