Summary

Penelope and Colin mend their friendship, leading to a steamy proposal that leaves fans swooning for more.
Don’t overlook the important relationships besides Penelope and Colin, like Eloise and Cressida’s unlikely friendship.
Queen Charlotte, Lady Danbury, and a new suitor for the Bridgerton matriarch add intrigue to the unfolding drama.

The long-awaited third season of Bridgerton has finally dropped on Netflix, and fans are absolutely losing their minds. Shonda Rhimes and Chris Van Dusen’s period romance series prides itself on gossip, relationships, and scandal. The first season introduced the idea of “Queen Charlotte’s diamond,” a young lady who appears to be the most perfect among the others during the courtship season. Then the second season focused on the eldest Bridgerton brother waltzing around his own feelings for his one true love. Now, the third season is highlighting a young woman who feels content in the shadows as she listens in and reports on all the goings-on of London’s elite social class.

Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) has enjoyed sticking to the outskirts of celebrations, keeping up with the latest news and rumors, and most importantly, spreading the written word under the pen name Lady Whistledown. Now, in Bridgerton’s third season, this budding flower has blossomed and found her way into the spotlight. Only four episodes have aired thus far on Netflix, but Penelope has already undergone the transformation of a lifetime — and we are not only talking about her iconic makeover.

Here is Bridgerton’s season 3 mid-season finale, explained.

Bridgerton From Shondaland and creator Chris Van Dusen, Netflix’s Bridgerton is based on the romance novels of the same name by author Julia Quinn. The series follows the eight Bridgerton siblings, Anthony, Benedict, Colin, Daphne, Eloise, Francesca, Gregory, and Hyacinth, as they search for love during the social season and navigate life in Regency-era England.Release Date December 25, 2020 Seasons 3

Penelope Featherington’s Relationship With Colin Bridgerton
The Friends-to-Lovers Trope Is Strong in Season 3

Nicola Coughlan and Luke Newton have been all across social media these last few weeks as Bridgerton fans have been gearing up for their characters’ much-anticipated romance. At the end of Season 2, Penelope and Colin were no longer on great terms. Penelope overheard Colin telling his friends that he would never court her, leaving the latter to completely ignore all of Colin’s letters while he was away for the summer. At the start of Season 3, Colin confronts Penelope about his missing correspondence, and she informs him that she never thought he would be so shallow and heartless about their friendship. After a heart-to-heart, the two reconcile and become friends once more, but this time, they have a mission in mind.

Colin agrees to help Penelope find an eligible suitor as she desperately wants to be out from under her mother’s judgmental thumb. Of course, anyone who knows anything about a friendship like this is well aware that the two will grow feelings for one another. After watching this cat-and-mouse game for four long episodes where Penelope finds a fairly interesting guy who likes the practicality of their future together, Colin finally acts on his feelings, and fans can be heard squealing for miles.

Bridgerton’s Mid-Season Finale Ended With the Steamiest and Sweetest Proposal
Colin Bridgerton Knows How to Make a Girl Blush

In a Cinderella-like fashion, Penelope leaves Queen Charlotte’s event and rushes to her carriage, only for Colin to race after her. Happily, the writers were kind enough to allow the Bridgerton boy to catch up and express his feelings before the end of the episode; otherwise, we would have had to wait a month (June 13th) before getting to see the two love birds break down and finally be honest about their feelings for one another.

With Colin and Penelope in the carriage alone, there is a sense of scandal, as an eligible man and a single woman should not be by themselves without an escort. Colin professes his feelings, and, for a brief moment that feels like an eternity, it seems as though Penelope no longer feels the same way. She tells him that they are friends, but she finally says that she wants to be so much more than that. From there, lips find their way to one another, a dress strap comes down, and the hemline of Penelope’s dress goes up. The heat and chemistry from such a small space are enough to practically steam up the windows. The two don’t even realize when the carriage stops until someone knocks, and they both realize they are at the Bridgerton estate.

When Colin jumps out of the carriage, hearts stop because, once again, it feels as if one of them is going to back out of a potential relationship. Colin has been enjoying the bachelor lifestyle for so long, so fans would hate to see Penelope just become a lustered fling. However, when Penelope expresses that she is nervous about joining him inside his family’s home, he simply says, “For God’s sake, Penelope Featherington. Are you going to marry me or not?” On the surface, it is not romantic at all, but for the two of them, it is the most perfect proposal ever — in fact, it is so good that you may have forgotten just how much Colin loathes Lady Whistledown.

Related Bridgerton Season 3 Review: The Show is Hotter Than Ever, Dearest Reader Nicola Coughlan (Penelope) shines in a Pygmalion-laced season that titillates yet warrants an opportunity for the show to expand.

Other Important Relationships You May Have Overlooked
Friendships, Family Members, and New Romances are Everywhere

With so much of the focus being on Penelope and Colin — not that there is anything wrong with that — you may have realized that you missed out on some of the other relationships going on in the first half of Bridgerton’s third season. In the beginning, Penelope and Eloise Bridgerton (Claudia Jessie) are on the outs with one another due to Eloise finding out that Penelope is Lady Whistledown. To fill the empty space where her best friend once resided, Eloise forms a rather unlikely friendship with Cressida Cowper (Jessica Madsen), a young woman who has always seemed selfish, rude, and small-minded. Surprisingly, this unusual match actually sheds new light on Cressida as she proves that insecurities really do bring out the worst in people.

Related What the Bridgerton Franchise Gets Right About Book to Screen Adaptations The Bridgerton book series was the source material for the steamy Netflix original that has become a cultural phenomenon.

Then there is the friendship between Lady Danbury (Adjoa Andoh) and Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel) that has always lingered about, but this time, they seem to be tighter than ever. Perhaps Queen Charlotte will see that Danbury’s estranged brother, Lord Anderson (Daniel Francis), may be fun to add to the mix of things, seeing that he has his eye on the widowed Bridgerton matriarch (Ruth Gemmell).

For now, fans can only hope that these budding relationships and friendships will work themselves out in the best ways possible in the second half of Season 3. How Colin will react to the fact that Penelope is Lady Whistledown remains to be seen but it will certainly be a wild ride.