That’s it – triangles are officially the most boring shape.
It took literal years, but we’re finally starting to get some sneak peeks into Bridgerton’s long-awaited third season. Most of the information is welcome – like the photos of Colin looking all brooding and dashing for once, or the news that we’ll get some scenes featuring Kanthony’s married life.
However, not all of the new tidbits have been met with joy.
What’s Coming?
Bridgerton is based on a series of romance novels by author Julia Quinn. Each book focuses on one of the Bridgerton siblings, a large and close-knit family in Regency England. Fans were initially disappointed to learn that the show would change the order of the stories, with Benedict’s love story getting pushed back and Colin’s tale moving up. (In the books, Colin and Penelope aren’t featured until novel #4.)
Still, we’ve spent a lot of time with ‘Polin’ in the show, and its creators decided that two years was enough time to watch Penelope yearn from afar. In this sense they’re probably right – there’s only so much we can watch her trailing after the boy next door, only to be ignored by the clueless Colin.
As series creator Shonda Rhimes recently explained:
‘Usually we’re meeting a new person who’s falling in love with one of our regulars, but this time, we know the people who are falling in love. We’re already rooting for them because we already know them, and I’m excited for that.’
What’s Changed?
Fans of the book already know that Colin will slowly come to see that his friend ‘Pen’ has been the love of his life all along. Their journey to happily-ever-after will be complicated by the devastation that Penelope felt on being publicly dismissed by Colin at the end of Season 3 – and by Penelope’s secret identity as Lady Whistledown.
However, there is one major departure that already has fans groaning: apparently we’re in for yet ANOTHER love triangle.
Here We Go Again
Season 1’s love triangle was pretty benign, if a bit silly. Nobody thought for a moment that Daphne might choose the milquetoast Prince over the charismatic and handsome Simon, Duke of Hastings.
In Season 2 we got another love triangle, but one that went too far the opposite way: the triangle between Kate, her sister Edwina, and Anthony involved so many real and painful feelings that the whole thing got kind of cringey. Some viewers were turned off of Kanthony altogether.
With this history, it’s no wonder fans are sick of Bridgerton love triangles, and dreading the prospect of yet another one. Unfortunately, they’re in for a disappointment. In a recent Netflix interview, actress Nicola Coughlan (Penelope) revealed that this year, Penelope will be caught between her longtime crush Colin and newcomer Lord Debling (Sam Phillips).
Unnecessary Geometry
Coughlan went on to describe the new dynamic between Penelope and Colin, where the former is determined to move on with her life and get over her old crush. Colin offers to help her find a husband, and according to Coughlan:
‘[Penelope’s] like, ‘Fine, I don’t love you at all. This will work out great with no problems.’ So she finds some suitors, some more successful than others. But one is very, very fond of her.’
There’s no doubt that the pressure of another suitor will bring some drama to the story. But Penelope already has a wretched family, bad self-esteem, an explosive secret life, a broken friendship with both Colin and Eloise, and the small problem of the fortune she’s amassed under her floorboards but can’t possibly explain. Why go back to the tired old grounds of a love triangle?
The first half of Bridgerton Season 3 will drop on Netflix on May 16, 2024.
