Bridgerton Season 3, Part 2 Explained: Lady Whistledown’s Future, That Settee Scene Change and More
The following contains major spoilers from Bridgerton Season 3, Part 2, including the finale. Proceed accordingly.
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Penelope is officially in her Bridgerton era.
The third-born Featherington married Colin in Bridgerton Season 3’s penultimate episode, but not without turbulence. Before their big day, Colin followed Penelope to her publisher, where he uncovered his bride-to-be’s Lady Whistledown secret and out of anger, barely spoke to her in the days that followed. The pair eventually made it down the aisle, but their breakfast reception was then interrupted by Queen Charlotte demanding that Lady Whistledown reveal herself. Colin took that as a sign for his new wife to give up her gossip column, which Penelope refused.
Their Whistledown woes were exacerbated by Cressida’s attempt to blackmail the newlyweds, with Colin offering to lie to Anthony to secure the funds to pay her off. Unwilling to let her husband do that, Penelope outed herself as Lady Whistledown at her sisters’ ball with a promise to aim her quill more responsibly. To her relief, Queen Charlotte accepted her plea to continue writing as herself, and partygoers quickly moved on to festive dancing and admiring the colorful décor. Plus, Colin admitted he was envious of his wife’s writing success.
A flash-forward to the future revealed that Penelope and Colin had a son, beating out her sisters Prudence and Philippa to produce a male heir. The season ended with the writer former known as Lady Whistledown signing off as Penelope Bridgerton — a point underlined by a voiceover from portrayer Nicola Coughlan replacing Julie Andrews’.
So, what does that mean for Lady Whistledown’s future? Read on for our interview with showrunner Jess Brownell, who addresses the big finale questions and teases what’s ahead in Season 4.
No more Julie Andrews voiceovers?
Penelope revealing herself as Lady Whistledown at the Featherington Ball and then signing her real name on the latest column raised big questions about what lies ahead. Does this mean future seasons won’t feature Julie Andrews’ voiceover as the beloved gossip persona? Will Penelope stop writing her column?
“She’s retired her persona as Lady Whistledown, but that doesn’t mean she’s retired the column,” showrunner Jess Brownell tells TVLine. “There will be more to come from Penelope as a gossip columnist.”
As for the Julie Andrews of it all, “creatively, it does make sense to have Penelope, who’s owning her voice now, literally using her own voice for the narration,” the EP shares. “But it’s also Julie Andrews, and we love her so much. So, we might just find a way to excuse why [she] still voices Lady Whistledown.”
Why do Penelope and Colin have a son first?
In Julia Quinn’s bestselling Bridgerton books, Penelope and Colin first welcomed a daughter named Agatha. However, the Netflix series ended Season 3 with the happy couple producing the Featheringtons’ first male heir, which Brownell says was fitting for Penelope.
“Because we had set up this heir race with the Featheringtons, it just felt like poetic justice for Penelope to win that race,” the EP explains. “After being treated the way she’s been treated in her family — like she’s lesser than — for her now to be, in many ways, the matriarch or the high queen in her family felt like a really lovely way to end her story.”
Fans can anticipate Colin and Penelope remaining in that happy space “the same way we have for Kate and Anthony.”
“I do think there is more story to tell with Whistledown,” Brownell adds. “Penelope has been the narrator of the show since Season 1 and so, she has a special role to play in the show that will allow for a little bit more story after her season.”
Why was the book’s settee scene changed?
After defending Penelope against her mother Portia, Colin brought his fiancée to their future estate and — in front of a mirror, no less — detailed all the ways he loved her mind and her body to help her see what he saw. That led to a steamy kiss and then passionate sex on a settee in what was arguably the season’s most titillating moment.
In the books, that scene was proceeded by a heated argument over Penelope’s Lady Whistledown alias. But given that this huge secret still loomed over their heads in the show, Brownell wanted to see the pair in a happy place for a while longer.
“It’s one of the reasons that we pushed out Colin finding out that Penelope is Whistledown,” she shares. “We did want to live in a space of joy a little bit longer with the two of them. Especially because Colin took so long to figure out that Penelope is perfect for him.
“We felt like Pen deserved to be worshiped a little bit longer,” the showrunner adds. “Also, in a friends-to-lovers season, it felt apt for the first time to be motivated by joy. I love a good angry sex scene, and there is an angry kiss later in the season. But for that first time, to allow there to be a lot of laughter and appreciation of each other felt like a really nice place to be.”
Agatha and Violet finally address that Queen Charlotte moment
Queen Charlotte’s Season 1 finale left the longtime friends in an awkward place. Violet, figuring out Agatha’s mystery first love after discovering one of Lord Ledger’s paper crowns hidden in Agatha’s home, displayed her own crowns made by him at the Bridgerton estate. Though they didn’t say it out loud, the duo exchanged a knowing look that suggested a mutual understanding of young Agatha’s affair with her father.
That moment was addressed in Bridgerton’s finale on Thursday when Violet tried to secure Agatha’s blessing to explore things romantically with Agatha’s brother Lord Marcus Anderson. Violet acknowledged that Agatha was a good friend, and Agatha returned the sentiment.
Brownell tells TVLine that elements of their friendship in Bridgerton Seasons 1 and 2 felt slightly transactional given the focus on helping each other marry off their loved ones. Queen Charlotte, however, brought a “beautiful new depth” to their relationship.
“It’s very important to me to not only focus on romantic relationships, but to also female friendship and family relationships and all the other kinds of love,” she notes. “That’s something that we tried to do with those two women. I wanted them to acknowledge pieces of their past so that they could continue to grow closer in the future.”
And if Lord Marcus Anderson has his way, “they will be even closer in certain ways.”
Why wasn’t Sophie Beckett introduced this season?
For those who haven’t read An Offer from a Gentleman, Sophie — spoiler alert — is the woman that Benedict is poised to marry. However, Season 3 found Benedict entering a fling with Lady Tilley Arnold and her friend/lover Paul. So, why haven’t we seen Sophie yet?
“For any character’s season, we try to save all the big building blocks of their season for their season,” Brownell explains. “When we start out any season, we want our protagonists to be at the very beginning of their journey in many ways and to still have a lot of room for growth so that we can really dig in. Most of our characters who are in the ensemble, they’re only making very small changes from season to season, and that’s intentional so that we can save the meat for what’s coming.”
How long will Bridgerton last?
Shonda Rhimes previously spoke on the plan to adapt all eight Bridgerton books into eight Netflix seasons, and Brownell confirms that that’s still the case.
“We’re still aiming for eight seasons,” she says. “We want every sibling to have their own season and frankly, the thought of combining siblings gives me hives. It’s already so difficult to cram everything we need to tell into eight episodes, so I would be wary about doing that.”
Will we see more of the youngest Bridgertons?
Season 3 featured the Bridgertons’ youngest, Gregory and Hyacinth, in more prominent roles. According to Brownell, we can expect that to continue in Season 4.
“As our elder Bridgertons get married — and as those actors get more projects — we want to be really supportive of their opportunities,” she shares. “It’s important for us every season to start moving the younger siblings more into focus so that the Bridgerton house still feels populated and lively. So, that’s something that you’ll be seeing more of in Season 4.”
Will Anthony and Kate return for Season 4?
Towards the end of Season 3, Anthony and Kate decided to have their baby in India so that he could be better acquainted with the Sharmas. Per Brownell, the move abroad was a practical decision in case portrayers Jonathan Bailey and Simone Ashley were unavailable next season.
“I would love to see both of them again,” she notes. The couple heading to India “allows us to explain why they might not be around a ton if Johnny and Simone are really busy, but also leaves the door open for them to appear if schedules align.”
What did you think of Bridgerton Season 3, Part 2? Grade the episodes below, and then share your opinions in the comments. And in case you missed it, we also spoke to Brownell about Francesca’s storyline change and Benedict’s sexuality.
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