#marina thompson deserves better

[chimkenugz]

They're having a "characters who deserved better" off.

[hamletshoeratio]

Theo Sharpe, Marina Thompson, and Eloise Bridgerton, they could never make me hate you <3

[lady-of-the-spirit]

I know in book canon Marina is a Bridgerton cousin and not a Featherington cousin, and I know they made this change so they could do the whole pregnancy love triangle thing, but watching season 1 makes me wish Marina was a Bridgerton cousin just so she could get some family affection!! Marina would be so loved by the Bridgertons.

[apinchofm]

What Penelope did to Marina was fucking wretched. Marina didn’t deserve that. And knowing what her fate was in the books? She tried to do the best she could in a society that would have discarded and exiled her- would have, did. This is not even a through a modern lens.

Colin DID want to marry her. She would have been happy. And had she felt SAFE enough to tell him, I’ve no doubt she would have. Penelope acted the jealous, petty child and destroyed Marina to do it. Simply because she was jealous. Not truly out of concern for Colin.

I felt bad for Penelope - no doubt she was bullied. But she turned around and put that ten-fold on the only person who was kind to her and genuinely was her friend and family aside from Eloise or Colin.

[sukibenders]

Marina Thompson Crane is forced back into society following after, not only, her husband's death but discovering that he left everything in his name---from the land to the responsibilities to the money all connected to him---to her. She is now Lady Crane and surrounded by those who await to sink their teeth into her, just as they done before when she was younger, only now with some faux respectability given her new title.

Finding friends is hard, or maybe because she makes it so given the last time, so when Eloise Bridgerton starts making conversation with her Marina can't help but study it with a sharp eye. It's not the first time someone had tried to get in her good graces, throwing in an overly kind compliment that, once upon a time, would have made her heart soar, but now only makes her alert. She was in no mood for a repeat of her first season nor the events that followed. But Eloise keeps pushing, with all her stubbornness and lack of filter, hurriedly rushing to apologize whenever she makes a misstep before standing her ground the next. While most people, when they look to Marina, see an outcast, a woman who got off lucky but has no right to the title of her late husband, Eloise sees a woman subjected to the same harshness of their world that many others had not been so fortunate enough to withstand. Eloise sees someone who could inspire.

Marina appreciates her honesty and becomes more responsive towards the younger Bridgerton girl, indulging her from time to time. And, maybe, because it was nice to have a friend. Whenever Colin comes towards her, Eloise is always there to divert his attention, and whenever Marina attempts to seek out Penelope, the girl who always seems to lurk near the pair, Eloise quickly steers in the other direction with a cold look in response to the youngest Featherington.

It isn't long before a few other young girls flock to the pair, some well off while others are clinging to what they have left. They're all different from one another, but have a shared desire. They don't want a part in the ways of the Ton nor to lose their liberties, but fear the consequences if they do (for how could they remain standing on their own if things don't work out?) Marina is someone they respect. At first, she doesn't see it that way and quickly tries to wave them off, as she wants no part in some girls' rebellious behavior when she has her own children to think of, until she sees how desperate they are. How much she inspires them. How alone they are.

How much they remind her of herself.

Marina doesn't necessarily know how it starts, as it's a tedious process with how some members of society still see her as tarnished and don't want their children near her, but they work it out. Young girls flock to her home, seeking a break from the stresses of the Ton and their expectations, and leave with more knowledge of their self-worth and friendships that they've never had before. It doesn't start out as much, but it grows into something more than Marina could expect (or hope for).

It's also a surprise when the youngest Sharma sister stops by her door, all with a blinding smile and hopes to be accepted given the fact that society views her as a pariah and mocks her when they think she cannot hear. For it was her that ran away from the Viscount during their would be wedding, so she must be the problem. Marina sees that she lacks friends as well or, more so, a friend that can understand her grief. How could she turn her away? Answer: she never would.

[mot-hesbian]

There's a theory she already knows and has just learned to move past it.

She wanted a good life for her kids and didn't care about how society saw her (only reason she did what she did towards the end was because she thought she couldn't provide for them), she still got that and got to have her children have their father's name. Obviously her life sucks (I truly think the only way it wouldn't is if George didn't end up KIA and they married) and it left her traumatized, but that's also the effect of the entire situation in gen.

I find it fascinating considering the nuance that would add to the situation. Like, she knew and still kind of forgave her and pushed Colin in her direction.

Marina receiving the Whistledown sheet where Penelope reveals herself

[avantgardetheseventh]

I don't really intend on getting into Bridgerton but having watched the first season, I can safely say Marina Thompson deserves so much better.

Like she was easily one of the most interesting characters. When she talks about how she didn't have any guidance, nobody to show her the way, I literally wanted to cry. She had to make a whole new living for herself under the Featheringtons, everyone treated as if she didn't belong there, she had to treat her pregnancy all on her own.

I would have absolutely loved to see her actually get a decent conclusion instead of having her solemnly part ways. I also loved her friendship with Penelope initially and well..

[alrightsnaps]

amanda crane’s victim blaming of her severely depressed, suicidal mother vs her love for her deadbeat dad who wanted a wife just to get his kids out of his hair and cared so little for them that he didn't even notice they were being physically abused by their governess 🤮

[pantsaretherealheroes]

Oh so now marina's telling Colin he could be happy with Penelope, because she had to accept her loveless life?? Yknow, the one Penelope forced her into, without her knowledge?? Awesome.

[auggietheautisticvampire]

Including a screenshot of the tags, because they deserve to be seen in this reblog

FINALLY SOMEONE SPEAKS THE TRUTH



today, i'm thinking about how Penelope had 0 qualms about Marina lying to and potentially tricking someone into marrying her whilst hiding a potentially family and life ruining secret, (be honest, Penelope's only beef w/ Marina was that she wanted Colin for herself, she's fine w/ her doing it to anyone else) further evidenced by how Penelope is going to follow a very similar plan in S3 according to the synopsis

but

when *Penelope* hides her life ruining secret of being Lady Whistledown and literally being pursued by the Queen of England whom she continues goading, instead putting on a favorable persona and literally getting *lessons* to trick her way into getting a husband, the fandom considers her a girlboss. when *Marina* hides her life ruining secret of being pregnant before she came to the city (and is manipulated and mistreated and otherized by almost everyone in the ton except for Colin, the man she very understandably chooses) and *still* holds out hope for George until she literally has no option but to look elsewhere so she can get married and secure her future to provide for her children, she's considered a heartless bitch

now i wonder why it is the fandom has sooooo many qualms with one but not the other

qwhite interesting

[apinchofm]

When I think about it, Marina from the books could have died from a horrific accident. Like she accidentally drowned and it traumatized Phillip and the kids.

And now I'm very scared for Marina from TV because she wasn't allowed to have any happiness. And she's going to die so Eloise can get together with Phillip.

See, if they had a healthy marriage, I would have preferred that. Like, she and Philip found some happiness with the twins and then a tragic accident would have been something I could have respected. And then to see the twins and Philip miss her.

There are so many easier and better ways to do the widower storyline that doesn't include demonising a mentally ill woman or ensuring she is never happy.

[sukibenders]

Me, as I debate writing a fic about Marina Thompson, providing her more justice than the show or fandom, where she becomes Lady Crane after her husband's death and has to navigate society again now with her new status, struggling to learn who is friend and who is foe while having old wounds reopened. Even debating whether to make a new love interest for her, or have her and Eloise get together because either one would be so cute:

[mskatesharma]

You have a lot of nerve complaining about the fandom not liking Marina. She did a shitty thing and people are allowed to not like her. I haven't seen you say anything about the hate Anthony gets. He also did some shitty things in season 1 and people hate him for it, which is valid. Anthony/JB actually gets more hate from assholes like you think him being casted ruins their "diversity quota" for the show. All you do is use Marina and Simon to trash everyone else, both fans and the cast. Piss off

Lol, Anthony is a grown ass adult white man; an extremely rich and well connected titled white man holding an incredibly privileged position in society. Marina is a teenage girl away from home being hosted by a family that doesn’t really want to host her, and who’s literally trying to ensure the survival of herself and her unborn baby. You know who didn’t have options? Marina. You know who had plenty? Anthony (and Colin).

It’s fine not liking what Marina did, but there’s never any acknowledgement that Marina was in an extremely difficult and impossible position, and she did the only thing she thought she could that wouldn’t condemn her to a life she hated. Why is it okay for every other character to look for some semblance of happiness however they can, but you draw the line at Marina? Is it because she had the audacity to have sex with someone she loved (and who possibly loved her too) before she was married? Because it comes across as though you’re trying to punish her for that just because she happened to get in the middle of a beloved ship.

And the fact that everyone involved in Marina’s storyline is white (and in much better positions in society) and that she’s a black woman, adds a racial element, whether you want to acknowledge that or not.

[ladywhistleupp]

You have put a lot of words in my mouth and made several assumptions. She wants biological kids which can’t happen in that time period with wlw relationships because IVF and surrogacy don’t exist yet. It would be like adding someone who was going through gender reassignment surgery, something that just didn’t exist and wasn’t possible during this time. Also it does take away representation by erasing the majority ofher story.

It also seems you just wanted to argue with me by your language instead of having a discussion which could have occurred in private. Many LGBTQ+ have agreed that they deserve their own representation not just a erasure of an important story. It also seems like one of your paragraphs seemed to wanna play the “well they made characters black so why can’t they be gay?” which is pitting two marginalized groups against each other. Yeah you may not have said it directly but one can read between the lines based on your wording and repeated use of “diversity”. As a black and arab woman who keeps seeing this argument it’s quite disappointing to hear it from a member of another marginalized group. Also race doesn’t change the ability for one to have biological children with their partner (something that unfortunately two women can’t do without IVF or surrogacy as previously stated).

Marina’s story is not at all the same because she had her children whereas Francesca lost hers and only rejoined the marriage mart to have biological kids which as stated earlier can’t happen with a woman. I have never seen women with infertility issues be represented in media or in Bridgerton but I have seen bisexual and gay relationships represented (Brimsley and Reynolds, Benedict discovering he may like men too). My mother lost my brother soon after his birth and I know she probably would have loved to see the original story because she’s never seen any close representation.

It’s also ridiculous for you to assume what I meant by Eloise being a better choice for a bi or lesbian relationship by claiming I think that because she’s outspoken…. if you met people who actually knew me you’d know I’m outspoken….doesn’t make one a lesbian so why would I ever assume such? If we’re watching the same show as I assume we are you’d know Eloise has never shown any interest in any men so it could make sense for her to end up falling for another woman.

Netflix has also been known to queerbait and add LGBTQ+ characters for a cash grab. This is something I’ve heard from a lot of members of the LGBTQ+ community and it’s been easy to tell. Netflix is a corporation that hasn’t even cared about the actors they hire (the actress who played Marina Thompson had two mental breakdowns during and after season 1 and Netflix provided her with absolutely no support).

Now I think it best to end this argument here because I don’t see us seeing eye to eye on this matter especially when things that were never said are being assumed. For someone saying at the beginning that they weren’t trying to accuse me before going on to do just that I think you should see things from the point of view of women who have miscarried. I don’t know if you’ve read Francesca’s book, but if not I think you should. I’d rather you not reblog this with another argument and instead message me with anything else you would like to add because I don’t know about you but I don’t come to tumblr to argue. There have been others who probably disagreed (and they have every right too) that just scrolled past instead of trying to paint me as a bad person while claiming they weren’t doing exactly that. I hope LGBTQ+ people get representation but I also believe this was a great chance at representation for women who resonate with Francesca’s story that haven’t read the books.

[contains Bridgerton book series spoilers]

I’m going to try to be careful with my words because my intentions are never to upset anyone especially members of a fellow marginalized community that I personally don’t belong too. I am disappointed in the rewriting of Francesca’s story. A big part of her book is her deep love for John Sterling and struggle with infertility. She loved John more than anything and when he died she mourned for yearsss and only rejoined the marriage market because she desperately wanted kids of her own after losing their child. I understand queer representation is important to those in the LGBTQ+ community, but there are many books about LGBTQ+ love that Netflix could adapt into a show or movie. Heartstopper is an example of one they’ve adapted and I’ve seen so many people who love and resonate with that show. Or an alternative would be to make Eloise lesbian/bi because it would make more sense. There’s very little representation in media for women who struggle with infertility and I’ve heard from many women whose favorite book was Francesca’s because of how they related to her struggle. Not only that, but they made her immediately develop a crush on Michaela when in the books it’s Michael who immediately falls for Francesca upon meeting her and he struggles with those feelings when before and especially after John dies. To make Francesca have feelings for Michaela completely diminishes her love for John that makes her mourning so strong. Michael also has a big internal conflict with inheriting the Kilmartin estate after John’s death. This also takes representation from women who have lost their husbands while pregnant with their child(ren). Majority of the people I know who are upset about it aren’t upset because of Francesca’s sexuality but because of how it throws away her whole story. One of my best friends is a black woman who is bi and has read all the books and before I even finished part 2 she was texting me upset because she herself has had a miscarriage and loved Francesca’s story.

[rileychester]

I feel for Marina, not only is she a woman who has fallen in the eyes of polite society, not only for having rompy pompy out of wedlock. But becoming pregnant with a child out of wedlock as well.

Then she turned around and tried to trick Colin Bridgerton down the aisle to cover for her child. Colin might be a third son, but he comes from a respected old family that carry some weight. Marina is a girl with no family, no money, and no connections to protect her.

To the ton, she’s not just a fallen woman for making love and getting up the duff. She’s a wicked woman as well for trying to trick her way into one of the most important families of the land that now include the Duke and Duchess of Hastings as it’s family members.

So yeah Pen, threw Marina to the wolves out of stupidity, bitterness, and jealousy. Marina might not have been in the right for what she was doing for Colin, but back then Marina had so few options. She took the lesser of the two evils and she has been destroyed simply because she caught the eye of Colin. Who I firmly believe that Marina would have been a good wife to.

[maria-taiwin]

The way a lot of people hating on Marina Thompson and calling her a bitch etc... that's saying a lot