Bridgerton Fans Are Emotional Over Reynolds’ Fate In Queen Charlotte

Spoilers ahead for Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story. The core relationship of Netflix’s Queen Charlotte may be between the title character and her husband, King George, but fans were thrilled to see another passionate romance unfold, too. Brimsley and Reynolds — the queen and king’s respective right-hand men — sneak off to secret, steamy rendezvous when they get a moment away from their royal charges.

But their connection is more than physical. During a bath together, Brimsley expresses his hopes that Charlotte and George are a successful couple so the butlers can always be close to each other. “They will be together, have a marriage, grow old as one,” Brimlsey says. “We would serve them together.”

“A lifetime,” Reynolds replies, adding that “great love can make miracles.”

Later in Episode 6, Brimsley and Reynolds dance to “I Will Always Love You” in a private moment away from royal ballgoers. However, Queen Charlotte then cuts to the present (or, the present of Bridgerton day), and it’s a much different story. Brimsley is still dancing, but he’s all alone and clearly imagining Reynolds is there. So, what happened to Reynolds?!

Sadly, Queen Charlotte doesn’t provide any answers — at least, not any that made the final cut. Hugh Sachs, who plays the older Brimsley, told Vulture there’s more to the story though. “There was a scene that we didn’t film, because it was cut, where I was going to meet the older Reynolds,” he said. “He was the love of his life, and for whatever reason, they could not stay together.”

Fortunately, Sachs said the deleted scene “wasn’t a toxic moment.” Rather, it was a mere consequence of the times. “Because of the world they inhabited, it was still a hangable offense to be gay, and it was just not possible,” he explained.

As far as a canon update on Reynolds’ fate, there’s nothing to report yet. But there are several moments that hint at Brimsley’s enduring feelings for Reynolds (beyond that beautiful dance scene of course). During Episode 5, for example, Brimsley makes a subtle, knowing expression as he listens to Charlotte tell her son about love: “Love is determination,” she says. “Love is a choice one makes.”

Of course, it wasn’t necessarily a choice for Brimsley. “Who could I ever find who would be free to spend a lifetime with me?” he asks Charlotte in Episode 6, as she wonders whether he’s ever been married. His statement seems to acknowledge two obstacles for the couple: that he and Reynolds would never be truly free to love each other and that his demanding job as the queen’s butler would prevent him from having much of a personal life.

While fans wait (and hope) to learn more about Reynolds’ fate in Bridgerton, they took to Twitter to express their love for the pair — and their heartbreak.