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Bridgerton has become a juggernaut for Netflix’s arm of original content and the period romance only saw its viewers surge in season 3. The series sees each season focus on a different member of the Bridgerton family as they fall in love. While the first two seasons were about Daphne (Phoebe Dynevor) and Anthony (Jonathan Bailey), the third season belongs to Colin (Luke Newton) and family friend Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan). Penelope’s feelings for Colin have always been obvious, but it’s season three that really forces Colin to see Penelope in a new light.
By the time of season 3, episode 3, “Forces of Nature,” Penelope is committed to finding a husband. She might have made her debut in society a year earlier than other young women (alongside Daphne in season 1), but she decides that she does not want to be relegated to the role of her mother’s caretaker as a spinster. Colin offers to help her become more comfortable speaking with potential suitors, and the fallout of the rest of society discovering his help is where the third episode picks up.
Colin’s Eyes Are Finally Open To Penelope In Episode 3
His Open Eyes Coincide With The Emergence Of A Real Suitor
The audience gets a buffet of romantic comedy moments…
The episode opens with a dream sequence that is right out of a romance novel. If anyone thought the kiss that Colin and Penelope shared at the end of episode 2 would not immediately affect him, the dream throws that idea out the window immediately. Following the dream, Colin is awkwardly proclaiming the family’s friendship with Penelope when anyone talks about her, and generally unraveling in her presence. It’s fantastic and really sells the comedy of the season and the fact that Colin and Penelope have a relationship straight out of a modern romantic comedy, even if their story takes place in Regency Era England.
The audience gets a buffet of romantic comedy moments from the two in this episode. Penelope and Colin awkwardly talk for the first time since their kiss, neither admitting to their feelings for one another, and agreeing to stop their lessons in snagging a husband so that they do not embarrass their families further. Colin also ogles Penelope eating a piece of cake and broods while she hits it off with new character Lord Alfred Debling.
Colin spends so much time wrestling with his own feelings that it’s very clear his heart is not in any of the festivities in the episode. Even when the Mondriches (who are finally donning their own wardrobe and being themselves in society) tell Colin they approve of him helping Penelope and call him “gallant,” all Colin can think about is the fact that Penelope could marry someone else. It is written all over his face in every scene he is in.
Debling, for his part, is one of the only members of society, apart from Colin and Eloise (prior to this season), who seems to appreciate Penelope for who she is. He finds something of a kindred spirit in her as they are both ostracized by most of society – him for his conservation efforts and vegetarianism and her for scandalously getting Colin to help her better fit in. Debling feels like a real possible match for Penelope, even in his brief appearances in this episode.
Even the audience who has not read the novels on which Bridgerton is based knows that Colin and Penelope are going to end up together. They are the characters whose love story was promoted in announcing the season. That does not mean that Penelope should not find her personality and her presence validated by another suitor. She has always been the butt of her family’s jokes, an outsider to society, and the target of Cressida Cowper’s cruelty. Penelope deserves to be seen.
In fact, Penelope deserves to be seen, and Colin has had years to see her. Debling sees her within moments. Actor Sam Phillips reflected on that very idea while promoting the series. Even if Debling does not see himself as odd, he knows the rest of society does, and he has that in common with Penelope, an understanding of what it is like to be on the outside of society looking in, while not being seen for who you truly are (via Shondaland):
I think he’s sort of reflecting what society thinks of him, and it’s probably safer to say that, but I’m not sure he truly feels that way about himself. He knows he’s a good match for Penelope because they both stand on the perimeter of society, they’re both nonconformists, and they both have kind hearts and a sharp wit. And I think they’re both misunderstood. So, that’s a good match between the two of them.
It took Colin spending time with Penelope alone during their lessons in the previous episode and kissing her to realize what he had been missing out on, so it’s great to see Colin spiraling as he discovers the very real possibility that he could lose her. He has always appreciated Penelope and held a special place for her in his life, but now he understands why.
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This is underscored by his talk with Violet late in the Bridgerton episode. He wonders about friendship as a foundation for a relationship, attempting to cover up his interest by talking about Francesca trying to find a match this season. Violet clocks Colin’s clumsy attempts at seeking out advice because he immediately looks at Penelope. Violet is very perceptive when it comes to the feelings of her children, and Ruth Gemmell makes it very clear with a glance that she is rooting for Colin and Penelope despite Penelope chatting with Debling across the party.
Francesca Is Overwhelmed By Her Sparkler Status
Francesca Seeks The Easiest Path To A Husband
Colin and Penelope dancing around their feelings for one another is not the only romance of season 3, or even of episode 3. After the Queen calls Francesca her sparkler, Francesca is feeling the pressure. She is the most introverted of the Bridgerton siblings, so society events are difficult for her, and that’s never made clearer in this episode, as Hannah Dodd’s portrayal of Francesca is very different from that of Ruby Stokes in the first two seasons.
Younger sister Hyacinth, always intrigued by society and romance, asks Francesca how she will choose who to dance with at the ball, since she now has so many suitors. Francesca pragmatically answers, “Perhaps I will go alphabetically,” but there is also just a hint of sarcasm there since the Bridgerton children are named alphabetically, and these small moments of Francesca letting her feelings out are great.
Francesca does eventually get introduced to a potential suitor, and while she is sure that Queen Charlotte will pick the right person for her, the audience is going to side with Violet here. Violet wants love for all of her kids, and she sees immediately that Francesca wants to take the easiest path to finding a husband by letting the Queen find her one. That’s clearly not the answer as the Marquess the Queen matches to her also has a large family and wants eight kids of his own, and Francesca just wants some quiet.
That is why one of the best scenes of the episode, outside of the rom-com of Colin and Penelope’s relationship, comes in the form of Francesca meeting a man outside alone who allows her to simply stand next to him and enjoy the quiet away from the crowd of the ballroom. As the two steal glances at one another and decompress from the pressure of the ball, it’s clear that without knowing anything about the man that they are a better match than anyone Francesca has spoken with so far.
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Lady Danbury Deals With An Unexpected Guest
Marcus Anderson Makes His First Appearance
Queen Charlotte places a lot of trust in Lady Danbury. She enlists the other woman’s counsel while trying to decide who she should match Francesca Bridgerton with. After all, she declared her the season’s favorite, so she should try to find someone wealthy and of good standing, right? Unfortunately for Queen Charlotte, Lady Danbury is completely distracted by the knowledge that an unwanted visitor is coming to see her.
It turns out the visitor is her younger brother, Marcus Anderson, a fact only revealed after he and Violet have already flirted a bit. While the backstory for the siblings is not revealed in the episode, and it is not clear how big of a presence Marcus will be as he series continues, it is certainly fun to see Violet Bridgerton and Agatha Danbury flustered because of the same man, though for completely different reasons.
Eloise And Penelope Take A Small Step Forward
Their Small Step Is Hindered By Cressida Cowper
…Penelope and Cressida compete for Debling’s attention and Eloise is awkwardly caught in the middle.
Eloise and Penelope have been on the outs since the end of season 2. While Penelope has tried to make amends with Eloise, Eloise is the one who consistently freezes Penelope out, so the small step forward for them in repairing their relationship in this episode, surprisingly, comes from Eloise.
It’s revealed at the top of the episode that Penelope has spent the last week holed up in her room, meaning she has not participated in any society events while Colin has been wrestling with his new feelings for (and dreams of) her. Eloise makes a visit to Featherington house to check on Penelope and admits that people talking about Colin helping Penelope with her goal of finding a husband is her fault. It’s a big moment for Eloise who has not been the best friend and is rarely willing to admit fault.
Of course, just as Penelope is ready to invite Eloise into her life and share her books with her, Eloise is also quick to point out to Penelope that having the rumors about your life written about by Lady Whistledown is painful. Penelope already knows she hurt Eloise, but Penelope also knows why she did it, so it’s a stark reminder that Eloise is not entirely ready to mend fences, even if she is taking baby steps toward it.
Those baby steps are yanked out from under Eloise and Penelope thanks to the introduction of Alfred Debling though. While Colin might hate seeing Penelope and Lord Debling together, he is not the only one. Cressida Cowper enlists Eloise’s help (as Cressida’s only friend) in snaring Debling because she does not want her parents choosing a husband for her. That leads to some great comedy in the episode, but also exchanges that are almost painful to watch as Penelope and Cressida compete for Debling’s attention and Eloise is awkwardly caught in the middle.
Making it even funnier is that, despite trying so hard to get Debling to notice her, and her endearing herself more to Debling than Cressida does, she has her eyes on Colin almost as much as he does on her in the third episode. This makes him the only one to notice when the hot air balloon is going to head straight for her, and her unable to move out of its path because she is watching Colin.
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Benedict Meets Lady Tilley Arnold
A Benedict Subplot Is A Welcome One
The flirting is shameless, and the tension is there.
Though some might argue there are already a lot of seeds being planted in the first three episodes of season 3, Benedict getting a new love interest is not unwelcome. He meets Lady Tilley Arnold at the festival for the hot air balloon, and is surprised to see her in the tent for the lecture on how the balloon works. She is the only woman in the room, and it’s great to see another female character who does not conform to societal standards. Eloise and Penelope are the only main characters who truly get to buck society, and they do it in secret.
Lady Arnold is a breath of fresh air in the show. She is a little older than Benedict, a widow who has spent “many seasons” grieving, and she is not mingling with society to look for a husband. Instead, she is interested in free thinkers and those who offer solutions instead of those who offer problems. She catches Benedict’s eye from her first speech, and the audience’s as well.
It’s fun to see the two of them meet up again during the final ball of the episode. The flirting is shameless, and the tension is there.
Lady Arnold even changes her position during their dance together in Bridgerton’s season 3, episode 3 to make sure she is the one leading of the pair, and it’s a sure sign that she is going to be a headstrong character.
This is also welcome because Benedict has had a different love interest in every season. Love interest might be too strong of a word as they are more like flirtations or affairs. He enjoys the company of others and exploring his options. With season 4 set to focus on Benedict’s love story, seeing him experience different forms of companionship will only make Benedict actually falling in love in Bridgerton season 4 all the sweeter.
7/10
- Release Date
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December 25, 2020
- Directors
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Tom Verica, Tricia Brock
- Writers
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Julia Quinn, Chris Van Dusen, Jess Brownell, Abby McDonald, Joy C. Mitchell
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