The wait is finally over, dearest gentle readers and the month-long hiatus has brought us the final episodes of season three of Bridgerton. Now that Colin (Luke Newton) and Penelope (Nicola Coughlan) are engaged, much of their remaining story revolves around Penelope’s secret identity as Lady Whistledown. Eloise (Claudia Jessie) is still the only one who knows and insists that Penelope must tell Colin before they marry.
Though much of the Lady Whistledown plot remains faithful to the book, the Netflix adaptation makes some changes that fit well with the theme of Penelope stepping into her confidence and being true to herself that began in the first half of the season when Colin offered to help Penelope catch a suitor. Although a lot of the initial consensus when others find out that Penelope is Lady Whistledown is that she should be ashamed and it will cause her family ruin, she is proud of her work and what she has accomplished and doesn’t want to shirk away from that. In this way, we get to see Penelope take charge of her own story, giving her quite a bit more agency than the book does in the way it’s revealed.
Coughlan does excellent work as the audience sees Penelope come into her own and stand up for herself. There’s an interesting nuance to be played with the thought that she has hurt people and understands that it might lose some of her friends (as we’ve already seen with Eloise previously). Still, she has built something for herself in a society that tends to frown upon women for being clever. It’s something Penelope’s mother (Polly Walker) has often tried to warn her of, knowing that’s not how her daughters will likely gain husbands and security. Much of what the women of the Bridgerton world go through is built on the basic instinct to survive, and Penelope’s story teaches us there is more than one way to do this. It’s very fitting to have this be Penelope’s arc, and it fits in well with what we’ve come to know about a Shondaland show to include regarding ambitious women.
The second half of the season slightly departs from the more comedic tone of the first half, due in part to Penelope’s secret, but that doesn’t make it any less fun to watch Colin and Penelope choose each other as they get to know each other more than they already do. At times, it might feel as though Colin gets the short end of the stick since much of his growth is internal and more of a challenge to get across on screen. However, it’s still lovely to watch Colin further accept himself as he accepts Penelope for who she is. Watching these characters be seen for who they are, even after some misunderstanding, to get there is a privilege and delight.
The rest of the season also sees some intriguing setup for storylines in future seasons. Violet (Ruth Gemmell) finds a new suitor in Lady Danbury’s (Adjoa Andoh) brother, Lord Marcus Anderson (Daniel Francis). Eloise ponders what she wants to do with her life as she watches her best friend get married. Benedict (Luke Thompson) has stumbled into a relationship with Lady Tilley Arnold (Hannah New) and figures out what he might be looking for in the near future. Francesca (Hannah Dodd) seems to have found a marriage situation that will make her happy. Though it hasn’t been announced who the next season will be about (fingers crossed for Benedict), there are many threads to draw upon as the rest of the Bridgertons find love.
Rating: 8.5/10
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