Dearest gentle reader: Another season of Bridgerton is upon us! As we promenade through this new chapter, love is in the air. The budding friends-to-lovers romance between Colin Bridgerton and Penelope Featherington is front and center in Season 3, and we also see several other plot lines unfold.
From sparklers to babies to a Whistledown reveal, Bridgerton Season 3 was full of excitement! Let’s review the new characters we met:
While Francesca has been around since Season 1, Hannah Dodd makes her Bridgerton debut as the second to youngest Bridgerton sister. Replacing Ruby Stokes, who left the series to pursue another project, Dodd arrives in time for Francesca to be thrown into high society and the marriage mart. She is chosen as Queen Charlotte’s “sparkler” of the season and quietly develops feelings for John Stirling, Earl of Kilmartin, despite the Queen’s wishes for her to match with the Marquess Samadani. Francesca and John get engaged and the two plan to spend their married life in Scotland. As they prepare for their travels, Francesca reveals to her mother that she hopes this fresh start will bring her out of her shell. She also meets John’s cousin Michaela who will be accompanying them abroad (along with Eloise) and Francesca has a moment of being rendered speechless.
The timid and reserved Earl of Kilmartin (Victor Alli) takes a fancy to Francesca Bridgerton the moment he sees her. We first meet this new character when Francesca dips from a ball to enjoy some quiet. She runs into Stirling, who is also seeking solitude. The two fall into a comfortable silence, and an instant connection is evident. By the end of the season, John proposes to Francesca and declares that he is going to be “bold” like the Bridgertons. He and Francesca prepare to begin their life together in Scotland accompanied by Eloise as well as John’s cousin, Michaela.
While Francesca’s sights are locked on the Earl of Kilmartin, Queen Charlotte has other ideas. She summons her friend, Lord Samadani (David Mumeni), from his hometown in Vienna in hopes he might be the Bridgerton sister’s perfect match. Like Francesca, Samadani has seven siblings, though Francesca prefers solitude and Samadani hopes to have a large family himself someday. Lord Samadani appears only in the first few episodes of Season 3 as Francesca rejects this man (and his lemonade).
At the start of the season, Colin agrees to help Penelope woo a suitor. Enter Lord Alfred Debling (Sam Phillips), a kind-hearted bachelor who enjoys hot air balloons, travel, and books. He and Penelope are kind of into each other, much to the dismay of Cressida Cowper who is trying to catch Debling’s eye. Debling is ready to propose to Penelope until it becomes clear that she has feelings for Colin. Upon this realization, he flees for the second half of the season.
While the eldest Bridgerton siblings have found love, free-spirit Benedict has remained a bachelor by choice. This season, he has a fling with Lady Tilley Arnold (Hannah New), a rich widow. Lady Arnold is a free spirit herself, inviting Benedict into a threesome with her other lover, Paul Suarez. Despite initiating this polyamorous romance, she begins to develop feelings for Benedict and confesses that she wants something serious just between the two of them. Benedict gently lets her down.
Could it be the Bridgerton matriarch’s time to shine? In the first few episodes of Season 3, Violet Bridgerton runs into Lord Marcus Anderson (Daniel Francis), brother of Lady Danbury. Lord Anderson is just visiting but with the intent of finding love. As the season progresses, we see a slow-burn romance budding between Marcus and Violet. The two both understand what it’s like to lose the love of their life and to raise children on their own. By Season 3’s finale, Lord Anderson voices his feelings for Violet, and Mama Bridgerton says she will be open to exploring something more when the excitement of Colin and Francesca’s engagements has settled.
This season, we meet Prudence Featherington’s new husband, Harry Dankworth (James Phoon). He and Prudence spend the majority of the season trying to have a baby, though mostly due to pressure from Prudence’s mother, Portia. In the final scene of the finale, we see that they become parents to a baby girl.
We first meet Paul Suarez (Lucas Aurelio) at a dinner party with Lady Arnold and Benedict Bridgerton. It is discovered that Paul and Lady Arnold are lovers and they both begin a short-lived polyamorous rendezvous with Benedict.
Based on the character Michael Stirling from Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton novels, John Stirling’s cousin is gender-swapped for the TV adaptation. Portrayed by Masali Baduza, we meet Michaela in Season 3’s final episode, as she is set to accompany John and Francesca to Scotland. During their brief introduction, it appears that Francesca is awestruck by her new acquaintance. Clearly, Michaela is gearing up to be a primary character in Bridgerton’s fourth season…
