My Biggest Problem With Bridgerton Season 3
I wanna start by saying if you wanna stay in the positive reviews for Season 3 I totally get it, I have been too because I do truly enjoy season 3 and seeing people tear it apart sucks a lot and can take the joy out of it for some.
My biggest issue with the season and take on what could've been done slightly better will be below đĽ°
So I wanna start by laying out that I think the groundwork done in previous seasons really set up Penelope to have a story be flushed out and examined when it came time for her season. I think with Colin's character things were much more nuanced because it was a lot of internal work. But the main point is everything was lined up to have both of their characters reach good growth milestones within their season to wrap up their stories.
So going into season 3 I think for those of us who didn't read the books but knew the gist of what the story was about anticipated a certain level of attention put on Colin and how he had to come back into himself. He is a character known for trying to find himself, and we see it shown in trying to marry the first girl he remotely is interested in, trying to travel to find his purpose, trying to save his friends family, traveling again for more purpose, and then when he returns to the ton and has put on a facade. So when we finished the season my annoyance was that there was not much emphasis on Colin's journey.
They dove into Penelope's extensively, her battle to be seen, to have her purpose with Lady Whistledown and letting herself be loved. But Colin, we the viewer are so set up to misunderstand him this season which is why I don't blame anyone for not grasping his character at all because they don't give us a ton to work with.
Personally, as much as I adore Penelope's character and her importance to the narrative, her character got more growth and attention than Colin did and it was technically his season as he is the "Bridgerton" in question. I truly don't think that Jess or the writers knew what to do with him to get the audience to understand his story without centering it more around Penelope's perspective. I mean the big emotional moments of the story are centered around the Featheringtons, healing the relationship with her mother, healing the relationship with her sisters etc. Which is amazing I loved it, but also I felt like Colin was just kinda.... there. Especially in the second half.
So here is a list of a few things that I think could have improved the way we see Colin's emotional journey throughout the season (I will remind you again I have not read the book so take this with a grain of salt if it is super inaccurate to that).
Flashbacks: Both previous seasons give us flashbacks for the male leads, I think that it could've been useful here as well. A few that would have been nice to see would be Colin when he is younger with his brothers older and him feeling lost in the middle of them and Daphne. Colin and Pen when they were much younger laughing/speaking candidly to each other as they got older. Or flashbacks to Edmond and Violet because we know they were friends to lovers too, perhaps this is how Colin knows what love truly is.
Colin Traveling: I think a flashback to Colin on his travels and showing him receiving no letters from his family, alone in some city and trying to find comfort in a woman/ trying to find a connection but instead it's just sex/flirting and seducing someone. - I think this would have been much more impactful than having him in a brothel right away. He clearly doesn't love being there, he is there because he wants the connection that he lacks and this is the easiest way to get it. So if we got some context into why Colin comes back a different person, I think it would make it easier for people to understand this version of himself he puts on and make it more impactful when he stops acting this way and realizes he loves Pen.
Narrating: I know the only narrator we ever have is Lady Whistledown but I think it could have been an interesting parallel to have Colin narrate more of his journal entries as the Lady Whistledown discovery happens so that we can better understand how he feels about things. I've seen quotes from the book and it seems like a great deal of the realizations happen completely in Colin's head and we can always infer things based on actions and thats fine, but I think we would have had a deeper understanding of his inner workings if we had got this instead of Colin just sitting at his desk staring or writing and guessing at what he could be thinking/feeling based on past experience.
Give them more scenes: Everyone has been saying it but it's true. I think there are some spots that could have been longer conversations or just a conversation in general. For example: When Colin walks in on Penelope getting changed and we get that longing moment from Colin, I wish Pen would have asked him to stay or something of that essence, and then we could have gotten a heart to heart moment where Penelope lets Colin explain what he is feeling about this situation a little bit more, the war between loving her wanting her but also feeling betrayed. Even if it still ended in them not being on the same page and him sleeping on the couch I think it would have given us another scene that isn't as heated especially post their wedding and how it ended. They were almost coming to an understanding until the queen was there and I think having that raw conversation soon after would have been impactful for his character arc.
Last Convo with Violet Bridgerton: Something I was confused about in Ep08 was that we saw Colin prepare to sit his mother down and explain that Penelope is Whistledown after Pen send her a letter. And instead of seeing that we see the Featherington sisters excited by the details of their ball (fun but also I think the other conversation is more meaningful and that scene could have been shorter or just cut and instead explained when guests got to the ball). Violet is a major catalyst for the previous Bridgerton siblings and their story arcs. She is a binding force, a motivator, and usually the one that gives her child the words of advice/moment that is most needed. I know we got the Kate older sister moment about secrets with Colin which I loved, but I think for Colin's character who has long been a mamas boy sensitive one it would have hit hard to have one more scene with Mama Bridgerton. Especially because in part 1 we have two big conversations between the two of them: when she tells him that her and Edmund had the courage to ask in order to break from friends into lovers, and then when she tells him he's always been the sensitive one worrying for others and that Penelope might be getting proposed to. Both of those moments were catalysts for his next actions both emotionally and physically. So imagine a last conversation with her, him explaining not just who Pen is, but his own feelings hes been dealing with, letting the other person he has trusted with his feelings the most hear the worries that have plagued his mind for the past weeks since hes found out. Explaining his worry for Pen's safety, his families safety, and his feelings of betrayal and jealousy; Violet Bridgerton would absolutely know the perfect thing to say in that moment that helps get Colin over that last small obstacle. Because truly, we don't get Colin having a full heart to heart with anyone who knows who Whistledown is besides Eloise, and Eloise just asks if he can ever forgive Pen, but we need someone older, someone Colin trusts to give him advice and hold these complicated feelings and honestly Eloise was never going to be that character for him. We needed Mama Bridgerton, to lovingly hold her sons thoughts and feelings and tell him that it is okay that he felt betrayed by the person he knew best, that it's okay that he is perhaps a little jealous of her success, but that it was also okay to love her and forgive her. But also re-affirm to Colin that she is proud of him and he is capable of the success and purpose he strives for too. As well as put Colin's mind at ease in terms of how she accepts Penelope as Lady Whistledown, having his mothers approval of it may help him accept it too. Violets approval, Violets words of understanding and assurance would help untangle the confusing thoughts that then lead Colin to that final confession of love. It would make that scene all the more impactful knowing then more about the feelings that tangled through him that we are now privy to because he spoke about them to his mother, we would now understand more fully the emotional journey he had to go on to get to that point of forgiveness and understanding.
Make up scene: I think I speak for most of the #polin community when I say that we needed a longer makeup sex scene. I think with this new found understanding, post his admission of love and purpose that was so heartfelt and beautiful, it would have been all the better with a slightly longer scene where we perhaps got a few more lines of dialogue with these two. We needed a true makeup scene where they are giggly and happy that things are finally good and they can just be truly in love with each other once again without the angst between each other. I think this would have been very satisfying story wise when taking into account that (imaging that flashback scene to Colin on his travels) Colin starts so disconnected from who he is and very lonely, but would then end having been connected to his purpose and to the person he loves who loves him just as equally.
Ultimately I love Colin and his character and I do believe we got a lot of great moments with him, however I can't help but have wished to have more. I hope that next season we get a cute, sexy, domestic side story with him and Pen where we can see him be the Colin "my wife" Bridgerton that we all love.
Let me know if any of these points you also thought could work and maybe I write them into a fic of some sort đĽ˛đŤ Thanks for reading all my little thoughts đđĽ°
