With the conclusion of Bridgerton's latest season, has it met all of our expectations and set the stage for the next romance in the series? Sit back as we offer our insights into the second half of Season 3 as well as what we loved (and didn't care for) about it.
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Following where we last left off in the show—a breathless but happy Colin Bridgerton asking his childhood friend, "For God's sake, Penelope Featherington, are you going to marry me or not?"—stakes were raised to an all-time high, and secrets were revealed (and kept) between these two characters as well as among their families and Mayfair society at large. Needless to say, if you wish to read on, beware spoilers for this season of Bridgerton (and potentially the next one)!
One's Head or One's Heart?
Perhaps the overarching conflict in Part 2 was Penelope's struggle to bring together the two very different lives she wished to keep: one as Penelope Bridgerton, wife to Colin and a member of the family she had always longed to be a part of; and Lady Whistledown, one of the smartest and richest women (albeit still anonymous) of the ton. However, several instances throughout Part 2 would compel her to have to choose between the two as well as to fully absorb the consequences of her writing, powerful as it had been throughout the whole show. This all came to a head when Colin eventually found out, through not-so-ideal means, that the woman he loved was Lady Whistledown all this time, the author of many a column that put down the Bridgerton family name.
As we bore witness to Penelope's hardships and the admirable ways in which she overcame them, we couldn't help but feel proud of how far this woman had come despite everything and everyone—including Her Majesty the Queen—bearing down on her. While she knew that she loved Colin with all of her heart, Penelope also recognized deep down that she could never truly relinquish her writing career, along with her mastery of the written word, even though marrying into the Bridgerton family would provide her with financial security for the rest of her days. With a bold step forward into the limelight before the ton, Penelope revealed her identity, offered sincere apologies to those she had hurt with her gossip column, and promised that she would do better, under their scrutiny and that of the Queen's. It was a daring move that threatened her very happiness, but she made it nonetheless and remained her own person.
"You Are Her, and She Is You"
No person in the series was as aghast at the true identity of Lady Whistledown as Colin, who, for most of Part 2, sought for the most logical separation between Penelope and the notorious gossip-monger of the ton—before eventually realizing that it was impossible. We would come to find out that Colin himself was actually rather jealous of Penelope's written talent and accomplishments, striving to be a renowned writer himself.
Eclipsing this envy, however, was his deep admiration for a woman who had made a name (and a large sum!) for herself as both a writer and a successful businesswoman. This was his Pen, his closest friend and confidante, and we have to admit that we teared up a little when he offered her this most heartfelt proclamation near the end of the final episode: "I simply cannot believe that a woman with such bravery loves me. How lucky I am to stand by your side and soak up even a little bit of your light. If my only purpose in life is to love a woman as great as you, then I will be a fulfilled man indeed."
Karma for Cressida Cowper
Allow us to be petty for a moment and say that after falsely claiming to be Lady Whistledown in Episode 5, Cressida had it coming. Seasons of her bullying Penelope have culminated into her not only inadvertently taking credit, even for a moment, for Penelope's hard-earned work and reputation but also ultimately discovering that Pen is indeed Lady Whistledown, offering Cressida the most ample opportunity to blackmail her and the Bridgertons for money.
This, of course, would all backfire after Penelope's public confession and appeal to the Queen, forfeiting Her Majesty's five-thousand-pound reward for unmasking Lady Whistledown and leaving Cressida as penniless as she had been since the start of Season 3. We'd say this is a fair consequence of her daring to go toe-to-toe with not only Penelope, arguably one of the most intelligent women in Mayfair, but also the entire Bridgerton family.
Keeping Up with the Featheringtons
Dark secrets were unearthed on the part of the Featheringtons as well as Penelope found out that to keep the family afloat following the death of her gambling father, her mother had been illegally siphoning funds from a distant relative. This came after Portia discovered—from Cressida, of all people—that her youngest daughter was the renowned Lady Whistledown all this time. After an exchange of harsh words and expressed feelings of betrayal, mother and daughter resolved to "do better" and fix the wrongs they had done to others. Ultimately, with Penelope's self-reveal as Lady Whistledown came a way for the Featheringtons to proclaim that their riches came from Pen's independent income rather than through illegal means.
Does anyone else feel that the events of the last episode involving the Featheringtons provided a mere Band-Aid solution to all the problems they had caused Penelope and to themselves? Perhaps Portia's attempts to understand her youngest daughter may have been better appreciated if they had begun earlier in the season rather than later. Also, we can't help but feel that older sisters Philippa and Prudence suddenly warming up to Penelope after her marriage to Colin can be equated to Dudley's lukewarm acceptance of Harry in the final installment of the Harry Potter book series: unsatisfying and out of left field. Still, the Bridgertons and Featheringtons coming together in harmony to fuss over Penelope's, Philippa's, and Prudence's newborn children did make for a heartwarming scene that capped off the last episode of this season.
What Comes Next?
Suffice it to say that while Season 3 of Bridgerton wasn't perfect, it did tie up a lot of loose ends and provided rather satisfying resolutions overall, such as Eloise and Penelope eventually making amends and the latter continuing her career as a columnist, this time under the name "Penelope Bridgerton." Just as exciting is this season's finale ushering in new beginnings for several other characters: Eloise, who resolved to travel to Scotland with sister Francesca and her new husband, John Stirling; Violet, their mother, wondering whether it is time to open her heart to another man, namely Lord Anderson, Lady Danbury's brother; and Benedict, who still has yet to find love worth settling down for after he and Lady Tilley Arnold decided to go their separate ways.
That being said, we thoroughly enjoyed how the romance developed between Penelope and Colin this season and can't wait to see which Bridgerton sibling will receive the same treatment in the next one. In the meantime, we'll be re-watching our favorite Polin clips and playing the string-quartet cover of Give Me Everything on loop . . .
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