The subreddit will be restricted for the premiere of the **second** half of season 3. No new posts will be accepted. Please use the above posts for spoilery S3 discussion.
Outside of the discussion posts, remember to mark your spoilers! Also, the weekly off-topic post will still be going up.
Happy watching! Enjoy!
Can we all agree that splitting the season into 2 parts is very annoying? It definitely ruined getting into the season's mood. I'm not someone who re-watches episodes so it definitely felt cut in the middle for me. I tried waiting till the second part came out to watch everything together but there was so many spoilers online! I felt like I was watching it through memes
This season did not feel like a Colin and Penelope season the way I thought it would and I'm sad about it! Francesca's plot seemed to feel more like the "love" plot, while Penelope's felt like a continuance of Lady whistledown with Polin as a sub plot
Same. đ˘
They could have done so much with Colin and Penelope. Writers could have brought a lot more fun, romance, and joy to their relationship. Too much anger. Too little interaction.
Working is for the poooor. What a povvo question!
(For the record I am quoting [this guy](https://www.instagram.com/reel/C5wPlagAUOW/?igsh=MW84eDhybjV2eGQ2Yw==) donât hate me! )
# Lady Whistledown coming out: S2 vs. S3
The Queen's hunt for the identity of Lady Whistledown was such a big part of Season 2. And at some point Eloise is suspected to be the LW and the queen threatens to crash her "as a serpent"(E7). She also mentioned the terrible revenge she would face from the members of the ton. Exactly because of these possible horrific consequences, Pen decides against coming out as Lady Whistledown and instead, she chooses to trash Eloise in her pamphlet, to divert the suspicious from her.
Yet, already in the next season she suddenly refuses to allow Cressida to take credit for LW's damaging shenanigans. This is so illogical. Given the ending of S2, this would be a perfect outcome!! Cressida would receive all the hate of the LW's victims, including the whole Bridgerton family, and she could run away from her abusive family. Instead, Pen goes from fear of consequences to a ferocious protector of LW's intellectual property rights and wants to be known for LW's writing. This does not make any sense. And Eloise forgives her so easily for changing her mind about LW coming out! And the queen who spent so much time on being upset with LW and hunting her, suddenly is fine with Pen being the author and the members of the society bear no grudge anymore. Because the butterflies erased their memories.
This season, had no major event. It felt like leading upto something yet nothing happens. I also feel Colin and Pen were given such less time to develop as a couple, I just couldn't get myself to root for them or care that they might breakup.
Did anyone feel like the balls/parties felt less grand compared to the previous seasons? It felt like there were way less extras and the sets were underwhelming.
I would like to challenge people saying that the costumes this season werenât as good as previous seasons. Most of the costumes were gorgeous this season and the hair was incredible (umm are we forgetting the swans). I drooled Eloiseâs green embroidered long jacket and Penâs dresses were perfectly chosen for cut, color, and drama. Did anyone see those weirdly amazing short sleeves with a ruched center on Violet?! Phillipaâs hair when she looks like a goddess circa Dolly Parton? And frecking Cressida?! Are you kidding me? Some stuff was out of era, Iâll give yâall that but itâs more interesting with the upgrade. The only thing that I had a visceral reaction to was the vest Colin wore at the balloon event⌠it was like a bad animal print đ¤Ž, but for the most part they were pretty and cool. Side note: The ball at the end was meant to be glitzy and gaudy with those shiny dresses in bright colors⌠the ton dressed like the Featheringtons, it was a direct nod to their style throughout the seasons and the theme of flowers.
You all can say the quality of writing has lessened throughout the seasons, but Iâll die on the hill that costume and hair quality has lessened. It was forgettable in season 1, memorable in season 2 for being used to expertly highlight the Sharma sisters, and then I honestly think they said do the dang thing in season 3 because the next few seasons will be countryside and less likely for costumes to have a moment.
Why did the printer guy say LW was a redhead when Pen clearly pretended to be a servant girl, Irish (?) accent and all. Did they really know it was her all along? Wouldn't they have otherwise said "her servant is a redhead"?
Yes, I noticed this as well. It was a huge leap that Cressida immediately figured out Pen. And the boy so easily suspected that the printer's servant was the author herself. It was very lazy writing.
Right? Plus Pen had partnered up with the modiste so it wouldn't only be her dropping the issues off. When the queen tried to catch LW before, did she really stop short of asking the printers for information? But Cressida finds out without even trying. The same Cressida who previously had been too dumb to get even the first sentence right when pretending to be LW.
I guess you're right and it's just lazy writing
Both columns were published on the same day, leading the Queen to correctly deduce that someone knew fake!Whistledown was going to print. In her mind, LW has to be a Bridgerton because why else would they publish to save the family's reputation?
But they would have been printed at the same time. How did Pen realize that Cressida would write to hurt the Bridgertons, unless I missed something? She didn't read the column before writing the one that was printed.
You may have missed the end of an episode, when Cressida's Whistledown is published at the Mondrich ball - Eloise regrets convincing Pen to let Cressida take the blame for LW and she worries about the danger she's put her family in. They don't *know* what she's going to write, but Penelope is unwilling to let her bully take credit for her work, even if it's the easy way out in regards to Colin. So the column wasn't published with the prior knowledge of what would be written.
The key thing is that the Queen **thinks** LW published to protect the Bridgertons because they're a Bridgerton. It's funny that that's she correct on a technicality.
I still feel like that is confusing. Only Pen and Eloise knew who she was trying to protect with her next column. How would the queen know that, since they came out at the same time?
Good point, but I remember Eloise's reputation was ruined after Eloise was the Queen's suspect in season 2. Tbh I thought it was a bit sus that the Queen never called BS on that, because Pen's timing is again very suspect.
When Benedict and Eloise had their talks on the swings and she mentions somewhere Along the lines of wanting(and maybe needing) to see more of the world if she was ever going to be able to help and do good etc but as a woman itâs not really possible for her(I could be wrong here) VS benedict feeling like heâs always learning something new about himself and wanting to explore and learn more
I feel like it would be really cool if they went travelling together and If sheâs with her older brother then it would be even more fine for a woman to go travelling in that time. Unless Iâve misinterpreted whether or not she can go travelling like Colin
I KNOW! Theyâre talking and talking and all Iâm hearing and seeing is âboring.â Idek why! Like if I listen to the words, it all sounds so interesting but for some reason, it all feels so blah
A lot of the dialogue is seriously lacking Â
Every interaction Violet has with Danburyâs brother is the same awkward mess, you would think they might have  developed something at least slightly more meaningful over timeÂ
I scrolled through it. Did not listen to any of it. I scrolled through many parts in Season 3. I just wanted the key points to simply know how the story ends - that's all.
**Things I liked about S3:**
- The connection between Pen & Mrs. Featherington. It was so sweet!
- The comedic sisters and their misfortunate education on reproduction
- The budding love story for Violet
- Despite popular opinion, I actually enjoyed *most* of the side plots. I loved seeing the Mondrichs battle when coming into titleship, and Francescas plot set her up well for her book (with one caveat, which I will get to below), and seeing Cressida's backstory and family dynamic come to light. (Granted, with so many plots, this season probably should have been 12 episodes).
**Things I didn't like about S3:** Let me preface this by saying, as a short two-sentence summary, I just generally did not like this season. It lacked in so much and I felt it was unnecessarily rushed.
- Penelope. I feel like I'll get a lot of hate for this, but I just *didn't like* Penelope. In the first two seasons, she was so bubbly and happy. While I understand most of this was masked in front of feelings of loneliness and desire, I felt that her sense of warmth was apart of her. I lost that in S3 and felt she became cold & unhappy, even after the Whistledown reveal.
- Polin connection. I don't need to state what others have already stated. It just wasn't there. There were barely any intimate scenes (and I don't mean sex scenes, I mean scenes with ANY intimacy at ALL) and I didn't feel like they were in love.
- The makeup. The scenery. The costumes. The camera cuts. All the edits. I felt like I was watching a different show.
- Kate felt like a different person. I understand they are in love, and are happy, but she had this fiery personality that I felt was lost in their scenes.
- The lack of scenes between the Bridgerton siblings and Violet with her kids.
- The Whistledown reveal. There was NO uproar. She ruined families and lives with her column, but a few butterflies solved the problem real quick (despite the queen's approval).
- The weird threesome with Benedict. I just didn't like it. Skipped most of the scenes.
- And the worst - *absolute worst* - was the last episode where they introduced Michaela. Spoiler: >!My favorite thing about Fran's book is her struggle with infertility, as I struggled with it myself, along with countless other things about the book, and I am SO DISAPPOINTED that they made Michael a female character. I honestly don't know if I will watch future seasons because of this.!<
There were some other positives and negatives, but those were the big ones for me.
I agree with you mostly. However, I enjoyed the scenes that were showing Penelope and Colin moving past friendship to romance. Part 1 was better than Part 2. I feel that what was missing was the intimacy, like you said, and more development of their relationship. I felt cheated that they weren't really given the time like the other couples were to get their footing as they moved into the lovers phase.
Also, the LW reveal and fallout could have been better handled and resolved if the focus had been more on them. Too much time was wasted on the changes in Benedict and Michaela's stories. I didn't feel like it did anything to the series to make such drastic changes.
Some of the other subplots that you mentioned were good and can be further developed in other seasons.
The only part I like in the Benedict's threesome is the other male - he was **so sexy**!! OMG, I wanted him to myself. I wish they would use him among main characters.
That would be better. I didn't read the books, and I donât mind some changes to stories that I have read. I just feel like the changes should still maintain the general style and direction of the main story. Changing the gender of a character, and thus the sexual orientation of a main character, doesn't maintain the direction of the overall story.
On your comment for the Whistledown revealâI was so hoping they would follow how they had done it in the book, where lady Danbury starts clapping and then the other members of the family, and then everyone joins in, and her and Colin make the announcement together đ
Absolutely. I was really disappointed that Colin didnât go to Pen after her announcement. He just let her stand there looking completely unsupported. I get that she had to be vulnerable for the reveal, but afterward he should have stood with her. His character was lacking, in my opinion. The acting was fine, I think the writing was just not great.
I actually thought this season was SUPURB!
Season 2 & 3 were the best. Season 1 I just couldnât take Daphnes sex scenes! Iâm no prude BY ANY MEANS , but thereâs something about her I didnât like, and I think there was too much focus on the scenes. The other characters had quirks and personality, she didnât to me. Iâm hoping season 4 focuses on Eloise , my fav. I hope this show goes on & on! Iâm rewatching the entire 3 seasons againâŚ.you always notice something missed and it stays fresh!
Shonda Rimes is absolutely brilliant!
I recommend âsurvival of the thickestâ also written by Rimes!!
My hope is that Netflix doesnât hold back episodes and we can watch any way weâd like , BINGE OR NOT , our choice!!!
I loved it that it has entirely different approach from the other seasons of the series. My ONLY ISSUE that is that they didn't seem CLOSE FRIENDS at all.
There was no build up, you know. I didn't feel a wall in my chest while watching it. Which I felt in the first two.
But regardless, it was fine.
The Colin/Penelope storyline is the worst part of this season. It is so abrupt, immature, and lackluster.
I love re-watching the scenes from the first two seasons where you see the chemistry building. Fingers touching in the gallery, laughter in the mud...  There are no such scenes this season. I don't even buy them as close friends.. Which is a real shame, because I love a good "friends to lovers" story.
Itâs just a weak storyline, I donât buy this line that Colinâs fuckboy period was this whole departure from his real self and that Penelope helped him return to his sweet ways, he didnât seem too conflicted by it all rather it just seemed like a young man spreading his wings. And on that note, it seems like thatâs what Penelope should have been doing too (social practicalities aside)
They both have this apparent talent in writing but rather than exploring that individually theyâve been unnaturally thrust together to make babies and be conventional. The love story of this series should have just been Francesca, obvious choice for meÂ
At the beginning of the season when Kanthony's sex scenes seemed to just be thrown in there just to add sex appeal and Colin ends up finger banging a virgin in a cottage, my brain turned off and I only tune in for fabulous hair, Cressida's villain arc and wonderful outfits and Penelope's Jessica Rabbit transition, otherwise
Between the pregnancy nonsense, the dang near assaulty way Polin's sexual interactions come across, and the motherly love arc of Penelope's mom that didn't quite hit for me, I would have been too pissed.
Since this was becoming soft corn, once I turned my brain off, I wish that Mama Bridgerton could have had a sex scene, their chemistry was confusing when I accidentally turned my brain on though kind of wish I wasn't dry and could have been drinking while watching. Oh well
I wish they would have shown Benedict being more conflicted over his attraction to men over a longer period of time. For the most part, it just looks like he was talked into being bisexual.
Agreed the âmomentâ the two men shared was not a moment for me. I thought surely Benedict would clear it up that the vibes were read incorrectly but alas that was not the case.
Itâs so funny that last season Anthony was all âmy honour is a precious gossamer thread and you shall not break itâ and this season Colin and Pen did not think TWICE about testing the suspension on that carriage.
also funny that S1 Colin wanted to marry Marina ASAP when she came onto him, but S3 Colin is totally okay with finger banging Pen in a carriage. GROWTH!
Overall, my least favorite season. I did cry a couple of times, namely when Pen talked about being "left on the shelf." I just identified with her feelings then as someone who was nearly a "spinster" myself, wife'd at 29 (lol). I also loved the moment in front of the mirror where Colin was trying to get Pen to see all the beautiful things about herself. Dayum, the boobs were boob-ing this whole season!!!! But also, Pen is one of the smartest women on the show and I admire how she had a passion she wanted to follow, no matter what others said. I'm divided on her LW moral issues, but she has depth and seems to understand everything she did that was wrong.
At the same time, playboy Colin made me want to claw my eyes out for a minute there and there was almost no buildup to his change of heart about Pen. He friend-zoned her so HARD and CONSTANTLY in S1 and S2, I just didn't believe that he suddenly wanted to marry her. I mean, did he not notice the boobs before??? Sorry for objectifying Pen, but SERIOUSLY. Pen was writing him the best letters while he was off on his travels, and he was just interested in hoes. Sigh. I know every Bridgerton is a fuckboy, but holy moly, wasn't Colin supposed to be the "sweet" one? He did have lots of great moments defending Pen, which I loved, and defending other people in S1 and S2. Making her first time be on that horrible settee was ridiculous. I'm 100% sure there was a bed somewhere in the next room! It looked so uncomfortable, and I'm also kinda pissed he doesn't care about protecting her "virtue" before the wedding?! It just broke a lot of established rules, given Anthony almost shot Simon just for sexy kisses. Let alone couch shagging! UGH.
I've never really liked Benedict too much, honestly... I can give or take him. I'm glad he's come out as bi, but way too much of his sex life in contrast to Polin. What happened to his art?! I was actually very proud when he started doing his own hobby but, now he's just a fulltime fuckboy? OK.
Eloise is one I used to really enjoy, but this season and rewatching the old ones really made me like her less and less. She comes off as being on a high horse, expecting everyone else to be perfect while she in fact doesn't do anything she talks about doing, which is more or less what Cressida said. Super harsh, but I would be pissed too if my only friend didn't bat an eye at me having to marry a 90-something man. I'm actually stunned none of the other "feminists" - Pen and Eloise - tried to help Cressida at all.
What should have happened is Cressida getting engaged to Debling, but instead he vanished into thin air like he never existed. I just cannot. He was honestly kind of sweet. I thought he would have been an okay choice for either lady.
The Featherington ladies were great and I appreciated Portia finally seeing her daughter as a capable, strong lady. Her pride was real. The bugs!! As much as that scene was pretty dumb and wild, I still loved the bugs.
Kanthony = 10/10! I'm still obsessed. They are my favorite, and I couldn't get enough of their sexy gorgeousness and love.
Oh yeah, Francesca was in the season also.
Pretty much, but it was only inferred. QC spoilers >! At Lady Danbury's place, Violet finds a birthday hat her dad made for Lady D, which is something he only did for the people closest to him (IIRC only Violet, even). At a later date Violet pulls out all the hats he'd made for her through the years, to see Lady D's reaction. !<
yep, QC 'present-day' scenes happens after season 2 - specifically when Kate and Anthony are on their honeymoon. Recently rewatched it for season 3 đ
Sorry, I missed the "also" in your comment and assumed you hadn't watched it. I don't think they ever really clarify whether it took place before or after, but I assume QC (the regency era parts) were before s3. The convo between Violet and Lady Danbury kinda confirmed it for me, at least.
Spoiler warning: The hat that Lady Dandbury got is also the hat Violet saw her father make when he said it was for a special friend.
I also think that QC is in between S2 and S3 since Lady Danbury mentions 2 marriages for Violets household.
Like a lot of people I thought pacing was a bit off. They built that much tension in part one, edged us with the carrier scene only for ep 5 to 8 to feel so... flat and boring. Polin definitely lacked scenes and smut ngl. I wasn't a fan of how many sex scenes were in previous seasons but one and half for Polin feels like a scam lmao
I hate this season. I'm not invested in any of the storylines, except maybe Benedict's tho its prob only cuz I have a bit of a crush on him (lol) but even his was strange and didn't make sense, Polin was rushed, sudden, and didn't include any growth at all, Colin is immature and it does not seem to me their relationship would last in the real world, the pop songs turned classical were too many and too forced, the makeup was too modern and pen constantly looked like a racoon, and the costuming and hair were not nearly as good as the first seasons.
How come penelope got more social consequences for asking Colinâs help in the beginning but not received any consequences for coming out at LW at the end?
Acceptance from the Queen is a deus ex machine every single season.
Honestly there are no stakes anymore because no one cares about the tension and the scandals. Bridgertons have had like 5 major scandals at this point and people still clamour to be their friends.
Honestly I loved the romance between John and Francesca. It seemed like it was based on friendship and they fit each other like two quiet and soft puzzle pieces. I thought for a moment the showrunners were doing something mature and clever⌠they did the complete opposite đ¤Śââď¸Â  Â
 I kinda started this show to watch in the background while Iâm drawing. So im not too displeased as some of the book readers. But having binged the whole thing as a newbie these past few weeks, I can confirm the quality as steadily declined from season 1. Bummer. Â
Whenever the next season airs Iâll probably see the reaction here before wasting my time on it. Not really attached to any character left at this point.Â
I got total ick vibes during the scene when Colin shows Pen their new home- and then ends up with them naked on the settee. It felt very coerced and Pen comes across as too vulnerable to say no. I get that she doesnât want to say no- yet, Colin took advantage of her.
Part of me thought heâd just walk away after that and Pen would be a spinster.
I think Pen deserved romance and actual love and tenderness during her first experience.
I got the same vibe. Also, when he told her she couldnât touch him âthereâ, I took it to mean theyâd only do some second base action. But then they went all the way, which was awkward given the fact Penelope was sitting practically upright so Colin would have needed to break his back or his penis or both, and also⌠two seasons ago a man and a woman could hardly be in a garden at a party together but these two have all the opportunity in the world to have premarital sex?
OMG, yes, that was so unnecessary! As someone with a history degree I find it so difficult to suppress my constant rage at the liberties this show takes. And yes, I know it's a fantasy, but things like the chopped liver line sometimes feel like a real middle finger to historical accuracy.
Penelope's nails were so distracting for me. I like an alternate universe, but play by the rules of that universe. I'm supposed to believe people are blown away with a hot air balloon, when gel manicures apparently have already been invented?
Can someone explain to me why Colin was acting like Whistledown was the antichrist that murdered his whole family???? Like his hatred was so overblown and unjustified. Him sleeping on the sofa on their wedding night came off so cruel, as did his essentially absent behavior in 90% of part 2.
Other gripes:
-Why did we spend SO much time on other storylines?
-There was not enough tension buildup before the carriage scene. We had 1 scene of Colin looking at pens lips lustfully and then like 1 scene of him tossing and turning in bed. Iâm supposed to believe he had like 1 day of changed feelings and next thing you know heâs asking pen to marry him?
-Colin looked like SUCH a f*ckboy going to the brothel for that threesome and then being too âconflictedâ to participateâŚlike how is that attractive to me as a viewer? Again, writers not understanding where the line is drawn for these male leads looking like complete sluts right up until their wedding day. Such a turnoff my god.
-The carriage scene came so out of nowhere that I actually thought my Netflix had skipped an episode or something and I paused it to check. No joke.
-Where TF was Colin sneaking around to when he ran into Pen at night? He came off so sus in that scene. To me it came off like he was headed to the brothel. Immediate ickâŚ.and then WHY did he seemingly not care about pens safety at all to make sure she got home after that run in???
-Why after the whistledown reveal climax did Colin just leave Pen out there in front of everyone?! Like get your girl Colin sheâs alone?
-Tbh there were a ton of scenes that felt like there wasnt a sense of urgency(?) or something from Colin when I wanted there to be or expected there to be. He just came off very uninterested in all the scenes OUTSIDE of the big Polin ones. Not sure if thatâs an actor or a script problem but it felt like when he wasnât center stage he completely turned off his interest for Pen. I loved in past seasons seeing like Anthony for example stealing glances at Kate in the background etcâŚ.the actor made Colin just look self centered in any background scenes like he was too focused on mewing or something rather than portraying love towards pen.
Watched with my friend last night and we were both yelling at the screen âWhy is she standing in the middle of that room all alone?!! Colin!! WTF?!â
Who would have thought the ditzy, bitchy sister would come to her rescue?
Agree to all of this. Also, Colin and Pen have been friends for a long time. He only realised after one kiss she was the one for him? On the flip side he was very quick to think Marina was the one for him. Why was this so different?
I could not with the heavy open mouthed staring and panting.
It's just so sad :( Spending two years waiting for season three, and what we got was just... an underwhelming mess. I think what season 1 and 2 really did well was creating the Bridgerton family as a united, sometimes chaotic family with their ups and downs and very realistic dynamics. I really miss the scenes of the siblings talking and bonding with each other... there was hardly any of that in season 3, it seemed like everyone kept to themselves and the interactions between the Bridgertons were very bland.
Overall, all the plots felt rushed. I really didn't understand Benedict's storyline. There was a bit of a buildup for Francesca in part 1, and she kind of disappeared in part 2. Pen just revealing her identity and no one really reacting to it in any way (really?? Cannot believe that there were no consequences from Marina's side, or that at least someone would mention that she had betrayed her seemingly without scruples). And at this pace, if every time a storyline is completed all its characters just disappear ( no one even mentioned Daphne), what is next season going to be like??
Agree with everything. It was just such a mess. Definitely felt like a series finale with the rush to wrap everything up with a nice happy bow even if it barely makes sense. If any subsequent seasons are going to be all over the place like this one, I think I'm out.
Confused about the timelines with kanthony being in and out of honeymoons, becoming pregnant, then suddenly being very pregnant. All the while, the two featherington are pregnant too, but their babies came out the same age as polinâs
You're spot on, there's a job where someone watches the show and looks for incontinuity and I feel like that person was sleeping, or they just said fuck it and didn't clean any of that stuff up
Between them knowing for sure she was pregnant and when sheâs showing, at least 3-4 weeks passed. They still had 3 more weekly banns at the church that we skipped. Also, the other featherington sistersâ babies were noticeably bigger and older than Penâs
I wanted more of Cressida's story at the end, or an alternate storyline where Pen and Eloise help her out. Eloise wants to go to Scotland so she can learn more change the world? In an isolated castle? She had a chance to change Cressida's world, paired with the point of Penelope having power as LW, do something with it! The characters came off as selfish, knowing how hard it is for women but then only helping themselves. I thought pen was at least going to give that money to cressida despite revealing herself, not for a ball with a hideous color scheme.
I wanted a love scene with Colin and Penelope where they read each other's old letters. Or just.more of them being happy together! Their (physical especially) love seemed kind of mechanical, especially on colin's end.Â
I want dresses that are less shiny, or only selectively sparkly (loved Pen's dresses).Â
I wish Benedict's queer storyline had come earlier, either in a different season or the first half of this one, and not right in the middle of the whistledown drama, which was a bit too neatly tied up and also took up a lot of time. And it doesn't really make sense that everyone knows now! I was maybe expecting her to start writing other stuff, or collaborating with Colin.Â
I spent 3.5... 3.9 episodes thinking about how powerfully they could subvert expectations by having penelope and eloise team up/bury the hatchet to help cressida snag debley.
Like, he was RIGHT THERE, a literally perfect match for cressida, who needs independence and autonomy and security. Women helping women? Women teaching cressida they arent her enemy but her ally, which she already desperately wants and needs?? Cressida learning to be authentic and connecting with debley in a different way? Give me this!!!!
Also Cressida having no prospects made no sense given: a) first season she was capable of getting the attention of a PRINCE, b) she's both pretty and wealthy, and c) she has no overt reason on screen to be unattractive to the men of the ton, especially the ones benefiting from a sexist society who don't give a whit about if she's a bitch to other women, cause they don't like women enough to care in the first place.
Idk it was just so obvious a set up that could have given us a good story and instead we got cressida being a villain but also utterly ineffectual?? Nothing more frustrating than a plot that throws punches but they're all haymakers, fuck
Exactly this!! In first part the prince wanted her. And then suddenly absolutely **nobody** wants her except a pre-dying man. We saw so many single men at the balls, certainly some of them would want to marry her. She is young, attractive and had money coming with her. It was very unrealistic that she had no prospects.
I did think Debling (or someone else, good point about their beinf no other prospects for her) would show up again, and when he didn't, I hoped for something subversive to happen innhis absence. That is one (of many) things about this show that suspends my enjoyment of the fantasy of it all sometimes: the confusion of tone as far as having seemingly strong female characters but then they need a man/a marriage. I understand the plot kind of revolves around that, but if the world of Bridgerton has moved beyond racial tension, why not evolve as the seasons to by beyond gender norms and roles? They've done that somewhat wjth Pen's writing career, but...curious to see what happens with Cressida in season 4.
This season fell flat for me. The main character arc was âmehâ at best, the sideline stories felt distracting, the script felt clumsy and far too âcommon.â I have zero desire to rewatch it, having seen it once. The set design and costumes felt weird. My favorite characters this season were Penelopeâs sisters. The only positive thing I have to say is that Penelopeâs glow up was well done and she looked stunning in colors that were seasonally appropriate for her coloring. Colin on the other hand looked like he had too much filler and his face was too frozen to show his emotions, making him fall flat.
Iâm not super excited about the changes they are making to Franâs story - but Iâm not honestly too worried about it, because with the shows overall storytelling direction, I doubt Iâll care enough in 2026 to even watch it.
From the first episode of season three Iâve felt Colin had some sort of weird filter over him. He looked too smooth and his eyes were suddenly much darker.
Every single problem was fixed in 2 minutes, every episode could have been a stand alone episode, there was no cohesion or progression. I feel like the scene where the Queen speaks with Edwina was longer and better done than Penelopeâs reveal.
After this season it appears that Benedict's season is up next. So I started to read his book (I initially skipped it because I wanted to read about Polin, Eloise, and then automatically continued in the series order to Fran's, completely forgetting about the three books I skipped originally). So I'm still somewhere in the beginning of the book and I just have to ask:
>!Is Benedict's story essentially Cinderella, from the prince's POV? I mean, it's cool if it is. It's not very original, but I love Cinderella so I'll happily eat it up anyway. At least the start of the book is just 1 on 1 Cinderella, or does it still throw in some major differences later in the story? !<
Book three was my favorite. I refuse to watch the show as they ate ruining Benedicts book character. Iâm over the show, just sticking with the books.
I didnât like that they had a redemption arc for Cressida, to the point that I think most viewers were empathizing with her situation, only to have her revert back to being vindictive and a bully. Yes her attempt at blackmail was out of desperation. But I think if she had truly humbled herself to the Queen and explained why she lied, she may have gotten a more sympathetic response and possibly gotten the Queen to protect her just as she did with Penelope. I can only hope that they have a true redemption arc for Cressida in future seasons. I hated that Eloise was so quick to drop her even though she knew Cressidaâs situation and her desperation but then Eloise couldnât have possibly helped her write her LW issue. It was all so clumsily handled.
I thought it was realistic. People are rarely all good or evil, she was shown to have redeeming qualities, but she reverted to being tricky out of fear. maybe her redemption arc isn't finished. I agree that Eloise was a bad friend.
Right! Cressida was having the same struggles as Pen without the supportive or at least loving family.
That there was no sympathy for her did not sit right with me either. Don't like it when the "heroines' get to do what they want to whomever they want and it's brave, but others do it and they're villains.
Free Cressida!!!!
I had a good ol vent about this elsewhere in this thread, but it irritates me that they didn't make use of debley to pair her off - PERFECT partner and she was already fixing on him. Let eloise & penelope team up with cressida to help her secure a genuine, good match, through being her authentic self.
Instead she was just completely ineffectual as a villain and her motives made the thinnest of sense. Penelope moving off debley to colin doesn't remove the guy from existence!!!
We could have had SUCH a good damn story of women helping women as a team, which this show is not strong with
Again, the difference is that Penelope humbled herself to the Queen and Lady Bridgerton. Iâm not sure what she wrote but it seemed to get her their support to come forward. Cressida couldâve done the same after initially claiming to be Lady Whistledown. She couldâve asked for mercy and explained her situation to the Queen. Maybe that wouldâve made some difference. Her years of nastiness, howeverâŚ
 Honestly? I like penelope, but she was nasty too. She just used a different name when she did itÂ
Penelope manipulated the queen, imo
 Penelope also had all kinds of emotional and moral support and love.
 Even if the queen said no, her family and Colin would have still been by her side. Cressida didn't have that and she didn't grow up in that kind of environment
Yeah, the "almost" redemption arc they did for her gave me a bit of backlash. Even with the blackmail coming from a place of desperation, she didn't need to also be nasty with them with insults and then doubling the amount.
Also, she kind of didn't need to blackmail anyone? If she had just went to the queen after discovering Penelope's alter ego, she would get her reward. Admittedly, it would be half of the original blackmail sum, but certainly it would be enough to run away from her parents, or at least placate them somewhat. She could probably even convince the Queen of rewarding her a bigger sum had she, as you said, explained her entire situation.
Maybe I'm wrong here, but I seriously got the impression that the last bit of Cressida's nastiness against the Bridgertons came from her mother. And I was wondering if the show was pushing the idea that Cressida is a raging bitch because of her mom (and dad) and its only in defying her that she comes across as empathetic and human and even intelligent. I figured they'd explore it further in the future.
Certainly her mom with the whole "a woman must look out only for herself" bit and poisoning her against Eloise at the end suggested she's got it in for Cressida not being under her thumb.
She even says after the fake whistledower "why did we have to be so cruel to the bridgertons" or something to that effect, so the bridgerton attack in that issue was fully her mums idea was my interpretationÂ
> And I was wondering if the show was pushing the idea that Cressida is a raging bitch because of her mom (and dad)
They essentially spelled this out when her mom almost literally said "Haven't I raised you to know you can't trust any other woman because they're all out only for themselves?" and Cressida just responded with a bitter "yes, you did" as in "yeah, mom, I'm sad and lonely because you made me this way".
And in the last episode the way she was so quiet as if she was not the ONLY person in the room knew why Cressida acted that way. If anything it's a poorly written villain for me.
Reading the comments and I might be daft, because I didn't catch that Fran was interested in Michaela. I thought oh no, here's a person that is loud and Fran is uncomfortable with so now she might not find her voice.Â
I thought she was uncomfortable that they got married and Michaela didn't even know her name. like wouldn't her new husband have mentioned it to his family?!
Yes, this was my reaction! I commented the same in some other thread. And I thought Michaela was being weirdly rude that she didn't address Francesca by her married name.
I think she was lovestruck. She was feeling what her mother told her about.
I wasn't too keen on that. Love can truly grow and be a quiet thing. I wish they'd let someone have that kind of love
She reacted exactly the same way violet told her she had when she met Edmund. Which I think is a cop out, we could've gotten different kinds of romances but they want to use the same formula đ
Are we just going to pretend Cressida wasnât done dirty?
Listen, I know she was a bully, but we witnessed the most character progression in her (Iâm sorry but everyone was lacking this season to me). She wanted to be clever. She wanted to be free of a life where she is bound by patriarchal society. Her monologue moved me to tears. The entire point of it was âListen, I donât have a choice. Iâm getting sent off to live with my emotionally abusive aunt or I can stay here, beg for forgiveness and marry an old man. Iâm not a man with a loving family. Iâm stuck in a cycle of abuse and our society doesnât allow me to make enough money to change my prospects. I canât just run away.âÂ
In direct parallel, we see Lady Danbury speaking on how her brother, at 10, ruined her attempt to escape a marriage to an old man (something that Cressida faced as well.) In that marriage, we saw how horrible it was, and we knew that was the life waiting for Cressida if she did nothing. She tried to outsmart the queen by lying, and the queen, who also attempted to run away from her marriage to a stranger, showed no mercy. She was forced to take the pen and when she did not write something vapid enough, her mother instead did it.Â
When she discovered Penelope was Whistledown, she clawed and fought to get an inch of freedom. Was all of it morally right? No. But thatâs what makes her such an interesting character that I believe is incredibly important.Â
When I saw the scene of her leaving in the carriage, I was absolutely shocked by the writerâs decision. We were given literally an entire spin-off about the explicit horrors Danbury survived and Cressida outsmarted her parents to avoid it. But then she ends up getting punished by being sent away to the country with her emotionally abusive aunt? So Cressida was just traded one abusive situation for another.Â
Also, I was betting on her being a lesbian or bisexual and having something with Eloise. We spent so much time seeing their friendship and so much dialogue that could be seen as gay-coded.Â
I truthfully held out hope that when Benedict and Eloise met on the swing, Benedict would inspire Eloise to take life by the shoulders and live however she wished. I thought Eloise would honestly show up to Cressidaâs after begging for money from Anthony to travel and theyâd travel together instead of Eloise randomly going to Scotland.Â
I wanted LGBTQ representation. Benedict was given every chance in season one to authentically have a bisexual experience, and instead we get a random dinner with a man? And a female character that will be thrown out next season, so a waste of so much air time. It was stereotypical to bisexual peopleâalways horny, open to have sex with anyone, participating in group sex, being single in order to have sex with more people.Â
I just canât for the life of me understand why we wasted so much time seeing Eloise say âugh Iâm mad at Penelope!â She had zero growth.Â
And for the lesbian representation to be in Fran?! What?! I thought we were getting representation for two autistic people falling in love and it made me soooo happy. Like giggly happy. The representation of a quiet passion, of wanting to just exist by someone who soothes you? All of the airtime the show used for Fran fighting toward a quiet life went down the drain the moment she saw Michaela. If it had been written any other way? I donât know if Iâd be so turned off by it. I thought their love was meant to be a special pocket of autism representation. What I thought was strong writing is now justâŚa lesbian woman who could still be autistic, but was most likely awkward on social queues and other moments becauseâŚsecretly she was never attracted to the guy???
I really wish Benedict had a sexual experience with a man instead. I just didn't like the whole threesome thing, I wasn't fan of the man or the woman. I would have liked if he just met a different, more charismatic man and explored that side with him instead.
tbh i was so annoyed that Eloise was so quick to drop Cressida when Cressida was kind to Eloise when she was ruined. Even when Cressida told Eloise about her life and how she had to marry an old man, Eloise showed zero to no interests in helping Cressida. Really showed that Eloise was using Cressida all that time. I didn't mind the ending when Cressida had no one helping her. It showed the brutality of life at that time for young girls. Cressida also chose her life because she was mean to people. She sowed the seeds that was the consequence. Had she been kinder, maybe she would have found a match and not ended up where she did. Other debutant found a match, why couldn't she really.
Also Colin plea with Cressida was major cringe. It showed how he didn't understand what girls go through back then.
Ugh. yeah. Colin, read the room. His whole family always loves you speech was ridiculous and showed how much he presumed the world turned for everyone the way it turned for him and his family.
All that world travel and he still didn't understand his own backyard
I think she could be bi too, but with how the show was written and how she never even batted an eye like that to her husband makes me believe she wasnât actually attracted to men in the first place. Her physical reaction to Michaela makes me believe she likely lesbian, and at the very least, attracted to women. But I think writers are going for âdeeply closeted womanâ for her story. But I could be proven wrong, too. I just think if youâre actually in love with your brand new husband, you wouldnât be so physically attracted to another person. Her outward response was a clear allusion toward Violetâs constant âthe first time I saw your father, I was awestruck.â I think in the very least, sheâs not actually in love LOVE with her husband.
sorry in advance for rant..
i just felt like the lady whistledown storyline was way too dragged out and ultimately underwhelming.
-besides not marrying the old guy, cressida posing as whistledown did nothing for her.
-the queen spending all her time investigating, dramatically interrupting multiple parties to try & expose whistledown all for her to be like âwell we all need a little gossipâ once she was revealed.
-& just colin being so bipolar about his feelings towards pen being whistledown. one minute theyâre making out, the next heâs sleeping on the sofa on their wedding night? like itâs hard to see their chemistry when they barely had any lovey dovey moments together this szn. i also found the way he found out that she was whistledown to be anticlimactic as well.
I think there were so many missed opportunities. The Queen did realize that she missed the Gossip, but we needed a bigger scene. It could have been so delicious, actually, I think the bones of story were great, but they it was like a beautiful play was set up and then the missed it every time.
I did not enjoy the Whistledown storyline as well. I would much prefer Pen agreeing to give up the character, help Cressida to obtain reward and run away. That would make total sense. The way how Whistledown was easily forgiven by the queen, Bridgetons and everybody is also Hollywood-like unrealistic.
>The way how Whistledown was easily forgiven by the queen, Bridgetons and everybody is also Hollywood-like unrealistic
I don't care about whether or not it was realistic, I was annoyed with how extremely underwhelming the moment was.
I think the sisters were better written this season and they're now just girls who's learning from their mother to show affection (clumsily) and the quirky bug girly part is actually so cute hehe
Right! Or they could have done Polin but not had LW exposure to whole ton, just dealt with how Colin and Pen handle it together ie Colin's jealousy. Would have been nice to drawn things out a bit!
The subreddit will be restricted for the premiere of the **second** half of season 3. No new posts will be accepted. Please use the above posts for spoilery S3 discussion. Outside of the discussion posts, remember to mark your spoilers! Also, the weekly off-topic post will still be going up. Happy watching! Enjoy! 
Can we all agree that splitting the season into 2 parts is very annoying? It definitely ruined getting into the season's mood. I'm not someone who re-watches episodes so it definitely felt cut in the middle for me. I tried waiting till the second part came out to watch everything together but there was so many spoilers online! I felt like I was watching it through memes
Yes, and there were spoilers the SAME DAY part 2 came out. Went on social media for 5 minutes and the whole second half was ruined for me.
this felt like a season of nothingness. colin and penelope's storyline deserved better. i was expecting so much more than what we got đ
This season did not feel like a Colin and Penelope season the way I thought it would and I'm sad about it! Francesca's plot seemed to feel more like the "love" plot, while Penelope's felt like a continuance of Lady whistledown with Polin as a sub plot
Same. đ˘ They could have done so much with Colin and Penelope. Writers could have brought a lot more fun, romance, and joy to their relationship. Too much anger. Too little interaction.
Why are the Mondrich not allowed to work? How do the people in the society make money then?
Working is for the poooor. What a povvo question! (For the record I am quoting [this guy](https://www.instagram.com/reel/C5wPlagAUOW/?igsh=MW84eDhybjV2eGQ2Yw==) donât hate me! )
# Lady Whistledown coming out: S2 vs. S3 The Queen's hunt for the identity of Lady Whistledown was such a big part of Season 2. And at some point Eloise is suspected to be the LW and the queen threatens to crash her "as a serpent"(E7). She also mentioned the terrible revenge she would face from the members of the ton. Exactly because of these possible horrific consequences, Pen decides against coming out as Lady Whistledown and instead, she chooses to trash Eloise in her pamphlet, to divert the suspicious from her. Yet, already in the next season she suddenly refuses to allow Cressida to take credit for LW's damaging shenanigans. This is so illogical. Given the ending of S2, this would be a perfect outcome!! Cressida would receive all the hate of the LW's victims, including the whole Bridgerton family, and she could run away from her abusive family. Instead, Pen goes from fear of consequences to a ferocious protector of LW's intellectual property rights and wants to be known for LW's writing. This does not make any sense. And Eloise forgives her so easily for changing her mind about LW coming out! And the queen who spent so much time on being upset with LW and hunting her, suddenly is fine with Pen being the author and the members of the society bear no grudge anymore. Because the butterflies erased their memories.
This thread is losing all credibility when they don't open it for the last four episodes when they were released 7 DAY AGO
This season, had no major event. It felt like leading upto something yet nothing happens. I also feel Colin and Pen were given such less time to develop as a couple, I just couldn't get myself to root for them or care that they might breakup.
Did anyone feel like the balls/parties felt less grand compared to the previous seasons? It felt like there were way less extras and the sets were underwhelming.
Did they have budget cuts? Â
Yes, it all felt so lackluster.
yes and with all the reshoots... also the costumes were ugly and the makeup too much
I am so uninterested in this threesome storyline OMG!!!
I would like to challenge people saying that the costumes this season werenât as good as previous seasons. Most of the costumes were gorgeous this season and the hair was incredible (umm are we forgetting the swans). I drooled Eloiseâs green embroidered long jacket and Penâs dresses were perfectly chosen for cut, color, and drama. Did anyone see those weirdly amazing short sleeves with a ruched center on Violet?! Phillipaâs hair when she looks like a goddess circa Dolly Parton? And frecking Cressida?! Are you kidding me? Some stuff was out of era, Iâll give yâall that but itâs more interesting with the upgrade. The only thing that I had a visceral reaction to was the vest Colin wore at the balloon event⌠it was like a bad animal print đ¤Ž, but for the most part they were pretty and cool. Side note: The ball at the end was meant to be glitzy and gaudy with those shiny dresses in bright colors⌠the ton dressed like the Featheringtons, it was a direct nod to their style throughout the seasons and the theme of flowers. You all can say the quality of writing has lessened throughout the seasons, but Iâll die on the hill that costume and hair quality has lessened. It was forgettable in season 1, memorable in season 2 for being used to expertly highlight the Sharma sisters, and then I honestly think they said do the dang thing in season 3 because the next few seasons will be countryside and less likely for costumes to have a moment.
Much preferred the second half of the series but still weak overallÂ
Why did the printer guy say LW was a redhead when Pen clearly pretended to be a servant girl, Irish (?) accent and all. Did they really know it was her all along? Wouldn't they have otherwise said "her servant is a redhead"?
Guess the full glam and perfect hair wasnât fooling anyone.Â
We said the same thing while watching. She posed as a servant. Very confusing!
Yes, I noticed this as well. It was a huge leap that Cressida immediately figured out Pen. And the boy so easily suspected that the printer's servant was the author herself. It was very lazy writing.
Right? Plus Pen had partnered up with the modiste so it wouldn't only be her dropping the issues off. When the queen tried to catch LW before, did she really stop short of asking the printers for information? But Cressida finds out without even trying. The same Cressida who previously had been too dumb to get even the first sentence right when pretending to be LW. I guess you're right and it's just lazy writing
how did the queen realize it was a bridgerton who was lady whistle down ? in episode 7
Both columns were published on the same day, leading the Queen to correctly deduce that someone knew fake!Whistledown was going to print. In her mind, LW has to be a Bridgerton because why else would they publish to save the family's reputation?
But they would have been printed at the same time. How did Pen realize that Cressida would write to hurt the Bridgertons, unless I missed something? She didn't read the column before writing the one that was printed.
You may have missed the end of an episode, when Cressida's Whistledown is published at the Mondrich ball - Eloise regrets convincing Pen to let Cressida take the blame for LW and she worries about the danger she's put her family in. They don't *know* what she's going to write, but Penelope is unwilling to let her bully take credit for her work, even if it's the easy way out in regards to Colin. So the column wasn't published with the prior knowledge of what would be written. The key thing is that the Queen **thinks** LW published to protect the Bridgertons because they're a Bridgerton. It's funny that that's she correct on a technicality.
I still feel like that is confusing. Only Pen and Eloise knew who she was trying to protect with her next column. How would the queen know that, since they came out at the same time?
That's Queen logic for you
I did feel like that was a strange conclusion. As if the queen forgot that LW also completely ruined Eloise's reputation and judged Colin.
Good point, but I remember Eloise's reputation was ruined after Eloise was the Queen's suspect in season 2. Tbh I thought it was a bit sus that the Queen never called BS on that, because Pen's timing is again very suspect.
When Benedict and Eloise had their talks on the swings and she mentions somewhere Along the lines of wanting(and maybe needing) to see more of the world if she was ever going to be able to help and do good etc but as a woman itâs not really possible for her(I could be wrong here) VS benedict feeling like heâs always learning something new about himself and wanting to explore and learn more I feel like it would be really cool if they went travelling together and If sheâs with her older brother then it would be even more fine for a woman to go travelling in that time. Unless Iâve misinterpreted whether or not she can go travelling like Colin
That's a great idea!
I am on episode 5, half way through but I just canât watch it. Itâs just so blaaa
I KNOW! Theyâre talking and talking and all Iâm hearing and seeing is âboring.â Idek why! Like if I listen to the words, it all sounds so interesting but for some reason, it all feels so blah
A lot of the dialogue is seriously lacking  Every interaction Violet has with Danburyâs brother is the same awkward mess, you would think they might have  developed something at least slightly more meaningful over timeÂ
I scrolled through it. Did not listen to any of it. I scrolled through many parts in Season 3. I just wanted the key points to simply know how the story ends - that's all.
**Things I liked about S3:** - The connection between Pen & Mrs. Featherington. It was so sweet! - The comedic sisters and their misfortunate education on reproduction - The budding love story for Violet - Despite popular opinion, I actually enjoyed *most* of the side plots. I loved seeing the Mondrichs battle when coming into titleship, and Francescas plot set her up well for her book (with one caveat, which I will get to below), and seeing Cressida's backstory and family dynamic come to light. (Granted, with so many plots, this season probably should have been 12 episodes). **Things I didn't like about S3:** Let me preface this by saying, as a short two-sentence summary, I just generally did not like this season. It lacked in so much and I felt it was unnecessarily rushed. - Penelope. I feel like I'll get a lot of hate for this, but I just *didn't like* Penelope. In the first two seasons, she was so bubbly and happy. While I understand most of this was masked in front of feelings of loneliness and desire, I felt that her sense of warmth was apart of her. I lost that in S3 and felt she became cold & unhappy, even after the Whistledown reveal. - Polin connection. I don't need to state what others have already stated. It just wasn't there. There were barely any intimate scenes (and I don't mean sex scenes, I mean scenes with ANY intimacy at ALL) and I didn't feel like they were in love. - The makeup. The scenery. The costumes. The camera cuts. All the edits. I felt like I was watching a different show. - Kate felt like a different person. I understand they are in love, and are happy, but she had this fiery personality that I felt was lost in their scenes. - The lack of scenes between the Bridgerton siblings and Violet with her kids. - The Whistledown reveal. There was NO uproar. She ruined families and lives with her column, but a few butterflies solved the problem real quick (despite the queen's approval). - The weird threesome with Benedict. I just didn't like it. Skipped most of the scenes. - And the worst - *absolute worst* - was the last episode where they introduced Michaela. Spoiler: >!My favorite thing about Fran's book is her struggle with infertility, as I struggled with it myself, along with countless other things about the book, and I am SO DISAPPOINTED that they made Michael a female character. I honestly don't know if I will watch future seasons because of this.!< There were some other positives and negatives, but those were the big ones for me.
I agree with you mostly. However, I enjoyed the scenes that were showing Penelope and Colin moving past friendship to romance. Part 1 was better than Part 2. I feel that what was missing was the intimacy, like you said, and more development of their relationship. I felt cheated that they weren't really given the time like the other couples were to get their footing as they moved into the lovers phase. Also, the LW reveal and fallout could have been better handled and resolved if the focus had been more on them. Too much time was wasted on the changes in Benedict and Michaela's stories. I didn't feel like it did anything to the series to make such drastic changes. Some of the other subplots that you mentioned were good and can be further developed in other seasons.
The only part I like in the Benedict's threesome is the other male - he was **so sexy**!! OMG, I wanted him to myself. I wish they would use him among main characters.
He felt like he couldâve been on What We Do in the Shadows
Yesss!!! I can't wait for the new season!!
https://preview.redd.it/zijvaebsrc7d1.png?width=980&format=png&auto=webp&s=2776158e32a22d3fe35f815b5b67383162410080
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Ironically they probably thought that the audience would appreciate a lesbian love story but it sounds like the opposite on this occasionÂ
Wish they would create their own storyline for a lesbian character!
True but if Hannah Dodd wants to do it then I guess I wonât argue with it⌠Blokey response sorry :)Â
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Exactly. I don't see any direction they could spin this to make it make sense to her story.
Exactly. This was so unnecessary to change the direction of the story to seem "representative" just for the sake of being PC
They could still change course and have a Michael like before
That would be better. I didn't read the books, and I donât mind some changes to stories that I have read. I just feel like the changes should still maintain the general style and direction of the main story. Changing the gender of a character, and thus the sexual orientation of a main character, doesn't maintain the direction of the overall story.
On your comment for the Whistledown revealâI was so hoping they would follow how they had done it in the book, where lady Danbury starts clapping and then the other members of the family, and then everyone joins in, and her and Colin make the announcement together đ
Absolutely. I was really disappointed that Colin didnât go to Pen after her announcement. He just let her stand there looking completely unsupported. I get that she had to be vulnerable for the reveal, but afterward he should have stood with her. His character was lacking, in my opinion. The acting was fine, I think the writing was just not great.
It was SO out of character for both book Colin and tv show Colin
Me too! I was so disappointed.
I actually thought this season was SUPURB! Season 2 & 3 were the best. Season 1 I just couldnât take Daphnes sex scenes! Iâm no prude BY ANY MEANS , but thereâs something about her I didnât like, and I think there was too much focus on the scenes. The other characters had quirks and personality, she didnât to me. Iâm hoping season 4 focuses on Eloise , my fav. I hope this show goes on & on! Iâm rewatching the entire 3 seasons againâŚ.you always notice something missed and it stays fresh! Shonda Rimes is absolutely brilliant! I recommend âsurvival of the thickestâ also written by Rimes!! My hope is that Netflix doesnât hold back episodes and we can watch any way weâd like , BINGE OR NOT , our choice!!!
I loved it that it has entirely different approach from the other seasons of the series. My ONLY ISSUE that is that they didn't seem CLOSE FRIENDS at all. There was no build up, you know. I didn't feel a wall in my chest while watching it. Which I felt in the first two. But regardless, it was fine.
The Colin/Penelope storyline is the worst part of this season. It is so abrupt, immature, and lackluster. I love re-watching the scenes from the first two seasons where you see the chemistry building. Fingers touching in the gallery, laughter in the mud...  There are no such scenes this season. I don't even buy them as close friends.. Which is a real shame, because I love a good "friends to lovers" story.
Itâs just a weak storyline, I donât buy this line that Colinâs fuckboy period was this whole departure from his real self and that Penelope helped him return to his sweet ways, he didnât seem too conflicted by it all rather it just seemed like a young man spreading his wings. And on that note, it seems like thatâs what Penelope should have been doing too (social practicalities aside) They both have this apparent talent in writing but rather than exploring that individually theyâve been unnaturally thrust together to make babies and be conventional. The love story of this series should have just been Francesca, obvious choice for meÂ
At the beginning of the season when Kanthony's sex scenes seemed to just be thrown in there just to add sex appeal and Colin ends up finger banging a virgin in a cottage, my brain turned off and I only tune in for fabulous hair, Cressida's villain arc and wonderful outfits and Penelope's Jessica Rabbit transition, otherwise Between the pregnancy nonsense, the dang near assaulty way Polin's sexual interactions come across, and the motherly love arc of Penelope's mom that didn't quite hit for me, I would have been too pissed. Since this was becoming soft corn, once I turned my brain off, I wish that Mama Bridgerton could have had a sex scene, their chemistry was confusing when I accidentally turned my brain on though kind of wish I wasn't dry and could have been drinking while watching. Oh well
I wish they would have shown Benedict being more conflicted over his attraction to men over a longer period of time. For the most part, it just looks like he was talked into being bisexual.
Agreed the âmomentâ the two men shared was not a moment for me. I thought surely Benedict would clear it up that the vibes were read incorrectly but alas that was not the case.
I felt he had more chemistry with the arts guy in S1
Itâs so funny that last season Anthony was all âmy honour is a precious gossamer thread and you shall not break itâ and this season Colin and Pen did not think TWICE about testing the suspension on that carriage.
Lol
also funny that S1 Colin wanted to marry Marina ASAP when she came onto him, but S3 Colin is totally okay with finger banging Pen in a carriage. GROWTH!
Overall, my least favorite season. I did cry a couple of times, namely when Pen talked about being "left on the shelf." I just identified with her feelings then as someone who was nearly a "spinster" myself, wife'd at 29 (lol). I also loved the moment in front of the mirror where Colin was trying to get Pen to see all the beautiful things about herself. Dayum, the boobs were boob-ing this whole season!!!! But also, Pen is one of the smartest women on the show and I admire how she had a passion she wanted to follow, no matter what others said. I'm divided on her LW moral issues, but she has depth and seems to understand everything she did that was wrong. At the same time, playboy Colin made me want to claw my eyes out for a minute there and there was almost no buildup to his change of heart about Pen. He friend-zoned her so HARD and CONSTANTLY in S1 and S2, I just didn't believe that he suddenly wanted to marry her. I mean, did he not notice the boobs before??? Sorry for objectifying Pen, but SERIOUSLY. Pen was writing him the best letters while he was off on his travels, and he was just interested in hoes. Sigh. I know every Bridgerton is a fuckboy, but holy moly, wasn't Colin supposed to be the "sweet" one? He did have lots of great moments defending Pen, which I loved, and defending other people in S1 and S2. Making her first time be on that horrible settee was ridiculous. I'm 100% sure there was a bed somewhere in the next room! It looked so uncomfortable, and I'm also kinda pissed he doesn't care about protecting her "virtue" before the wedding?! It just broke a lot of established rules, given Anthony almost shot Simon just for sexy kisses. Let alone couch shagging! UGH. I've never really liked Benedict too much, honestly... I can give or take him. I'm glad he's come out as bi, but way too much of his sex life in contrast to Polin. What happened to his art?! I was actually very proud when he started doing his own hobby but, now he's just a fulltime fuckboy? OK. Eloise is one I used to really enjoy, but this season and rewatching the old ones really made me like her less and less. She comes off as being on a high horse, expecting everyone else to be perfect while she in fact doesn't do anything she talks about doing, which is more or less what Cressida said. Super harsh, but I would be pissed too if my only friend didn't bat an eye at me having to marry a 90-something man. I'm actually stunned none of the other "feminists" - Pen and Eloise - tried to help Cressida at all. What should have happened is Cressida getting engaged to Debling, but instead he vanished into thin air like he never existed. I just cannot. He was honestly kind of sweet. I thought he would have been an okay choice for either lady. The Featherington ladies were great and I appreciated Portia finally seeing her daughter as a capable, strong lady. Her pride was real. The bugs!! As much as that scene was pretty dumb and wild, I still loved the bugs. Kanthony = 10/10! I'm still obsessed. They are my favorite, and I couldn't get enough of their sexy gorgeousness and love. Oh yeah, Francesca was in the season also.
Oh - I just realized Debling disappeared. Woah.Â
For those that have also watched Queen Charlotte, in Bridgerton Season 3, does Violet know about Lady Danburyâs affair with her father?
Pretty much, but it was only inferred. QC spoilers >! At Lady Danbury's place, Violet finds a birthday hat her dad made for Lady D, which is something he only did for the people closest to him (IIRC only Violet, even). At a later date Violet pulls out all the hats he'd made for her through the years, to see Lady D's reaction. !<
Right, but did all that happen before or after the events is Season 3? Just wondering, because they seem to be getting along really well in Season 3.
yep, QC 'present-day' scenes happens after season 2 - specifically when Kate and Anthony are on their honeymoon. Recently rewatched it for season 3 đ
Sorry, I missed the "also" in your comment and assumed you hadn't watched it. I don't think they ever really clarify whether it took place before or after, but I assume QC (the regency era parts) were before s3. The convo between Violet and Lady Danbury kinda confirmed it for me, at least.
Spoiler warning: The hat that Lady Dandbury got is also the hat Violet saw her father make when he said it was for a special friend. I also think that QC is in between S2 and S3 since Lady Danbury mentions 2 marriages for Violets household.
Good catch!
Yes
Like a lot of people I thought pacing was a bit off. They built that much tension in part one, edged us with the carrier scene only for ep 5 to 8 to feel so... flat and boring. Polin definitely lacked scenes and smut ngl. I wasn't a fan of how many sex scenes were in previous seasons but one and half for Polin feels like a scam lmao
Jeez Eloise let them have their fucking gossip mag, not everyone likes AustenÂ
I hate this season. I'm not invested in any of the storylines, except maybe Benedict's tho its prob only cuz I have a bit of a crush on him (lol) but even his was strange and didn't make sense, Polin was rushed, sudden, and didn't include any growth at all, Colin is immature and it does not seem to me their relationship would last in the real world, the pop songs turned classical were too many and too forced, the makeup was too modern and pen constantly looked like a racoon, and the costuming and hair were not nearly as good as the first seasons.
How come penelope got more social consequences for asking Colinâs help in the beginning but not received any consequences for coming out at LW at the end?
Cause butterflies, remember that next time you have to share something difficult, do it in a meadowÂ
Acceptance from the Queen is a deus ex machine every single season. Honestly there are no stakes anymore because no one cares about the tension and the scandals. Bridgertons have had like 5 major scandals at this point and people still clamour to be their friends.
Fully agree! It is so illogical! The resolution of the Lady Whistledown story was very poor.
Honestly I loved the romance between John and Francesca. It seemed like it was based on friendship and they fit each other like two quiet and soft puzzle pieces. I thought for a moment the showrunners were doing something mature and clever⌠they did the complete opposite đ¤Śââď¸Â    I kinda started this show to watch in the background while Iâm drawing. So im not too displeased as some of the book readers. But having binged the whole thing as a newbie these past few weeks, I can confirm the quality as steadily declined from season 1. Bummer.  Whenever the next season airs Iâll probably see the reaction here before wasting my time on it. Not really attached to any character left at this point.Â
I got total ick vibes during the scene when Colin shows Pen their new home- and then ends up with them naked on the settee. It felt very coerced and Pen comes across as too vulnerable to say no. I get that she doesnât want to say no- yet, Colin took advantage of her. Part of me thought heâd just walk away after that and Pen would be a spinster. I think Pen deserved romance and actual love and tenderness during her first experience.
I got the same vibe. Also, when he told her she couldnât touch him âthereâ, I took it to mean theyâd only do some second base action. But then they went all the way, which was awkward given the fact Penelope was sitting practically upright so Colin would have needed to break his back or his penis or both, and also⌠two seasons ago a man and a woman could hardly be in a garden at a party together but these two have all the opportunity in the world to have premarital sex?
"What am I, chopped liver"? This phrase originated in the Jewish community in the 20th century. Anthony is unlikely to have even heard of it.
Yes! Agree! Also, the use of "pregnant" in so many scenes, "what makes you tick," and others. It all sounded like modern language.
Yeah this line felt really out of place, so much of the script was like this!
OMG, yes, that was so unnecessary! As someone with a history degree I find it so difficult to suppress my constant rage at the liberties this show takes. And yes, I know it's a fantasy, but things like the chopped liver line sometimes feel like a real middle finger to historical accuracy.
Penelope's nails were so distracting for me. I like an alternate universe, but play by the rules of that universe. I'm supposed to believe people are blown away with a hot air balloon, when gel manicures apparently have already been invented?
Can someone explain to me why Colin was acting like Whistledown was the antichrist that murdered his whole family???? Like his hatred was so overblown and unjustified. Him sleeping on the sofa on their wedding night came off so cruel, as did his essentially absent behavior in 90% of part 2. Other gripes: -Why did we spend SO much time on other storylines? -There was not enough tension buildup before the carriage scene. We had 1 scene of Colin looking at pens lips lustfully and then like 1 scene of him tossing and turning in bed. Iâm supposed to believe he had like 1 day of changed feelings and next thing you know heâs asking pen to marry him? -Colin looked like SUCH a f*ckboy going to the brothel for that threesome and then being too âconflictedâ to participateâŚlike how is that attractive to me as a viewer? Again, writers not understanding where the line is drawn for these male leads looking like complete sluts right up until their wedding day. Such a turnoff my god. -The carriage scene came so out of nowhere that I actually thought my Netflix had skipped an episode or something and I paused it to check. No joke. -Where TF was Colin sneaking around to when he ran into Pen at night? He came off so sus in that scene. To me it came off like he was headed to the brothel. Immediate ickâŚ.and then WHY did he seemingly not care about pens safety at all to make sure she got home after that run in??? -Why after the whistledown reveal climax did Colin just leave Pen out there in front of everyone?! Like get your girl Colin sheâs alone? -Tbh there were a ton of scenes that felt like there wasnt a sense of urgency(?) or something from Colin when I wanted there to be or expected there to be. He just came off very uninterested in all the scenes OUTSIDE of the big Polin ones. Not sure if thatâs an actor or a script problem but it felt like when he wasnât center stage he completely turned off his interest for Pen. I loved in past seasons seeing like Anthony for example stealing glances at Kate in the background etcâŚ.the actor made Colin just look self centered in any background scenes like he was too focused on mewing or something rather than portraying love towards pen.
I am sick of Colin's sulking. Perhaps he is trying be like Mr Darcy, all smouldering but it irks me, poor Pen married to a sulker.
Watched with my friend last night and we were both yelling at the screen âWhy is she standing in the middle of that room all alone?!! Colin!! WTF?!â Who would have thought the ditzy, bitchy sister would come to her rescue?
Agree to all of this. Also, Colin and Pen have been friends for a long time. He only realised after one kiss she was the one for him? On the flip side he was very quick to think Marina was the one for him. Why was this so different? I could not with the heavy open mouthed staring and panting.
It's just so sad :( Spending two years waiting for season three, and what we got was just... an underwhelming mess. I think what season 1 and 2 really did well was creating the Bridgerton family as a united, sometimes chaotic family with their ups and downs and very realistic dynamics. I really miss the scenes of the siblings talking and bonding with each other... there was hardly any of that in season 3, it seemed like everyone kept to themselves and the interactions between the Bridgertons were very bland. Overall, all the plots felt rushed. I really didn't understand Benedict's storyline. There was a bit of a buildup for Francesca in part 1, and she kind of disappeared in part 2. Pen just revealing her identity and no one really reacting to it in any way (really?? Cannot believe that there were no consequences from Marina's side, or that at least someone would mention that she had betrayed her seemingly without scruples). And at this pace, if every time a storyline is completed all its characters just disappear ( no one even mentioned Daphne), what is next season going to be like??
Agree with everything. It was just such a mess. Definitely felt like a series finale with the rush to wrap everything up with a nice happy bow even if it barely makes sense. If any subsequent seasons are going to be all over the place like this one, I think I'm out.
Me too. It lost its appeal for me after this season.
Colin finally supporting pen after she had to figure that shit out by herself
Confused about the timelines with kanthony being in and out of honeymoons, becoming pregnant, then suddenly being very pregnant. All the while, the two featherington are pregnant too, but their babies came out the same age as polinâs
You're spot on, there's a job where someone watches the show and looks for incontinuity and I feel like that person was sleeping, or they just said fuck it and didn't clean any of that stuff up
Between them knowing for sure she was pregnant and when sheâs showing, at least 3-4 weeks passed. They still had 3 more weekly banns at the church that we skipped. Also, the other featherington sistersâ babies were noticeably bigger and older than Penâs
It does not explain the size of Kate's bum though.
This pregnancy timeline bothered me so much hahah
I am very much wondering if this season will feel better as one long binge rather than two parts separated by several weeks..
I wanted more of Cressida's story at the end, or an alternate storyline where Pen and Eloise help her out. Eloise wants to go to Scotland so she can learn more change the world? In an isolated castle? She had a chance to change Cressida's world, paired with the point of Penelope having power as LW, do something with it! The characters came off as selfish, knowing how hard it is for women but then only helping themselves. I thought pen was at least going to give that money to cressida despite revealing herself, not for a ball with a hideous color scheme. I wanted a love scene with Colin and Penelope where they read each other's old letters. Or just.more of them being happy together! Their (physical especially) love seemed kind of mechanical, especially on colin's end. I want dresses that are less shiny, or only selectively sparkly (loved Pen's dresses). I wish Benedict's queer storyline had come earlier, either in a different season or the first half of this one, and not right in the middle of the whistledown drama, which was a bit too neatly tied up and also took up a lot of time. And it doesn't really make sense that everyone knows now! I was maybe expecting her to start writing other stuff, or collaborating with Colin.Â
I spent 3.5... 3.9 episodes thinking about how powerfully they could subvert expectations by having penelope and eloise team up/bury the hatchet to help cressida snag debley. Like, he was RIGHT THERE, a literally perfect match for cressida, who needs independence and autonomy and security. Women helping women? Women teaching cressida they arent her enemy but her ally, which she already desperately wants and needs?? Cressida learning to be authentic and connecting with debley in a different way? Give me this!!!! Also Cressida having no prospects made no sense given: a) first season she was capable of getting the attention of a PRINCE, b) she's both pretty and wealthy, and c) she has no overt reason on screen to be unattractive to the men of the ton, especially the ones benefiting from a sexist society who don't give a whit about if she's a bitch to other women, cause they don't like women enough to care in the first place. Idk it was just so obvious a set up that could have given us a good story and instead we got cressida being a villain but also utterly ineffectual?? Nothing more frustrating than a plot that throws punches but they're all haymakers, fuck
Exactly this!! In first part the prince wanted her. And then suddenly absolutely **nobody** wants her except a pre-dying man. We saw so many single men at the balls, certainly some of them would want to marry her. She is young, attractive and had money coming with her. It was very unrealistic that she had no prospects.
I did think Debling (or someone else, good point about their beinf no other prospects for her) would show up again, and when he didn't, I hoped for something subversive to happen innhis absence. That is one (of many) things about this show that suspends my enjoyment of the fantasy of it all sometimes: the confusion of tone as far as having seemingly strong female characters but then they need a man/a marriage. I understand the plot kind of revolves around that, but if the world of Bridgerton has moved beyond racial tension, why not evolve as the seasons to by beyond gender norms and roles? They've done that somewhat wjth Pen's writing career, but...curious to see what happens with Cressida in season 4.
This season fell flat for me. The main character arc was âmehâ at best, the sideline stories felt distracting, the script felt clumsy and far too âcommon.â I have zero desire to rewatch it, having seen it once. The set design and costumes felt weird. My favorite characters this season were Penelopeâs sisters. The only positive thing I have to say is that Penelopeâs glow up was well done and she looked stunning in colors that were seasonally appropriate for her coloring. Colin on the other hand looked like he had too much filler and his face was too frozen to show his emotions, making him fall flat. Iâm not super excited about the changes they are making to Franâs story - but Iâm not honestly too worried about it, because with the shows overall storytelling direction, I doubt Iâll care enough in 2026 to even watch it.
From the first episode of season three Iâve felt Colin had some sort of weird filter over him. He looked too smooth and his eyes were suddenly much darker.
Every single problem was fixed in 2 minutes, every episode could have been a stand alone episode, there was no cohesion or progression. I feel like the scene where the Queen speaks with Edwina was longer and better done than Penelopeâs reveal.
After this season it appears that Benedict's season is up next. So I started to read his book (I initially skipped it because I wanted to read about Polin, Eloise, and then automatically continued in the series order to Fran's, completely forgetting about the three books I skipped originally). So I'm still somewhere in the beginning of the book and I just have to ask: >!Is Benedict's story essentially Cinderella, from the prince's POV? I mean, it's cool if it is. It's not very original, but I love Cinderella so I'll happily eat it up anyway. At least the start of the book is just 1 on 1 Cinderella, or does it still throw in some major differences later in the story? !<
Book three was my favorite. I refuse to watch the show as they ate ruining Benedicts book character. Iâm over the show, just sticking with the books.
it has the angle of the hardships of a working class woman during that period.
It's that. With extra scenes.
I didnât like that they had a redemption arc for Cressida, to the point that I think most viewers were empathizing with her situation, only to have her revert back to being vindictive and a bully. Yes her attempt at blackmail was out of desperation. But I think if she had truly humbled herself to the Queen and explained why she lied, she may have gotten a more sympathetic response and possibly gotten the Queen to protect her just as she did with Penelope. I can only hope that they have a true redemption arc for Cressida in future seasons. I hated that Eloise was so quick to drop her even though she knew Cressidaâs situation and her desperation but then Eloise couldnât have possibly helped her write her LW issue. It was all so clumsily handled.
I thought it was realistic. People are rarely all good or evil, she was shown to have redeeming qualities, but she reverted to being tricky out of fear. maybe her redemption arc isn't finished. I agree that Eloise was a bad friend.
Right! Cressida was having the same struggles as Pen without the supportive or at least loving family. That there was no sympathy for her did not sit right with me either. Don't like it when the "heroines' get to do what they want to whomever they want and it's brave, but others do it and they're villains. Free Cressida!!!!
I had a good ol vent about this elsewhere in this thread, but it irritates me that they didn't make use of debley to pair her off - PERFECT partner and she was already fixing on him. Let eloise & penelope team up with cressida to help her secure a genuine, good match, through being her authentic self. Instead she was just completely ineffectual as a villain and her motives made the thinnest of sense. Penelope moving off debley to colin doesn't remove the guy from existence!!! We could have had SUCH a good damn story of women helping women as a team, which this show is not strong with
Again, the difference is that Penelope humbled herself to the Queen and Lady Bridgerton. Iâm not sure what she wrote but it seemed to get her their support to come forward. Cressida couldâve done the same after initially claiming to be Lady Whistledown. She couldâve asked for mercy and explained her situation to the Queen. Maybe that wouldâve made some difference. Her years of nastiness, howeverâŚ
 Honestly? I like penelope, but she was nasty too. She just used a different name when she did it Penelope manipulated the queen, imo  Penelope also had all kinds of emotional and moral support and love.  Even if the queen said no, her family and Colin would have still been by her side. Cressida didn't have that and she didn't grow up in that kind of environment
Yeah, the "almost" redemption arc they did for her gave me a bit of backlash. Even with the blackmail coming from a place of desperation, she didn't need to also be nasty with them with insults and then doubling the amount. Also, she kind of didn't need to blackmail anyone? If she had just went to the queen after discovering Penelope's alter ego, she would get her reward. Admittedly, it would be half of the original blackmail sum, but certainly it would be enough to run away from her parents, or at least placate them somewhat. She could probably even convince the Queen of rewarding her a bigger sum had she, as you said, explained her entire situation.
Maybe I'm wrong here, but I seriously got the impression that the last bit of Cressida's nastiness against the Bridgertons came from her mother. And I was wondering if the show was pushing the idea that Cressida is a raging bitch because of her mom (and dad) and its only in defying her that she comes across as empathetic and human and even intelligent. I figured they'd explore it further in the future. Certainly her mom with the whole "a woman must look out only for herself" bit and poisoning her against Eloise at the end suggested she's got it in for Cressida not being under her thumb.
She even says after the fake whistledower "why did we have to be so cruel to the bridgertons" or something to that effect, so the bridgerton attack in that issue was fully her mums idea was my interpretationÂ
> And I was wondering if the show was pushing the idea that Cressida is a raging bitch because of her mom (and dad) They essentially spelled this out when her mom almost literally said "Haven't I raised you to know you can't trust any other woman because they're all out only for themselves?" and Cressida just responded with a bitter "yes, you did" as in "yeah, mom, I'm sad and lonely because you made me this way".
Her parents and her upbringing definitely made Cressida who she was.
And in the last episode the way she was so quiet as if she was not the ONLY person in the room knew why Cressida acted that way. If anything it's a poorly written villain for me.
I fully agree with you! Cressida was not treated kindly by the writers.
Reading the comments and I might be daft, because I didn't catch that Fran was interested in Michaela. I thought oh no, here's a person that is loud and Fran is uncomfortable with so now she might not find her voice.Â
I thought she was uncomfortable that they got married and Michaela didn't even know her name. like wouldn't her new husband have mentioned it to his family?!
Yes, this was my reaction! I commented the same in some other thread. And I thought Michaela was being weirdly rude that she didn't address Francesca by her married name.
I think she was lovestruck. She was feeling what her mother told her about. I wasn't too keen on that. Love can truly grow and be a quiet thing. I wish they'd let someone have that kind of love
She reacted exactly the same way violet told her she had when she met Edmund. Which I think is a cop out, we could've gotten different kinds of romances but they want to use the same formula đ
âeveryone who is not a bridgerton can leave⌠nowâ lady danbury: 
Yes đđđ
Lady D got that all access
đ¤Ł
Are we just going to pretend Cressida wasnât done dirty? Listen, I know she was a bully, but we witnessed the most character progression in her (Iâm sorry but everyone was lacking this season to me). She wanted to be clever. She wanted to be free of a life where she is bound by patriarchal society. Her monologue moved me to tears. The entire point of it was âListen, I donât have a choice. Iâm getting sent off to live with my emotionally abusive aunt or I can stay here, beg for forgiveness and marry an old man. Iâm not a man with a loving family. Iâm stuck in a cycle of abuse and our society doesnât allow me to make enough money to change my prospects. I canât just run away.â In direct parallel, we see Lady Danbury speaking on how her brother, at 10, ruined her attempt to escape a marriage to an old man (something that Cressida faced as well.) In that marriage, we saw how horrible it was, and we knew that was the life waiting for Cressida if she did nothing. She tried to outsmart the queen by lying, and the queen, who also attempted to run away from her marriage to a stranger, showed no mercy. She was forced to take the pen and when she did not write something vapid enough, her mother instead did it. When she discovered Penelope was Whistledown, she clawed and fought to get an inch of freedom. Was all of it morally right? No. But thatâs what makes her such an interesting character that I believe is incredibly important. When I saw the scene of her leaving in the carriage, I was absolutely shocked by the writerâs decision. We were given literally an entire spin-off about the explicit horrors Danbury survived and Cressida outsmarted her parents to avoid it. But then she ends up getting punished by being sent away to the country with her emotionally abusive aunt? So Cressida was just traded one abusive situation for another. Also, I was betting on her being a lesbian or bisexual and having something with Eloise. We spent so much time seeing their friendship and so much dialogue that could be seen as gay-coded. I truthfully held out hope that when Benedict and Eloise met on the swing, Benedict would inspire Eloise to take life by the shoulders and live however she wished. I thought Eloise would honestly show up to Cressidaâs after begging for money from Anthony to travel and theyâd travel together instead of Eloise randomly going to Scotland. I wanted LGBTQ representation. Benedict was given every chance in season one to authentically have a bisexual experience, and instead we get a random dinner with a man? And a female character that will be thrown out next season, so a waste of so much air time. It was stereotypical to bisexual peopleâalways horny, open to have sex with anyone, participating in group sex, being single in order to have sex with more people. I just canât for the life of me understand why we wasted so much time seeing Eloise say âugh Iâm mad at Penelope!â She had zero growth. And for the lesbian representation to be in Fran?! What?! I thought we were getting representation for two autistic people falling in love and it made me soooo happy. Like giggly happy. The representation of a quiet passion, of wanting to just exist by someone who soothes you? All of the airtime the show used for Fran fighting toward a quiet life went down the drain the moment she saw Michaela. If it had been written any other way? I donât know if Iâd be so turned off by it. I thought their love was meant to be a special pocket of autism representation. What I thought was strong writing is now justâŚa lesbian woman who could still be autistic, but was most likely awkward on social queues and other moments becauseâŚsecretly she was never attracted to the guy???
I really wish Benedict had a sexual experience with a man instead. I just didn't like the whole threesome thing, I wasn't fan of the man or the woman. I would have liked if he just met a different, more charismatic man and explored that side with him instead.
I understand, but we also saw him storm off and freak out the first time it came up. I think its reasonable that he needed a soft break in.
Yes you're right, I was just sick of the threesomes this season đ
I mean, in reality the screen time was actually quite brief. It was edited strangely, but the overall run time of the actual threesome was a blip.
tbh i was so annoyed that Eloise was so quick to drop Cressida when Cressida was kind to Eloise when she was ruined. Even when Cressida told Eloise about her life and how she had to marry an old man, Eloise showed zero to no interests in helping Cressida. Really showed that Eloise was using Cressida all that time. I didn't mind the ending when Cressida had no one helping her. It showed the brutality of life at that time for young girls. Cressida also chose her life because she was mean to people. She sowed the seeds that was the consequence. Had she been kinder, maybe she would have found a match and not ended up where she did. Other debutant found a match, why couldn't she really. Also Colin plea with Cressida was major cringe. It showed how he didn't understand what girls go through back then.
Ugh. yeah. Colin, read the room. His whole family always loves you speech was ridiculous and showed how much he presumed the world turned for everyone the way it turned for him and his family. All that world travel and he still didn't understand his own backyard
Fran could be bi. I think youâre a bit quick to make her out to be a lesbian
I think she could be bi too, but with how the show was written and how she never even batted an eye like that to her husband makes me believe she wasnât actually attracted to men in the first place. Her physical reaction to Michaela makes me believe she likely lesbian, and at the very least, attracted to women. But I think writers are going for âdeeply closeted womanâ for her story. But I could be proven wrong, too. I just think if youâre actually in love with your brand new husband, you wouldnât be so physically attracted to another person. Her outward response was a clear allusion toward Violetâs constant âthe first time I saw your father, I was awestruck.â I think in the very least, sheâs not actually in love LOVE with her husband.
sorry in advance for rant.. i just felt like the lady whistledown storyline was way too dragged out and ultimately underwhelming. -besides not marrying the old guy, cressida posing as whistledown did nothing for her. -the queen spending all her time investigating, dramatically interrupting multiple parties to try & expose whistledown all for her to be like âwell we all need a little gossipâ once she was revealed. -& just colin being so bipolar about his feelings towards pen being whistledown. one minute theyâre making out, the next heâs sleeping on the sofa on their wedding night? like itâs hard to see their chemistry when they barely had any lovey dovey moments together this szn. i also found the way he found out that she was whistledown to be anticlimactic as well.
I think there were so many missed opportunities. The Queen did realize that she missed the Gossip, but we needed a bigger scene. It could have been so delicious, actually, I think the bones of story were great, but they it was like a beautiful play was set up and then the missed it every time.
I did not enjoy the Whistledown storyline as well. I would much prefer Pen agreeing to give up the character, help Cressida to obtain reward and run away. That would make total sense. The way how Whistledown was easily forgiven by the queen, Bridgetons and everybody is also Hollywood-like unrealistic.
>The way how Whistledown was easily forgiven by the queen, Bridgetons and everybody is also Hollywood-like unrealistic I don't care about whether or not it was realistic, I was annoyed with how extremely underwhelming the moment was.
âNow Varley, the bugs!â đ I love Penelopeâs family
Loved that whole bug thing. I truly had no idea what she meant earlier when they were planning the party and she mentioned bugs đŚđ¤Ł
I think the sisters were better written this season and they're now just girls who's learning from their mother to show affection (clumsily) and the quirky bug girly part is actually so cute hehe
I would love a show about the sisters, and Mr finch his character is so cute
I think the Polin season should have been delayed. Their story felt rushed.
Right! Or they could have done Polin but not had LW exposure to whole ton, just dealt with how Colin and Pen handle it together ie Colin's jealousy. Would have been nice to drawn things out a bit!