Dear readersWith these words, the mysterious Lady Whistledown makes the high society of London tremble. While the mystery surrounding the true identity of the gossip columnist remains a secret for a long time in Julia Quinn’s book series, the Netflix adaptation Bridgerton chose a different path.
Already at the end of the first season we learnthat Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) is behind the pseudonym Lady Whistledown. In the original, however, this secret is only revealed in volume 4, Penelope’s spicy secret *whose story will be filmed in Bridgerton Season 3. But why did this change happen?
Why does Bridgerton reveal Lady Whistledown in season 1? The series creator has a simple explanation
In Bridgerton, Lady Whistledown comments on the goings-on of high society and all its secrets and scandals in a column, while the public has no idea who is hiding behind the pseudonym.
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Penelope is Lady Whistledow
Series like Gossip Girl, Pretty Little Liars or How I Met Your Mother have already shown that it can be quite tiring to have such a central Mystery unsolved for many years and seasons to drag along. That’s why Bridgerton’s early reveal is refreshing.
However, the series deviates dramatically from Julia Quinn’s novel. Series creator Chris Van Dusen (who is no longer involved from season 3 onwards) revealed his simple and understandable explanation for the change:
We knew that a large portion of the audience had read the books and already knew her identity from the novel, so every time Penelope Featherington is on screen, there will always be people watching her and knowing who she is.
It would certainly have been a big risk to save the Whistledown revelation for a later season. Such a huge Few viewers could have avoided book spoilers for several yearsHowever, the template change also has far-reaching consequences that further separate the series and the book series.
The change made Netflix’s Bridgerton a better series – and Penelope a better character
Since we as viewers already know the true identity of Lady Whistledown after season 1, Penelope as a character is much more in focus than in the books. This allowed completely new facets of the character to be explored, as Van Dusen revealed in an interview with People: “Suddenly it becomes louder, bolder and more visible than ever before.“
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The friendship of Eloise and Penelope takes on new facets
In addition to the love story of Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey), season 2 gains suspense through Eloise’s (Claudia Jessie) hunt for Lady Whistledown. The friendship between Penelope and Eloise and its shocking breakup gives the series a emotional complexity that was not present in the original.
The drama surrounding Eloise and Penelope as well as the inevitable doom that looms over the budding love between Pen and Colin (Luke Newton) from the very beginning: we would never have seen all of this if the Bridgerton series had delayed the big reveal.
And another change from the original improved Lady Whistledown’s story: the character of Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel) does not exist in the books. In the Netflix series, however, the conflict between the regent and the gossip writer creates additional tension that makes us worry about Penelope’s future in every episode.
More about Bridgerton:
What happens to Lady Whistledown after Bridgerton season 3?
Warning, book spoilers: Since the series adaptation has already brought forward Penelope’s love story from book no. 4 to season 3, fans could expect a huge change in the story. Because not only do the readers learn in Penelope’s spicy secret from her part-time job as Lady Whistledown. Her true identity is also revealed to the rest of high society.
As a result, Penelope gives up writing the gossip column after her revelation. Lady Whistledown therefore no longer plays a role in the other books. Will the Netflix series also have to do without her from season 4 onwards? Perhaps the adaptation will (once again) choose a different path in the coming episodes in order to be able to keep the voice-over.
The second part of Bridgerton Season 3 will be released on June 13, 2024 on Netflix. These are the last four of a total of eight episodes.
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