Is Queen Charlotte’s Meet Cute STOLEN?
Almost as soon as the teaser scene for Queen Charlotte dropped, I started seeing comments pop up on my Instagram and TikTok that the scene had been "stolen" or "ripped off" from something else. However, as no one said where it was taken from, I was extremely skeptical. Finally, a very helpful person on Instagram sent me a link to a YouTube video from Magnificent Century, a show which, from a quick google search, is “Historical fiction based on the life and court of the Ottoman Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent, the longest-reigning Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, and his wife Hurrem Sultan.”
I'll link the clip below. The scene in question starts at about 2:45.
Now, this is not going to be a treatise on copyright law or intellectual property. That's just not my area, but what I do have is eyes and analysis, plus a bit of history to draw from. So I watched both clips. I encourage you to do so as well after you read this, but there’s no denying they are strikingly similar. But, just how similar are they, and does that cross any lines?
Let's get into the nitty gritty.
Similarities:
The situation itself is remarkably close. A young woman who has not met her future husband is trying to escape from him. A man comes upon her and is, unbeknownst to the lady, the future husband. They exchange a bit of banter.
Differences:
The tone is wildly different. In Magnificent Century, it is overplayed and dramatic. It’s a bit dramatic in Queen Charlotte too, but in a much more tongue-in-cheek way. The lady falling into the arms of the man in contrast with the lady demanding he help her. The dynamic is definitely shifted.
However, it definitely can’t be ignored that much of this is incredibly similar. And yet, the striking differences in tone and the characterization of Charlotte as opposed to Anastasia is immense. There is also the change that George reveals himself to Charlotte whereas Bahti does not.
Is it heavily inspired to the point of repetitive? Absolutely. Is it at least walking a thin, gray line of how much inspiration you can have before it become too much? Definitely. Is it stealing? Maybe...
The truth is, most stories are repetitive in some way. And it is possible this idea sprung from someone's head without ever having seen the first, though I do find that unlikely. I think it changes enough in tone and dialogue to be considered it's own entity, though. So, where is the line? What's a reference or an homage and what's copying? I'm not sure I have a clear answer. Maybe it lies in credit, or how much of the details are changed. I think it's unavoidable that there are commonalities. I would not be surprised in the slightest to find a similar scene to both these in a previous book or movie.
As a famous quote goes, “good writers borrow, great writers steal.” Rather fitting that this is attributed to everyone from T.S. Elliot to Oscar Wilde to Aaron Sorkin. But then, there really is never anything new.
The long and short is that I think the situation itself is general enough to be able to be borrowed and readapted, just as something like two people meeting after a man sees a woman on horseback racing across a field and thinks she may be in danger could be borrowed and readapted. Oh, did you think I was talking about Kate and Anthony’s meet cute in Bridgerton? I was actually talking about Cinderella and the Prince in 2015’s Cinderella.
Regardless, this exact thing happens a lot. I would love to hear the Queen Charlotte creators talk about this scene from Magnificent Century as inspiration in the same way they were very up front about using Bollywood films as inspiration for Bridgerton Season 2. I think it’s obvious that these two scenes are connected, but I don’t know if I’d go so far as to call it stolen. In any case, it’s a charming scene in both shows, and I may now have to go down the rabbit hole with Magnificent Century since it’s certainly piqued my interest.
