The whole concept of Lady Whistledown doesn't work if everyone knows who is writing the column. It's a gossip column. How would Penelope learn peoples' secrets and gossip if everyone knows she is the one writing the column? She would be avoided like the plague.
Also, at the ball that was actually mentioned by those men to Pen when they were standing around talking. So, if she keeps going how is she going to get the gossipi? Unless she shifts to so other type of information. This impacts all the people that work for the family as well. If you know they work for Lady Whistledown why would you talk to them.
But that is the point...she is no longer Lady Whistledown lol she literally said goodbye...she is going to be a writer. Of what? We will see but she will still write.
@@funkycrawler619 The very last scene of the final episode of the season, the latest issue of Lady Whistledown arrives and they pass it around. Julie Andrews starts narrating and her voice changes to Penelope, but she states that she is now a "column" writer. So she IS still writing a "Lady Whistledown" column but maybe it's not a gossip rag.
It almost feels like Colin was suckered into marrying Pen in the show. In the book the fact he knows she’s LW before they are intimate makes all of the difference.
Penelope spent her whole life being miserable and overlooked. Penelope was miserable this whole season. She left just about every Ball crying and humiliated. This season should have been a happy and romantic one. What should have been a triumph for her with her engagement and wedding, turned into a nightmare of panic attacks and misery. That whole storyline with Eloise was unnecessary. I agree with you that this season was very unsatisfying. It was disappointing how Colin and Penelope were portrayed. It would have been nice to see how they met and how their friendship developed. Everything was rushed and there were to many sub plots and characters jammed into these 8 episodes. Since "Whistledown" is such a important part of the show they could have devoted a whole season on the development and reveal of the persona. I agree with you, the sex scene was misplaced and just didn't fit into the story where the writers put it. We got no satisfaction this season. No wedding night, no honeymoon, no happiness and joy. We waited 2 years for this. I blame bad writing, greed of TPTB Netflix, Shonda and Jess.
Writing is the main issue this season. What is funny, that people write better fanfiction than people who actually get paid for it 😂 Nobody asked for forced threesome scenes .. how lovely it would be to see Pen & Colin as children to give us some sort of background of how deep their connection is but obviously, there was not enough time. They could stick to 3 solid plots this season instead of 7 or 8 side story lines. There was so many beautiful scenes they could have done between Penelope & Colin. I know what's done is done and I love them so much as a couple, but deep inside my heart I'm devastated because I know that if the show runners didn't change, we would probably have the most beautiful season focused only on the lead couple
Why do we need flashbacks when S1 and S2 is already there to establish their friendship? Seeing them reminsce so blissfully happy when they first met was far more impactful than a flashback. If you're aiming to understand Polin within S3 and not consider S1/S2 as part of the development, you aren't doing the (currently) only couple with multi-season build up. They were friends first and foremost and that is hella clear in S1/S2 and if anything, production put too much faith in viewers to see that. Also, they were far more romantic than any of the previous couple. Raunchyness is not the same as romanticness and Colin have more love confessions than all previous male leads combined showed that.
@@Devki24 Obviously, we did not watch the same series because Daphne and Simon and Kate and Anthony had way more chemistry than Polin. Even Lord Debling had more chemistry with Penelope than Colin did. And it has nothing to do with homophobia or agendas but don’t make someone with the best storyline in the series queer just to be more inclusive.
@@arra584 What in the homophobic comment LMAO you are conflating lust for romance or a slow burn (Daphne/Simon were more miserable together than Polin and Kanthony had the whole sexual tension because of Anthony whole heartedly deciding to marry Edwina even if he didn't want to). Idk how that's more romantic but using bigotry to justify hate ain't it.
Mathematically, 50% of the season is for Polin (and Kanthony had the least screen time together in S2 because of the Enemies to Lovers). Idk, people not being able to keep up with multiple storylines is quite conerning.
I hate that Colin wasn't developed at all so his whole arc felt weird. He starts off with a new persona where he's flirting and winking every 5 minutes. Then he falls in love with Pen, seemingly out of the blue. Then he's mad when he learns about her LW secret and then he's jealous and then he's ok. They did all of that without spending time on Colin as a character so each shift felt abrupt. I hate that we didn't get any scenes with him and Violet in the second half. I wouldve loved a scene after the wedding breakfast and Queen Charlotte intrudes and Violet has a feeling that Pen is LW so she talks to Colin. A 'real true love is worth it' kind of scene. In season 2, she was chaperoning Eloise but at the same time, she was involved in Anthony's story. Here, she's almost exclusively all about Francesca (in terms of her children).
I saw development for Colin’s character, just because he’s so introspective, he needed to work it out himself. We can already see from his first interaction with Eloise he’s past the idea that he’ll never forgive her, so now he needs to figure out how to forgive her. To me, the way he sees forward is to separate Penelope and LW into two separate people, one who betrayed and one who has always loved him and therefore wouldn’t betray him. This is the main reason I think he wants her to stop publishing, he can’t separate the two if she’s still publishing. I think his envy and his own insecurity about his writing are second to this. Their fight in the street and his talk with Kate I think help him see Penelope again, she outshines LW so during the wedding he gets swept up in being in love with Penelope, and no matter how angry he may be, he couldn’t be happier to marry her. He still loves her fully. The Queen then reminds him that she’s still looking for LW which brings it all back and again Colin wants her to stop publishing, except here I think the response is more fear based. Then we have the blackmail with Cressida. This is the first time we see Colin defending Penelope as LW, he’s beginning to understand why she started writing, I think her speech after the wedding sunk in a little bit, and he’s understanding that she felt invisible and powerless. He’s still separating Penelope from Whistledown though, so while he’s getting closer, he’s not there yet. It’s also the first time someone else calls him out for being jealous, which he’s not ready to admit. Then we have the second last shift when he’s rereading Penelope’s letters. I think he initially goes to the letters to find comfort in Penelope because he misses her, I mean the man is sleeping on an uncomfortable couch right outside their bedroom when there’s other more comfortable rooms he could use, he just wants to be close to his wife. I think when he reads the letters, with the new info about LW ,he finally sees the witty, clever side of Penelope that he never noticed before but that drew him to her in the first place. He’s realizing that she’s always had a talent for writing, that she’s clever and engaging and also realizing that these parts of Penelope’s personality are not only what drew him to her, they are what made her so successful as LW. He still needs to overcome his pride, which is why he can’t just be there for her and hold her and kiss her in the study, but he’s almost there and the development is there to see. I wish this is where they’d resolved their issues but Shondaland loves the last minute reconciliations so I assume that they wanted the last little bit of his pride to be humbled listening to her speak in front of the ton. He’s so impressed that it finally humbles him and he can overcome the last little bit of him that was holding onto the hurt, anger and envy. I only touched on his reaction to the LW reveal because I think the foundations for his feelings for her were established in seasons 1 and 2 and then their kiss in season 3. Colin’s main arc in part 1 is that he’s trying to find connection, he’s sleeping around and flirting but feels distant, he acknowledges this in his journal as Penelope is reading and Eloise says he must be lonely. His first kiss with Penelope is when he finally feels that connection, he feels real intimacy. It feels out of the blue because he never let himself think of her as more than a friend, but the second that they have a physical connection, one started by her with no romantic intentions, it metaphorically knocks him to the ground. I mean look at how romantic his dream summarizing the kiss is, she’s bathed in firelight and he’s walking towards her through the mist so they can declare their love for one another. The boy is gone. He’s also realizing that his past feelings for Penelope that he assumed were platonic affection were actually romantic, that she’s always been the most important person to him. Sammy Bates has a really good Colin character analysis on her channel that I think explains his character really well.
Yeah we just didn’t get a window into his emotional journey at all!! He’s off in his own little corner with his emotions and neither us or Penelope ever get to see it until he’s just over everything
They really ran with some telling not showing issues this season that didn't add up. Nicola pointed out something funny about Colin and Violet's convo about him being her 'most selfless child' but she was like 'he’s been on a gap year every year!'
@@crystalpritchard5065 At Last!!!!!! Someone understands Colin's characterization throughout the three seasons!!! Thank you, Crystal! Also, I happened to randomly see Sammy Bates' video on Colin last week, so I understand your last point, too. I'm so glad I saw your comment. I felt a little sad that no one else seemed to get it.
I felt the same for the first 4. You can watch the first 4 episodes like it's a romcom that ends in a proposal. It's no drama just vibes. Which is why it worked so well. I wish they would have held more on certain moments, but that didn't stop me from obsessing over part one. Rewatching over and over . However, the last 4 episodes were the opposite. All drama, very few to no vibes. I was surprised that it was described as romantic by the leads since to me that back half was stressful AF. Do the producers not know the reason we come to watch romance shows? The best quote I heard was a comment from a fan that said something along the lines of "I come to this show to watch NSFW Pride and Prejudice, not Regency Grey's Anatomy" Life is stressful enough and I felt bamboozled. Anyways, I digress.
“Very few to no vibes” is such a funny line I’m stealing that lmao!! I agree this is such a good way to summarize it, it stressed me out more than some criminal minds episodes and that’s just not what I want from a romance show 😭😭 Regency Greys Anatomy is the perfect description!!
This isn't Pride and Prejudice at all tho...not even the books are...like...this is its own thing and since S1 established it barely follows what you expect from Regency...and even if the backhalf had drama it still had romance arguably far more than the previous?
You nailed it about the S3 deviating from the romance book structure. It's very clear as you said, it's no longer written in a way that's focused on two people falling in love and resolving their differences, but rather LW, ensemble drama and introducing surprises. Another telling example of the deviation from romance novels and probably why some book fans are disappointed is that they are also changing the tropes and the love interests unexpectedly (as with Fran/John/Michaela) which is a huge no no in romancebookland!! It's very possible they want to appeal to a wider audience now that they have book fans hooked and sadly, that means they will move away from what makes Bridgertons unique compared to other period drama series - being unapologetically fluffy, sexy regency romance book come alive. It's becoming more of a melodrama.
The way their scenes were written this season makes me think whoever wrote them didn't really have any ideas on how to write more scenes between them. They had the most potential from all of the couples, and in the previous seasons their conversations were written beautifully. Nicola and Luke are such great actors as well so there was so much to work with and I'm gutted with how the show runners decided to go about some of the scenes. The LW reveal should never be dragged for that long.
the fact that polin are supposed to be “best friends to lovers” trope but we got a mention of when they first met, and BARELY any true best friend-esque kind of interactions between them to showcase their existing friendship. like if u two really are lifelong best friends, SHOW US THAT.
They wouldn’t let Penelope be happy for two seconds. Engagement… bam Eloise looking mad. Finally married freaken Colin…bam Queen walks in. Anxiety over and over. Penelope deserved better than this.
Another great word besides unsatisfying…. “Anxiety”. It’s like they don’t understand why we love the show…. We want to be swept up in the romance & feel the triumph of the characters BUT instead they have us sit in Anxiety for 3 1/2 episodes. Damping our ability to connect & enjoy some beautiful moments that happened. It just didn’t need to be this way, the drama & separation between the lead couple was too much, too long
Exactly what I notice. I felt sorry for Pen because they made her like this horrible person when in fact there are more people deserving of such hatred. They also want to retain Colin the lashing out no filter with words vibe till almost the last epiosde. Ohh.. I will always love Colin and glad that he came to his senses but will he continue being this persona with little character growth? I hope not. We are tired of S2 not in your wildest dream and S3 your planned entrapment. Please have Colin grow some spine to not lashed out whenever hurt.
How about their first time of love making (and conception of their child),, yet poor Pen couldn't even enjoy her post love making moments alone in the carriage with her fiance.
Yes - unsatisfying is the word. The majority of my media diet is romance and I felt like S3 failed to live up to the basic standards of the genre! There was no catharsis at the end where they feel like true love, you swoon and wish it was you, shed a tear and clutch at your heart! Angst is great, but only when you know WHY each character is struggling - I was as surprised as Pen was when Colin said he still loved her in the last 5 minutes of the season 😂 in a book you get the love interest's thoughts and feelings more, but they could easily do that in the show via flashbacks as they've done previously, using his alleged brilliant writing, or just being more honest with Pen in dialogue. Entertained, but didn't come away with good feelings at all.
This seems to be an issue with writing these days, especially with netflix series where they get to season three then run the story into the ground. I have noticed that with a couple of the things i watch, so i went to just reading and not watching.
@@meredithnovaco My theory is that 3 seasons is how long they do their contracts or actors and unless the show is doing Stranger Things numbers, they tank it and kill the show
I havent seen the show so i might be talking out of my ass, but I feel a lot of screenwriters nowadays fall into the trap you mentioned? It often seems like the 'anxiety about getting cancelled' (like the show being discontinued, not like problematic cancelled, yk) has big impact on the way things are being written? Bridgerton probably isn't the best example since the show is so big and popular, but I feel like a lot of the shows nowadays have to have some sort of neat (often forced) plot resolution at the end of season just because the writers dont know if the show is going to be there for the next one. You cant leave plots 'to be continued' because big man in a suit says there wont be any 'continued' so suddenly you might find yourself with all of that negative discourse online
This is a really good point!! I think a good solution would be spreading out some of the resolution so it doesn’t all happen in one scene! But you’re right it does happen more, I think I was just blinded by how surprised I was that they did it here when the last two seasons haven’t done that 😂 thanks for watching!!
The whole season felt very rushed. The first half is forgivable - there is slow burn in the first two seasons so if you binge them beforehand, the quick pace is less jarring. However, the second half is CRAMMED. There is too much between Polin to resolve at this point, and not only they are not given enough time and screen presence to work through it, the episodes are full of side stories and side characters that can easily be skipped (esp. Benedict's escapades, Mondrich family, even Violet's romance could be pushed towards the next season). On top of that they decided to add the whole social drama of the LW reveal. In result the whole story did not feel like a romance. I wished they cut the side stories and gave us more moments between them - talking to each other, communicating, bonding. I would also skip the big reveal for the next season (e.g. as a mid-season finale or even push it further down) and just focus on Colin's grappling with the truth, keeping the drama personal between the couple, the finale being him admitting his jealousy to her, apologizing and promising that if it ever gets out he will be at her side.
So so unbelievable the show Colin (recall how ENAMORED he was when he gave the engagement ring to Pen) AVOIDING Pen for days and showing up to the wedding prep so as not to fetch questions from his mother. Even if he did find out about LW. He could've asked Pen for space-even in a letter- to process his feelings about LW (yes, we are still a team) instead of avoiding her as if she had the plague (yes, I am ruining your wedding, not mine, cause I'm forced to marry you now).
It felt like Penelope’s season instead of Colin and penelope. Like everyone else got character development instead of the male lead. I’m sorry to say this but it felt like they were trying to go this feminist rout and just didn’t give a f about Colin. Like I love the penelope stuff but what about Colin 😭 he’s a character of his own he has feelings and is very complex not just Penelope’s husband
@@amayarice2229 Thank you!! Exactly that😭 Luke is a great actor and they could have done a lot more with Colin, what a waste of potential. Very unfulfilled to be honest.
They killed their ability to use Whistledown as a draw to the upcoming season. Season one and season two focused so much on the central couple but they wove in the Whistledown cliffhanger. They could have done this! If they had followed the book they could have focused this season on the reveal to Colin and the HEA then next season had the Ton/bounty situation.
I share the very same sentiment as you as in almost 100% specially the climax vibe writing. I always said that it might have worked if this is a movie but if your in an 8 series episode, it just wont work. It seems like the drama was built too much that it felt hanging with so much little time were shown on how they resolve the great conflict together. It was a nice show, loved the actors but there's too much drama that the romance and the friendship was overshadowed by the conflict. People confuse that those of us ranting this says that we want them to be lovey dovey no issues vibe but no, there can be conflict and have the leads tackle it together. I believe that is what most of us who are ranting wants to have seen
I just did not find that part where the Queen finds her own hint very plausible. Her whole thing is like “yeah, you only responded when Cressida dissed the Bridgertons.” But they published at the same time?? They didn’t make it clear that it was separate times. One shows up in the morning, Mrs. Watson runs in with another five seconds later and Violet tells her that she already has the pamphlet. To which Mrs. Watson says, “a new one, ma’am.” Both my mom and I were confused and side eyeing the tv. It doesn’t make sense in the way they chose to show it. It looks like both issues got written and published at the same time, but somehow Penelope has future sense and dissed Cressida?? This new girls writing sucks and I want the other writers back.
I agree. They should have worked through the issues together as a couple. It felt rushed and devoid of substance. However, nothing compared to the last two seasons of Game of Thrones. I hoped that showrunners out there have learned something from that one flop, but it seems to me that it's not the case
The thing that endeared me to this couple in the show was that they were a team and I enjoyed watching them work together (even on the shared mission of finding Pen a husband) and then the last four episodes they don’t work together At All. I like to think that when she told him “maybe that’s the key” and grabbed his hands that they went on scheming together. But alas that’s not how the show played out. I also think they could have had Colin on her side before the big reveal to the Ton and saved the big reveal to the Ton for the next season (even the whole Cressida part). It would have been a Crazy cliffhanger to end it with Cressida finding out it was Pen!
I love their story in the books… Dissatisfaction is a good way to describe the “meh” feeling the second half gave me. The way the show deviated from the books is definitely problematic and I have to say some of the things that are super important in the book got lost. There’s more than one time when Pen refers to the value of open communication and honesty in relationships in the book, and that is lost. I have to say I agree with another commenter about the Eloise situation, and I was really upset at the end of the second season when that happened, concerned how they could proceed. Another big difference is that when Polin get together in the books they are 28/33 years old. They have maintained a friendship over many years. In addition many of Pen’s circle have admiration for LW in the books, so when Lady Danbury puts a reward on LW to find her identity out they speak of her positively. Colin being in the dark about LW prior to their entanglement is so problematic. If the idea is that he does a 180 and comes around they should have given us more tenderness and connections. Shown how his love was greater than his resentment. Instead he went from sticking up for Pen, to her mother, saying he always had her back, that he was not trapped, to then accusing Pen of purposefully trapping him. He was so cold to her in his anger… The best “romantic” scene in the second half is easily outside of the modiste the night before their wedding… why could t we have anything else like that?? I saw a rumor that Cressida might be rewritten as Kate for Benedict’s season - she went off to live with an awful aunt, something about the chain in her hairstyle at the end of the season, and that a Benedict had a key on his waistcoat or something… I’m not sure how I feel about that either.
I was never on board with the idea of telling the audience who Lady Whistledown was in Season 1. I get it that many people who read the books already knew and that others would get spoiled, but some others would not. Also, that whole Eloise knowing plotline would've never needed to happen.
I don´t necessarily hate or dislike this season but I think there could´ve been MANY improvements. I liked part 1 definitely more than part 2. I feel like the reactions to this season are a really good mixture of valid criticism and lack of media literacy. Like there are still people complaining about Colins "rake" persona that "just doesn´t fit him" when that was the entire purpose you kow. But at the same time there IS valid criticism like too many subplots or Polin (and Colin himself) was pushed aside too often. I personally for example love that Benedict is bi but they could´ve executed his bisexuality (and his feeling of being lost and losing his passion for art) much much better, especially since he´s supposed to be our lead for the next season
The writing was bad: there was no tension nor stakes, so it was just kind of boring. Also, the full glam makeup with falsies and acrylics took me out every time 😅💅🏻
Those false lashes were absurd. They didn’t try to make them look real in any way, shape or form. I mean we all know these actors are wearing wigs and makeup etc etc, but could they not make it look so modern and fake?? Nicola is so gorgeous, false lashes were NOT needed. They were just distracting. Let us admire the masterpiece that is Nicola Coughlan’s face without those annoying (and not at all period accurate) additions.
Part the issue with LW in general is that they’ve made her way too important and much meaner than in the books. Making it harder to resolve. They wanted to resolve it similar to in the book but the consequences were much higher so it couldn’t be and they just kind of let her off and nothing happened. A realistic ending wouldn’t jive with the happily ever after of it all.
penelope and colin lacked so much communication skills it’s actually shocking bc if finding out that ur fiancé/wife has not only lied to u all this time, but is the person who’s wrote all these heinous things ab you, ur family, and the entirety of london has hurt … why not communicate that to her??? instead of sleeping on the couch pouting away, COMMUNICATE and tell her how u feel and how it hurt you so she can understand. but, no, instead the writers barely have colin be involved with the LW storylines and just suddenly forgive pen for being LW near the end when she confesses like …
All this series did was make me cringe and be left disappointed time and time again 😞😬I stuck with it until S3 Part 1 for the costumes and scenery which were very colourful and unique. I was nice to see them change Penelope’s wardrobe as she looked gorgeous but it stopped there as then some of the other characters costumes just went over the top like Queen Charlottes wigs (seriously a rotating cake topper in her wig 🙄) and Cressida’s sleeves (they could have been used as a parachute or a duster 🤣) that it was like watching a drag show. Like everything Hollywood these days bigger/more is not better. These people have no talent whatsoever in adapting anything to the screen without it becoming a daytime campy drama with absolutely no substance. They have wrecked this series for me so will not be watching this show again. Glad that others like this but I am done.
Just for funsies, an opposite view from the perspective of total outsider 😅 (I dont usually enjoy this kind of stories, romance is not my genre in general, I havent read any of the books and only watched the tv show because I was held prisoner by my flatmate who loves this stuff 😂) For me this was the most enjoyable season this far. 🤔 The first season felt almost unwatchable for me, the second I liked a bit more (mainly because I liked two main actors so much) but problem with both those seasons (for me at least) was the story felt so numbingly predictable it made them boring. I could see where the story was heading from miles away and was able to predict basically every turn in advance. This was the first season where I felt any kind of uncertainity about how things would play out, which made it instantly more interesting. I never felt the main couple was sidelined in any way (could be because I dont know the source material and didnt know how much material they should have.) Only side story I had problems with was the one with club owners (dont remember names) since that one literally went nowhere. Otherwise I found this suprisingly entertaning as a non-romance fan. Maybe it's for all the reasons actual romance fans seem to dislike it, as my youtube algorithm seems determined to inform me for some unexplainable reason. 😂
You're probably right because for a long time I didn't want to watch Bridgeton because it looked like over the top romance, but this was the season that convinced me to watch the other ones.
I enjoyed watching this season also. I admit, there seemed to be a lot of side plots but I was ok with that. I rather enjoyed the Mondrich storyline actually. Only two aspects that I didn't like was the Benedict trio - didn't get the point of that, and not enough Polin scenes. I think that if there were more Polin scenes most fans would not have minded the side plots so much. If this show could do 10 episodes per season, that would give them room to give the main season leads more screen time. But sadly, that does not seem to be an option.
Glad you did this video. I share a lot of your feelings… about what bothered me about S3 and yet… I can look past it and find some other things to appreciate about the season.
I wonder if some of your issues would be resolved by watching the whole season without a 4-week break between parts 1 and 2. Because of the gap I kind of forgot how fast Colin and Penelope went from friends to engaged to being intimate, but it’s like less than 24 hours, which made me more sympathetic to Penelope not telling Colin about being Lady Whistledown beforehand. She was literally prepared to accept another man’s proposal the day before she slept with Colin for the first time, the girl has not had a chance to catch her breath. I’m not a romance reader, so maybe that’s affected my opinion of the show, and of the book, but I hated book Colin. For like weeks after their marriage he just flat out shuts down whenever Penelope mentions LW to the point where she’s convinced he’s deeply ashamed of her and so she becomes ashamed of herself, and to me that’s why book Colin had to be the one to make the grand announcement to prove to her that he’s proud, because he made her feel awful. In the books, given how inconsequential LW is, this feels weird, like Colin is just an immature brat. I like that in the show Penelope is more confident in herself, because of Colin’s help, and she doesn’t want to give it up, he just needs time and space to figure it out. I also didn’t find his confession surprising because they laid the foundation for it. First, we know that she explains at least part of her plan after Francesca’s wedding because he’s not surprised his mom got a letter and is prepared to walk her through it. We also saw him understanding Penelope’s motivations when talking to Cressida, but he’s still trying to separate Penelope and LW and is still jealous, so close but not there yet. Then we see him read her letters, which at first is just to have a connection with her, but I’m assuming in light of the the LW info, he sees a witty, confident side that her that he’d never noticed before and that’s what makes him realize she IS Whistledown, she’s always had this clever storytelling ability and that in fact that’s what made him love her letters so much and connect with her. This happens before the ball and the queens acceptance. The issue with this reveal is that it’s for televisions so they need to keep it suspenseful so we don’t see Penelope explaining her plan and any input Colin might have. They also have her interact with him last after the speech because they wanted to end with his love declaration and them dancing the night away, but it does give the impression that he wasn’t on board until after she’d been accepted by the Queen and the ton. I loved the season enough that I’m willing to overlook these issues but again I’m not usually a romance reader. I read the book more recently but maybe I need to reread portions again because I don’t remember team Polin working together. I remember Colin bullying Penelope and being unreasonably angry at her. So I didn’t miss this plot point. I also didn’t feel like she worked with Eloise a lot in part 2. She does consult with her about publishing to discredit Cressida but this was never a moment for Polin in the books, and other than that there’s just the conversation while they are waiting for Colin to return from speaking with Cressida, which is more about establishing their their friendship is completely back, when Eloise asks her what she’s reading. Finally, I read the book so knew the Cressida angle but I’ve watched a lot of reactions from people who didn’t read the books and none of them were confused by her motivations. I think the show set it up well, first with her conversation with Eloise about being engaged and how sad she is, then having the audience meet Greer and see how not only old but also horrible he is, and the disgust that he wants children still. We as the audience now firmly want Cressida to find a way out, so when everyone at the party starts talking about how LW wouldn’t need to get married, how no one would want her, how she could claim the queens reward, it’s not hard to imagine Cressida thinking it would work, you can literally see the cogs moving in her head as she plans it. Most people seemed surprised by the blackmail because they wanted a Cressida redemption arc. The blackmail didn’t surprise me, but I think people forgot that she tried to blackmail Daphne in season 1. To me, she backed herself into a corner and reverted back to a former trait, a very human reaction. Sorry this response was so long!
Love the long comment don’t apologize!! I totally get what you’re saying here, I think it just depends on what kind of show Bridgerton wants to be if that makes sense!! To me a romance is about watching the characters fall in love/work through their differences and become a partnership, and here it just felt to me like it was more about Penelope and her emotional journey and Collin is off by himself with his own emotions and they just forgive each other at the end if that makes sense? But it’s just what you want out of the show, the drama was great and the plot was fun so if you’re not hooked on watching them bond it would be a fun watch and I totally get your take!! I do think the one thing I disagree with is the rewatching thing - Netflix put out the show in this way so for most viewers there was a 4 week gap, so if that impacts the experience, they shouldn’t release it that way in my opinion!! Thanks for watching and the comment I really enjoyed reading it!! ❤️
@@meredithnovaco I wish Netflix hadn’t released it in two parts, my understanding is that it wasn’t written that way, it wasn’t meant to be broken down into two parts. I wish they’d done weekly releases if they didn’t want people to binge it all in one day, or wanted to spread out the content. I also have to admit that I’ve had a hard time listening to some of the criticism about this season because I loved it so much, and I feel such a deep connection with the characters, but I really enjoyed your analysis. I’ll have to check out future videos.
Read the books the series is loosely based on the book. I have to admit I don't watch this show. I don't know why they buy a series of books change the characters and the plot. I guess I am just happy they haven't changed any of Jane Austin's books.
I watched because of your tag. I too was disappointed in the Polin story but was traumatized by the gender bender of Micheala. It made me forget about who the story was about. I know younger people like you don't care about gay stories but this changes all the rest of the series. Brownell made the story about her. This Franchesca book was one of my favorites. I do not think I will be watching. And that makes me sad. There is more to a gay story than love in the regency. It was a crime.
I’m actually really mad about Michael… this entire season was a huge let down and what they did to Michael (the best character in the book imo) was the straw that broke the camel’s back. This season turned Bridgerton into an adaptation of watpad fan fiction instead of the original books and I’m not going to watch anymore!
Love the video. I haven't read the books. I wasn't reading romance when they were published so my only knowledge of the Bridgertons is the show, and . . . yeah, I'm done. I am 100% sure that the books are better than the show but there are so many things wrong with the adaptation that Bridgerton show has managed to make me not want to read the books. Watching the show I am continually distracted by the wardrobe and severe makeup mistakes. The makeup is incredibly bad. Too much. I actually understand Cresida's motivation for claiming to be Whistledown but what I cannot understand are her clothes and hair. What the hell is that on her head? Am I watching a circus? Is there something living in there? As far as the gender swap at the end - they should have introduced a new character/couple not changed Francesca so radically from the original because the current show runner is in a lesbian relationship and wanted to see it on screen. We all do but don't fundamentally change a main character. I found Eloise's character to be the most annoying person I've seen on screen since - I don't know. Someone will have to tell if she is like that in the books. I just wanted her to shut up and stop whining!!
Listen, you are not going to keep great talent season after season if you don’t give them something to do. So I understand why a tv show needs to have multiple storylines. However, and I felt this way in S2 also, the side storylines eat up too much of the time and take away from the central couple’s time and it’s frustrating. Side Note: I recently read that all the scenes with LN’s horrid wig were reshoots that the studio insisted on - and they were all the scenes I didn’t enjoy.
I was a super super super fan. This season devastated me. I was so excited to see a plus size women be centered in a genre I've always loved, historical romance. IT WAS TERRIBLY BORING, Penelope still got no real love. The sex scenes were so overhyped. I found the sex scenes terrible sorry.
The thing that endeared me to this couple in the show was that they were a team and I enjoyed watching them work together (even on the shared mission of finding Pen a husband) and then the last four episodes they don’t work together At All. I like to think that when she told him “maybe that’s the key” and grabbed his hands that they went on scheming together. But alas that’s not how the show played out. I also think they could have had Colin on her side before the big reveal to the Ton and saved the big reveal to the Ton for the next season (even the whole Cressida part). It would have been a Crazy cliffhanger to end it with Cressida finding out it was Pen!
The whole concept of Lady Whistledown doesn't work if everyone knows who is writing the column. It's a gossip column. How would Penelope learn peoples' secrets and gossip if everyone knows she is the one writing the column? She would be avoided like the plague.
Also, at the ball that was actually mentioned by those men to Pen when they were standing around talking. So, if she keeps going how is she going to get the gossipi? Unless she shifts to so other type of information. This impacts all the people that work for the family as well. If you know they work for Lady Whistledown why would you talk to them.
But that is the point...she is no longer Lady Whistledown lol she literally said goodbye...she is going to be a writer. Of what? We will see but she will still write.
@@funkycrawler619 The very last scene of the final episode of the season, the latest issue of Lady Whistledown arrives and they pass it around. Julie Andrews starts narrating and her voice changes to Penelope, but she states that she is now a "column" writer. So she IS still writing a "Lady Whistledown" column but maybe it's not a gossip rag.
It almost feels like Colin was suckered into marrying Pen in the show. In the book the fact he knows she’s LW before they are intimate makes all of the difference.
Penelope spent her whole life being miserable and overlooked. Penelope was miserable this whole season. She left just about every Ball crying and humiliated. This season should have been a happy and romantic one. What should have been a triumph for her with her engagement and wedding, turned into a nightmare of panic attacks and misery. That whole storyline with Eloise was unnecessary. I agree with you that this season was very unsatisfying. It was disappointing how Colin and Penelope were portrayed. It would have been nice to see how they met and how their friendship developed. Everything was rushed and there were to many sub plots and characters jammed into these 8 episodes. Since "Whistledown" is such a important part of the show they could have devoted a whole season on the development and reveal of the persona. I agree with you, the sex scene was misplaced and just didn't fit into the story where the writers put it. We got no satisfaction this season. No wedding night, no honeymoon, no happiness and joy. We waited 2 years for this. I blame bad writing, greed of TPTB Netflix, Shonda and Jess.
Writing is the main issue this season. What is funny, that people write better fanfiction than people who actually get paid for it 😂
Nobody asked for forced threesome scenes .. how lovely it would be to see Pen & Colin as children to give us some sort of background of how deep their connection is but obviously, there was not enough time. They could stick to 3 solid plots this season instead of 7 or 8 side story lines. There was so many beautiful scenes they could have done between Penelope & Colin. I know what's done is done and I love them so much as a couple, but deep inside my heart I'm devastated because I know that if the show runners didn't change, we would probably have the most beautiful season focused only on the lead couple
Why do we need flashbacks when S1 and S2 is already there to establish their friendship? Seeing them reminsce so blissfully happy when they first met was far more impactful than a flashback. If you're aiming to understand Polin within S3 and not consider S1/S2 as part of the development, you aren't doing the (currently) only couple with multi-season build up. They were friends first and foremost and that is hella clear in S1/S2 and if anything, production put too much faith in viewers to see that. Also, they were far more romantic than any of the previous couple. Raunchyness is not the same as romanticness and Colin have more love confessions than all previous male leads combined showed that.
@@nika-pt2plAgree 💯 After watching season 3, I had to turn to fan fiction to fill in the gaps and have a more satisfying conclusion.
This!
So true! I blame the showrunnner !
The face that the lead couple got sidelined on their damn season is fucking sad
Exactly! Because Jess Brownell was too damn concerned with pushing her gay agenda than staying true to the books
@@arra584I for one am sick of the straight agenda. Season one was so bad. They had zero chemistry, it was legitimately painful to watch.
@@Devki24 Obviously, we did not watch the same series because Daphne and Simon and Kate and Anthony had way more chemistry than Polin. Even Lord Debling had more chemistry with Penelope than Colin did. And it has nothing to do with homophobia or agendas but don’t make someone with the best storyline in the series queer just to be more inclusive.
@@arra584 What in the homophobic comment LMAO you are conflating lust for romance or a slow burn (Daphne/Simon were more miserable together than Polin and Kanthony had the whole sexual tension because of Anthony whole heartedly deciding to marry Edwina even if he didn't want to). Idk how that's more romantic but using bigotry to justify hate ain't it.
Mathematically, 50% of the season is for Polin (and Kanthony had the least screen time together in S2 because of the Enemies to Lovers). Idk, people not being able to keep up with multiple storylines is quite conerning.
I hate that Colin wasn't developed at all so his whole arc felt weird. He starts off with a new persona where he's flirting and winking every 5 minutes. Then he falls in love with Pen, seemingly out of the blue. Then he's mad when he learns about her LW secret and then he's jealous and then he's ok. They did all of that without spending time on Colin as a character so each shift felt abrupt. I hate that we didn't get any scenes with him and Violet in the second half. I wouldve loved a scene after the wedding breakfast and Queen Charlotte intrudes and Violet has a feeling that Pen is LW so she talks to Colin. A 'real true love is worth it' kind of scene. In season 2, she was chaperoning Eloise but at the same time, she was involved in Anthony's story. Here, she's almost exclusively all about Francesca (in terms of her children).
I saw development for Colin’s character, just because he’s so introspective, he needed to work it out himself.
We can already see from his first interaction with Eloise he’s past the idea that he’ll never forgive her, so now he needs to figure out how to forgive her. To me, the way he sees forward is to separate Penelope and LW into two separate people, one who betrayed and one who has always loved him and therefore wouldn’t betray him. This is the main reason I think he wants her to stop publishing, he can’t separate the two if she’s still publishing. I think his envy and his own insecurity about his writing are second to this.
Their fight in the street and his talk with Kate I think help him see Penelope again, she outshines LW so during the wedding he gets swept up in being in love with Penelope, and no matter how angry he may be, he couldn’t be happier to marry her. He still loves her fully. The Queen then reminds him that she’s still looking for LW which brings it all back and again Colin wants her to stop publishing, except here I think the response is more fear based.
Then we have the blackmail with Cressida. This is the first time we see Colin defending Penelope as LW, he’s beginning to understand why she started writing, I think her speech after the wedding sunk in a little bit, and he’s understanding that she felt invisible and powerless. He’s still separating Penelope from Whistledown though, so while he’s getting closer, he’s not there yet. It’s also the first time someone else calls him out for being jealous, which he’s not ready to admit.
Then we have the second last shift when he’s rereading Penelope’s letters. I think he initially goes to the letters to find comfort in Penelope because he misses her, I mean the man is sleeping on an uncomfortable couch right outside their bedroom when there’s other more comfortable rooms he could use, he just wants to be close to his wife. I think when he reads the letters, with the new info about LW ,he finally sees the witty, clever side of Penelope that he never noticed before but that drew him to her in the first place. He’s realizing that she’s always had a talent for writing, that she’s clever and engaging and also realizing that these parts of Penelope’s personality are not only what drew him to her, they are what made her so successful as LW. He still needs to overcome his pride, which is why he can’t just be there for her and hold her and kiss her in the study, but he’s almost there and the development is there to see.
I wish this is where they’d resolved their issues but Shondaland loves the last minute reconciliations so I assume that they wanted the last little bit of his pride to be humbled listening to her speak in front of the ton. He’s so impressed that it finally humbles him and he can overcome the last little bit of him that was holding onto the hurt, anger and envy.
I only touched on his reaction to the LW reveal because I think the foundations for his feelings for her were established in seasons 1 and 2 and then their kiss in season 3. Colin’s main arc in part 1 is that he’s trying to find connection, he’s sleeping around and flirting but feels distant, he acknowledges this in his journal as Penelope is reading and Eloise says he must be lonely. His first kiss with Penelope is when he finally feels that connection, he feels real intimacy. It feels out of the blue because he never let himself think of her as more than a friend, but the second that they have a physical connection, one started by her with no romantic intentions, it metaphorically knocks him to the ground. I mean look at how romantic his dream summarizing the kiss is, she’s bathed in firelight and he’s walking towards her through the mist so they can declare their love for one another. The boy is gone. He’s also realizing that his past feelings for Penelope that he assumed were platonic affection were actually romantic, that she’s always been the most important person to him. Sammy Bates has a really good Colin character analysis on her channel that I think explains his character really well.
Yeah we just didn’t get a window into his emotional journey at all!! He’s off in his own little corner with his emotions and neither us or Penelope ever get to see it until he’s just over everything
They really ran with some telling not showing issues this season that didn't add up. Nicola pointed out something funny about Colin and Violet's convo about him being her 'most selfless child' but she was like 'he’s been on a gap year every year!'
@@lucentaunisage Nicola is 1000% spot on!
@@crystalpritchard5065 At Last!!!!!! Someone understands Colin's characterization throughout the three seasons!!! Thank you, Crystal! Also, I happened to randomly see Sammy Bates' video on Colin last week, so I understand your last point, too. I'm so glad I saw your comment. I felt a little sad that no one else seemed to get it.
Exactly. Exactly. Exactly. They are partners in the book and that is what is missing.
There is no queen in the books. Penelope also decides to write a novel called _Wallflower_ after giving up Whistledown.
I felt the same for the first 4. You can watch the first 4 episodes like it's a romcom that ends in a proposal. It's no drama just vibes. Which is why it worked so well. I wish they would have held more on certain moments, but that didn't stop me from obsessing over part one. Rewatching over and over . However, the last 4 episodes were the opposite. All drama, very few to no vibes. I was surprised that it was described as romantic by the leads since to me that back half was stressful AF. Do the producers not know the reason we come to watch romance shows? The best quote I heard was a comment from a fan that said something along the lines of "I come to this show to watch NSFW Pride and Prejudice, not Regency Grey's Anatomy" Life is stressful enough and I felt bamboozled. Anyways, I digress.
“Very few to no vibes” is such a funny line I’m stealing that lmao!! I agree this is such a good way to summarize it, it stressed me out more than some criminal minds episodes and that’s just not what I want from a romance show 😭😭 Regency Greys Anatomy is the perfect description!!
This isn't Pride and Prejudice at all tho...not even the books are...like...this is its own thing and since S1 established it barely follows what you expect from Regency...and even if the backhalf had drama it still had romance arguably far more than the previous?
You nailed it about the S3 deviating from the romance book structure. It's very clear as you said, it's no longer written in a way that's focused on two people falling in love and resolving their differences, but rather LW, ensemble drama and introducing surprises. Another telling example of the deviation from romance novels and probably why some book fans are disappointed is that they are also changing the tropes and the love interests unexpectedly (as with Fran/John/Michaela) which is a huge no no in romancebookland!!
It's very possible they want to appeal to a wider audience now that they have book fans hooked and sadly, that means they will move away from what makes Bridgertons unique compared to other period drama series - being unapologetically fluffy, sexy regency romance book come alive. It's becoming more of a melodrama.
The way their scenes were written this season makes me think whoever wrote them didn't really have any ideas on how to write more scenes between them. They had the most potential from all of the couples, and in the previous seasons their conversations were written beautifully.
Nicola and Luke are such great actors as well so there was so much to work with and I'm gutted with how the show runners decided to go about some of the scenes. The LW reveal should never be dragged for that long.
the fact that polin are supposed to be “best friends to lovers” trope but we got a mention of when they first met, and BARELY any true best friend-esque kind of interactions between them to showcase their existing friendship. like if u two really are lifelong best friends, SHOW US THAT.
They wouldn’t let Penelope be happy for two seconds. Engagement… bam Eloise looking mad. Finally married freaken Colin…bam Queen walks in. Anxiety over and over. Penelope deserved better than this.
Another great word besides unsatisfying…. “Anxiety”. It’s like they don’t understand why we love the show…. We want to be swept up in the romance & feel the triumph of the characters BUT instead they have us sit in Anxiety for 3 1/2 episodes. Damping our ability to connect & enjoy some beautiful moments that happened. It just didn’t need to be this way, the drama & separation between the lead couple was too much, too long
Exactly what I notice. I felt sorry for Pen because they made her like this horrible person when in fact there are more people deserving of such hatred.
They also want to retain Colin the lashing out no filter with words vibe till almost the last epiosde.
Ohh.. I will always love Colin and glad that he came to his senses but will he continue being this persona with little character growth? I hope not.
We are tired of S2 not in your wildest dream and S3 your planned entrapment. Please have Colin grow some spine to not lashed out whenever hurt.
How about their first time of love making (and conception of their child),, yet poor Pen couldn't even enjoy her post love making moments alone in the carriage with her fiance.
yes. the idea that they got married while not being okay was also so sad and the wedding wasn't like, fun at all
Yes - unsatisfying is the word. The majority of my media diet is romance and I felt like S3 failed to live up to the basic standards of the genre! There was no catharsis at the end where they feel like true love, you swoon and wish it was you, shed a tear and clutch at your heart! Angst is great, but only when you know WHY each character is struggling - I was as surprised as Pen was when Colin said he still loved her in the last 5 minutes of the season 😂 in a book you get the love interest's thoughts and feelings more, but they could easily do that in the show via flashbacks as they've done previously, using his alleged brilliant writing, or just being more honest with Pen in dialogue. Entertained, but didn't come away with good feelings at all.
This seems to be an issue with writing these days, especially with netflix series where they get to season three then run the story into the ground. I have noticed that with a couple of the things i watch, so i went to just reading and not watching.
Yeah it does happen a lot with Netflix specifically - I think they have a habit of cancelling after 3ish seasons so I wonder if that plays into it?
@@meredithnovaco My theory is that 3 seasons is how long they do their contracts or actors and unless the show is doing Stranger Things numbers, they tank it and kill the show
For me Season 2 remains the best and Kanthony’s chemistry can’t be matched
I havent seen the show so i might be talking out of my ass, but I feel a lot of screenwriters nowadays fall into the trap you mentioned? It often seems like the 'anxiety about getting cancelled' (like the show being discontinued, not like problematic cancelled, yk) has big impact on the way things are being written? Bridgerton probably isn't the best example since the show is so big and popular, but I feel like a lot of the shows nowadays have to have some sort of neat (often forced) plot resolution at the end of season just because the writers dont know if the show is going to be there for the next one. You cant leave plots 'to be continued' because big man in a suit says there wont be any 'continued' so suddenly you might find yourself with all of that negative discourse online
This is a really good point!! I think a good solution would be spreading out some of the resolution so it doesn’t all happen in one scene! But you’re right it does happen more, I think I was just blinded by how surprised I was that they did it here when the last two seasons haven’t done that 😂 thanks for watching!!
The whole season felt very rushed. The first half is forgivable - there is slow burn in the first two seasons so if you binge them beforehand, the quick pace is less jarring.
However, the second half is CRAMMED. There is too much between Polin to resolve at this point, and not only they are not given enough time and screen presence to work through it, the episodes are full of side stories and side characters that can easily be skipped (esp. Benedict's escapades, Mondrich family, even Violet's romance could be pushed towards the next season). On top of that they decided to add the whole social drama of the LW reveal. In result the whole story did not feel like a romance.
I wished they cut the side stories and gave us more moments between them - talking to each other, communicating, bonding. I would also skip the big reveal for the next season (e.g. as a mid-season finale or even push it further down) and just focus on Colin's grappling with the truth, keeping the drama personal between the couple, the finale being him admitting his jealousy to her, apologizing and promising that if it ever gets out he will be at her side.
So so unbelievable the show Colin (recall how ENAMORED he was when he gave the engagement ring to Pen) AVOIDING Pen for days and showing up to the wedding prep so as not to fetch questions from his mother. Even if he did find out about LW. He could've asked Pen for space-even in a letter- to process his feelings about LW (yes, we are still a team) instead of avoiding her as if she had the plague (yes, I am ruining your wedding, not mine, cause I'm forced to marry you now).
I thought Colin finds out she’s lw before the carriage scene in the book and shonda switched the order of things idk.😭 it’s all messed up
It felt like Penelope’s season instead of Colin and penelope. Like everyone else got character development instead of the male lead. I’m sorry to say this but it felt like they were trying to go this feminist rout and just didn’t give a f about Colin. Like I love the penelope stuff but what about Colin 😭 he’s a character of his own he has feelings and is very complex not just Penelope’s husband
@@amayarice2229
Thank you!! Exactly that😭
Luke is a great actor and they could have done a lot more with Colin, what a waste of potential.
Very unfulfilled to be honest.
They killed their ability to use Whistledown as a draw to the upcoming season. Season one and season two focused so much on the central couple but they wove in the Whistledown cliffhanger. They could have done this! If they had followed the book they could have focused this season on the reveal to Colin and the HEA then next season had the Ton/bounty situation.
I share the very same sentiment as you as in almost 100% specially the climax vibe writing.
I always said that it might have worked if this is a movie but if your in an 8 series episode, it just wont work. It seems like the drama was built too much that it felt hanging with so much little time were shown on how they resolve the great conflict together.
It was a nice show, loved the actors but there's too much drama that the romance and the friendship was overshadowed by the conflict.
People confuse that those of us ranting this says that we want them to be lovey dovey no issues vibe but no, there can be conflict and have the leads tackle it together. I believe that is what most of us who are ranting wants to have seen
I just did not find that part where the Queen finds her own hint very plausible. Her whole thing is like “yeah, you only responded when Cressida dissed the Bridgertons.” But they published at the same time?? They didn’t make it clear that it was separate times. One shows up in the morning, Mrs. Watson runs in with another five seconds later and Violet tells her that she already has the pamphlet. To which Mrs. Watson says, “a new one, ma’am.”
Both my mom and I were confused and side eyeing the tv. It doesn’t make sense in the way they chose to show it. It looks like both issues got written and published at the same time, but somehow Penelope has future sense and dissed Cressida??
This new girls writing sucks and I want the other writers back.
I agree. They should have worked through the issues together as a couple. It felt rushed and devoid of substance. However, nothing compared to the last two seasons of Game of Thrones. I hoped that showrunners out there have learned something from that one flop, but it seems to me that it's not the case
The thing that endeared me to this couple in the show was that they were a team and I enjoyed watching them work together (even on the shared mission of finding Pen a husband) and then the last four episodes they don’t work together At All. I like to think that when she told him “maybe that’s the key” and grabbed his hands that they went on scheming together. But alas that’s not how the show played out.
I also think they could have had Colin on her side before the big reveal to the Ton and saved the big reveal to the Ton for the next season (even the whole Cressida part). It would have been a Crazy cliffhanger to end it with Cressida finding out it was Pen!
I've been saying this everywhere, but at this point Bridgerton by Netflix stopped being an adaptation and it became a fanfiction.
Fully agreed, it’s not about telling a good story anymore , it’s about self-serving narratives & political agendas by a new dimwit showrunnner
I love their story in the books…
Dissatisfaction is a good way to describe the “meh” feeling the second half gave me. The way the show deviated from the books is definitely problematic and I have to say some of the things that are super important in the book got lost. There’s more than one time when Pen refers to the value of open communication and honesty in relationships in the book, and that is lost.
I have to say I agree with another commenter about the Eloise situation, and I was really upset at the end of the second season when that happened, concerned how they could proceed.
Another big difference is that when Polin get together in the books they are 28/33 years old. They have maintained a friendship over many years. In addition many of Pen’s circle have admiration for LW in the books, so when Lady Danbury puts a reward on LW to find her identity out they speak of her positively.
Colin being in the dark about LW prior to their entanglement is so problematic. If the idea is that he does a 180 and comes around they should have given us more tenderness and connections. Shown how his love was greater than his resentment. Instead he went from sticking up for Pen, to her mother, saying he always had her back, that he was not trapped, to then accusing Pen of purposefully trapping him. He was so cold to her in his anger…
The best “romantic” scene in the second half is easily outside of the modiste the night before their wedding… why could t we have anything else like that??
I saw a rumor that Cressida might be rewritten as Kate for Benedict’s season - she went off to live with an awful aunt, something about the chain in her hairstyle at the end of the season, and that a Benedict had a key on his waistcoat or something… I’m not sure how I feel about that either.
I was never on board with the idea of telling the audience who Lady Whistledown was in Season 1. I get it that many people who read the books already knew and that others would get spoiled, but some others would not. Also, that whole Eloise knowing plotline would've never needed to happen.
I don´t necessarily hate or dislike this season but I think there could´ve been MANY improvements. I liked part 1 definitely more than part 2. I feel like the reactions to this season are a really good mixture of valid criticism and lack of media literacy. Like there are still people complaining about Colins "rake" persona that "just doesn´t fit him" when that was the entire purpose you kow. But at the same time there IS valid criticism like too many subplots or Polin (and Colin himself) was pushed aside too often. I personally for example love that Benedict is bi but they could´ve executed his bisexuality (and his feeling of being lost and losing his passion for art) much much better, especially since he´s supposed to be our lead for the next season
This season bit mess to many side stories
Very good points in regard to the Book vs Show 👏🏻
I feel like you would enjoy watching my lady jane
The writing was bad: there was no tension nor stakes, so it was just kind of boring. Also, the full glam makeup with falsies and acrylics took me out every time 😅💅🏻
Those false lashes were absurd. They didn’t try to make them look real in any way, shape or form. I mean we all know these actors are wearing wigs and makeup etc etc, but could they not make it look so modern and fake?? Nicola is so gorgeous, false lashes were NOT needed. They were just distracting. Let us admire the masterpiece that is Nicola Coughlan’s face without those annoying (and not at all period accurate) additions.
Part the issue with LW in general is that they’ve made her way too important and much meaner than in the books. Making it harder to resolve. They wanted to resolve it similar to in the book but the consequences were much higher so it couldn’t be and they just kind of let her off and nothing happened. A realistic ending wouldn’t jive with the happily ever after of it all.
penelope and colin lacked so much communication skills it’s actually shocking bc if finding out that ur fiancé/wife has not only lied to u all this time, but is the person who’s wrote all these heinous things ab you, ur family, and the entirety of london has hurt … why not communicate that to her??? instead of sleeping on the couch pouting away, COMMUNICATE and tell her how u feel and how it hurt you so she can understand. but, no, instead the writers barely have colin be involved with the LW storylines and just suddenly forgive pen for being LW near the end when she confesses like …
All this series did was make me cringe and be left disappointed time and time again 😞😬I stuck with it until S3 Part 1 for the costumes and scenery which were very colourful and unique. I was nice to see them change Penelope’s wardrobe as she looked gorgeous but it stopped there as then some of the other characters costumes just went over the top like Queen Charlottes wigs (seriously a rotating cake topper in her wig 🙄) and Cressida’s sleeves (they could have been used as a parachute or a duster 🤣) that it was like watching a drag show. Like everything Hollywood these days bigger/more is not better. These people have no talent whatsoever in adapting anything to the screen without it becoming a daytime campy drama with absolutely no substance. They have wrecked this series for me so will not be watching this show again. Glad that others like this but I am done.
Just for funsies, an opposite view from the perspective of total outsider 😅 (I dont usually enjoy this kind of stories, romance is not my genre in general, I havent read any of the books and only watched the tv show because I was held prisoner by my flatmate who loves this stuff 😂)
For me this was the most enjoyable season this far. 🤔
The first season felt almost unwatchable for me, the second I liked a bit more (mainly because I liked two main actors so much) but problem with both those seasons (for me at least) was the story felt so numbingly predictable it made them boring. I could see where the story was heading from miles away and was able to predict basically every turn in advance.
This was the first season where I felt any kind of uncertainity about how things would play out, which made it instantly more interesting.
I never felt the main couple was sidelined in any way (could be because I dont know the source material and didnt know how much material they should have.) Only side story I had problems with was the one with club owners (dont remember names) since that one literally went nowhere.
Otherwise I found this suprisingly entertaning as a non-romance fan.
Maybe it's for all the reasons actual romance fans seem to dislike it, as my youtube algorithm seems determined to inform me for some unexplainable reason. 😂
You're probably right because for a long time I didn't want to watch Bridgeton because it looked like over the top romance, but this was the season that convinced me to watch the other ones.
I enjoyed watching this season also. I admit, there seemed to be a lot of side plots but I was ok with that. I rather enjoyed the Mondrich storyline actually. Only two aspects that I didn't like was the Benedict trio - didn't get the point of that, and not enough Polin scenes. I think that if there were more Polin scenes most fans would not have minded the side plots so much. If this show could do 10 episodes per season, that would give them room to give the main season leads more screen time. But sadly, that does not seem to be an option.
Glad you did this video. I share a lot of your feelings… about what bothered me about S3 and yet… I can look past it and find some other things to appreciate about the season.
I wonder if some of your issues would be resolved by watching the whole season without a 4-week break between parts 1 and 2. Because of the gap I kind of forgot how fast Colin and Penelope went from friends to engaged to being intimate, but it’s like less than 24 hours, which made me more sympathetic to Penelope not telling Colin about being Lady Whistledown beforehand. She was literally prepared to accept another man’s proposal the day before she slept with Colin for the first time, the girl has not had a chance to catch her breath.
I’m not a romance reader, so maybe that’s affected my opinion of the show, and of the book, but I hated book Colin. For like weeks after their marriage he just flat out shuts down whenever Penelope mentions LW to the point where she’s convinced he’s deeply ashamed of her and so she becomes ashamed of herself, and to me that’s why book Colin had to be the one to make the grand announcement to prove to her that he’s proud, because he made her feel awful. In the books, given how inconsequential LW is, this feels weird, like Colin is just an immature brat. I like that in the show Penelope is more confident in herself, because of Colin’s help, and she doesn’t want to give it up, he just needs time and space to figure it out.
I also didn’t find his confession surprising because they laid the foundation for it. First, we know that she explains at least part of her plan after Francesca’s wedding because he’s not surprised his mom got a letter and is prepared to walk her through it. We also saw him understanding Penelope’s motivations when talking to Cressida, but he’s still trying to separate Penelope and LW and is still jealous, so close but not there yet. Then we see him read her letters, which at first is just to have a connection with her, but I’m assuming in light of the the LW info, he sees a witty, confident side that her that he’d never noticed before and that’s what makes him realize she IS Whistledown, she’s always had this clever storytelling ability and that in fact that’s what made him love her letters so much and connect with her. This happens before the ball and the queens acceptance. The issue with this reveal is that it’s for televisions so they need to keep it suspenseful so we don’t see Penelope explaining her plan and any input Colin might have. They also have her interact with him last after the speech because they wanted to end with his love declaration and them dancing the night away, but it does give the impression that he wasn’t on board until after she’d been accepted by the Queen and the ton. I loved the season enough that I’m willing to overlook these issues but again I’m not usually a romance reader.
I read the book more recently but maybe I need to reread portions again because I don’t remember team Polin working together. I remember Colin bullying Penelope and being unreasonably angry at her. So I didn’t miss this plot point. I also didn’t feel like she worked with Eloise a lot in part 2. She does consult with her about publishing to discredit Cressida but this was never a moment for Polin in the books, and other than that there’s just the conversation while they are waiting for Colin to return from speaking with Cressida, which is more about establishing their their friendship is completely back, when Eloise asks her what she’s reading.
Finally, I read the book so knew the Cressida angle but I’ve watched a lot of reactions from people who didn’t read the books and none of them were confused by her motivations. I think the show set it up well, first with her conversation with Eloise about being engaged and how sad she is, then having the audience meet Greer and see how not only old but also horrible he is, and the disgust that he wants children still. We as the audience now firmly want Cressida to find a way out, so when everyone at the party starts talking about how LW wouldn’t need to get married, how no one would want her, how she could claim the queens reward, it’s not hard to imagine Cressida thinking it would work, you can literally see the cogs moving in her head as she plans it. Most people seemed surprised by the blackmail because they wanted a Cressida redemption arc. The blackmail didn’t surprise me, but I think people forgot that she tried to blackmail Daphne in season 1. To me, she backed herself into a corner and reverted back to a former trait, a very human reaction.
Sorry this response was so long!
Love the long comment don’t apologize!! I totally get what you’re saying here, I think it just depends on what kind of show Bridgerton wants to be if that makes sense!! To me a romance is about watching the characters fall in love/work through their differences and become a partnership, and here it just felt to me like it was more about Penelope and her emotional journey and Collin is off by himself with his own emotions and they just forgive each other at the end if that makes sense? But it’s just what you want out of the show, the drama was great and the plot was fun so if you’re not hooked on watching them bond it would be a fun watch and I totally get your take!!
I do think the one thing I disagree with is the rewatching thing - Netflix put out the show in this way so for most viewers there was a 4 week gap, so if that impacts the experience, they shouldn’t release it that way in my opinion!! Thanks for watching and the comment I really enjoyed reading it!! ❤️
@@meredithnovaco I wish Netflix hadn’t released it in two parts, my understanding is that it wasn’t written that way, it wasn’t meant to be broken down into two parts. I wish they’d done weekly releases if they didn’t want people to binge it all in one day, or wanted to spread out the content.
I also have to admit that I’ve had a hard time listening to some of the criticism about this season because I loved it so much, and I feel such a deep connection with the characters, but I really enjoyed your analysis. I’ll have to check out future videos.
YES so disappointing!! ❤
Preach! I actually cannot believe that they had s*x before the reveal! I hated that so much and for all the reason you mentioned..
Read the books the series is loosely based on the book. I have to admit I don't watch this show. I don't know why they buy a series of books change the characters and the plot. I guess I am just happy they haven't changed any of Jane Austin's books.
I watched because of your tag. I too was disappointed in the Polin story but was traumatized by the gender bender of Micheala. It made me forget about who the story was about. I know younger people like you don't care about gay stories but this changes all the rest of the series. Brownell made the story about her. This Franchesca book was one of my favorites. I do not think I will be watching. And that makes me sad. There is more to a gay story than love in the regency. It was a crime.
completely unrelated: red is SO your color 🥰🤞🏽
There has to be a petition out there somewhere... I'll sign.
penelope and eloise were the real love story of the show while colin was just there on the sidelines … 12:13
Commenting because i have the same shirt 👍
I’m actually really mad about Michael… this entire season was a huge let down and what they did to Michael (the best character in the book imo) was the straw that broke the camel’s back. This season turned Bridgerton into an adaptation of watpad fan fiction instead of the original books and I’m not going to watch anymore!
Yes. Yes to everything.
To be honest this whole season i was more interested in Cressida's story rather than Polin's
you kind of look like chappell roan 😛
Love the video. I haven't read the books. I wasn't reading romance when they were published so my only knowledge of the Bridgertons is the show, and . . . yeah, I'm done. I am 100% sure that the books are better than the show but there are so many things wrong with the adaptation that Bridgerton show has managed to make me not want to read the books. Watching the show I am continually distracted by the wardrobe and severe makeup mistakes. The makeup is incredibly bad. Too much. I actually understand Cresida's motivation for claiming to be Whistledown but what I cannot understand are her clothes and hair. What the hell is that on her head? Am I watching a circus? Is there something living in there? As far as the gender swap at the end - they should have introduced a new character/couple not changed Francesca so radically from the original because the current show runner is in a lesbian relationship and wanted to see it on screen. We all do but don't fundamentally change a main character. I found Eloise's character to be the most annoying person I've seen on screen since - I don't know. Someone will have to tell if she is like that in the books. I just wanted her to shut up and stop whining!!
Listen, you are not going to keep great talent season after season if you don’t give them something to do. So I understand why a tv show needs to have multiple storylines. However, and I felt this way in S2 also, the side storylines eat up too much of the time and take away from the central couple’s time and it’s frustrating. Side Note: I recently read that all the scenes with LN’s horrid wig were reshoots that the studio insisted on - and they were all the scenes I didn’t enjoy.
I just want the narration to go away, but I am foiled again.
I watched season 3 it was ok but it was great I probably won’t watch any more seasons
They changed more then a few
I was a super super super fan. This season devastated me. I was so excited to see a plus size women be centered in a genre I've always loved, historical romance. IT WAS TERRIBLY BORING, Penelope still got no real love. The sex scenes were so overhyped. I found the sex scenes terrible sorry.
no i sooo agree the sex scenes were not it!! im sorry it was so disappointing, they did not give it the care it deserved!!
So I haven’t watched bridgerton, but from the thumbnail, I’m guessing someone married his sister?
I was so disappointed by your review, it took me two minutes to turn it off.
The thing that endeared me to this couple in the show was that they were a team and I enjoyed watching them work together (even on the shared mission of finding Pen a husband) and then the last four episodes they don’t work together At All. I like to think that when she told him “maybe that’s the key” and grabbed his hands that they went on scheming together. But alas that’s not how the show played out.
I also think they could have had Colin on her side before the big reveal to the Ton and saved the big reveal to the Ton for the next season (even the whole Cressida part). It would have been a Crazy cliffhanger to end it with Cressida finding out it was Pen!