In Bridgerton Season 3, the series’ most important character finally steps into the spotlight – and that was long overdue

Bridgerton has launched with season 3 on Netflix and presents the romance between Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) and Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) take center stage in the story. Even though the two characters have been around since the first episode of the hit series, they are only now stepping into the spotlight.

And especially as far as Penelope is concerned, this was long overdue. Not only is Pen one of the most important characters in the series – she is a protagonist that we unfortunately still don’t see in films and series aimed at the masses. far too rare get to see.

Without Penelope Featherington, Bridgerton would have no story to tell

In Bridgerton, pride and prejudice have met Gossip Girl since season 1. That is the crux of the story and what gives the series innovation and excitement. Without Lady Whistledown’s gossip rag, we would be in the marriage market of the English royal court in the 19th century, where – admittedly – couple combinations with a lot of friction and drama often arise. But still, the underlying element missing something that holds all the little melodramatic stories together and instead lets the series degenerate into a simple soap opera.

In the spin-off Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, we saw impressively that the soap character of the mother series cannot stand on one’s own two feet without Lady Whistledown and a story with deeper content was needed here. So we were given a series with its own unique tone, which is also determined by its own secret – and thus also sets itself apart from Bridgerton.

In season 1 of Bridgerton we puzzle with the series characters about the true identity of Lady Whistledown, before we worry about the secret of this in seasons 2 and 3. The goings-on at court come and go – what remains is Lady Whistledown’s two cents on every move and the suspense of whether and when the court will actually find out that the scribbler is Penelope.

What Penelope writes as Lady Whistledown is read by the entire court. Even the Respect to the Queen The young journalist has already earned her place. Not only does Penelope comment on what is happening at court, she can exaggerate events or let them slide.

The fact that Eloise (Claudia Jessie) becomes the laughing stock of high society in season 2 is not only due to her blunder in front of Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel), but also largely to Lady Whistledown. Hardly anyone controls social fall and advancement in Bridgerton as much as Penelope. It was long overdue that she deserved more attention – just as Queen Charlotte finally got more attention with her own spin-off.

Penelope is the perfect main character because she breaks outdated ideals in Bridgerton

In season 3, the time has finally come: Penelope is actually at the center of the story. After season 1 started with Daphne Bridgerton (Phoebe Dynevor) as the female main character, she was replaced in season 2 by Kate Sharma (Simone Ashley). Even though Kate has broken with the expectations of the series and viewers due to her cultural background and skin color, she still fulfills numerous classic beauty idealsThis is also evident in how positively the London court reacted to her.

Penelope, on the other hand, is framed differently in the series from the beginning. She is laughed at by both men and women at court. She is hardly considered to have any chance of marriage. She is said to be too clumsy, too childish, too talkative, too stubborn – and as the only female character of the entire Bridgerton main cast (!) also too weighty. We are supposed to feel sorry for Penelope and sometimes even be ashamed of her and her seemingly hopeless crush on Colin.

Season 3 finally breaks this construct, because here the story revolves around the view of Penelope. The seemingly hopeless case is given the chance for true love, which goes beyond predetermined and ideals of beauty linked to a certain body image In doing so, Bridgerton also deviates from its original, because in Julia Quinn’s novel Romancing Mr. Bridgerton * it is explicitly described that Penelope lost weight before she put on a new outfit and actively entered the marriage market.

This is what it says, roughly translated:

It helped that she lost almost two stones and now considers herself ‘pleasantly plump’ instead of ‘horrible chubby’ She was still far from the ideal woman of the time, but at least she changed enough to buy a whole new wardrobe.

In the series, however, nothing has changed in Penelope’s weight and body shape before she gets new clothes. Instead, her transformation is emphasized by her clothes and hairstyle, as well as her active decision to step out of oneself more. As superficial as this may be, it is “Glow up” in her personal development. Her male counterpart Colin also undergoes an external makeover, which brings him more attention at court. At least in this respect one can speak of equality.

That we have between Penelope and Colin just as fiery sex scenes see how between all the other Bridgerton couples underlines this once again. Here broken with viewing habitswhich are being replaced by new and more contemporary ones. Nicola Coughlan also explained in an interview how important it was to her to film explicit sex scenes in Bridgerton, despite all her body shamers (via Business Insider ):

I specifically asked for certain lines and moments to be included. There is a scene where I am very naked in front of the camera and that was my idea, my decision. It felt like the biggest ‘f*ck you’ to all the talk that goes on about my body; it was wonderfully empowering. Coughlan also summed up what makes Bridgerton a series – and what it does even more in season 3 than ever before: There is a reason why this series has become a phenomenon. It is about women who feel desire, live their sexuality and in such situations decide for yourselfrather than just being an object of male desire.

We can currently look forward to four new episodes in which Nicola Coughlan is at the helm as Penelope in Bridgerton. Season 3 Part 2 will be released on June 13, 2024 on Netflix.

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