I can’t be the only one who was holding out some hope that Bridgerton season three was going to give us answers to one of the biggest questions plaguing all os us since the ending of Queen Charlotte – what the hell happened to Reynolds and Brimsley?
The fate of the Netflix show’s first queer couple remained deliberately ambiguous at the end of the show, but one thing was clear: Reynolds and Brimsley never married and are not as involved in each others’ lives as they once were – if they are at all.
Fans online have theorised endlessly for the past year about what happened to Reynolds, who we never see in the main Bridgerton timeline despite Brimsley having been present in the show since season one. So, here’s all the possibilities of where his other half might have ended up in 1817.
They split up to put their jobs first
via Netflix
This theory, while still sad, remains the lesser of the two evils that seem to be the most popular fan theories for what happened between Reynolds and Brimsley. Many people online believe that the King’s and Queen’s men simply became too busy with their jobs to maintain the relationship, which makes a lot of sense when you consider the fact that King George’s mental health seriously declines throughout his life, particularly in his later years.
It’s also backed up by a supposed Easter egg that one Redditor picked up on. The devastating scene in which we watch young Reynolds and Brimsley dancing together, then cutting to older Brimsley dancing alone revealed that the two were at least not still together in the same capacity that they once were. The scene is accompanied by a Bridgerton-ified classical rendition of Whitney Houston’s I Will Always Love You, which apparently indicates exactly what happened to Brimsley and Reynolds.
In Whitney Houston’s film The Bodyguard, her character and the love interest do not work out: They are kept apart because of their careers. I Will Always Love You plays in that film during a moment when Whitney’s character acknowledges that they are no longer together but that she will always have a place for him in her heart. Sounds exactly like what could very well have happened to Reynolds and Brimsley in Queen Charlotte.
They split up to avoid persecution
via Netflix
An even sadder possibility is that Reynolds and Brimsley had to split up for fear of being arrested or killed for being gay if they were caught together.
The actor who played Brimsley, Hugh Sachs, told Vulture that there was actually a scene cut from the script where an older Brimsley and Reynolds passed each other in the hallway: “He was the love of his life, and for whatever reason, they could not stay together.
“So, when they would pass each other in the passageway in the deleted scene, it wasn’t a toxic moment. Because of the world they inhabited, it was still a hangable offence to be gay, and it was just not possible.”
Season three’s recent developments, however, namely that Francesca’s love interest has been revealed to be a woman, might call this particular theory into question. It depends on how Francesca’s season plays out, but if the Ton is accepting of a WLW storyline, it would raise questions about why Reynolds and Brimsley couldn’t be publicly together too.
They still see each other once in a while
via Netflix
Another potential theory is that Reynolds and Brimsley still see each other, but infrequently – again because of their increasingly demanding jobs. While I would love for this to be the case, I just don’t think it’s likely, because why would they maintain a relationship that could get them both killed and when they have so little time?
This theory could point to the couple reuniting once George or Charlotte dies, though showrunner Jess Brownell has said that they might just make Charlotte “live forever” in the Bridgerton universe, rather than have the monarch die, which might make a Brimsley/Reynolds reunion less feasible.
Reynolds passed away
via Netflix
Probably the most heartbreaking fan theory of all is the unfortunately likely one that Reynolds has died at some point between the Queen Charlotte timeline and the primary Bridgerton one leaving Brimsley heartbroken.
I, for one, would be absolutely devastated if this was true, but it’s very possible. It would just be such a shame to have the current only queer relationship on the show end in tragedy.
Queen Charlotte and all seasons of Bridgerton are available on Netflix now – For all the latest Netflix news, drops, quizzes and memeslike The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook.
Related articles recommended by this author:
• A look inside the off-screen love lives of the mega vibey Queen Charlotte cast
• Secret love affairs and all the other differences between the Queen Charlotte book and show
• Comparing the wild character transformations between Queen Charlotte and Bridgerton
Featured image via Netflix.
