Review: “Bridgerton” Season 3 Part 2: A Seductive, Astonishing, and Exceptionally Fulfilling Masterpiece
The third season of the Netflix series significantly alters the books, mostly in a positive way.
One of the greatest small joys in life is when a TV show finishes a season and you just feel so happy. It’s like when you have the perfect amount of chocolate cake or nap for the perfect amount of time. I mean no disrespect when I say this about “Bridgerton” Season 3 Part 2, though, because these last few episodes are nothing like a nap. Perhaps it’s more like a vibrant dream. It’s almost unbelievable how well it fulfils its requirements; it’s truly a masterpiece. I find it impossible to fathom not appreciating this season of “Bridgerton” if you have ever even remotely enjoyed it in the past.
After a seductive carriage ride, Colin (Luke Newton) sort of proposed to Penelope (Nicola Coughlan). This is where the second half of the season begins off.
.. The castle is buzzing with excitement when Penelope’s alter identity, Lady Whistledown, made a swift announcement. However, here’s the catch: Colin is unaware that Penelope is the notorious gossip hound, and the only Bridgerton who is aware of it is still furious about the information. This season, Eloise (Claudia Jessie) takes on a role akin to a semi-antagonist, threatening to reveal her friend’s identity as Whistledown if Penelope is unable to tell Colin on her own. However, when Eloise’s rage turns out to be more about jealousy, Jessica Madsen’s Cressida and her enormous sleeves intervene to thwart both Penelope’s life and her own redemption story.
Similar to a superhero soap opera, Whistledown is the vigilante about whose identity everyone is curious. Specifically, Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel) is curious and is willing to pay a 5,000 pound reward to anyone who can inform her. This makes Penelope’s late-night trips to the printer even riskier and her relationship with Colin even more tenuous. It also raises the stakes in a show that isn’t always strong in that area.
Everyone, even Cressida, ends up winning out in the typical Bridgerton fashion. The Queen offers Penelope her blessing, sparing her reputation from being destroyed, and Colin and Eloise gradually get over their chivalrous contempt and jealousy of Whistledown. In a significant departure from the books, Penelope also abandons the moniker Lady Whistledown, opting to carry on with her columns under the pen name Penelope Bridgerton. When “Romancing Mr. Bridgerton” comes to a close, Penelope quits the role completely. This was a much better decision, and it wasn’t the book’s first or final amazing alteration.
Although Colin and Penelope’s narrative isn’t the best of Julia Quinn’s books, it is nevertheless magical because it follows the friendship-turned-love story of two endearing people and because Colin and Penelope manage an epic romance despite also being somewhat ridiculous. Nearly all of the novel’s important scenes were adapted for the television adaptation without sacrificing the narrative’s essence or giving the impression that the book had been completely ignored. Rather, it seemed as though the most cherished sections of the novel were purposefully positioned to better suit the television adaptation.
A fantastic example is the second sex scene between Colin and Penelope, which occurs mere minutes into Episode 5. In the novel, Colin goes from being furious with his new fiancée to being incredibly lustful for her and even makes strange comments like wanting to cup her breasts in front of the mirror. All of this is consistent with the storyline that Penelope is not conventionally attractive and needs to be made to have sex in front of a mirror in order for Colin to think she is. The mirror appears on screen, but it seems more like a chance for Coughlan to affirm that she is,
“a respected member of the community for the perfect breast.”
Penelope is obviously attractive and just as into this as Colin is, even though she has no idea what she’s doing and no one has ever paid her attention in this way before. Although we already know that Mrs. Featherington struggles to describe sex to her girls, she is open to learning and doesn’t exactly know how it works. In terms of expertly done TV sex, the ensuing sequence is on par with the wedding night episode of “Outlander,” and Coughlan’s portrayal gives the impression that it’s more than just a sex scene for the sake of a sex scene. Penelope’s life is about to change, and her facial emotions hardly cover the enormity of the moment. There is some pressure on the upcoming leaders of the programme to live up to Coughlan’s stardom because she is clearly a star.
The production gives book readers some exciting teases and achieves a great ensemble balance while Penelope gains confidence in her writing and her sexual life. The other Bridgertons also begin to sow some future seeds, both literally and symbolically. While Violet (Ruth Gemmell) is seeing how things work out with Lady Danbury’s attractive brother Marcus (Daniel Francis), Anthony (Jonathan Bailey) and Kate (Simone Ashley) are expecting a child and getting used to their new roles as viscount and viscountess. After discovering that he could be attracted to men, Benedict (Luke Thompson) is excited about his mother’s impending masquerade ball—an event that holds great significance for him in his book “An Offer From a Gentleman.”
Hannah Dodd’s character, Francesca, is travelling to Scotland with her new spouse, Lord Kilmartin (Victor Alli), who is a quiet, thoughtful, and reticent guy. Eloise, who is itching for adventure outside of the marriage mart, and John’s cousin Michaela will be going with them. Readers of Francesca’s novel “When He Was Wicked” will notice something of a surprise there, as the show delves deeper into contemporary concepts of marriage and relationships while also embracing its own fantasy. The clearest example of this is found in the costumes, which are not only character studies and incredibly beautiful pieces of art, but also seem to be becoming less historically accurate over time.
I am no longer here for accuracy at this time (if I ever was). I love stories that are lush, dramatic, and romantic—tales of attractive women wearing ridiculous costumes and corsets as necklaces—and Season 3 delivered on all of those points in the most amazing ways. It was a delectable treat that was both tasty and enjoyable. I can’t wait to have it again. I hope this season is even sweeter than the last, but for now, wow, am I happy with this confection.
