Kinda surprised that a man has the intellectual capacity to properly understand and digest bridgerton! Good job!

Honestly, Francesca being courted in silence had more believable chemistry for me than all of Pen and Colin's love story so far.

Colin's flirting training for Penelope was basically one afternoon where he just tells her to be herself. Ground breaking.

I have to admit…I was impressed by Lord Debling picking up on why Pen sat by that window….

I think that for a show called bridgerton, Colin BRIDGERTON should've been fleshed out more.

One of the biggest crimes of part 1 is telling not showing them as kids when they first met.... why in the world did they not cast a baby Pen & Colin?

I felt more sorry for Cressida than I felt for Penelope.

What happened to the need for single ladies needing a chaperone or escort at all times?? That was so built up in season 1 as a “don’t get caught with a man alone, your reputation will be ruined” but now it seems like no one really cares (and maybe that’s because Penelope’s family doesn’t care, but there seems to be no consequence within society itself either)

The carriage scene was.... ek. Just, didn't feel earned, almost felt toxic? Like, we're in the regency era, Penn has only ever been kissed once and now we're going THERE by a literal pro- like... NO, stop. Bad Colin. She's in a bad place emotionally, she's been rejected, she's facing eternity at her mother's side... It felt dubious to me. They weren't in the same place at the same time. In the books, and what they were trying to go for was them meeting in the same place. But I did not feel that.

I got such second hand embarrassment watching Colin being a rake and a flirt.

Personally they tried too hard in seasons 1&2 to show how he regards her as basically another little sister for me to believe they have one kiss and he’s suddenly in love. 🤷🏽‍♀️ Edit: I’m also not a fan of the whole “she was ugly till she took off the glasses” trope and that’s essentially what this is.

Okay, I’m gonna say it… Colin is not charming or charismatic AT ALL 😭 Like… he just doesn’t sell as a nice romantic lead, just doesn’t. He always comes off as scummy and plain weird.

Anthony: doesn't know why bees kill Collin: knows what Ozempic is

I feel like Colin should not have gotten recognition for being a hero with the hot air balloon. Lord debling should’ve for saving Penelope. so that Colin would’ve been conflicted. He’s tried so hard to nail his new persona and yet in minutes it’s crumbled. And now Penelope is enamoured with debling even more…. Like come on it was a perfect opportunity to write this in. And Colin could actually work for Penelope instead it all being so easy for him.

I was so turned off when she had to beg him for a kiss that's not sexy or romantic it's sad!!!

The main problem with Colin and Penelope is that the show has trained me to anticipate it rather than actually making me want it. Colin has been an afterthought to the show since season 1 and the show is desperately trying to play catch-up and it doesn’t feel earned.

This new writer MESSED UPPPPPP THIS SEASON so bad It’s not even about POLIN as Main characters it’s sooooo unfair how they barely got the focus and build up that they deserved

I did an analysis by scene. Of the entire 4 episode run time, Colin and Penelope spent all of 16.4% of it together, interacting. Literally only 33 minutes out of 220 minutes total. That's it. And 6+ of those minutes were the carriage scene. Meanwhile, we spent 6+% on the Mondriches, who WEREN'T EVEN IN THE BOOK! So disappointed.

"He looks like he knows ozempic" SCREAMING 😂

I am so distracted by Penn’s heaving bosom, pushed up as a second neck. It’s an acting trope by itself: she’s arguing=heaving bosom, she’s scared=heaving bosom, she can’t speak= heaving bosom, she’s surprised=heaving bosom.

Lackluster is the best word to describe this season so far unfortunately

The fact that I prefer the vibes-only "romance" Francesca has with Kilmartin says a lot about how much the show has failed with Pen and Colin's three-season long unfolding romantic plotline that is supposed to be center stage in Part 1

Here’s how this season would’ve been a hit. 1) Any personality trait mentioned about Colin should HAVE been SHOWN. He’s “cultured” and loved travel? Show 1 or 2 shots of him haggling or interacting with another culture overseas. He’s different than his siblings? Oh he’s always been selfless? Show that he’s used to waking up early and traveling so he keeps himself busy with helping people and humanitarian works /charities when he comes back. He’s kind and considerate? The gifts he presents to his family shouldn’t have been nonchalantly included in a 15 sec clip. Each gift presentation/picking should’ve had a more gravitas scenes attached to it. Ex: he wakes up early the morning of Francesca’s coming out and presents her the music sheet gift in the garden to calm her down. Him and pen have a deep bond and friendship? Childhood flashbacks of meeting, lookin out for each other. He could’ve been a kid who loved geography and history more than math and writing so pen would’ve helped him secretly. Etc. He’s well traveled to 17 countries ? Make his outfit less stiff. Show a bit more relaxed nature on the spectrum closer to Benedict. 2) lighting and camera work need to be filmed with intentionally 3) more legitimate lessons scenes between pen and Colin where we see intimacy that not full on. Like a brush of hand, and elbow hold, a glance etc 4) Penelope is awkward? Sure, ok. But channel the side of her that is also lady W. More spunk. There’s a heavy disconnect between the confidence aura of wilstledown and Penelope they can work to bridge (intentionally or unintentionally) 5) lord Debling needed to be a legitimate contender for Penelope’s hand. He should be a catalyst in Colin and Penelope’s relationship. Meaning, Colin should already realize he wants Penelope but is only fighting it BEFORE Lord Debling is introduced. 6) tone down makeup and costumes. Bridgerton doesn’t need to be realistic, but boy does it need to be intentional. It’s getting more theatrical (If that’s even possible) while losing its moments of subtlety. 7) move Mondrich drama to Benedict’s season to be foil for the concept of classism. 8) the whole the featherintons / heir drama fan comedic relief should be cut by 60% ORRR bring back the previous show runner yall!!! All could be fixed then ❤ for those that say not all seasons need to be alike, this season would have been a wonderful contrast with the right differences not the half-ass effort it is now

also the way they gave lady fetherington 2016 brows and changed/modernized the makeup for all the characters kinda made the brigerton world feel like a costume party

Pen and Collin have more chemistry off screen than in their lovestory on screen :(

I agree with all of this, especially the bit about the lack of flashbacks. Why couldn’t we get a part about when Penelope and Colin first met other than them simply describing it to each other? I would have loved to see why Penelope loves the Bridgerton teas on Sundays, maybe by seeing little Penelope having fun at the Bridgerton house. Why couldn’t we see the moment where Penelope first fell for Colin? There’s so much potential for flashbacks to flesh them out, and we have gotten none of it so far.

Very common for Netflix to invest a ton in the first 1 or 2 seasons to gain a fandom, then only give pennies to the later seasons bc they already have the loyalty of that fandom. It sucks because now the actors are catching strays for issues that are 100% with the direction and production.

I've been trying to put my finger on why season 3 doesn't feel as magical as seasons 1 & 2. You have articulated my feelings perfectly. There was no romantic "foreplay" into Penelope and Colin's engagement. The character transitions for Colin were told not shown and therefore not felt by the audience. The love part of the love story is missing for me. I'm so disappointed. I am looking forward to reading the books for the full story.

Colin's PUA era should have been the immediate result of the Mariana scandal. He followed his heart, got played and now he's acting out to prove he's over her and this personality change should only work on ppl that dont really know him.That should have been his s2 side plot, and the main conflict btw him and Pen for s3.

Im sick of seasons being so short. We get 6 to 8 eps of things. I dont need the old 22 ep seasons but i feel like it rushes the stories that are meant to be explored in longer forms. 10 to 15 eps should be standard.

Fire the new show runner!!! She's ruining this franchise. I'm not nearly as excited for the second half of this season. Half the cast's costumes are ghastly, all the side stories are dizzying, turning Colin into a rake was an abysmal decision, this new version of Colin doesn't deserve Pen, the love story of Colin and Pen is so rushed that it's not believable at all.

Queen Charlotte was such a beautiful work, this feels like a massive step down.

I feel like Colin hasn't earned Penelople. She was pining for him and he just ignored and even looked down on her/ treated her like she was not a real woman or worthy of his affection like that for years. He really need to fight for her to be worthy of her if I was ever going to buy their romance. I haven't read the books yet, I only watched the show, and so to me - he just is a jerk basically, and then he comes back and is even more of a jerk. And then suddenly, after a kiss, he gets ONE sexy dream of her, and now he wants to ruin their friendship of years just going after her and trying to get with her after a few weeks of "agony"... he never makes any real effort to get her to notice him, or to woo her, he doesn't do any selfless gestures to show he loves her, he instead fucks up her chances for a marriage with a great match... I mean - I know what they are going for, but I want him to fight more for her. It does not feel like he appreciates her and sees all her amazingness in the way I want a romance to feel like for it to feel "romantic". This feels more toxic.

When Penelope says: "How can I be at the whim of the most simple or the most cruel person I've ever met?", she doesn't mean her mother. She means her sisters Phillipa (the simple one) and Prudence (the cruel one). She thinks one of them is going to become the lady of the house soon, since they are actively trying to get pregnant.

I know regency romances are all about the rakes, but I really feel like Colin's character would have felt so much more fresh and in line with everything we've seen of him so far if he'd been inexperienced / not sleeping around so much? I get it - part of the appeal of romance is living vicariously and lusting for the hero, but I just think it would have been such an interesting switch up if Colin had only been putting on rake airs and then had actually not had that much experience, so you get to see him and Pen be cute and figure things out together.

Reading the comments, it’s clear there are literally hundreds of people who could have done a better, more nuanced, heartfelt job at writing season 3 than the actual writers. Such a shame and a huge waste of potential.

I FULLY AGREE!! Apparently, Shonda Rhimes personally written and directed the first 2 seasons Bridgerton and Queen Charlotte but she has allowed a new showrunner- and it has def lost some magic.

I felt the same way. I'm not convinced they are actually in love with each other after watching season 3 part 1. Colin seemed to have no real interest in Pen then suddingly she kisses him and he's like "OH she's a woman". It didn't feel like he is in love with her. Pen got that build up on her end to convince the audience she loves Colin and why she loves him. We pretty much get nothing on Colin's end to get why he wants to marry her all of a sudden. The show didn't give us much to work with to root for them.

Someone said it! I've been trying to tell anyone who would listen how I hate this season. My running comments are - "why is he so bronze?", "why is he clenching his jaw so much?", "he cannot do the brood like Antony can?", "why is it all so rushed?", "how many plotpoints are you giving us?", "wtf is this season?", in increasing order of alarm.

I agree with your analysis. There is one more thing I do not understand and it concerns Antony. In season one it was paramount for him to make sure Daphne had a good first season out and he was so concerned about her finding a proper match. He was so focused on his duty as the head of the family to take care of the family business and securing a good match for his sister. But then with Eloise and Francesca he is nowhere to be seen. I know they gave him this arch of being too serious and stressed out with everything and that now he is enjoying his time as a newly wed but I don't think he should completely lose his character as the responsible one, after all he IS the head of the family now. I think they could have given him more purpose in this season and not only have him and Kate be the love scene relief we all need.

colin being a Flirt and Rake just made me cringe... it was not as suave as they thought it would be

I feel like the writers thought since there was build up from prior seasons that they could just rush through to them getting together in s3. But they could have been one of the strongest parings if they just gave them as much time to develop as the other couples (especially when it's their season). Also they could have post-ponned the mondrich storyline for the Benedict season (since he will be with someone in the working class) and then they could have fleshed out the mondrich's and connect it to the themes about privledge, classism, etc

The costumes this seasons are really ill fitting. They have Colin contoured too much he looks weird now. The story line seems to have been forgotten and too many side stories

One of my disappointments was in the carriage. Colin says I've felt and wanted to say these feelings for weeks?! Weeks? Pen in love with him for years and him 2 weeks?! They could have dragged it out longer in the season. Ugh. Yes, too fast

This season didn’t hit like it needed to because our girl Shonda Rhimes wasn’t a part of it. This was the only season she didn’t participate in and it’s OBVIOUS 😭😭

I have to disagree that the Colin teaching Pen how to flirt or whatever was a good idea. It was lame and lazy, of the highest order. His supposed charm that he's acquired is disingenuous and slimy, it's not at all sophisticated or elegant. It's like the creators couldn't come up with an organic way in which *two childhood friends* could spend time with one another, they had to add this silly layer on top to contrive scenes together. I get it could be a whole friend helping a friend but it didn't feel like that at all. Not to mention Penelope forgives him immediately for saying he would never court her. I was hoping the tension of that would play out longer. It sounds like in the books Lady Danbury helps Pen with finding a husband more. That makes more sense tbh...

I want more bridgerton sibling interactions, the smut is fine but this is what I’m watching for, it’s always the best scenes. Also, Pen needed to interact with someone other then her mum and Colin

Omg the TikTok’s about the balloon lmao. You make such great points about how I felt about this season, the small ways it felt so off and different in quality. I of course still had fun and I absolutely adore this cast so much, but I can’t help but feel that they really ham fisted this season out without quite as much care and love, and our leads deserved better. Nicola is such a beautiful and talented actress and I feel like they didn’t give her quite the same level of “beauty shots” for lack of a better term as our other leads. You summarized the worst of it best in “too much telling not enough showing”. Couldn’t agree more

Collin's character is not even a spoonful of ineteresting. He has nothing to look up to. Sensitive? Oh God not that I know of. He would have known Penelople liked her if he really was sensitive. It felt like a teen fantasy tbh, to see the guy you have a crush on finally reciprocate. However, even in that run it seemed like they rushed. What would have made Collin interesting IMO 1. Glasses. He is a buddying writer so it'd make sense that he reads and wears glasses. 2. Instead of "raking" around, they could show him isolate himself in picturesque areas where he sits and reminisces his experiences. 3. His charm comes from his ability to turn down women, not flirting with them. Collin's aura becomes "mysterious". 4. When he gives Penelope lessons about charming others, he would teach her to be authentic- to be herself. In that run he slowly recognizes her issues and her fears. They have deep long conversations and then he begins to see her as an interesting person to be with. 5. He begins to feel protective about Penelope, trying to warn her of bad men who see her just as a commodity, or the people who do not respect her. That is when Pen tells him not to be a hypocrite. He asks "what" and she replies jovially that he she had overheard him last season, making that humiliating comment. Let his ground shake with self hate. I wanted Penelope to smile and walk away leaving him with guilt. 6. Then he'd spend sleepless nights, and often dream of her. Thats how much he would be consumed by guilt and desire. Penelope on the other side, should be clueless about his feelings this time. 6. Let Collin wither and grovel for her. Let him watch Pen getting close to Lord Debbling. He should really feel that he missed his chance and isolate himself to a distant place in agony. THAT would be his character- running away from feelings. 7. Penelope soon realizes there's something wrong with him and she finds him in his "spot". She tries to talk to him but he tells her to leave. We can show that Penelope must have rejected Lord Debbling believing she was simply duping the poor man and its not fair to hurt someone like that. So she tells Collin to kiss her, for once, because she doesn't want to die without being kissed. She doesn't tell him though that she has broken up with Debbling. Collin kisses her and she walks away, again. This is where I would end part one of season 3. I would save the carriage scene for part 2 where he comes to terms with his feelings and seeks her out for who she is- Lady Whistledown.😮

I was so confused about the talk between violet and colin where she was talking about Colin as if he was Anthony - this had nothing to do with the Colin they showed us in the last two seasons.

I've never been so shook by a review. You voiced EVERYTHING I felt PERFECTLY!! 😮 I couldn't shake that I wasn't feeling this season as much as I wanted to. I'm happy I found this channel.

You can tell the writers wrote kanthony off because they wouldve absolutely overshadowed the main couple. Also, the writers are kind of treating Pen/Lady Whistledown as 2 separate entities. We should have a better understanding of why pen writes the stuff she does but the show doesnt explore that and it ends up looking like penelope's just a bitter mean girl.

I was so much more invested in Francescas lovestory that I genuenly thought I zooned out and missed the announcement where this isn't her season

The fact that they had us hanging on for 2 years and then released it in 2 parts to give us a subpar season, too. And they’re going to try and drag the wait for the next season. Like, do one. So many were looking forward to this season, myself included. It was just soo rushed.

Look, I heard the cast say that (Jess) the new show Runner did a great job for season 3 but for what I’m seeing she didn’t they need to bring (Chris) back and redo the entire-thing. The first unforgivable offense that she made was making Colin a rake . From the moment I heard that they were going to turn Colin into a rake I knew that they ruined him. And ruined the entire story for me. They should’ve just copied and paste the fanfic because they did it better. The previous show runner said that Colin was the sensitive one because he was raised amongst his sisters 👯‍♀️ playing dolls 🎀and the age gap between him and his two older brothers. Makes him less likely to be a womanizer like his older brothers. so in season 1 and 2 they were setting Colin up to be a romantic demisexual. Hence why he wouldn’t kiss Marina. And I don’t give a damn about Cressida and her family her pointless redemption arc is eating up screen time. She is meant to be a villain why can’t she just be a villain? 🦹🏼 The short coming in the writing is very noticeable in Lady Whistledown and Porsha Featherington those two characters lost their spice and sass. 💁🏽‍♀️ The narration for whistledown is not as gripping and compelling as it used to be. Proven by the fact that I can’t think of a single memorable or iconic line/quote that she said in 4 episodes.

This is EVERYTHING I've said to people about this season so far! Down to the flashbacks to showcase their friendship over time! Where are the flashbacks of Eloise, Colin and Penelope as children? Where are the flashbacks of them writing back and forth while he's overseas?! That would've gone a LONG way toward building up the "friends" of the friends to lovers story. The showrunner change unfortunately did not do justice to this season, nor the Colin and Penelope relationship (one of readers' favorites)

Totally agree with you. This season had a new showrunner, new costume designer and new music director - so it looks and sounds different from the first two seasons…. Season 3 was filmed concurrently with Queen Charlotte to leverage location and older /OG actors schedules back in the spring / summer of 2022. Feels like Shondaland’s A Team prioritized Queen Charlotte’s production over Season 3… Emmy nominated costume designer, Lynn Paolo, and her team, who had done all the costumes for Seasons 1 & 2 did all the costumes for Queen Charlotte. Same goes for the music director - Kris Bowers did not do the soundtrack for Season 3 because he was working on Queen Charlotte.

This season is a mess so far. There are too many plot lines. Too many characters, and yes I know it's an ensemble piece so there are going to be a lot of characters, but like you said season 1 and season 2 and even Queen Charlotte. Queen Charlotte, there were a lot of characters yet everybody had their time to shine and it felt cohesive and it didn't feel overwhelming. This just feels like they can't pick a plot line and stick to it. It was almost like. Let's just throw spaghetti at the wall and see what sticks. For me, the one couple that felt like they were the main couple was Francesca and John, and they aren't even the main couple we're supposed to be rooting for. But their chemistry and their scenes and their plot line was to me 10 times more interesting than colin and Penelope's which is supposed to be the main characters

The romances in season 1&2 were addicting, season 3 romance was SO HARD TO WATCH I WAS CRINGING

Agree with your entire review. The focus and pacing was bad. The chemistry between the two leads was off (or at least it feels off because the story isn't developed so when it gets romantic, I feel cold). I also agree that the things Violet said about Colin didn't make sense with his character. Spot on with him leaving the family each year for travels. Let's also remember how every time he talks about how he feels about Penelope, it's in relation to HIM. She makes HIM feel appreciated. She gives HIM new perspective. Last season, after talking to Marina he told Pen that he realized that she would never forsake HIM. He comes off very selfish in these interactions and I don't see the selfless part at all. Also, the issue with Colin is that in the books he's a huge flirt in the first four books until he gets with Penelope. That's when we learn that it's more of a persona thing with him. Whereas in the show, he's basically the opposite of that in the first two seasons and then randomly comes back with this new personality. It makes him look like an insecure phoney. It's not leading man material.

I fully agree with your analysis of Colin. I believe the reason why this season has been such a large disappointment (for me at least) is because Colin did not get the attention he deserved as the leading male. In season 2, he speaks about purpose, and so far, for the first 4 episodes, we barely learn about Colin and his interests. We barely get his thoughts where he transitions from “Pen is a friend” to “I’m in love with Pen.” It’s as if the production team did not want to build Colin’s character. In episode 1, Colin sees Pen for the first time after her glow up. He sips his drink, and the camera does not even focus on his face for 2-3 seconds to show us what Colin thinks. Colin later says he seeks Pen out at every social event, yet at the Danbury Ball he does not even ask for a dance. He runs after her after her dress is torn. Their relationship is rushed, their friendship is not properly addressed. The “lessons” last for an episode really, which makes you wonder why they have even inserted such a plot. What they should have done is make the lessons a central focus for how he falls in love with her. The “blue eyes” scene was a great effort for this. But what about other ways to romance? He could teach her to dance, he could teach her how to flirt nonverbally. The kiss scene could have been her asking him how to kiss a suitor, and after one kiss, we could have had Colin mutter how different the kiss felt from other kisses. However, I think the biggest mistake the show made was to not show any flashbacks of their moments as children. Unlike other couples, Colin and Penelope’s first meet was when they were children. By missing out on this first moment, we miss why Penelope fell in love with Colin as well as Colin’s first impression of Penelope. Instead, we get a conversation between the two which was ineffective at building the chemistry between the couple. Totally agree with you regarding Colin and Penelope’s love story is basically done. He confessed. Which means there won’t be any other scenes of contemplation. The “courtship” period is over, and now what looms is Whistledown drama which will only potentially break/add drama to their relationship. Though others have high expectations for part 2, I feel less inclined to believe Polin will have more screen time. I think their story will continue to be rushed, which honestly is a disservice to the fandom and to the actors.

4:00 Violet's line had me yelling too. If anything, the Bridgerton who knew when to crack a joke or what someone needs is Benedict (obligatory shout-out to LadyJenevia's Benedict video). He looked out for Eloise a lot and he gave a lot of advice to Anthony about love. Meanwhile, Colin is infamously out of the loop. If Violet were to point out one of Colin's good points (which was actually shown throughout the series), it should be him meaning well. Marrying Marina was ill-thought, but he believed them to be in love and was trying to make her happy in his hastiness, and he apologised to his mother for not consulting her beforehand. Saying Penelope does not count as a woman isn’t what Penelope wants to hear, but what he means is that his friendship with her is important and a long-term thing.

I feel like the chemistry between the two actors just isn't there. Penelope's side isn't too lacking as we saw the build up of her interest/affection for Collin in the first two seasons but now? The "chemistry" between the two just feels so fake and forced.

I knew I had problems with this season because I found myself ending up cleaning while listening to the show but holy cow you did an excellent job at giving a comprehensive review of the season and exactly why I didn't like it. It's interesting and infuriating how Netflix writers (or really any show writer) won't put their pride aside and take feedback from people who are essentially giving free pointers on how to make their shows better.

Yo the air balloon scene was so corny I had to justify that the show isn’t usually like that to my bf. He had considered watching it but idk if he will now that he saw the balloon scene 😂

i wish they included Pen being Lady whistledown more. like the logistics, the stretch between trying to hear all the gossip and at the same time trying to get the attention of suiters… that girl is doing so many things at the same time that she must be stressed. Also the money aspect? what does she do with the money and they could have written it as being really important becuase her mother isnt giving her much (or something along the line) thats at least what i was expecting from the season in which Pen is the Main Character...

It just wasn't believable, when Penn asked Colin for a kiss I thought, "is she dreaming this part 🧐?" The pacing was off, and I think the costuming couldve been so much better for her reentering the season. Pen's costumes the first 2 seasons were so busy. It wouldve been nice to see her toned down so her features shown more

Marshallllll, this was such a great dissection of this season so far. I can't wait for your view of Part 2. I was feeling this way too about the season. I just couldn't put my finger on it. You make good points about things seeming half cooked, the videography being weird, and Colin's sunken face being tiktok like had me cryinnnnggg. I loved every bit of this.

On paper I think Colin has potential. Here is how I would frame it. He is a younger son. He isn’t going to inherit a huge amount. He is living off the work of others and is desperate to live up to what he has been given but he isn’t actually built for society. He’s to soft and isn’t actually as good a “catch” as his older brothers. He and Pen are both underestimated and overlooked by society but have always had each other. It’s only after Daphne’s “success” and Anthony’s “failure” that he starts really trying to go out into high society so he is drastically overcompensating trying to fit in. He’s picking up the worst of his brother’s bad habits and this isolates him from Pen. But society isn’t actually taking him seriously and no one is actually considering him for marriage… just for some fun times. He thinks he is finally being taken seriously but he gets his hopes shattered and he retreats to the only people who ever actually took him seriously only to realize what an ass he had made of himself and truly GROVEL to Pen. Meanwhile Pen is actually built for society but hasn’t actually lived up to her potential because of her insecurities. Once she has been left with no one she decides F it it’s like I have anything left to loose and takes society by storm. She fully embraces her power and he fully embraces his softness and helps curb her more blood thirsty side and she actually provides for them. They both leave their respective houses so he is out from his brother’s shadow and she is away from her mom but they still keep in touch for tea time. However as it stands we know little to nothing about Colin and his relationships, feelings, or insecurities before he became a rake. He isn’t particularly likable because of how he treats Pen who we as an audience are more familiar with and more sympathetic to. Not to mention they hardly get any screen time together so then getting together feels like it’s coming out of nowhere.

OMG thank your for saying the color grading looks like a day time so opera. I swear in those promos with her and Colin I swear I could hear the young and restless theme😂

Colin and Penelope have no chemistry at all. Very awkward couple. Never read the book so I don’t know how it is in the book, but in the series, it’s a very weird matching.

Mostly agree, except the carriage scene to me seemed entirely forced and comical, as was everything else about Colin's characterization this season. Looked like the actor tried to imitate Jonathan Bailey's acting (Anthony Bridgerton) from Season 2, and failed miserably, looking farcical instead. I agree the writing was mostly lackluster in Season 3, and we as the audience didn't "feel" what they had wanted us to feel around the Colin/Penelope pairing, but it's not only on that - there just really isn't any chemistry between those two actors, and their acting isn't good enough to make it look like there is (or was it the directing? it's all such a mess it's hard to tell!). Carriage-scene-open-mouthed Colin? Absurd and utterly unsexy, not transported with passion at all, if that's what it was supposed to look like. Thus far, a truly disappointing season, not really looking forward to the second half - instead, I wish I could skip straight ahead to Eloise's or Francesca's season! (Too bad, because Penelope's character deserved much better writing/directing/etc.)

I believe when Penelope says she can't live under the control of cruel/stupid person, she's referencing her sisters. Whichever one has a male heir first gets to be in charge of the house until their son comes into his majority at 21. Penelope was ok with living under her mother's yoke, but refuses to live under either sister's. This is further evidenced by her saying her mother was bad enough, leaving us to fill in that either sister would be insufferable. That's why Penelope is adamant about finding a husband and having her own household now.

i've seen many people on TikTok complain about the criticisms being thrown at the show. "Who's watching the show for accuracy?" "The chemistry has been there for the last two seasons." We are accepting mediocrity just because there's a couple of hot scenes between the main leads. Take out the carriage scene and I 100% guarantee you people would've had the same complaints. I definitely agree with your take on how women's media doesn't have a lot of effort put into it. There is nothing wrong with giving constructive criticism and giving out suggestions on what could've elevated this season. What makes a good writer is listening to those criticisms and making adjustments. There is nothing wrong with expecting more from media we consume. At the end of the day, the viewers are also a large part of what makes the show.

Ugh! Thank you!!! This is exactly describing my issues with S3 and I’m sick of people saying otherwise.

Colin has the charisma of a non-shining rock and he did nothing to deserve Pen, on the other hand we still don’t get what Penelope finds so IRRESISITIBLE about Colin it feels just like a childhood crush being persistant and turning into a tantrum to choose over rational choice. They don’t get along well really they don’t share much except affection for writing but… meh. It’s not exactly a common hobby because their interests are so differents. I was actually much more invested with Cressida and Eloise relationship or Fransesca character development rather than Colin or Pen who both looks like shallow teenager not ready at all to feel hard and marry out of passion. That fingering in the carriage felt very vulgar to me and insulting to Pen’s maiden dignity in a pre-victorian era what the fuck

THE WRITING WAS SO CLUNKY OHHH MY GOSH it was actually jarring! I mean I know its supposed to be somewhat akin to a bodice ripper trashy historical fiction romance (this is not meant derogatorily whatsoever i love those) as opposed to more refined/Austenian regency era works or BBC faithful interpretations, but i genuinely enjoyed the subtlety of the writing in the first two seasons which felt, for the most part, more natural, subtle, and witty. i LIVED for the witty, under the table humour and snarky complisults. this season, the writing is genuinely giving wattpad middleschool fanfic- esp in the scenes where Penelope and Colin are caught in their "teaching how to flirt" scandal at the ball. the dialogue felt too blatant compared to the subtle jabs from before and doesn't mesh well with the "speak carefully in society" theme that they've had going. the cinematography and lighting in that scene was also really weird. pretty much every scene with cressida also has weird dialogue and storytelling where they completely rushed her character development and backstory to make the audience empathize with her more. i love the new cressida but i wished they took more time with it and flushed her out even more to make her a more-developed character. also the scene that colin cut his hand on the candle thingy and pen switches from witty friend to doe-eyed "your eyes are the deepest blue blah blah" felt too hasty to me. tbh their whole storyline feels so rushed and like you said, i really wish they were more focused as the seasons main characters because their friends-to-lovers arc def needed more time. the weird colin-sees-her-as-just-a-friend and then after one conveniently timed kiss now he's head over heels in love with her and wants to marry her is SO manic. i still thoroughly enjoyed it while watching and i cant wait to see part 2, but i miss the attention to detail and beauty the past seasons had.

I cant even see a romance between these two. Penelope to me just seems desperate for love and colin is just there keeping a mew streak

I couldn’t articulate why this season felt off but you nailed it.

I totally agree with you about the lack of character context. We're told over and over again about how Colin and Penelope have been such good friends for so long and yet we never get a single flashback showing this. In seasons 1 and 2 it kinda feels like they're just acquaintances and Penelope also happens to have feelings for Colin. It never feels like they were truly such great friends that slowly had their feelings turn from platonic to romantic.

Love the idea of Pen having the first baby boy and inheriting her mother’s estate.

Its so weird that theyre trying to make Colin Anthony before he met Kate. Its like they dont known how to write a new character. Also his makeup and styling is SHOCKING. He looks like he should be on the bachelor and not an attractive eligible man in the regency era. He doesnt look hot at all, Benedict and Anthony are far more attractive.

You make really good points, I’m glad to have been introduced to your ideas

Why the hell did they tell the meeting as children. Show don't tell. Please!! Show us, it would have been a very solid scene to embody the friendship they share, a simple scene but so full of meaning for the story. Like Simon being mistreated by his father. Saying the story would have been much less impactful. And even if I love the series, I was so existed for this season and watched all the episodes in one go, I admit that I had less "I feel stupid but don't care girly giggles" this time. To me the second season was pure gold. The actor playing Anthony is so freaking good at conveying this "I am dying to be with you but I can't, I can't let myself go, but I want you, but I can't want you" with just a stare. Loved his performance ❤️

This really resonated with how I felt immediately after watching. As someone who loves polin, I was sooo excited for this season, but I was very underwhelmed. By biggest critique was that it felt incredibly rushed and unfocused, like you talked about. Firstly, there were too many cooks in the kitchen. Between Fran’s debut and possible love match brewing, Violet’s flirtation with Lady Danbury’s brother, AND Penelope and Colin, not enough time was dedicated to fleshing out our two main love interests. Throwing potential other Bridgerton matches into the equation felt like they were competing for screen time and took away precious space for the two main characters. I see a lot of people try to defend the pacing by saying that we’ve seen this tension between Colin and Penelope for two seasons already but that couldn’t be further from the truth. We go through two seasons of little to no relationship development between the two, and we end season two at square one: Penelope hopelessly in love with Colin and Colin still a blind idiot to it. So NO, we have NOT had two seasons of it. When Colin professes that he hasn’t been able to get Penelope out of his head after their kiss, I was so unconvinced because I don’t think we saw enough of him alone, alone with his thoughts, alone with his torment. One steamy dream doesn’t mean you’re in love with someone. After cluelessly leading Penelope on for so long, they totally missed out on dishing some of that energy out into Colin. Where was the pining? Where was the yearning? And why did it feel like this ALL went down in the matter of 48 hours? I, as an audience member, didn’t have enough time to process Colin’s realization before he was already up her dress and asking her to marry him let alone did he. I also agree that the courting lessons were not given enough time, especially seeing how they built up this plot point in their teasers, etc. THIS should have also been the time to see Colin slowly realize what he had been blind to all along, seeing Penelope happy, charming, and as always, wonderful conversation. And you’re telling me that it was a KISS that made him realize he loved her??? Uh uh. And don’t get me started on Colin’s persona. The mewing, the winking, the prostitutes, the endless flirting… ew no. It didn’t make him seem like the “caring” man that Violet and Penelope saw him to be. It made him unlikeable and really cringy. And thank god other people agree with me with the mouth breathing thing that he does, WHAT WERE THEY THINKING??? This man grossed me out (I love Luke Newton and Colin in the previous seasons so I felt like they did him so dirty).

OMG I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR SOMEONE TO MAKE A VIDEO ABOUT THIS

Really enjoyed your analysis! I don't get to have conversations on this level and it's so fun to see someone else's thoughts on a show I'm watching.

once again all your takes are 10/10 in particular colins characterization and weird facial expressions along with eloise as a character and her relationship with pen being an overall highlight

idk if anyone else noticed this but this season had a lot of stuff from previous seasons. lines from lady whistledown season 3 are totally paraphrased from seasons 1 and 2 (the “your move your majesty” and “your serve your majesty is one coming into mind right now). and the songs are also used from previous seasons like “call me simon” and the country dance song too. (also. things that are supposed to be scandalous don’t feel scandalous. like benedict dancing with that widow probably would have caused a scandal but there was nothing and the dance was shown as more “sexy” but they used the country dance song which is supposed to be a wholesome family moment? there’s a lot wrong with this season tbh but those are some currently in mind.)

Colin pretended to be Simon in the first half of S3. His first authentic moment is literally the carriage scene at the end of S3 Ep4.

The filming of the new season feels almost low budget. It's really strange. I didn't love the first season, but I didn't hate it. But I absolutely loved the second season. I do feel like the prior seasons led into building their relationship but it's still not enough. And the mom saying he is selfless was so weird. When have we ever seen that?

They should have gone in book order so that we could build up the Polin friend relationship.

There was a change of showrunners from season 2 to season 3. Bridgerton was created by Chris Van Dusen, who ran the show for the first 2 seasons but then he stepped down and Jess Brownell took over for season 3. I noticed in the opening credits with ep 1 of season 3, and I immediately knew this season wasn’t going to measure up. Disappointed. Especially when big shows like this should have a Series Bible with Brownell should’ve abided by (bibles contain EVERYTHING to know about the series overall: lighting, plot lines, etc.), but it’s so obvious she tried to do her own thing but to the detriment of this seasons central couple that many of us waited 2 years to see.

I wanted to love Polin but couldn't, and I knew it got short shrift, but you explained it far better than my brain explained it to me. I can only hope Part Two partially redeems this season.

This show really puts a main focus on aesthetics and attraction and ALWAYS has - especially with the emphasis put on the Shonda Rhimes “glow up” all over TikTok. This season really leaned into that rather than an actual plot which honestly is likely because there never really was a plot. Or - regardless of if you’re looking at the books or the show, the plot is generally the same - One falls in love with another, the other falls harder despite not wanting to (kind of that forbidden love trope) and there’s always a third party - which in some cases is literally the better option like Theo and the Prince! - but they’ll never end up with them. And that really got me this season with Benedict because what’s the point? Why do you need to do that love triangle and third party trope with every single story? Also, this season is basically Gregory’s book in a different font in addition to being a disappointing copy of the previous seasons. I had the highest of hopes for Penelope and Colin and they failed us miserably.

You are spot on-transitioning from friends to lovers is slow and arduous.This season is chaotic, premature in plot development, and has no character context. Very disappointing...

The Mondrichs aren't going to lose their title, they're going to lose the bar. It's mirroring how Penelope will lose something special but now a hindrance and inappropriate with them losing the bar (something that was once special but is now inappropriate and will hinder their integration into the ton.)

The best analysis I've seen so far, you've won a new subscriber! spot on!

I also wish Colin would have flashbacks to all the times Penelope has appreciated him, and it not just be about lust. In the scene where Pen stumbles upon his diary, I wish he would have written about her. Maybe have him wonder why Pen hasn't been writing back to him during his trip, and then we get a shot of Pen's face processing the fact that he's thinking about her, and has written about her in his most private thoughts. But no! It's not like Colin's matured or anything- let him write about his sexual adventures with other people in a season where its supposed to be about them.

Yes! I knew something was off, I just couldn’t put my finger on it. It felt like I was watching people on a tv set. It made it a lot harder to suspend my disbelief.