Bridgerton Builds Penelope Up and Still Lets Her Down in Season 3

Another season of Bridgerton commences with the same palatial homes, towering floral centerpieces, intricately embellished empire waist gowns, and an inconsistent approach to race. 

But this year there is a significant difference, as one of our eponymous Bridgerton siblings now knows the identity of Lady Whistledown, whose newsletter delights and strikes fear into the heart of London’s high society with equal measure. She has been unveiled as Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) by her dearest friend Eloise Bridgerton (Claudia Jessie), whose brother Colin (Luke Newton) has long been the unrequited object of Penelope’s affection.

Even without knowledge of the source material (which this admittedly deviates from; in the novels, Benedict Bridgerton’s love story precedes that of Colin's romance) it's been clear for watchers of the Shondaland mega-hit that Penelope and Colin were “end game.” Appropriately, as the pair move from supporting roles to romantic leads, they’ve both had quite the glow-up, with Newton performing smoldering glances in well-cut britches which rival his predecessor Regé-Jean Page. 

Coughlan’s sensitive performance and styling is exquisite, all tumbling romantic red curls and a heaving bosom that only becomes more enchanting now it's in the spotlight. Penelope was previously cast as the perpetual wallflower, which allowed her to observe the inner workings of society and secretly moonlight as a sharp-quilled gossip. 

As much as this is a series that centers on the inner workings of women and the most powerful player is Queen Charlotte, played with eyebrow-arched aplomb by the delicious Golda Rosheuvel, the patriarchy of the era is constantly getting in the way of a good time. Penelope’s sisters are racing to produce a male heir to stop the family from falling into financial ruin, young women are continually forced by their parents to change any part of themselves necessary in order to secure proposals, and Eloise has resorted to ducking behind furniture in order to avoid any male suitors and tedious conversations speculating about others’ wedding plans. 

But the weight of what it means to be a woman in this world is most intriguing in Penelope’s arc. This is her third season, both in terms of being out in society and in the show, and the pressure is on to please the male gaze — not just in terms of looking gorgeous but making sure she seems open but not desperate, shares their interests but knows little enough about them to allow them to mansplain without interruption, and gives off the impression she could run an estate and produce a heir without breaking a sweat.

And it does at times seem like a suitable match may come in the form of the handsome albeit nerdy Lord Debling (Sam Phillips), who devotes his life to the preservation of the natural world, in contrast to Penelope’s love of urban intrigue and societal machinations. But despite their opposing outlooks on life, the pair have a tender and sweet chemistry which by the end of the third episode has you actively rooting against Colin’s growing feelings towards Penelope too. 

As much as the previous seasons saw Daphne (Phoebe Dynevor) and Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey) fall in love with people they initially disliked, that shift in dynamic is an easy one to be convinced by as an antagonistic frisson becoming sexual heat is a tale as old as time. But less true to life and our perception of love is the move from being viewed as a quasi-sibling to the lustful sweaty encounters that Bridgerton is best known for. If anything Colin comes across as rather cruel, and despite the charms of Newton’s performance it’s hard to entirely forgive him for having spent years slowly crushing the self-esteem of Coughlan’s beloved Penelope.

This season, in contrast to former installments, does take a more ensemble approach, and we check in with the connubial bliss of Lord Anthony and Lady Kate (Simone Ashley), a budding romance that Colin forms with a feisty widow,  Francesca Bridgerton’s (Hannah Dodd) debut on the marriage market, and there’s some wonderfully silly comic relief from the Featherington ladies who have a period-appropriate absurdity that evokes the less formidable members of the Bennet family in Pride and Prejudice. 

Also, refreshingly, the series doesn't entirely concern itself with the romantic urges of the under 40s; in the four episodes that make up Season 3, Part 1, the family matriarch Lady Violet Bridgerton (Ruth Gemmell) is afforded a little flirtation with a charismatic new suitor plated by Daniel Francis. The central romance might not provide quite as much to root for as in previous seasons, but the show has opened up its world enough and provided enough characters to care about to remain engaging regardless. Penelope (and Coughlan) may have deserved better than this particular love story, but it's still a joy to see her get her time in the sun. 

Bridgerton Season 3, Part 1 is now streaming on Netflix. Part 2 premieres June 13. Join the discussion about the show in our forums. 

Leila Latif is Contributing Editor to Total Film, the host of Truth & Movies: A Little White Lies Podcast and a regular at Sight and Sound, Indiewire, The Guardian, The BBC and others. Follow her on twitter @Leila_Latif.