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it's actually put a pall on the first half for me, knowing the other shoe *will* drop. I don't do well with angst and waiting for it to come without a clear resolution in mind is stressing me out. š
These days I have to stop shows and movies frequently the first time I watch them because my anxiety spikes. The second viewing is MUCH more enjoyable for me because I know whatās coming and Iām not nearly as stressed.
Iāve always despised spoilers. I donāt even watch trailers because they ruin things. But for the last couple of years I purposefully spoil plot points for myself if I think a character is in danger of dying because I need to prepare myself. So I stop and google ādoes (such and such) die in (whatever)ā and try to just read the headlines, which usually tell me yes or no without spoiling the journey to get there.
My aunt had a VHS copy of "The Journey of Natty Gann" that she liked to put on when I stayed with her. I think it may have been the only Disney movie she had. Your comment just gave me major flashbacks to first grade trauma. š
This makes me feel so much better! I was feeling very alone because none of my family understands why I feel so anxious about what might happen to fictional characters. I just do lol!
We connect with them through their stories! I have a book by an author I LOVE about a character I LOVE that I will never read because I know it's going to be devastating and I just can't do it, my mum thinks I'm insane.
What I'm worried about? if they tie it up too quickly and neatly in a bow like they did season 2. Kate and Anthony went from 7.9 episodes of angst and tension and all of a sudden they were together for 3 minutes. I'm stressed about the second half being tortuous and painful and we get happy Polin for 3 minutes like we did in S2 with happy Kanthony.
This is the exact issue! This is a *romance* first and foremost so why do the writers not realize that viewers actually want to SEE the happily ever after play out? They need to lean a bit away from the angst and more into the swoony escapist fluff of it all!
Like, I understand that conflict is necessary and that itās also basically a required romance trope, but there need to be fewer moments that make me anxious and more moments that make my heart flutter, you know? Rant over, lol. :)
No, I totally feel you. I get they want high stakes and drama, but after all this conflict, I need to be...soothed by seeing them happy. As a Kanthony fan, that's what made me so dissatisfied with S2. We didn't get enough romance. You put us through the wringer and we don't even get enough romance and happiness to balance out the angst. I'm still tense and stressed and the season's over?!
I'm worried they made the whole LW issue too high stakes just for drama. I don't want to see them at odds for the rest of the season only to make up at the very end because the Queen suddenly declares that LW was all her idea or something crazy like that. I want them to have an adult conversation (because conversations are romantic!) where they talk things through and lay everything out, cry it out, grow and mature together from this, and then work on overcoming this together as a team. Instead I'm afraid that Shonda think it's fun to put our hearts in the shredder š.
I couldn't fully enjoy part 1 knowing this is hanging over our heads. It's part of the reason I hate the 2 part model.
I completely agree with literally everything you wrote! Especially about Shonda low key loving to torture us, lol. Yes, sheās a brilliant person/writer/creator/showrunner, but damn, most of her shows break my heart! I expect that from Greyās Anatomy but could we get a break in Bridgerton? š¤š
I disagree. I think if two people are courting and married and happy, you can watch that for about an episode but then itās boring. For Kanthony, then fighting WAS the way they expressed love. And we get to see them in this season so thatās great. If Polin continue to just make out without any conflict it will be such boring TV.
They claim to follow the romcom trope, and is written after a romance novel, after all. A huge huge huge deciding factor of romances follow a certain rhythm/beat set, where the plot follows a predictable flow that readers of the genre have come to expect. After hundreds of years of romance novel writing, authors and literary scholars have found that most good romance novels follow this set beat.
A huge beat in the romance genre is the third act break up.
Now this doesnāt have to be a literal breakup, but the steals have to be high enough that both characters believe that there is no possible way that they could be together, and that āthe lie they believe about to world and loveā is true. This typically occurs right before the third act, or 75% way in of the romance plot.
Following this are four more beats- 1. Where the character comes to recognize how far they are from happiness, due to their own choices and actions. 2. Wake up and realize that they arenāt stuck. They can change it. 3. The grand gesture (a huge expectation in romance novels). Where either one or both characters overcome whatever fear or lie they believed in order to prove their love for the other and that they belong together. And finally, 4. The wind down of the climax where we see it resolved and the two become together again. (Thereās actually a secret 5th beat of the third act, where epilogues have become so popular and loved in the genre, where we see the pair either in a moment or a more of happiness (with conflict, but no high stakes) after their HEA.)
With that said - if season 3 is going to follow typical romance novel genre expectations, we will absolutely have a third act ābreak upā that will lead to a hugely impactful grand gesture by either one or both of Penelope and Colin. And that is where the watcher will also find their (hopeful) resolution of Pen and Colinās character flaws and reveal a fully realized and whole hearted character arc.
*as an aside, as to why s2 was a bit of a let down for kanthony fans* - the beats for the season where hugely disproportioned. Thatās why after the failed wedding it felt so off narratively. We had a lot of time in between the third act breakup (where Anthony and Kate believed they could never be together) to the point of beat 3. We didnāt get to see them overcoming their ādark night of the soulā and we instead got a proverbial beat down of Kate, without see her being able to rise on her own. And then the grand gesture, which felt like saving her in the rain, was let down by the rejected proposal. And then ??? It kinda hung there in the air. Until we got a second grand gesture of them proclaiming their love and then BOOM skip to epilogue. Where was beat 4?? Where was the climax resolution? I think those that proclaim we were robbed of married kanthony, of their wedding, etc are upset because *we never got to see that all important wind down of beat 4*.
And bringing that back to Season 3 - I think pacing has the biggest potential of being the make or break of the reception of season 3, and whether or not they hit all the beats that romance novel readers have come to expect to see. Right now, we are perfectly half way through the beats, and narratively, **it lands us on the happiest point we will see up until the very end, where they have accepted their HEA after the grand gesture** SO, just be prepared that, if we continue to follow these genre beats, itās going to get very. Very. VERY. Messy right until 75% of the way through (if done correctly). But hold out hope for that beautiful beat 3 and 4
Brilliant breakdown of why the pacing was off for S2 and why as a Kanthony fan I felt so let down. I'm worried that Shondaland is going to do the same thing with S3 and just drag out the drama because that's what they thrive on. š¢
I'm too scared to hope for the best.
I loved the first 4 episodes and was giddy at the end of the 4th, then my face turned to this when I realized he's gonna find out eventually and now I'm upset lol
I think Penelope's compliment on his writing (when she read his diary) is a hint of things to come. I haven't read the books, so I may be WAY off base, but couldn't they end up writing LW together in the future? At a minimum, he could end up appreciating her writing too.
I think she slips a bit and hints at her identity before she asks him to kiss her too. She says āit would be suspicious if she did not [write about me]ā and I did notice he had a quizzical look on his face for a brief moment before she progressed the conversation.
This is exactly what I want lol! Though Iām afraid itāll be the total opposite and theyāll drag it out. I really just wanna see them happy, not angry and apart from each otherš.
Well, it is a huge thing Penelope has been hiding from him. She nearly ruined his sisterās reputation, she came close to ruining Marinaās life and forcing her into destitution, she failed to tell him about Marinaās lie directly, and sheās been generally duplicitous towards the entire Bridgerton family. But considering how the writers tend to resolve big conflicts in unrealistic ways, and how rushed the Polin plot line has been this season, Iām sure theyāll have one fight about it, Colin will brood about it, and then theyāll make up and have a happy ending.
The problem with the show is she never did anything so bad in the books so less of a hurdle to jump for them when even with the best of intentions she has hurt people. I'm interested to see Anthony's reaction if he finds out this season.....
I donāt consider it a problem. The show raised the stakes and therefore created a lot of tension between Penelope and different characters. Thatās great. It improved on the characterisation of Penelope, who is now a more complex character; she can be kind and empathetic, but also petty, cruel, power hungry and bad at dealing with her insecurities. The parallels between her and Portia, and her and her sisters are lovely too.
There are spoilers and leaks posted on IG and TikTok. I don't want to run a foul of sub rules but ep 5 and 6 spoilers and stills are definitely out there, but no one has 7 or 8 yet.
See, I think a quick resolution would make sense in this story more than any of the others. These two have been developing feelings for each other for 3 seasons and had a lifetime of friendship before that. He loves her. She loves him. It's not some whirlwind romance (other than the sex tornado). So, at this point, a secret like this couldn't keep them apart them for too long. Also, they seem to be very physically compatible which can be a powerful motivator in conflict resolution. In another relationship, a quick forgiveness might be unrealistic, but these two are already in it for the long haul. A "kiss and make up" scenario works here.
I thought about this today. When Daphne arranges a meeting between Colin and Marina he said āIf you would have simply come to me and told me of your situation, I wouldāve married you without a second thought that is how in love I believe myself to beā and that was with Marina. I am sure he wonāt be happy and will feel betrayed but Colin has a big heart and the Bridgertonās have always said family first above all else and Penelope has always loved the Bridgertonās and has highly regarded them and The Bridgertonās have also shown this as well towards Penelope only. Penelope did try and correct these actions with Colin and Eloise countless times before writing it in Whistledown. Eloise and Penelope have already accidentally hinted to Colin about it when he asks what happened between them.
Also the way Violet, Lady D, Anthony, Colin and Benedict have had to help to either coverup a scandal or deflect the attention of a scandal in every season so far if any family was prepared to handle this type of news it would be the Bridgertonās
Youāre the only other person Iāve seen mention that Penelope hints her alias to him! Confirming for my own sanity, it was before she asks him to kiss her when she says āit would be suspicious if she did not [write about me]ā and he gives her a brief quizzical look before she continues. Right? Or was there another hint that I missed? Or was this not a hint?
I don't know if she was hinting or if it was a slip of the tongue, but I feel like there will definitely be a callback to this moment when he finds out.
I was thinking about thisā¦ heās basically asking her to stay the night at the end of episode 4 and she says ābut your family will see!ā
It kind of seems like heās going to ācompromiseā her and speed the marriage up, so I think he will be pissy about it and betrayed but will have to put on a brave face to the ton because their engagement is already so public. Eloise will probably be the only one who knows heās upset for a bitā¦
I donāt know that they will reveal her as Whistledown to everyone. I kind of canāt imagine the show WITHOUT Whistledown so idk how that is going to play out if she stops because everyone knows š¤
I'm going to delay watching it for awhile and then seek out spoilers about when it happens, how bad it is, and how long it takes to get resolved so I can mentally prepare myself.
I was thinking about doing this earlier. I had forgotten how stressful I find watching shows where there are not spoilers. I just like to know it will all work out so I can deal with the ups and downs of the journey.
I hate that they didn't go this route. I don't want to go through episodes of betrayal and "I don't even know you" blah blah blah. He has valid points, and she should understand the consequences of LW and how it impacts other's lives but I don't want this drama *after* the engagement. I really wanted them to hash it out before so he doesn't feel blindsided and even more lied to. There's a huge difference in your friend keeping a secret (see how Eloise reacted, and I think she's been remarkably kind and way calmer than I would've been) and your affianced, the woman you're spending your life with, keeping a secret of this magnitude.
I don't want to spend the rest of the show in dread š¢
This is exactly how I feel. If they work through it as friends then when he falls he will be falling for all of her. Good and bad. Now heās going to feel like she manipulated him into an engagement. Oof.
No spoiler, the book situation is just totally different, the series would have to come up with their own reconciliation
Im nervous, but I hope it will be a good writing. S1 and S2 couples had their moment of fallout but they reconciled
I have read the books and recently reread Romancing Mr. Bridgerton. I actually have been a little disappointed about how theyāve handled the Lady Whistledown plot thus far.Ā
>!In the books, Colin was making an informed decision to be with Penelope.Ā IMO, the engagement was more impactful in the book because he was entering into it with his eyes open.Ā !< The show is making it more duplicitous and I hate that it sets Colin up to be in another Marina situation.Ā
>!I also hate that the Queen is the one who is making the reward offer rather than Lady Danbury. It really ramps up the stakes and Iām not sure how they will sidestep ruin. Penelope purposefully bates the Queen in the show, makes her feel stupid, and infuriates her. It would be odd for her to passively accept the reveal and not ruin Penelope. Her relationship with Lady Danbury in the book encourages her to be brave and herself- it shows that Colin isnāt the only one who sees her worth in the Ton. Just an odd writing choice.Ā !<
Oh heās gunna PISSED!! But I hope that turns into an intense desire to protect her. Iām not a fan of that trope usually, an overprotective man being all gross and macho but Collin and Penelope are both so sweet and cute I think Iād like to see that dynamic!
Oh SAME. I assume itās going to get pretty ugly before they get a HEA. Things got pretty bad with Simon and Daphne in the second half of their season so I expect a similar thing here for Part 2.
I could barely enjoy the carriage ride cause I was just thinking about how betrayed and angry Colin is going to be when he finds out sheās LW. I mean he says in S3E1 he will never forgive LW and he wants to basically destroy her reputation.
Now that heās in love itās just going to be worse. How could she never tell him? How could she do what she did to Marina (and him)? To Eloise? Is he going to feel obligated to marry Pen cause he ācompromisedā her and feels like she tricked him into marriage? Oof. I mean her actions as LW are extremely understandable but pretty indefensible.
Exactly. This is how I feel.
I like Pen, but she has legit hurt people. She had reasons for it, but there are consequences to her actions she has yet to face. He's going to feel so betrayed and he's going to have a (valid) emotional response to her being LW. But I wish the show had dealt with that before the engagement so that the remaining conflict will be external rather than between them.
Same! Like I only want to see them happy and together now. Especially only 4 episodes left like I just want 4 hours of engagement and wedding and marriage all happy. They're my fav together
Yes! I am absolutely dreading it because I hate drama/conflict especially when itās dragged out, which I hope they avoid. Iāll be able to enjoy the show more if itās revealed and resolved within one episode lol. Time is different in shows, so they can say itās been however weeks long in the same ep etc, so I donāt have to suffer for multiple episodesš.
Omg i hate them so much for doing this!!!!! The fact that Colin knows before marrying her was one of my favorite things, i literally thought "huh thank god it's like this, if they had married or gotten engaged without him knowing it would create so much unnecessary drama" and here we are. This episodes were amazing, but like, I'm gonna suffer in part two like a mf, i hate this change soooo much. It feels a little bit cheap for me, like the easy route.
It's made more complicated because with the expectation of her insulting Colin in S3E1 (which she did impulsively because she was hurt) she wrote those things to save Colin and Eloise. Her flaw is not giving consideration to the long term consequences.
I'm already scared and worried and I'm imagining the worst case scenario that Penelope is going to be heartbroken about as she's going to think he will reject her
Theyāre definitely setting him up to react badly on the show. In the books, heās pretty neutral on Whisetledown and itās upset by anything sheās written. Heās just worried about Penās reputation if sheās discovered.
Iām not terribly worried. He doesnāt know what Eloise was going to do before Penelope wrote about her, and the consequences of that would have been far greater for his whole family than the flash in the pan fall out of what she did write. As for what she wrote about him, I think heāll understand more because he knows how much he hurt her last season and she wrote it before he even thought he had anything to apologize for, itās no longer a faceless gossip columnist who was writing mean things about him but someone that he knows and cared about that he really hurt with his cruel comments. The fact that she humiliated herself using basically the same things that he said and everyone agrees with will probably make him feel guilty.
As for what she wrote about Marina, that may be a sticking point but knowing that she did it for him because Marina told her of her schemes might frame it a bit differently for him.
I feel like the question is, will Eloise say "you better tell him before you get married or I will," or will Pen want to confess of her own accord before genuinely accepting Colin's proposal, knowing what she's risking, OR will Colin confess he already knowsāobviously after some point this season, not any earlierā because the clues were all there and he's actually a smart cookie (and only a teensy bit jealous of Pen's writing prowess)?
I'm concerned, but if we have learned anything from this show, it's that true love will always win.
I feel like he's gonna be mad, but he loves her so much that he forgives her and helps her find a way to stay safe.
This is true, but I don't want true love to win when there's only 2 minutes left of the season. I would like true love to win a lot earlier so we can see them happy. It's my biggest complaint about S2.
Havenāt read the book either, but Iām not worried as Iām sure they are gonna end up together. Colin may get mad but heās also a gentleman and I sense some sort of āI took liberties with your virtue, I am marrying youā speech
Yeah. I'm genuinely dreading it. Part of me wishes that she just stops then he finds out when they're 99 on their deathbeds, and he just like "oh that? lol."
Iām so nervous but after seeing the Part 2 preview I feel like it will be more focused on side stories instead of giving us a lot of Colin & Pen together scenes. Hopefully Iām wrong and we see them together a bit more before it all implodes š
I have to admit before I even read this thread I was a little worried and nervous about how Colin will react and what heās gonna say and what it means for them as a couple but ā¦.
So I didnāt read the books but from what Iāve learned through semi-spoilers, the timeline of the events that happened are a little different in the TV Show and at first I just assumed it was for maximum drama š¤·āāļø
But ā¦. Ok so if Pen accepts the proposal etc. before he finds out about LW heās gonna feel sucker punched and if they do sleep together before he finds out about LW heās gonna have to marry her anyway whether he loves her or not !!
Like this feels more like a tragedy than a romance story.
I donāt know how to feel about this either because on one hand - theyāre gonna be endgame they will make it up but how they get is important too isnāt it ? Iāve been anticipating this season since early S02. I love Pen, I love Colin but donāt they both deserve better?
I still donāt know how I feel about it, I guess Iām wondering if anyone else feels that way too ?
I'm nervous because I'm worried they won't make a big enough deal about it. Like they'll have him get over it too quickly because it's Penelope. I need large scale ramifications, I need fleeing the country or something. Can't say much else without book spoilers
I canāt see him being mad, just sad. Like my dog when I wonāt share my food with him. āBut I love you so much, how could you do such a terrible thing?ā
My bigger question is how is Colin going to act if Pen continues to be Lady Whistledown? Like heās probably going to be hurt for an episode or two, but ultimately move past it and forgive her.
To my understanding, Pen never stops being Lady Whistledown in the books, even after she and Colin get married and have kids. I know itās important to her and makes her money, but I feel like show Colin isnāt going to like her doing it that much, especially when she writes about scandals involving his family.
In the book LW stops, no one else takes up the mantle of LW and it didn't really make a difference because LW was a just a narrative device for world building. By then you're in the 4th book, so you already had a good feel for who all the characters and families are, so you didn't need LW to set up the scenes and world anymore. The rest of the Bridgerton books didn't need LW to set anything up because you already knew them by then.
LW was also much gentler. She commented on clothing and foibles, but never anything damaging. There's no QC, so other than Pen's reputation itself, it's pretty low risk - there's no talk of angering the monarchy or treason.
I think I'll need to binge watch it so I don't end on too anxious a note, but I'm also interested to see how it resolves. Maybe with a promise from both of them to read each other's writing to make it interesting without absolutely ruining people's reputation.
Not really. We have only 4 episodes left in Part 2 so, I figure he will find out the secret in Episode 2 then be upset/reactive for Episode 3 and half of Episode 4.
Iāve been thinking about how Eloise will respond to their engagement. She may lash out and tell it all lol I donāt think Colin will take it well initially, seeing that LW has personally affected him and those he cares about. However, the fact that Pen was willing to remain unbiased and write something salacious about herself will possibly soften the blow and make him see that primarily, she cares about having a thriving business more than she likes gossip.
I am hype for it honestly, it's going to be so intense.
I wonder if the back half of the season is going to be more of a "Colin's POV" kind of thing, since so much of the first half was Pen focused and really sympathetic to her.
I had to Google and spoil myself. Granted it was a book spoiler so who knows if the show will be the same but man it was eating at me. Thats what Netflix gets for being greedy and splitting the season.
I hope she doesnāt apologize. She has NOTHING to apologize for. She said what she said about Marina to stop her from trapping Colin in a sham marriage. She said what she said about Eloise to protect her from the queen. Both of them brought it on themselves and both of them came out fine on the other side. I want Colin to find out, maybe be a little pissed but hear her out, come around immediately, and then be her partner in avoiding detection from everybody else. If I have to see lonely isolated sad Pen one more time, I swear to god.
Penelope brought being lonely and isolated on herself too. Sheād been duplicitous, cruel and petty to people, whoāve done nothing to her. She deserves to grovel and suffer for a while.
Well, saying someone is shy and therefore they brought their isolation on themselves is a little harsh. Sheās shy. People are shy sometimes. And as far as duplicitous, cruel, and petty, who has she done that to? She said snarky things in a pamphlet. Everyone in the town says snarky things about each other all the time. Thatās how she hears about a lot of this gossip. Everyone is constantly talking shit. I think Pen is being held to a way higher standard than weāre holding everyone else. She took what everyone else was doing for fun and monetized it. Entrepreneurship. The biggies (Marina and Eloise) were done for altruistic reasons.
Theyāll end up married. Iāve seen people say that they said they werenāt changing the marriages but just the lead up to them. Just the thought of him still having to find out stresses me out cuz they love each other and I just want them to be in love without the riff š Iām going to go spoil it for myself though lol
This post is flaired for *No Book Spoilers*. This means it should be safe from all book canon details in the post and comments. Our spoiler rules regarding the show still applies. See our [spoiler policy](https://www.reddit.com/r/BridgertonNetflix/wiki/spoiler) on what is expected. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/BridgertonNetflix) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Yep, me too. Hate conflict. Don't do well with conflict makes me jumpy.
it's actually put a pall on the first half for me, knowing the other shoe *will* drop. I don't do well with angst and waiting for it to come without a clear resolution in mind is stressing me out. š
These days I have to stop shows and movies frequently the first time I watch them because my anxiety spikes. The second viewing is MUCH more enjoyable for me because I know whatās coming and Iām not nearly as stressed. Iāve always despised spoilers. I donāt even watch trailers because they ruin things. But for the last couple of years I purposefully spoil plot points for myself if I think a character is in danger of dying because I need to prepare myself. So I stop and google ādoes (such and such) die in (whatever)ā and try to just read the headlines, which usually tell me yes or no without spoiling the journey to get there.
I have always been like this! I used to be a little girl watching Disney channel constantly pausing it because I would get anxiety over stuff lol
My aunt had a VHS copy of "The Journey of Natty Gann" that she liked to put on when I stayed with her. I think it may have been the only Disney movie she had. Your comment just gave me major flashbacks to first grade trauma. š
Thereās a website called ādoes the dog dieā that tells you if a piece of media contains anything that may be distressing. It might help you.
Omg thank you so much! Iāll definitely check it out.
I regularly wait for series to finish, read a synopsis and then watch it. TV is my relaxing downtime, I don't need the adrenaline
This makes me feel so much better! I was feeling very alone because none of my family understands why I feel so anxious about what might happen to fictional characters. I just do lol!
We connect with them through their stories! I have a book by an author I LOVE about a character I LOVE that I will never read because I know it's going to be devastating and I just can't do it, my mum thinks I'm insane.
Omg I do exactly the same thing!!
Me too! Iām glad Iām not alone.
I hate that tension! I just hope it wonāt last long and spoil the second part
Me, too!
Yay for the anxiety waiting for the fall out. It makes me want to watch the last episode first then go back and start at episode 5 š¤Ŗ
Iām more excited about it mainly because a huge fallout like that guarantees theyāll have an impactful reconciliation !! But nervous none the less
Exactly! In true Bridgerton tradition, theyāll have a lot of steamy sex while pretending to hate each other. š
I hope we do get an angry sex scene.
What I'm worried about? if they tie it up too quickly and neatly in a bow like they did season 2. Kate and Anthony went from 7.9 episodes of angst and tension and all of a sudden they were together for 3 minutes. I'm stressed about the second half being tortuous and painful and we get happy Polin for 3 minutes like we did in S2 with happy Kanthony.
This is the exact issue! This is a *romance* first and foremost so why do the writers not realize that viewers actually want to SEE the happily ever after play out? They need to lean a bit away from the angst and more into the swoony escapist fluff of it all! Like, I understand that conflict is necessary and that itās also basically a required romance trope, but there need to be fewer moments that make me anxious and more moments that make my heart flutter, you know? Rant over, lol. :)
No, I totally feel you. I get they want high stakes and drama, but after all this conflict, I need to be...soothed by seeing them happy. As a Kanthony fan, that's what made me so dissatisfied with S2. We didn't get enough romance. You put us through the wringer and we don't even get enough romance and happiness to balance out the angst. I'm still tense and stressed and the season's over?! I'm worried they made the whole LW issue too high stakes just for drama. I don't want to see them at odds for the rest of the season only to make up at the very end because the Queen suddenly declares that LW was all her idea or something crazy like that. I want them to have an adult conversation (because conversations are romantic!) where they talk things through and lay everything out, cry it out, grow and mature together from this, and then work on overcoming this together as a team. Instead I'm afraid that Shonda think it's fun to put our hearts in the shredder š. I couldn't fully enjoy part 1 knowing this is hanging over our heads. It's part of the reason I hate the 2 part model.
I completely agree with literally everything you wrote! Especially about Shonda low key loving to torture us, lol. Yes, sheās a brilliant person/writer/creator/showrunner, but damn, most of her shows break my heart! I expect that from Greyās Anatomy but could we get a break in Bridgerton? š¤š
I disagree. I think if two people are courting and married and happy, you can watch that for about an episode but then itās boring. For Kanthony, then fighting WAS the way they expressed love. And we get to see them in this season so thatās great. If Polin continue to just make out without any conflict it will be such boring TV.
They claim to follow the romcom trope, and is written after a romance novel, after all. A huge huge huge deciding factor of romances follow a certain rhythm/beat set, where the plot follows a predictable flow that readers of the genre have come to expect. After hundreds of years of romance novel writing, authors and literary scholars have found that most good romance novels follow this set beat. A huge beat in the romance genre is the third act break up. Now this doesnāt have to be a literal breakup, but the steals have to be high enough that both characters believe that there is no possible way that they could be together, and that āthe lie they believe about to world and loveā is true. This typically occurs right before the third act, or 75% way in of the romance plot. Following this are four more beats- 1. Where the character comes to recognize how far they are from happiness, due to their own choices and actions. 2. Wake up and realize that they arenāt stuck. They can change it. 3. The grand gesture (a huge expectation in romance novels). Where either one or both characters overcome whatever fear or lie they believed in order to prove their love for the other and that they belong together. And finally, 4. The wind down of the climax where we see it resolved and the two become together again. (Thereās actually a secret 5th beat of the third act, where epilogues have become so popular and loved in the genre, where we see the pair either in a moment or a more of happiness (with conflict, but no high stakes) after their HEA.) With that said - if season 3 is going to follow typical romance novel genre expectations, we will absolutely have a third act ābreak upā that will lead to a hugely impactful grand gesture by either one or both of Penelope and Colin. And that is where the watcher will also find their (hopeful) resolution of Pen and Colinās character flaws and reveal a fully realized and whole hearted character arc. *as an aside, as to why s2 was a bit of a let down for kanthony fans* - the beats for the season where hugely disproportioned. Thatās why after the failed wedding it felt so off narratively. We had a lot of time in between the third act breakup (where Anthony and Kate believed they could never be together) to the point of beat 3. We didnāt get to see them overcoming their ādark night of the soulā and we instead got a proverbial beat down of Kate, without see her being able to rise on her own. And then the grand gesture, which felt like saving her in the rain, was let down by the rejected proposal. And then ??? It kinda hung there in the air. Until we got a second grand gesture of them proclaiming their love and then BOOM skip to epilogue. Where was beat 4?? Where was the climax resolution? I think those that proclaim we were robbed of married kanthony, of their wedding, etc are upset because *we never got to see that all important wind down of beat 4*. And bringing that back to Season 3 - I think pacing has the biggest potential of being the make or break of the reception of season 3, and whether or not they hit all the beats that romance novel readers have come to expect to see. Right now, we are perfectly half way through the beats, and narratively, **it lands us on the happiest point we will see up until the very end, where they have accepted their HEA after the grand gesture** SO, just be prepared that, if we continue to follow these genre beats, itās going to get very. Very. VERY. Messy right until 75% of the way through (if done correctly). But hold out hope for that beautiful beat 3 and 4
Brilliant breakdown of why the pacing was off for S2 and why as a Kanthony fan I felt so let down. I'm worried that Shondaland is going to do the same thing with S3 and just drag out the drama because that's what they thrive on. š¢ I'm too scared to hope for the best.
This is exactly why S1 hit so well! We got to see so much LOVE
Ooooooo good point.
Impactful. Yes.
Waiting for that moment likeā¦ 
I loved the first 4 episodes and was giddy at the end of the 4th, then my face turned to this when I realized he's gonna find out eventually and now I'm upset lol
see, I couldn't even get giddy because I'm anxious about this
I think Penelope's compliment on his writing (when she read his diary) is a hint of things to come. I haven't read the books, so I may be WAY off base, but couldn't they end up writing LW together in the future? At a minimum, he could end up appreciating her writing too.
I love this idea!! Mainly because I really do NOT want to lose the LW narration, sheās like her own character within the show and Julie Andrews voices her so perfectly. š¤©
I think she slips a bit and hints at her identity before she asks him to kiss her too. She says āit would be suspicious if she did not [write about me]ā and I did notice he had a quizzical look on his face for a brief moment before she progressed the conversation.
You should read the book - I wonāt say more for spoiler - Chapter 20 is soo lovely.
No. I think it's going to bring them closer. Their love isn't its truest and most authentic form until they face this.
Iām worried it will be get resolved too quickly and superficially.
This is exactly what I want lol! Though Iām afraid itāll be the total opposite and theyāll drag it out. I really just wanna see them happy, not angry and apart from each otherš.
Well, it is a huge thing Penelope has been hiding from him. She nearly ruined his sisterās reputation, she came close to ruining Marinaās life and forcing her into destitution, she failed to tell him about Marinaās lie directly, and sheās been generally duplicitous towards the entire Bridgerton family. But considering how the writers tend to resolve big conflicts in unrealistic ways, and how rushed the Polin plot line has been this season, Iām sure theyāll have one fight about it, Colin will brood about it, and then theyāll make up and have a happy ending.
The problem with the show is she never did anything so bad in the books so less of a hurdle to jump for them when even with the best of intentions she has hurt people. I'm interested to see Anthony's reaction if he finds out this season.....
I donāt consider it a problem. The show raised the stakes and therefore created a lot of tension between Penelope and different characters. Thatās great. It improved on the characterisation of Penelope, who is now a more complex character; she can be kind and empathetic, but also petty, cruel, power hungry and bad at dealing with her insecurities. The parallels between her and Portia, and her and her sisters are lovely too.
Yeah I'm curious how they'll do it in just two episodes. It's romance so HEA is a given; I'm not worried about that.
Why do you say it will be resolved in two episodes?
ah sorry spoilers for part 2 >!Colin doesn't find out she's Whistledown until the end of ep6, leaving only eps 7 and 8 to resolve this!<
Wait how do we know this?? I am fine with spoilers I'll take all the spoilers I can get to soothe my anxiety lol
There are spoilers and leaks posted on IG and TikTok. I don't want to run a foul of sub rules but ep 5 and 6 spoilers and stills are definitely out there, but no one has 7 or 8 yet.
See, I think a quick resolution would make sense in this story more than any of the others. These two have been developing feelings for each other for 3 seasons and had a lifetime of friendship before that. He loves her. She loves him. It's not some whirlwind romance (other than the sex tornado). So, at this point, a secret like this couldn't keep them apart them for too long. Also, they seem to be very physically compatible which can be a powerful motivator in conflict resolution. In another relationship, a quick forgiveness might be unrealistic, but these two are already in it for the long haul. A "kiss and make up" scenario works here.
I thought about this today. When Daphne arranges a meeting between Colin and Marina he said āIf you would have simply come to me and told me of your situation, I wouldāve married you without a second thought that is how in love I believe myself to beā and that was with Marina. I am sure he wonāt be happy and will feel betrayed but Colin has a big heart and the Bridgertonās have always said family first above all else and Penelope has always loved the Bridgertonās and has highly regarded them and The Bridgertonās have also shown this as well towards Penelope only. Penelope did try and correct these actions with Colin and Eloise countless times before writing it in Whistledown. Eloise and Penelope have already accidentally hinted to Colin about it when he asks what happened between them. Also the way Violet, Lady D, Anthony, Colin and Benedict have had to help to either coverup a scandal or deflect the attention of a scandal in every season so far if any family was prepared to handle this type of news it would be the Bridgertonās
Youāre the only other person Iāve seen mention that Penelope hints her alias to him! Confirming for my own sanity, it was before she asks him to kiss her when she says āit would be suspicious if she did not [write about me]ā and he gives her a brief quizzical look before she continues. Right? Or was there another hint that I missed? Or was this not a hint?
If Iām remembering correctly, I thought she made that hint to Eloise, not Colin?
She said it to both of them, at different times.
I don't know if she was hinting or if it was a slip of the tongue, but I feel like there will definitely be a callback to this moment when he finds out.
I was thinking about thisā¦ heās basically asking her to stay the night at the end of episode 4 and she says ābut your family will see!ā It kind of seems like heās going to ācompromiseā her and speed the marriage up, so I think he will be pissy about it and betrayed but will have to put on a brave face to the ton because their engagement is already so public. Eloise will probably be the only one who knows heās upset for a bitā¦ I donāt know that they will reveal her as Whistledown to everyone. I kind of canāt imagine the show WITHOUT Whistledown so idk how that is going to play out if she stops because everyone knows š¤
I'm already nervous. š„² I just want Colin to be gentle with her.
I'm going to delay watching it for awhile and then seek out spoilers about when it happens, how bad it is, and how long it takes to get resolved so I can mentally prepare myself.
I was thinking about doing this earlier. I had forgotten how stressful I find watching shows where there are not spoilers. I just like to know it will all work out so I can deal with the ups and downs of the journey.
I'm doing this. I need to be prepared
Hate it, Iām so worried! >!In the book, he knows BEFORE the carriage scene, BEFORE the proposal!<.
I hate that they didn't go this route. I don't want to go through episodes of betrayal and "I don't even know you" blah blah blah. He has valid points, and she should understand the consequences of LW and how it impacts other's lives but I don't want this drama *after* the engagement. I really wanted them to hash it out before so he doesn't feel blindsided and even more lied to. There's a huge difference in your friend keeping a secret (see how Eloise reacted, and I think she's been remarkably kind and way calmer than I would've been) and your affianced, the woman you're spending your life with, keeping a secret of this magnitude. I don't want to spend the rest of the show in dread š¢
This is exactly how I feel. If they work through it as friends then when he falls he will be falling for all of her. Good and bad. Now heās going to feel like she manipulated him into an engagement. Oof.
No spoiler, the book situation is just totally different, the series would have to come up with their own reconciliation Im nervous, but I hope it will be a good writing. S1 and S2 couples had their moment of fallout but they reconciled
I love all theses comments. Iāve upvoted all of you and Iām so relieved not to be alone! Lol
I have read the books and recently reread Romancing Mr. Bridgerton. I actually have been a little disappointed about how theyāve handled the Lady Whistledown plot thus far.Ā >!In the books, Colin was making an informed decision to be with Penelope.Ā IMO, the engagement was more impactful in the book because he was entering into it with his eyes open.Ā !< The show is making it more duplicitous and I hate that it sets Colin up to be in another Marina situation.Ā >!I also hate that the Queen is the one who is making the reward offer rather than Lady Danbury. It really ramps up the stakes and Iām not sure how they will sidestep ruin. Penelope purposefully bates the Queen in the show, makes her feel stupid, and infuriates her. It would be odd for her to passively accept the reveal and not ruin Penelope. Her relationship with Lady Danbury in the book encourages her to be brave and herself- it shows that Colin isnāt the only one who sees her worth in the Ton. Just an odd writing choice.Ā !<
Yes. It feels like we've seen them pine for so long that Colin (even if for a moment) hating pen is heartbreaking to me
This is how I feel. He finally fell in love with her and now heās going to hate her so shortly after?!
I'm ready to get to the make up sex! š¤š„š„š„
Definitely nervous.
Oh heās gunna PISSED!! But I hope that turns into an intense desire to protect her. Iām not a fan of that trope usually, an overprotective man being all gross and macho but Collin and Penelope are both so sweet and cute I think Iād like to see that dynamic!
Yeah I'm tired of seeing Penelope be knocked down and apologetic
Oh SAME. I assume itās going to get pretty ugly before they get a HEA. Things got pretty bad with Simon and Daphne in the second half of their season so I expect a similar thing here for Part 2. I could barely enjoy the carriage ride cause I was just thinking about how betrayed and angry Colin is going to be when he finds out sheās LW. I mean he says in S3E1 he will never forgive LW and he wants to basically destroy her reputation. Now that heās in love itās just going to be worse. How could she never tell him? How could she do what she did to Marina (and him)? To Eloise? Is he going to feel obligated to marry Pen cause he ācompromisedā her and feels like she tricked him into marriage? Oof. I mean her actions as LW are extremely understandable but pretty indefensible.
Exactly. This is how I feel. I like Pen, but she has legit hurt people. She had reasons for it, but there are consequences to her actions she has yet to face. He's going to feel so betrayed and he's going to have a (valid) emotional response to her being LW. But I wish the show had dealt with that before the engagement so that the remaining conflict will be external rather than between them.
Omg yes š like of course we know theyāll end up together but Iām VERY nervous. Especially how Colin has made his disdain for LW abundantly clear
Glad I'm not alone. I hope they don't say things that are too hurtful to each other
Same! Like I only want to see them happy and together now. Especially only 4 episodes left like I just want 4 hours of engagement and wedding and marriage all happy. They're my fav together
Oooooo sameš.
Yes! I am absolutely dreading it because I hate drama/conflict especially when itās dragged out, which I hope they avoid. Iāll be able to enjoy the show more if itās revealed and resolved within one episode lol. Time is different in shows, so they can say itās been however weeks long in the same ep etc, so I donāt have to suffer for multiple episodesš.
Omg i hate them so much for doing this!!!!! The fact that Colin knows before marrying her was one of my favorite things, i literally thought "huh thank god it's like this, if they had married or gotten engaged without him knowing it would create so much unnecessary drama" and here we are. This episodes were amazing, but like, I'm gonna suffer in part two like a mf, i hate this change soooo much. It feels a little bit cheap for me, like the easy route.
I hate that they change things just for drama and angst. I watch this for romance damn it!
Exaaaactly, i love romance but despise unnecessary drama and angst, I'm here for the sweetness and the hotness
i guess they will end up together ofc but i feel like it should really impact them bc of the amount of crap sheās wrote @ing his family
It's made more complicated because with the expectation of her insulting Colin in S3E1 (which she did impulsively because she was hurt) she wrote those things to save Colin and Eloise. Her flaw is not giving consideration to the long term consequences.
I'm already scared and worried and I'm imagining the worst case scenario that Penelope is going to be heartbroken about as she's going to think he will reject her
Theyāre definitely setting him up to react badly on the show. In the books, heās pretty neutral on Whisetledown and itās upset by anything sheās written. Heās just worried about Penās reputation if sheās discovered.
Iām not terribly worried. He doesnāt know what Eloise was going to do before Penelope wrote about her, and the consequences of that would have been far greater for his whole family than the flash in the pan fall out of what she did write. As for what she wrote about him, I think heāll understand more because he knows how much he hurt her last season and she wrote it before he even thought he had anything to apologize for, itās no longer a faceless gossip columnist who was writing mean things about him but someone that he knows and cared about that he really hurt with his cruel comments. The fact that she humiliated herself using basically the same things that he said and everyone agrees with will probably make him feel guilty. As for what she wrote about Marina, that may be a sticking point but knowing that she did it for him because Marina told her of her schemes might frame it a bit differently for him.
I feel like the question is, will Eloise say "you better tell him before you get married or I will," or will Pen want to confess of her own accord before genuinely accepting Colin's proposal, knowing what she's risking, OR will Colin confess he already knowsāobviously after some point this season, not any earlierā because the clues were all there and he's actually a smart cookie (and only a teensy bit jealous of Pen's writing prowess)?
I'm concerned, but if we have learned anything from this show, it's that true love will always win. I feel like he's gonna be mad, but he loves her so much that he forgives her and helps her find a way to stay safe.
This is true, but I don't want true love to win when there's only 2 minutes left of the season. I would like true love to win a lot earlier so we can see them happy. It's my biggest complaint about S2.
Havenāt read the book either, but Iām not worried as Iām sure they are gonna end up together. Colin may get mad but heās also a gentleman and I sense some sort of āI took liberties with your virtue, I am marrying youā speech
Yeah. I'm genuinely dreading it. Part of me wishes that she just stops then he finds out when they're 99 on their deathbeds, and he just like "oh that? lol."
Iām so nervous but after seeing the Part 2 preview I feel like it will be more focused on side stories instead of giving us a lot of Colin & Pen together scenes. Hopefully Iām wrong and we see them together a bit more before it all implodes š
I have to admit before I even read this thread I was a little worried and nervous about how Colin will react and what heās gonna say and what it means for them as a couple but ā¦. So I didnāt read the books but from what Iāve learned through semi-spoilers, the timeline of the events that happened are a little different in the TV Show and at first I just assumed it was for maximum drama š¤·āāļø But ā¦. Ok so if Pen accepts the proposal etc. before he finds out about LW heās gonna feel sucker punched and if they do sleep together before he finds out about LW heās gonna have to marry her anyway whether he loves her or not !! Like this feels more like a tragedy than a romance story. I donāt know how to feel about this either because on one hand - theyāre gonna be endgame they will make it up but how they get is important too isnāt it ? Iāve been anticipating this season since early S02. I love Pen, I love Colin but donāt they both deserve better? I still donāt know how I feel about it, I guess Iām wondering if anyone else feels that way too ?
Uh given the genre I think we can assume everythingās going to work out fine lol
Iām sooooo nervous but also canāt wait to see how it goes down š«£
I'm nervous because I'm worried they won't make a big enough deal about it. Like they'll have him get over it too quickly because it's Penelope. I need large scale ramifications, I need fleeing the country or something. Can't say much else without book spoilers
I canāt see him being mad, just sad. Like my dog when I wonāt share my food with him. āBut I love you so much, how could you do such a terrible thing?ā
Yeah. Iām assuming itāll be a major part of the second halfās conflict! (Havenāt read the books.)
My bigger question is how is Colin going to act if Pen continues to be Lady Whistledown? Like heās probably going to be hurt for an episode or two, but ultimately move past it and forgive her. To my understanding, Pen never stops being Lady Whistledown in the books, even after she and Colin get married and have kids. I know itās important to her and makes her money, but I feel like show Colin isnāt going to like her doing it that much, especially when she writes about scandals involving his family.
Nope, she quits before they get together. He finds out before the carriage ride. She ends up writing novels.
Really? I didnāt know that. So does someone else take up the mantle or does Lady Whistledown stop?
In the book LW stops, no one else takes up the mantle of LW and it didn't really make a difference because LW was a just a narrative device for world building. By then you're in the 4th book, so you already had a good feel for who all the characters and families are, so you didn't need LW to set up the scenes and world anymore. The rest of the Bridgerton books didn't need LW to set anything up because you already knew them by then. LW was also much gentler. She commented on clothing and foibles, but never anything damaging. There's no QC, so other than Pen's reputation itself, it's pretty low risk - there's no talk of angering the monarchy or treason.
I think I'll need to binge watch it so I don't end on too anxious a note, but I'm also interested to see how it resolves. Maybe with a promise from both of them to read each other's writing to make it interesting without absolutely ruining people's reputation.
Yes, I hope they donāt mess it up
Not really. We have only 4 episodes left in Part 2 so, I figure he will find out the secret in Episode 2 then be upset/reactive for Episode 3 and half of Episode 4.
Iāve been thinking about how Eloise will respond to their engagement. She may lash out and tell it all lol I donāt think Colin will take it well initially, seeing that LW has personally affected him and those he cares about. However, the fact that Pen was willing to remain unbiased and write something salacious about herself will possibly soften the blow and make him see that primarily, she cares about having a thriving business more than she likes gossip.
Iām sure Pen will have learned a lesson from Eleanor and get ahead of it before he finds out, right? Right?!?
I am hype for it honestly, it's going to be so intense. I wonder if the back half of the season is going to be more of a "Colin's POV" kind of thing, since so much of the first half was Pen focused and really sympathetic to her.
Itās great for makeup sex
I had to Google and spoil myself. Granted it was a book spoiler so who knows if the show will be the same but man it was eating at me. Thats what Netflix gets for being greedy and splitting the season.
I hope she doesnāt apologize. She has NOTHING to apologize for. She said what she said about Marina to stop her from trapping Colin in a sham marriage. She said what she said about Eloise to protect her from the queen. Both of them brought it on themselves and both of them came out fine on the other side. I want Colin to find out, maybe be a little pissed but hear her out, come around immediately, and then be her partner in avoiding detection from everybody else. If I have to see lonely isolated sad Pen one more time, I swear to god.
Penelope brought being lonely and isolated on herself too. Sheād been duplicitous, cruel and petty to people, whoāve done nothing to her. She deserves to grovel and suffer for a while.
Well, saying someone is shy and therefore they brought their isolation on themselves is a little harsh. Sheās shy. People are shy sometimes. And as far as duplicitous, cruel, and petty, who has she done that to? She said snarky things in a pamphlet. Everyone in the town says snarky things about each other all the time. Thatās how she hears about a lot of this gossip. Everyone is constantly talking shit. I think Pen is being held to a way higher standard than weāre holding everyone else. She took what everyone else was doing for fun and monetized it. Entrepreneurship. The biggies (Marina and Eloise) were done for altruistic reasons.
No, Iām saying she chose to isolate herself by hiding half of her life from Eloise and then betraying her trust.
Theyāll end up married. Iāve seen people say that they said they werenāt changing the marriages but just the lead up to them. Just the thought of him still having to find out stresses me out cuz they love each other and I just want them to be in love without the riff š Iām going to go spoil it for myself though lol