Bridgerton Season 3 Review: Why Penelope Featherington Deserves Better
The third season of Netflix’s gripping TV show has all the same ingredients, but none of the same appeal
“Leave me alone, I’m watching a Regency period drama,” I texted in my friends’ group chat over the weekend after a few missed calls inviting me to an impromptu dinner at an absurd hour.
Bridgerton is back, and there’s nothing stopping me from bingeing all four episodes, the first of the third season released by Netflix last week.
Why I love it?
The gorgeous costumes and set design, the unique blend of classic and modern pop music, the complicated love lives of the Bridgerton siblings, and plenty of scandal and gossip.
Most of all, though, I found myself glued to the TV in a state of extreme excitement as I watched each season through, because of the clever plotting and the brilliant, vibrant characters.
But after the second episode of the third season, I considered texting my friends to ask if they were still going out for dinner.
While the new season uses the same ingredients that made the first two seasons, something felt off and the meal was confusing. How could you go wrong when the recipe is already there – in a novel no less?
As an avid reader, I have come to understand that creative freedom is a fact of life. Novels and their many mediums are different things. They should be enjoyed as separate things.
However, as a reader, it is frustrating when important and powerful details of a novel are mutated beyond recognition.
“The matchmakers unite in joy – Colin Bridgerton has returned from Greece!” is the first line in chapter one of Romancing Mr Bridgerton, the fourth novel in Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton series.
And just as the matchmakers are rubbing their hands together to welcome a new prospect into the marriage fair, Bridgerton fans around the world were thrilled when the trailer for season three was released by Netflix last month.
Ultimately, the story of fan favourite Penelope Featherington is the main focus of this season. Her romance with her best friend Colin Bridgerton has been closely followed by viewers since the first season.
Nicola Coughlan, the Irish actress who plays Featherington, has said in several interviews that this season will put “nerds in the crosshairs”. This is a theme we’ve been expecting in season three – nerdy friends falling in love.
The best thing about Bridgerton is that each season is an exploration of the romantic comedy theme.
The first season was about “fake dating,” where Daphne Bridgerton and Duke Simon Basset engage in a fake courtship that leads to real love and marriage. The second season continues the “enemies to lovers” theme, with Anthony Bridgerton and Kate Sharma. Although the two can’t stand each other at the beginning of the season, they find themselves in a passionately committed relationship.
What we expected from Penelope, a commonly described but extremely intelligent “closeted girl,” and Colin, a charming, eccentric with his own complex and sensitive inner world, was a well-executed nerd-turned-lovers story.
Instead, we got a lackluster development in the first part of the third season. The first four episodes were confusing in both plot and character development. Colin Bridgerton returns from his summer tour of Europe as a changed man. He’s experienced, charismatic, and now understands women. The change is heavy and almost creepy.
In the novels, Colin and Penelope haven’t seen each other in nearly a decade. Not only is Penelope considered an old maid at 28 by this point, but his transformation also seems more understanding. And while the novels see them reconnecting as friends, their relationship is actually cemented by Colin’s travels and his love of writing – two things the show acknowledges in decidedly cheesy ways.
Despite great performances from Coughlan and Luke Newton as Colin, the show still fails to portray their friendship as real. Instead, the showrunners introduced us to the “Love Mentor” theme, with Colin trying to teach Penelope how to attract a husband – he’s now an expert on love affairs after a summer trip, apparently. This was awkwardly combined with the friends-to-lovers storyline, and resulted in a confusing timeline of events and a story that no one asked for.
What also made the show frustrating to watch was the stark differences in Colin and Penelope’s lives. Colin was the worldly bachelor everyone wanted
