Bridgerton Season 3 embodies passion, realness, and enchantment. It is everything we could have hoped for and the most captivating season yet.
Bridgerton Season 3 Review
Netflix’s popular period drama series, Bridgerton, kicks off its third season on the streaming service May 16, 2024. Please be advised, this Bridgerton season 3 review is based off of Part one (the first 4 episodes). Part 2 (the final 4 episodes) will be available June 13th.
Season 3 of Bridgerton highlights many characters, but Penelope and Colin are front and center. I feel like I speak for all of us when I say, “we’ve been anxiously awaiting this season and their story.” What sets Penelope and Colin’s story apart from others is that we’re already vested in BOTH their characters. We’ve watched them evolve with what started with a friendship, and blossomed into so much more.
Colin has recently returned from his travels, and boy did he get a glow-up. Penelope has decided it’s time to put herself up on the marriage mart (a term that makes me laugh each time I hear it). Being the noble “friend” he is, Colin offers to help Penelope find a suitor. You can only imagine how chaotic and awkward that goes, as we all know Colin has had Penelope’s heart practically forever (why are men so oblivious?). Once Penelope starts getting attention, Colin starts questioning his feelings towards Pen.
There is major hot, steamy, passionate chemistry between Nicola Coughlin (Penelope Featherington) and Luke Newton (Colin Bridgerton). I 100% completely understand why Nicola requested an edited version of season 3 for her mother to watch. The carriage scene. That’s all. That’s the sentence, and you will fully know exactly what I mean when you watch it.
Of course there’s one major obstacle hanging over the happy couple. Unbeknownst to Colin, Penelope is Lady Whistledown — and Colin despises her. Penelope has some difficult decisions to make. Should she choose love over Whistledown? While that might seem like the obvious answer, Whistledown has become such a huge part of Penelope. Can she let that part of herself go?
Bridgerton Season 3 Additional Story Arcs
Now while Polin (the cute name viewers have given to Penelope and Colin) are a major focus, several other stories are intertwined this season. Prudence and Phillipa Featherington are newly married and shockingly beginning to mature this season. Their naiveness is really showcased and it’s a nice change of pace to watch them want to better themselves. Lady Featherington also seems to evolve this season. She’s kept Penelope so sheltered her entire life, and it’s a shock to her when she finds out she’s looking for a husband.
Queen Charlotte is searching for her diamond of the season, and seems underwhelmed at her candidates. Pay close attention to the Queen’s numerous wigs, as each one is more outrageous than the next!
Kate and Anthony Bridgerton return from their 4 month honeymoon (yes, you read that correctly). And while their screen time is short-lived this season, their passion for one another is still very much alive.Will and Alice have quite the surprise this season, which leads to a brand new lifestyle. Violet Bridgerton has a new story arc this season, and I cannot wait to see where it goes…even if Lady Danbury doesn’t approve.
Cressida Cowper has always been a sideline character, and we’ve really only seen her as a villain. I always say villains are misunderstood, and this season we see why Cressida is the way she is. Cressida has been on the marriage mart for a few years now, and she has yet to secure a husband. There’s a lot of family dynamics we get to witness to assist Cressida into a multidimensional character. I always appreciate when you can feel empathy towards a “villain.”
Francesca Bridgerton has put herself on the marriage mart this season. We haven’t seen much of Francesca in terms of her story, so it’s nice to “get-to-know her.”
The Role of Friendship in Bridgerton Season 3
Friendship has always been a main theme in Bridgerton, and the same holds true for season 3. Eloise and Penelope’s friendship is still very much strained since Eloise now knows Penelope’s alter ego, Lady Whistledown. Although the two aren’t current besties, you can’t help but root for them and hope they’ll find their way back to each other. Eloise does have an unlikely friend this season, however, I feel it’s an attempt to fill the void of Pen.
Violet and Lady Danbury are clearly friends, but I also enjoy watching the friendship between Violet and her children. She is such an incredible, selfless mother, and truly wants the very best for each of her kids. I always appreciate that Violet doesn’t want her kids to get married to “just get married.” She truly hopes they each find the type of love she had with her husband.
Overall Thoughts
Bridgerton Season 3 part one brings so much to the table. With each episode ending on a cliffhanger, you’ll be eager to binge all six episodes in one sitting. The writing team knocks it out of the park by creating an incredible, engaging storyline that will fully immerse you into their world. We’re left with a heart-stopping scene at the conclusion, and I cannot wait to see how it plays out when the final episodes are released June 13th. This season of Bridgerton delivers such a pure, alluring, swoon-worthy, edge-of-your-seat story, and is by far, the most captivating season yet. Although there might be several story arcs, Colin and Penelope are at the heart of it all — and we’re here for it.
Bridgerton Season 3 Synopsis
Bridgerton is back for its third season and finds Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) has finally given up on her long-held crush on Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) after hearing his disparaging words about her last season. She has, however, decided it’s time to take a husband, preferably one who will provide her with enough independence to continue her double life as Lady Whistledown, far away from her mother and sisters. But lacking in confidence, Penelope’s attempts on the marriage mart fail spectacularly.
Meanwhile, Colin has returned from his summer travels with a new look and a serious sense of swagger. But he’s disheartened to realize that Penelope, the one person who always appreciated him as he was, is giving him the cold shoulder. Eager to win back her friendship, Colin offers to mentor Penelope in the ways of confidence to help her find a husband this season. But when his lessons start working a little too well, Colin must grapple with whether his feelings for Penelope are truly just friendly. Complicating matters for Penelope is her rift with Eloise (Claudia Jessie), who has found a new friend in a very unlikely place, while Penelope’s growing presence in the ton makes it all the more difficult to keep her Lady Whistledown alter ego a secret.
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