Bridgerton Season 3 Will Have a Hard Time Selling Us That Love Story
We're all pumped for Bridgerton Season 3. Even just a pic of Anthony and Kate holding hands is enough to send Twitter all… well, a-twitter.
We can't wait to see what happens with Benedict's painting career, whether Eloise manages to find independence, or how pricky Kate Sharma adjusts to being a Viscountess and society lady.
But Bridgerton 's decision to move Benedict and Sophie's Cinderella-esque love story to a future season means that this year it's Colin and Penelope who are taking center stage. And as much as we adore you, Bridgerton, you're going to have a hard time selling us that love story, for three major reasons.
Colin acted like a jerk
Yes, he saved her family from ruin in Season 2. Yes, he dances with Penelope and tells her that she's special to him. But then Colin turns around and tells the Frat Boys of the Ton™ that he would never, ever court her.
The problem isn't that Colin doesn't love Penelope – nobody can be blamed for not loving someone else – but in the world that they are living in, he's basically just declared Penelope unmarriageable to a group of his peers.
He could have just said, "Penelope Featherington is terrific, but I see her as a sister". Instead, he makes her a joke.
Talking this way would damage Penelope's prospects, her reputation, and any chance she may have of getting away from her horrid mother.
To get past this, Colin's going to have to do more than apologize. He's going to have to mature into the sort of person who knows this behavior is unacceptable. Maybe he can take a lesson from Anthony, who is no stranger to accidentally insulting ladies while bro-ing it up at parties.
Penelope doesn't value herself
For two seasons, we've watched Penelope yearning at Colin as though he was the last bowl of chocolate ice cream on earth. It's getting a little cringey to watch this otherwise intelligent woman fawn in such a way (and anyway, let's face it – if Colin was ice cream, he'd definitely be vanilla).
One thing that Bridgerton has managed to do quite well so far is portray the fact that good marriages are built on equal partnerships.
Penelope needs to see herself as someone who is perfectly deserving of a good marriage. She's whip-smart, increasingly wealthy, and does her best to be a good friend (though her alter-ego, admittedly, interferes with that.) If Bridgerton wants to sell this love story, the first thing they're going to have to do, ironically, is have Penelope fall out of love with Colin and in love with her own self.
There's just no chemistry there
Unlike the previous complaints, I'm not sure how smart writing or good plotting can change the fact that Nicola Coughlan and Luke Newton haven't shown evidence of any chemistry so far. Of course, Bridgerton has done a pretty good job keeping it steamy in the past… so let's hope that Season 3 proves me wrong on this one.