Colin and Penelope are an extremely likable duo — it is exhausting to not need the very best for each of them. Luke Newton places in a mature efficiency that permits him to step out of the limelight of his two older on-screen brothers, and Nicola Coughlan takes Penelope and permits her to blossom in a manner that it is virtually tough to imagine that she’s the identical particular person. What’s most spectacular — and refreshing — is that the manufacturing crew does not go down the well-trodden path of getting her drop some pounds in order that she will immediately be worthy of affection. Penelope merely comes into her personal, and that alone permits her to change into the belle of the ball.
Intellectually, we would like these two to wind up collectively. However there are one or two features of their relationship that make it rather less satisfying — and sure, much less steamy — than we noticed within the first two seasons. First, Penelope and Colin are two introspective characters, with an inclination to be in their very own heads numerous the time. So when their relationship lastly develops into one thing slightly extra carnal, you’ll be able to see them pondering their manner by it … lots. Penelope’s vulnerability as she takes this big step is extremely poignant, and their romance actually advantages from these quieter moments, however followers of the tawdry romance novels that impressed the “Bridgerton” sequence could discover themselves slightly upset. The opposite challenge we have now is that all through the third season of “Bridgerton,” we have been offered a invoice of products that that is the friends-to-lovers trope. Besides that this friendship has all the time been greater than slightly one-sided — we have seen loads of proof of Penelope being a pal to Colin through the years, however not a lot the opposite manner round. He is all the time stated what pal she is to him, however this complete arc would have been extra rewarding if we had seen a real, mutual friendship between the 2 extra typically.
It is also exhausting to disregard the specter of Girl Whistledown weighing over all the manufacturing. “Bridgerton” reminds us over and over of the animosity between the Bridgertons and the prolific gossip-monger, so it is sometimes tough to take pleasure in their romance understanding that they’ve such a dramatic battle hanging over their heads, simply ready to fall. And to be totally sincere, they’ve written themselves into such a nook with Whistledown that many audiences could not really feel that their relationship ought to survive it. Moreover, going into the third season, the Whistledown obsession feels performed out, and it is irritating that it is nonetheless getting a lot display time, holding again different characters who actually needs to be shifting on to different issues. That is the primary time the place it appears like so lots of the characters have little else to do than bide their time till they get their very own season. It is clear that the writers do not know what to do with Benedict (Luke Thompson) and Eloise (Claudia Jessie), who proceed to tread water, their character growth caught in a story quicksand.