SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW
Let me begin this review of new Netflix romance series The Lady's Companion / Manual para Senoritas by saying that it ends on a cliffhanger. A major, major cliffhanger for our main character, Elena. A cliffhanger that is completely uncalled for and utterly annoying. It may be that this ending signals that much like the ending of the first season of Game of Thrones, which turned upside down the expectations of the viewers about what kind of show we were watching, the ending of Season One of The Lady's Companion signals that this show is not a romance at all, but an interrogation of the dangers that await the genteel working class if they take any misstep -- but I don't think so. The show is a romance, damn it.
The series is set in Spain. I would have said it was in the early 1800's, like Bridgerton and other Regency romances in England, but the men all wear long pants instead of breeches, and Moby Dick has already come out (this is a plot point), so it must be the late 1800's. I assume the series is in Madrid but I'm not sure. (I watched it in Spanish, with English subtitles. Spanish is a fast language and I did not always have time to read the entire subtitles, so I may have missed some details.)
Our main character is Elena, who works for the posh Mencia family as, per the title, a lady's companion. The primary duty for companions is to get their charges settled in good marriages. The Mencia family has three daughters, two of whom are of marriageable age. The main plot of the show is Elena's efforts to find a husband for the oldest, Cristina, who has been dumped by her boyfriend and is now secretly pregnant. Elena's efforts are complicated by her own feelings about one of the potential suitors (a Bridgerton boy lookalike) and by her own past which I never quite understood. The gist seems to be that she herself comes from a posh family, got pregnant, was kicked out by her parents, and lost her baby. There's an ex-boyfriend who makes an appearance, who I think was the father.
Subplots abound. There are other lady's companions, each with their own professional and romantic complications, and Cristina's sisters both have their own issues. It may be that this show is trying to set up a resolution of one major romance per season, a la Bridgerton, but why, oh why, was Elena's romance not resolved this season? Cristina gets a happy ending, and that's nice, but the show is not about her and frankly she's not particularly interesting. Her pregnancy dilemma is a plot catalyst for Elena, the main character.
I really enjoyed this show while I was watching it. The costumes are fantastic, the real estate is gorgeous, and most of the plot is interesting. But had I known the ending, I might have waited for Season 2 to come out before watching it.
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