Editor’s note: The below article contains spoilers for Romancing Mr. Bridgerton.
Dearest members of the ton – more Bridgerton romance is on the way! Netflix has confirmed that the third season of its hit series will center on Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) and Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan). This move marks a shift from Julia Quinn’s original book series order, hopping over Benedict Bridgerton (Luke Thompson) and his love story since his book, An Offer From a Gentleman, is technically third in the Bridgerton series. Instead, the third season on Netflix will focus on the third son and third daughter, adapting Quinn’s fourth book Romancing Mr. Bridgerton.
Though the pivot to them is a surprise to many, fans of Polin (the official portmanteau name of Penelope and Colin) couldn’t be more thrilled. There are so many things Polin fans are dying to see adapted from Romancing Mr. Bridgerton. Though many of the book scenes are subject to change due to where Season 2 has Colin and Penelope currently, here are the top things fans need to see in Season 3.
Penelope and Colin Confiding in Each Other
The last time we saw Colin and Penelope in Season 2, Colin told a group of men that he wouldn’t dream of courting Penelope Featherington, unbeknownst to the fact that Penelope was eavesdropping. Colin just saved her family from Jack’s (Rupert Young) schemes, and he told Penelope that he’d always be there to protect her, even going as far as to say that she’s special to him. Needless to say, hearing Colin say that he wouldn’t court her is a blow to Penelope’s heart. To add insult to injury, she’s no longer speaking with Eloise (Claudia Jessie) after Eloise confronts her about Lady Whistledown. Penelope doesn’t have a tether to the Bridgerton family right now.
During An Offer From a Gentleman, Colin has a similar outburst that Penelope hears, and he has to face her. While she tries to hold onto her dignity, she’s heartbroken. The pain lessens as the years go by, but it remains unspoken. This puts Netflix’s Colin in an interesting position – he doesn’t know that Penelope overheard him and doesn’t know why Penelope has stopped visiting the Bridgertons. Audiences could see him try to seek her out, and it begins to irritate him that Penelope wants nothing to do with him.
In Season 2, Colin confided in her how he doesn’t feel like he has a purpose; perhaps he wants to discuss that more with Penelope, and she’s ignoring his letters. In her efforts to avoid him, we can see Penelope start to let him back in, and the two bond over this desire to find purpose. In the books, he writes about his travels and that’s how he and Penelope bond. The Netflix series could take a similar approach. Regardless of how they bring Colin and Penelope back to each other, it’s crucial to see them get back to a place of camaraderie.
Polin Sharing a Dance in the Rain
On her way for her usual tea appointment with the Bridgerton ladies in Romancing Mr. Bridgerton, Penelope is riding a high from Lady Danbury saying that she’s something more than meets the eye. She even starts to slightly dance around on her way to Number Five when Colin sees her and goes over to talk to her. He suggests that they dance in the middle of the square, even getting into a waltz position. This scene is relatively small in the book, but this could very well be a scene early in Season 3 where Penelope is trying to avoid all the Bridgertons and Colin spots her. Penelope could try to sidestep him, and he could joke that she hasn’t danced with him in a while, and this is the closest thing they can get to it. This can begin to open Colin’s eyes to what’s been in front of him all along.
Colin and Penelope’s First Kiss Changing Their Relationship
The first kiss for any couple is momentous. Whether they’re fake dating like Daphne (Phoebe Dynevor) and Simon (Regé-Jean Page) or giving in to the forbidden attraction like Anthony (Jonathan Bailey) and Kate (Simone Ashley), the nature of the relationship shifts into something new, and it can never be the same. Such is the case with Colin and Penelope. In Romancing Mr. Bridgerton, Penelope fears that she will never be kissed and asks Colin, her unrequited crush, to be her first (and potentially only) kiss. Colin is dumbfounded at first but complies, and it’s glorious for both of them. Afterward, she thanks him for it, and that makes him feel shallow. This could be lifted straight out of the book, but the Netflix series is known for making significant changes from book to screen. Fans have been shipping Polin since Season 1, so the anticipation for this first kiss has been building. Whatever they decide to do for the first kiss will have all the fans squealing with delight.
Penelope Standing Up to Cressida
Cressida Cowper (Jessica Madsen) is the mean girl of the Bridgerton world – the wannabe Regina George if you will. Cressida has no problem talking down to Penelope about her appearance at every turn. In the very first episode of Bridgerton, Cressida accidentally spills her drink on Penelope in front of Colin, to which Colin sweeps Penelope out onto the dance floor. Cressida is equally vile in the books. She attempts to claim that she’s the mysterious gossip columnist. Later, she finds out the Lady Whistledown secret on her own and attempts to blackmail Penelope. Though Colin stands by her side and defends Penelope in front of her (while holding her hand in Romancing Mr. Bridgerton which Colin internally geeks out over) it will be incredibly satisfying for Polin fans to see Penelope own her confidence and stand up to her bully. Cressida needs to be knocked down a few pegs and no one could serve a harder blow to her ego than having Penelope, not Lady Whistledown, call her out.
Colin Discovering The Truth About Lady Whistledown
A major plot point of Romancing Mr. Bridgerton is the mystery around Lady Whistledown’s identity. Lady Danbury (Adjoa Andoh) issues a bet to whoever can unmask the person behind the gossip column. It’s Colin who discovers the truth first after following Penelope one day as she drops off her last Whistledown column. Of course in the Netflix series, the Season 1 cliffhanger was the reveal of Lady Whistledown, and Eloise learns the truth at the end of Season 2. Could Colin find out next or will he be the last to know?
As Lady Whistledown, Penelope has had a major impact on the Bridgerton family over the past two seasons. From writing about Daphne’s debut to exposing Eloise’s illicit activities, Penelope has had her hand on the ton’s view of this prolific family. The elephant in the room that must be addressed in Season 3 is Colin piecing together Penelope’s involvement in ending his engagement with Marina (Ruby Barker), something he wasn’t fully over in Season 2. In a similar vein to how Eloise responded to the truth, it’s safe to assume that Colin will likely have some choice words for Penelope.
Penelope and Colin Having Steamy Time in the Carriage
After Colin learns the truth about Lady Whistledown in Romancing Mr. Bridgerton, Colin reprimands Penelope in the carriage on the way back to Mayfair. In the heat of his frustration, he tells her that she’s beautiful and kisses her. This turns into a steamy make-out session that Penelope believes is her one shot to be ravished by the man of her dreams. It gets very close to sex before the carriage stops right in front of the Featherington home. It turns into a funny moment of the two of them rushing to make themselves look presentable before stepping out of the carriage. New showrunner Jess Brownell has described wanting to balance the comedy with the sexiness that Colin and Penelope bring to the series. There’s no better scene that captures the perfect combo than this one from the book.
Colin Making a Chaotic Proposal
It’s fair to say that the Bridgerton clan is known to make some drastic decisions – Daphne interrupts the duel between Simon and Anthony; Eloise sneaks out in the middle of her brother’s wedding to meet with Theo (Calam Lynch); even Anthony proposes to Edwina (Charithra Chandran) in front of a crowd of people at Aubrey Hall. Colin is arguably the most chaotic of the bunch. After their make-out session in the carriage in their book, Colin continues to surprise her as he helps her out of the carriage and impatiently asks, “Are you going to marry me or not?” In her shock, Penelope tumbles out of the carriage.
For fans, this proposal is funny yet endearing; his matter-of-fact approach literally knocks the wind out of Penelope’s sails. He’s already gone ahead and proposed to Marina on a whim in Season 1. What’s to stop him from another chaotic proposal to Penelope? Plus, in the book, the mayhem continues as Colin informs the Featherington family of their engagement. It’s one of the more hilarious scenes from Romancing Mr. Bridgerton that is worthy to make it to the Netflix series.
Colin and Penelope’s First Time In Front of a Mirror
Colin and Penelope’s first time having sex happens during their engagement party at Bridgerton House in their book. This happens after Penelope’s last Lady Whistledown column is delivered and Colin is pretty upset that she couldn’t let Cressida take her credit. In fact, he’s actually jealous of Penelope finding purpose through her successful column, yet he wants to protect her from the scorn and backlash she could receive when others discover the truth. It’s here he realizes he loves her and asks her to stay with him. During their lovemaking, he admits that he wants to later have sex in front of a mirror, so Penelope can see her own beauty. Polin fans were denied this in Romancing Mr. Bridgerton – maybe now in Season 3, this fantasy could be made a reality.
The Bridgertons Finding Out About Lady Whistledown
Now that Eloise knows and Colin will likely find out, it’s really only a matter of time before the rest of the Bridgertons find out the truth. In the book series, they all find out at different moments but relatively around the same time before Colin announces it to all of London society. Eloise is only last to know because she leaves midway through the party to run away to Romney Hall and to a certain Sir Phillip Crane (Chris Fulton). Whether the Lady Whistledown alias will continue beyond this season remains to be seen, but what would be great is to have Colin sit all of his relatives in a room and just blurt out the truth. The reactions will be priceless and honestly, it will be fun seeing who claims to have known this whole time and those who are just genuinely shocked. But this can’t happen before…
Penelope and Eloise Reconciling
Penelope and Eloise are each other’s best friends and confidants. They are the definition of Regency-era friendship goals, so it was heartbreaking to watch our favorite dynamic duo split at the end of Season 2. Even though Penelope was trying to save the Bridgertons from scandal and potential societal ruin, the Lady Whistledown secret felt like a huge betrayal to Eloise, and she lashed out at Penelope’s interference. As exciting as it will be to watch Colin realize that Penelope has been the woman worth sticking around for, it won’t nearly be as satisfying if Penelope and Eloise still aren’t speaking to each other. They are soul sisters, and soon, they’ll be sisters by marriage. We’d hate to see these two at odds before or during Polin’s nuptials. Will it take an engagement to get Eloise and Penelope to be friends again?
Bridgerton Season 3 is set to premiere on Netflix at a date yet to be announced.
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Khushi Patel is a science fiction author who lives in Austin, Texas. She has published three novels, and her work has been praised for its originality and imagination. Khushi is a graduate of Rice University, and she has worked as a software engineer. She is a member of the Science Fiction Writers of America, and her books have been nominated for several awards.
