Bridgerton Season 3, Pt. 2 with Devon Hamilton

Susan and Whittney unpack the Bridgerton Season 3, Part 2 drop with Devon Hamilton. 

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Susan 0:07

Hello and welcome to the conversation with Susan and Whitney, the podcast where two friends from college discuss shared interests, insights, and how we're navigating our lives today.

Whittney 0:16

This is an ongoing conversation about how we're surviving and thriving. We discuss the important

Susan 0:22

and the trivial

Whittney 0:22

and other fun topics in between.

Susan 0:25

I'm Susan Field, a writer and teacher in Philadelphia,

Whittney 0:27

and I'm Whitney Gould, a writer and marketing director in New Hampshire.

Susan 0:37

Whittney, you're the kind of friend who gets every shade of Penelope green nails and inspires me to consider making a more creative statement with my next manicure.

Whittney 0:46

Oh, Suze, thanks. I try silly things with my nails sometimes, but, Penelope hopefully would be proud. Suze, you're the kind of friend who inspires us to come up with really creative names for likes and dislikes that are perfectly Bridgerton themed.

Susan 1:02

So on today's show, we're going to review episodes five through eight of Bridgerton season three, which tells the love story of Colin and Penelope, otherwise known as Bridgerton. Whittney, you're our in house historical romance expert here. You've read the source material by Julia Quinn, so just as with our last recap, whenever possible, you're going to make some parallels to the novel,

Whittney 1:23

yes, I absolutely will, and I can't wait. We're excited to say that tonight we are also joined once again by our special guest. we're calling our podcast sister and soon as she is your real life sister, Devon Hamilton. So welcome Dev.

Devon 1:37

Hello, so happy to be here for our discussion of the much anticipated second half

Susan 1:43

Where we left off last time we had recapped and reviewed episodes one through four of season three. They separated the season this time. So where it left off, we were all craving more. We wanted more of those fantastic costumes, more humor from the Featherington sisters, more of the plot, and obviously more steamy carriage scenes from Pollen. So did this installment live up to all our yearnings and our expectations?

Whittney 2:09

Dev shared that her friend had said that. Even though she had read the book, she was considering the show to be a completely separate entity, and for this, session of four episodes, I am completely in that camp now, because the plot has shifted enough from the books that I'm starting to view them as Complimentary, but separate storylines. We've gone out of order from the book series, and there are enough shifts in even this story's plot, and shifts to set up future stories that, it's not really a faithful or super faithful adaptation for me anymore. That being said, both the books and the show have their merits. I just am not comparing them to be like twins anymore, if that makes sense.

Devon 2:59

Yes, I This second half of the season met my expectations in a different, surprising way from the previous seasons. This season ended up being less of a love story about a man and a woman and more of a love story of a woman with herself. Penelope owned who she was, she came to terms with her mother and her sisters, and she mended the key friendship in her life with Eloise Bridgerton. And through all of that self discovery and actualization, she also fulfilled her dream of marrying and being loved by her beloved Colin. So this was a surprising turn. I didn't see this coming. I was expecting this solely focused love story between Penelope and Colin, and actually I've enjoyed Penelope loving herself the most of all. That's been the most rewarding part of this season. This season of self empowerment, especially the second half, Penelope's example is inspiring some of the other characters too to create. more connection with each other and to search for what it is that their spark is, what their passion and talent is, and let that lead their lives a little bit more. So Penelope was a great example for a lot of people in LATAM, and she was very inspiring. And Penelope's actions took my love for the character on to a whole nother level, and I was so excited to see where she ended up at the end of this season. And even though I was missing some of those extra steamy love scenes that I really wanted between her and Colin, the bold, articulate, triumphant speech that she gave at the end was enough to satisfy me even more than maybe a passionate love scene would have.

Susan 4:32

Yeah. Steven, I want to echo your sentiments. The season was surprising in that I never expected it to get to this level of empowerment. I was pleasantly surprised with the way the season turned out and I felt myself wanting to stand up and cheer. I was like, go Penn. Go women. And even Colin really seemed to come more into his own as well. This season ended up being really inspirational and it almost feels like Bridgerton all grown up. It's not just about these love scenes and a man and a woman connection. You're right. It was more about relationships in general and a love for the self and how that can affect and improve everything else around you. I really loved the way that this season evolved and it was triumphant to use your word, Devin.

Whittney 5:14

For this recap, we've decided to organize it a little bit differently than we did our first one. In our first episode, we did a lot of plot summary, But in this one, we're going to share what we're calling our butterflies and our bee stings. So butterflies are things that we like. Bee stings are things that just didn't, hit us the same way. And we're going to use those as a jumping off point for discussion.

Susan 5:40

That's right. We have to credit Devin for coming up with this plan. butterflies and bee stings, which is essentially cheers and jeers Bridgerton style. And as Devin pointed out to me, Penelope was our butterfly of the season. She blossomed more than we imagined and, was liberated. And it's also a reference, to the glorious butterflies released at the Danforth Finch Ball, which I loved. And bee stings have always been a negative on the show since Lord Bridgerton was fatally stung by a bee. So let's discuss our butterflies are the things we love for episode five, which is called tick tock, there was a timeline here. For Penelope to admit to Colin that she is Lady Whistledown, Eloise placed this timeline on her and it was a tension filled episode. I love many things about this episode. I really loved how Colin's story, stood up to Mrs. Featherington because she accused her daughter of entrapping Mr. Bridgerton. And he said, your daughter did not entrap me. I proposed to her out of love, nothing less. And were you not so narrowly concerned over your own standing? You might see that Penelope is the most eligible amongst you. And in the future, I advise you not to sully our Bridgerton name. I love that someone finally stood up for Penelope because one of the things that bothered me so much. For most of her character art, but in the last or the first four episodes, I was like, why is no one standing up for this one? Why is everyone letting her be walked all over? So I loved that Colin finally stood up to her mother and in general, stood beside Penelope. And Colin admitting to Penelope, the reasons that he loves her. She's so clever. She's so brave. It's not a superficial love. He really appreciates the things about her that we've always seen. I liked the way this love story developed in this season with Colin and Penelope feeling seen by each other, but also starting to see themselves. And it was beautiful to watch that come together. And, last thing I'll share is that I love the tension in this episode, how it was building with that tick tock at the end. There was so much anxiety and all these, big bombshell moments. We had, Penelope having a panic attack, cantonese shared the news that they're having a baby. Cressida announced she was Lady Whistledown. It was like, mic drop.

Devon 7:50

You bring up a really good point too, Susan, about Colin standing up for Penelope to her mother. And we see these steps that when each person makes a bold move out of their comfort zone, it seems to have a chain reaction. So when Colin defends Penelope. It puts Lady Featherington in her place, but then she starts seeing herself and the world a little differently. She changes her ways towards Penelope and the sisters, and these things one by one affect their relationship with each other. So it's all about when people speak out for for the injustices that they see and hear, they embolden other people to make a change. And there's been a positive reaction throughout the rest of the season because people are making these moves. So that's a great butterfly moment, a blossoming moment for our characters.

Whittney 8:42

So I agree with what both of you have said about Colin standing up for Penelope. This is one of the, maybe few, Parts about, the show that I think are better than the book for me, because in the book, the reason he stands up for Penelope is because, Portia assumes that he wants to propose to her younger sister, Felicity, who isn't part of the show. When Colin comes to ask Portia, to if he can marry her daughter, she assumes that, it's Felicity. And so that was the impetus. And that's another, woman against woman pittance, while that happens and while that's very believable, this was better because it was just Colin and Penn against the world, and so it was a much stronger scene for that reason. I also love that, Colin kind of has a history of this in his character from season one on, right? Because, He stood up for Marina and he was, trying to speak out and save Marina. And then in season two, with Cousin Jack, he came to Penelope and to Portia to let them know that Cousin Jack was a scoundrel, this feels very true to his character. And so we know that he's not just doing this because he, has ruined her, so to speak. Like that this is his genuine feeling. I think that that in this episode is the winner.

Susan 10:08

I loved what you said about there being a chain reaction. As soon as Colin stood up to the mother, all of a sudden she was snapped out of a daze. She had been in this pattern of belittling Penelope. And as soon as someone was like, Hey, listen up. This is not how you treat your daughter. And correct yourself. She did. I was really surprised and happy that she was receptive to it.

Devon 10:30

It also reflects on the standing of the Bridgertons. We can tell even those of us in the audience who haven't read the books that the Bridgerton family is like the gold standard and they have this integrity and the characters are Anthony and Colin, especially in this season, are always searching and striving for that integrity and trying to uphold what they think is right. They always say the line, I am an honorable man, therefore I'm going to do this. And so someone of that integrity and that standard of the Bridgerton name, is what Saying that to Lady Featherington really, it did. It helped snap her out of it. And she realized that she needs to change her ways because at this moment now she's going to be an extension of the Bridgerton family. So maybe this is a chance for her to have her own evolution. because she's going to be seen by society in a different way as well, so then hopefully her behavior can start to reflect that.

Whittney 11:28

Yes, in the show, Penelope and Portia have a much deeper relationship from this point forward than they do in the books. It's very true, to Portia's character that if, Penelope had said those same words that Colin said, To Portia, she would have dismissed it, but because she's been trained in society to take the word of a man over a woman. That's at play here too. And even though that's disappointing, once it happens, she does over time, learn to respect the voice of a woman

Devon 11:59

yes, you're right about that, about a man having to speak out in order for it to truly make an impact on someone with that sort of mindset that Lady Featherington has. A butterfly moment would be We get a great, we get a strong love scene between Colin and Penelope, but wrapped up in that is the bee stink. I kept asking myself, can Pen and Colin not find somewhere that isn't cramped and constricted to express their love? I imagine that would be a lush carpet on the floor or a blanket on the floor would allow Penelope to have a little bit more of a liberating experience than this confined corner of this velvet lounge bench. I was watching it this episode with my husband and we were laughing about the awkwardness of this Staying on this bench and Penelope the whole time is she's in a semi seated position she's never able to fully recline because the back of the chair, this lounge chair, is prohibiting her from doing so. And so while it was a very intimate moment, and Penelope is asking what she can do, and she wants Colin to teach her, and they're having a very intimate and beautiful exchange between the two of them, at the same time I was having trouble. enjoying it because I just wanted her to be able to move a little bit and lay back a little bit. Whenever they had their intimate moments, when they had their steamy moments, it was in a carriage, it was on this little bench, it was against a door. I wanted them to have a full blown lay out in the bed type of sex scene. And we didn't get. We didn't really get that, in full view. We just got a little snap of it at the end, but. So that was a bee sting for me. I want Penelope to have a great, comfortable, bedroom sexual romp without a lounge chair keeping her sitting upright.

Susan 13:58

I'd agree with you on that. It was tastefully done beautiful really with the mirror and even Penelope at one point taking charge, like, tell me what to do. So again, her asserting herself and taking that initiative and blossoming into her own there. And something that develops throughout this entire story arc is the two of them as a partnership. But I agreed with you about the furniture dev. I was thinking with the carriage scene when the carriage driver stopped and Colin was like, can he not keep driving? I was like, can they not find a bed? You're right. Why can't they have that? That space. Maybe there's some symbolism here, they're in these cramped spaces and then by the end, the last love scene that they show they were in a bed and more room to expand. But in contrast, we have Benedict he's just rolling around on an open bed and they're like all over no holds barred. So it maybe symbolizes something about their characters. And it's a slow unfurling with the characters. Penelope and Colin. They get their time a little bit later, when they're able to roll around on the bed.

Whittney 14:56

In the books, they have more love scenes, not just the carriage scene and this one, there's a Bridgerton drawing room scene. That's not a complete sex scene. And then they're big, sex scene moment is actually in a bed, Seuss, so I'm not sure why they deviated from that plot point because I agree with everything you just said, this furniture did not look like the best, place to perform this action. The reason I think they did it in the way that they did is because the mirror scene is something is a reference Colin makes in the books in the full blown love scene and in a room, which happens actually after their engagement ball. They sneak away, to Colin's bedroom and that's where it happens. and he says to her, I want to do it in front of a mirror. and, but they say they'll do that next time. So it's kind of a tribute to that in the book. I know you were wondering if this was the scene where they broke the furniture and there is an Instagram post that shows that this was the furniture that was broken, they broke the leg off of it

Susan 16:02

When I heard that interview that Nicola and Luke had broken furniture, I was waiting for this, passionate love scene where, they're thrown up against the bed or whatever. But I was like, wait, they broke the furniture on this.

Devon 16:14

Very little movement. It was a

Susan 16:15

yeah, there was very little

Devon 16:17

very little little movement in this sexual episode.

Whittney 16:21

So this might be an unpopular, two opinions, my other two bee stings, but Cressida storyline, I didn't really like Cressida in the books. And so I guess she is better in the, the series because, she's very interesting to look at always. Let's, let's be real with her interesting, elaborate hairdos and, her fashion choices. But, I kinda don't love her storyline this year cause it feels very oppression centered, like mean girl reacting to oppression kind of deal. And, the other thing is the, the Canthony baby news, I just couldn't get excited about, and I felt awful about that, but that just felt extraneous. They were trying To make it a thing, but I could not muster the energy to care.

Susan 17:10

I wondered why they chose to share the news during their brother's engagement celebration. It seemed a very odd time to share this news. It made sense, I guess, with the way the scene was going, what more bombs could we drop during this last episode with the clock ticking? So I get why the writers chose put that there, but it seemed like poor timing to take the spotlight away from your brother and Penelope. I didn't like the way they released the news.

Devon 17:37

That was something that is a through line in a lot of this season that didn't set quite right with me. In that there were so many extra storylines distracting from what was Penelope storyline. that some things seem sort of thrown away, some things seemed a little extraneous, and there seemed to be a lot of overlap between the siblings experience stepping on each other's moments. And that part felt a little off to me about the season, so many things happening at the same time, and each sibling not really getting their own time to shine, but things overlapping. And I guess that can happen naturally in a family, but. I thought maybe as siblings they'd give each other a little bit more space because they have such a loving relationship

Whittney 18:24

the only thing I can think about is back then, that was news you would hope people would drop at any second, because that was the entire point of getting married was to create a family. So maybe it was more common to share that kind of news than it is now. And so maybe it wouldn't have been considered a faux pas.

Susan 18:45

Okay. That's a good perspective. Dev, I know you and I agree that we like the Cressida storyline.

Devon 18:51

Cressida's storyline, I am here for it. I am here for it.

Susan 18:54

She was one of the most, visually intriguing characters. And, I didn't always love everything that she said or did, but she was a interesting character that added a little spice to the season.

Devon 19:06

She was absolutely one of the breakout stars of the season and I felt that she almost overshadowed or ran away with this season in some ways for me. That her scenes really left an impact and Jessica Madsen's portrayal of Cressida and her conflicts and what was she was going through. There was something about her that suddenly she had an interest in a gravitas and a pull about her. She was one of the highlights of the season for me.

Whittney 19:30

I totally agree that she's very interesting to look at, but maybe because she was not an empathetic character in the books, if they were going to change her, I wish they had changed her. Maybe even more so than, than they have. They've definitely given her more depth and the, actress has done a phenomenal job. giving that character some layers. It's just, the character in general is not super likable all around.

Susan 20:03

But we needed a foil, so Whittney, I know that we've already talked about some of the differences or parallels between the source material. Is there anything else from this episode that was different in the book

Whittney 20:13

The biggest one is that Colin knows, Penelope as Lady Whistledown before he proposes. So he finds out, before the carriage scene happens. Cause they're arguing and that passion turns into the carriage scene, love scene. So that's a huge difference because entire second half is built around trying to keep. Colin from finding out this information. The challenge to unmask Lady Whistledown is not given by the Queen in the books because the Queen isn't really that big of a character. She is a much, character in the show than she is in the books. Lady Danbury is actually the one who throws out the challenge and basically says let's be done with this and figure out who Lady Whistledown is.

Susan 20:58

So the next episode, episode six is romancing Mr. Bridgerton, which by the way is actually the title of the book by Julia Quinn

Whittney 21:05

My favorite part of this episode is Eloise and Penelope coming back together. And I've been wondering how they were going to do this in the show, because in the books, Penelope and Eloise do not have any sort of falling out, and there is not any sort of tension between them at this point. So I really loved this and I loved that, it centered around, what was best for Colin because that, is the only thing that could surpass, their relationship for each other with each other is, their mutual love for Colin. So that was, my butterfly for this episode.

Devon 21:45

Yes, this episode, minus there being very little physical intimacy, between Colin and Penelope, this episode is when things really start taking off for me. And I want to call this episode, The Mother's Step Up, because the scene between Lady Featherington and Penelope. was perhaps the most genuine and authentic scene between any of the characters I have seen thus far. Lady Featherington reveals her failures of her own happy marriage and sharing that her greatest wish was for her daughters to succeed where she didn't in the marriage mark, was truly a special moment between Lady Featherington and Penelope. And one of the best moments between the two actresses themselves. Polly Walker and Nicola Coughlin had such a quiet connection between them. They conveyed so much with their eyes. They were having a connection that they hadn't had before, that something had been missing between this mother and daughter relationship that we've seen on screen. And they were finally able to connect in a human and authentic and genuine way. And it was a marvel to see. And it gave a glimpse of what they could have in the future if they continue to nurture this relationship between the two of them. And we see it develop in the next couple episodes. And that was absolutely one of my favorite elements. They spoke to each other with actual honesty and with each other as equals. The mother spoke to her daughter as, as a woman who's about to be married and about to be on the same level with her in society. And they finally were able to see each other for who they were and the other mother who stepped up and I wanted to do my own little personal cheer dance for was Lady Calper stepping up for her daughter. And helping, seeing her daughter is in a desperate situation and going out on a limb and stepping in and using her own agency to try to help her daughter out of this situation that she's created for herself with saying that she was Lady Whistledown. And you saw the look in Lady Cowper's face. You knew she was going to help Cressida write the missive that the Queen was demanding of her to prove that she was Whistledown. I was so happy because she was, she was doing a bold gesture and showing her daughter clearly. I love you. And I'm going to do anything I can to help you even dive into this. lie with you because I'm trying to save you and we're on the brink of disaster here, but you mean something to me. And I loved that moment. So both Lady Featherington and Lady Cowper stepped it up. The mothers really showed up in this episode and it was something I could get behind and cheer for. So that was a huge butterfly moment. Both ladies blossomed in their own way. Their characters had more depth, had more, had more emotion, had more agency than we've seen in the past, and it really helped them come alive for me.

Susan 24:50

Yes, it finally gave you that emotion and the depth that you wanted to latch on to Dev.

Devon 24:54

Desperately, I got it. I was finally getting it. The writers heard me.

Susan 24:59

As for bee stings for this episode, we see here a dynamic forming between Benedict lady Tilly and Paul Suarez, who is one of lady Tilly's friends. This was a bee sting only because I didn't see this coming. And I wasn't entirely sure why this threesome energy was necessary. But one thing I will say as a Beasting is, man, I miss Lord Debling. I'm like, wait, why did he disappear and go on his expedition? He could have had Cressida. I was hoping we'd see more of him.

Whittney 25:27

That would have helped to redeem Cressida as a character. If he had swooped in and saved and showed her some kindness, maybe that would change her behavior. On what you said about Benedict. It is puzzling to me what they're doing with his character. They are potentially trying to show that he is sowing all these wild oats, like endlessly. And, that that's why they're delaying his story. Cause his story was supposed to be happening now. And I don't know if it's happening next or, or what the deal is, but, I can't explain it because in the books his, he is not, an LGBTQIA plus character. He is, not as kind of openly, um, adventurous as, they make him seem to be in the show. he actually, ends up being a character that kind of likes to be, um, not in society. Later on, he then lives kind of in a cottage in the country. So, it, I think that they are deviating pretty far from his character in the books.

Devon 26:31

And I agree with you, Suze, about Lord Debling. The way some characters are introduced and then dropped without reference or explanation can be frustrating. I'm not quite sure where the disconnect is in the writer's room, especially when you're right, Whittney, that Lord Dublin choosing Cressida as his second choice would seem obvious with the way that they were developing it in the first half of the season. Cressida and Dublin would have made a better choice. A great match and it could have redeemed Cressida. Lord Dublin would have gotten the wife that he needed to watch over his manor while he goes on his expeditions and it would solve Cressida's problem of being stuck on the marriage mark. So that was a bee sting for me too. We missed Lord Dublin and at least we wanted some sort of explanation about where he went or what happened to him and why he didn't want to hang around and snatch up another eligible lady

Susan 27:23

well, for episode seven, Joining of Hands, my butterflies for this episode are I like the way the episode started. It picked up on the cliffhanger from the previous episode where Colin discovers Penelope in a dark alley, sneaking the copy of Lady Whistledown to the printer. So this is when he realizes she's Lady Whistledown. Colin actually has tears in his eyes and he's so angry and Penelope is really mortified that he discovered who she is. And then we have another scene that I appreciated. The relationship between Penn and the Modiste, who knows that she's Lady Whistledown, she's a confidant and a mentor at this point and on her wedding night, the Modiste says, there's no such thing as true love without embracing your true self. And that's really the, of this entire season. It's all about, you have to love yourself. You have to self actualization. You have to be your own person before you can have anybody else or have a true partnership. It summarized the whole season nicely. And right after she has this conversation with the Modis, she runs into Colin again in Dark Street. I have to say, I was really enjoying these Dark Street run ins because they were always very impassioned and a little bit mysterious. And then this leads to another impassioned embrace where he pushes her against the door and. I like the heated moments here. They turn from anger to passion so quickly.

Whittney 28:39

Well, that's really like the push and pull of this relationship, right? It is such a deep love that you can be so upset and angry one second and it just like crosses back over. That shows the tension between these characters.

Susan 28:54

Yes, and I was also pleasantly surprised that despite Colin knowing she was Lady Whistledown and being very upset, he was still going to marry her. And actually at their wedding, the Queen storms in to call out that Lady Whistledown must be hiding among the Bridgertons. She's on their trail.

Whittney 29:10

Yes, I, have to say one of the, small humorous moments, of this episode was, when the Queen, was accusing the Bridgertons of being Lady Whistledown and, I Saying only the Bridgertons stay, Penelope turns to leave and Colin's like, excuse you, like we just got married.

Susan 29:29

Right.

Whittney 29:29

you are a Bridgerton. Thank you. Yeah. It's like, uh, you're in this too. Usually it's a good thing to be a Bridgerton today. It might not be because the Queen's calling us out.

Devon 29:38

One of the butterflies of this episode, first, we just have to call out the bride. Penelope looked so gorgeous in her silk wedding dress and she had such a glow about her. And the bee sting side of, you of this whole thing is the fact that she has joy in her eyes, but she also has the pain because she still hasn't resolved her, uh, rift with Eloise. She still has, she's feeling that Cullen's just marrying her because he's trying to be a man of honor. She knows they've got this conflict between them so that the scene was very beautiful and lovely and we wanted this wedding to happen, but at the same time, It happened when she had so much pain in her eyes, too. Again, applauding Nicola Coughlin for striking this balance of she's getting to marry the man of her dreams, but she's not getting to marry him in the happy manner she may have hoped for. That was frustrating a little bit as the viewer, you're rooting for Penelope, you want her to have this truly happy moment, and you realize or her happiest moments are going to happen after this wedding day, not necessarily this wedding day being the peak of her, her happiness. But, A bee sting for me too, that I was questioning again for the writers, why they were choosing to juggle so many side stories. And I felt like Penelope and Colin were getting shortchanged. As well as Francesca's story, Francesca's story was suddenly starting to be little tiny snatches, you see Francesca and Earl, Kilmartin in the background. And then Francesca and John get engaged and then they're going to get married a few days after Colin and Penelope. There's all those extra scenes. They're very likable characters, Francesca and John. They're visually appealing and striking. I wanted them to have their own time on screen, not just bits, pieces, and snatches throughout the episode. It short changed both of those stories that we wanted to follow. So And Francesca also, they add a little bit of attention where Francesca seems to suddenly want her own time and her own attention and she wants the focus to be on her but At the same time, it's completely overlapping with what's going on with Colin and Penelope, I wish that the writers had possibly set this up in a different way, where we could see each story arc had a little more time to grow and breathe, and we could settle into it and not just get these very quick pieces of the story.

Whittney 32:10

I also agree with you very much, Dev. Um, the Part about Francesca and John's story that annoys me the most is the part where, they are pestering Violet to ask the Queen if it's okay. I thought that entire, aspect of the storyline was completely unnecessary and completely extraneous because it could have been, hey, we're getting married, hey, we're doing this, more true to their characters, it didn't feel right for them. And it doesn't feel right knowing what I know about what's going to happen with Francesca's story. She doesn't like the limelight. She wants to be away from it. And I agree that I didn't like that. We had so much time and energy, diverted away from Colin and Penelope. Even Benedict's story, as we've discussed, I don't understand it.

Devon 32:57

Yes, the Benedict storyline, the writers can't seem to make up their mind what they want to do with this character, and it's causing me to doubt this character's ability to anchor his own season. it's Very wishy washy of who this character is, and I understand he's struggling to find find his way, find his identity, but at the same time, The writers seem to be constantly changing their minds about what Benedict's identity is. In the first season, coming in fresh, we didn't know anything about the characters. They seemed to jump in right away, hinting that he was either a gay character or a bisexual character. And he was feeling comfortable with exploring his feelings to both sexes. And I was fine with that and interested to see where that was going to go. But then they dropped it. Pretty suddenly in the second season, he had the short love affair with the Modiste, and then that was dropped without mention again. And now in the third season here. He's going back to having this threesome with both the man and the woman. We're just swinging back and forth and it's not so much that the character's confused but the the writers haven't decided what they want to do with him. And also, with his conversation with Paul, Paul's trying to figure out who he is, what his interests are, what his passions are, and Benedict says, Oh, I don't have any. And I said, Really? Because there was a whole storyline about him painting and wanting to be an artist and getting into art school. And then when someone asks him, Oh, do you paint? And he says, No. You're thinking, yes, you do. What happened to all of last season where you got into art school and then you were so crushed when you found out that Anthony, paid for your seat. And Eloise was encouraging you to do it anyway, because you could still make it on your own talent. So suddenly they've taken Benedict's interests away from him. So I'm trying to figure out. Who is this character, and what's he gonna be, and how can he even anchor his own season when at this point in time, I don't have any interest in him at all.

Susan 35:08

I agree, Devin. I'm a little confused too. I couldn't tell if he was actually bisexual or was he just really into it? Cause he was trying to impress Tilly, I couldn't really tell what was going on. I wasn't sure if it was entirely necessary other than, As we said, to show he's really sowing his wild oats and it's probably going to take, a great love to get him to settle down and he's really going to need the same kind of transformation or evolution that Penn has gone through to figure out who he is and to not hide behind, who people think he should be and who is he, he needs to come up with that himself first before anyone else can love him before we can latch onto the character

Whittney 35:43

Knowing what I know about his story, I think, you just hit hopefully what they're doing in a weird roundabout, circuitous way. which is they're trying to show that if he has very few friends. Fleeting interests in, maybe hobbies or people. His story will have a. A long buildup, I don't know if they're trying to show A parallel, like a foil there with all of these, love interests and, hobbies. I don't know, but, it, it's still quite confusing.

Susan 36:17

Well, moving right along here, we're already on the last episode of the season. In episode eight, Into the Light, my butterflies are a many. We had this incredible scene at the Dankworth Finch Ball. Loved how Penelope paid for this for her sisters, but gave her mother the credit. Her sister's got everything they wished, including the orange and purple ostrich feathers and the bugs, which we find out are actually butterflies. And of course, Penelope's speech at the ball, amazing. Bravo. The speech of empowerment of self worth, basically that words are power., she's going to aim to use her quill more responsibly. And then the release of the butterflies, which symbolizes this moment of liberation of Lady Whistledown and Penelope from herself. everything about this scene was beautiful. And Colin, oh my God, Colin really stepped up this season. He says to Penelope I'm really proud of you. And actually I think I've been envious of your success and your bravery. And I can't believe that someone like you loves me. And this was great. He said, how lucky am I to stand by your side and to soak up even a little bit of your light? Uh, I was like, damn, I loved it all. I thought it was incredible. I loved the way the episode ended where the lady whistle down voice fades out and switches to Penelope's voice. it was beautiful visually and the message behind it. What a feel good, empowering ending. It was a delight and I loved it.

Whittney 37:47

One of my favorite, parts of this episode, one of my butterflies was, the way that Colin comes around to realizing that Penelope and Lady Whistledown are one and can't be separated and that she's always had this voice. is when he goes back through and rereads all the letters that she's written to him over the years. Because that was a tribute to the length of time that they've been friends. And, and, especially in the books, this was a stronger, more, highlighted, portion of their relationship. So I really loved that because I felt like. Just, Reinforces how deep this connection is and how, it was right there in front of him all along and it's, his fault he didn't realize it,

Devon 38:29

Yes, I loved Penn coming into her own. This, This, Dankworth Finch Ball felt it felt like it could have acted as a series finale. There was such a warm resolution feeling about it, where everyone was being left in a really good place. And it's the best way that you want to leave a season, where you feel it's reached its pinnacle, it's reached its high, its point, and characters are where you hoped they would be. One of the butterflies definitely for me is the visuals of not just this episode, but this entire season. There's been so many times where I, can press pause and study the details and the embellishments and the dresses and the colors. For Lady Featherington and the Featherington sisters. They're always in scenes too quickly because some of their dresses are the most gorgeous. And I'm really hoping that the creators of this show are able to put out a companion book. I know many of our favorite series get a companion book where it features The costumes and it features the production and the set design. And I would love to have an opportunity to sit down and really study the colors and the details and everything that has gone into this production, because it's truly breathtaking, the designers have just completely outdone themselves. It's such a visual feast for the eyes. There is so much symbolism and there are so many things that I know that they've put in that I haven't caught. This first time around I could watch the show on mute if I needed to and just focus on the colors and the details and it would be enough. It's so visually appealing and, it's a huge butterfly for me. These dresses, you could just, eat them up and Lady Featherington is one of my favorite dress women on the show. On the screen and Cressida, her moments of the season were such highlights. That power dress where she's coming out to the queen as Lady Whistledown. Those are great, great butterfly moments. As far as a bee sting, I was watching this episode again with my husband and I said, wait, they didn't show us what happened to Cressida. And Blake said, Yes, they did. They showed her being taken away in a carriage, and I was like, what? And so I paused, and I rewound, and then I saw it, and the flash of Cressida in a carriage driving away I had literally missed it on a long blink. I must have just looked down for a moment and I didn't even see the scene and so that was a little confusing. It left me scratching my head because the writers went out of their way to build an appealing arc for this character, having us root for this character and see the growth and we've empathized with her and her pain and her loneliness and her desperation. And then we get a long blink. worth of a scene. Her being whisked away in a carriage. So that's a beast thing for me. I thought that they should have something more for her. I'll be interested to see if they continue her storyline I certainly hope she isn't someone that they just drop without a mention again.

Whittney 41:35

They definitely will come back to Cressida, they've built her up as a character so much, and she is one of the few, foils still left, in this cast. So, she has to come back in. Also, I wanted to just quickly point out, butterflies symbol rebirth. And so I thought the release of the butterflies, um, at the Dankworth Finch ball, there are layers to the rebirth Cressida will be reborn as well. So, it's not just, Penelope being reborn, potentially the Dankworth Finches, Because they got their moment, right? Portia had a rebirth. Eloise Will be moving forward with a rebirth. Francesca, spoiler alert, will have a rebirth.

Susan 42:20

So one thing that was a little bit of a beasting for me, was when Colin made a plea to Cressida to drop the blackmail that was really nice that he tried to do that. And his speech was perfectly good it made rational sense, but I was like, that's never going to work. There's no way Cressida was just going to be like, Oh, you're right, Colin, you're so rational. I'm going to drop the blackmail.

Whittney 42:39

And also Colin in general in this episode until he has that moment of like, oh, wait, she's always been whistled down, like sleeping on the couch, that bored me, don't do that to Penn,

Susan 42:49

we wanted steam. Can't have steam when they're at

Devon 42:53

Yeah, he's like, yeah,

Susan 42:54

Come on. Penelope could have come out to the couch. They like confined spaces.

Whittney 42:59

Yes. Also, you're married now. Like, who cares? You know, get over it., this is your, the rest of your life. In general, it was showing the downswing of his character, right? So that it could swing back up.

Devon 43:10

It shows Colin thinks like a man and he thinks like a man specifically in this era. And in his mind, if he goes in and he makes a pretty speech, this woman is going to back down and take back her, blackmail threats. And part of it is because he doesn't understand and he doesn't realize or is able to relate in any way how trapped Cressida feels and how desperate she is. And that for her, this is the only way that she sees to get out of her situation. She needs to have a source of money in some way and her father has taken away her dowry. This is the only way that she sees to get it. So she is at the point where she's just sort of biting at her own chains. She's trying to get out of the system and she needs money and Colin's the source of it. And so Colin was naive thinking that she would change her mind just because he didn't really take into account her level of desperation or understand it because he's never felt that way. So, Cressida didn't back down and Collin's plea didn't work, but it worked out because Penelope was the one who ultimately had to resolve the situation. This was her, this was her situation and she needed to resolve it and she did and that was the best, outcome.

Susan 44:27

And another bee sting for me was, um. When Francesca kissed Sterling, their first kiss at their wedding, first of all, I was like, wait, is this their first kiss? These guys rushed their marriage, but never even tested out their physical intimacy, you know, just to see if they had chemistry, like even a peck. This was the first time we saw them kiss. That was a little weird that we had had no development with that relationship at all. That was the first time we were even seeing them touch. But then the look on Francesca's face was like, something she wasn't expecting. And of course, this ends up being a juxtaposition to a reaction. She has to another character at the end of the episode. So I understand why they played it this way, but I felt like we got gypped with their relationship a bit because we never even got to see. Any real chemistry between them, other than that, they could sit in prolonged silence I was a little disappointed too, that when they did kiss, it was literally a peck and then the reaction wasn't what I expected. Francesco was kind of like, Ooh, Ooh, that was it. That's how I felt too.

Devon 45:27

It was a little awkward, too, because it was very quick. Again, the camera was on her for just the briefest of seconds. If I had blinked at the wrong spot, I would have missed her reaction. So I wish that sometimes that they would hold the camera on things just a moment longer, um, to give them more of a meaning as opposed to flashing away so quickly.

Susan 45:47

What, what happens when Devin blinks? We might miss plot

Devon 45:50

Clearly, I, I miss all sorts of things, and

Susan 45:53

They've got to, make, longer blink time on screen.

Devon 45:58

A look or a, or a scene can't be less than a blink. They need to, they need to hold it out a little bit longer in order for it to mean something and for people to actually be able to make sure everyone sees it. For those, those who were blinking, Francesca had a look on her face, like she didn't get the fireworks that she was hoping for.

Susan 46:20

There's a whole little plot development here where Eloise asks if she can go with John Sterling and Francesca to his family home in the Highlands in Scotland. But then Lord Kilmartin is like, Oh, well, it's great if Eloise comes with us because, my cousin's coming with us too. And they show Michaela Sterling. And then all of a sudden it looks like Francesca's world is lit on fire. The look that she gets on her face. It's everything that she wasn't when her husband kissed her. So Whittney, I really need to know your thoughts on this. can you talk about the source material? What the heck is going on here with this Michaela Sterling character? Why is she lighting Francesca's pantaloons on fire?

Whittney 47:03

So this was the biggest, shocker for anyone who has read the books because this character in the books is not named Michaela. This character is named Michael and it is John Sterling's cousin, and it is a huge foreshadow. And so, the internet was ablaze, like did Julia Quinn sign off on the gender swap, right? Because this shows us Francesca's story. it's kind of a spoiler, but kind of not, but, obviously, uh, she's not going to have a happily ever after with John Sterling. And in the books, we don't even really know much about their relationship because, it's kind of a footnote, it's a background. Note, because that's not her story. That's not the story of the book that focuses on her. So the story of the book that focuses on her it starts with grief, but, ends with, I guess it's going to now be Michaela Sterling.

Susan 47:58

Okay, so interesting. Whittney, this is really inspiring me to read the source material.

Devon 48:02

Me

Susan 48:02

So especially if we're going to have to wait a while for the next, season to drop, but overall, that Michaela twist really shocked me. I was like, Whoa, I feel like my head like spun around between that and the threesome with Benedict. I was like, wow, we're getting, we're getting a little bit of something for everyone here. But at the end of the show, it left me with, okay, where do we go from here? What's going to happen. I didn't know if maybe Eloise going to the Highlands, there was going to be a love interest there. Of course, now we have this Michaela Francesca storyline. and now I'm very curious about Benedict. Where does he go from here?

Whittney 48:38

You've already met Eloise's love interest.

Susan 48:41

no.

Whittney 48:42

you haven't met Benedict.

Susan 48:44

Okay. Okay. Nice little teaser there. I'm now curious about who's going to be the next Bridgerton to have their love story. I've seen a lot of things on the internet. I never know what's true or not,

Whittney 48:56

so, it's definitely not Eloise. It's either Benedict or Francesca. And I'm leaning toward Benedict because I know that Francesca's story needs some time for the events to unfold. I don't think it's going to be Francesca. I will be highly surprised if it's Francesca, but,, Benedict's story is, a fan favorite. And, Jess Brownell has said many times already that the writing is already in full swing for the next season. Who will be featured. They haven't announced yet, but she said, it's the best rating they've ever done. And so my gut reaction says Benedict. And that's why this whole threesome, Lady Tilly thing was set up. And that's why we have all these seasons of his, him being a bigger character in other people's seasons than potentially he would have been. So if it's not Benedict, I'll be highly surprised.

Devon 49:51

Do you think the season could be both Francesca and Benedict?

Whittney 49:54

Shonda said she will have eight seasons. And there are eight kids and eight books. So

Devon 50:00

Yeah, that's a lot. There's lots of Bridgerton. It's a marathon, not a sprint, people. This is a big commitment.

Susan 50:07

It really is. But it's beautifully done. It's been really enjoyable to watch. I really loved the actors and their performances in this season and especially give a shout out to, Nicola Coughlin and Luke Newton. They did a fabulous job and I really hope that the two of them get other roles in different. Things beyond Bridgerton because I think both of them have a lot of great strengths and qualities. And I I'd love to see more actually of all the Bridgerton actors and outside projects.

Devon 50:35

I saw something online about Nicola Coughlin filming another series during the same time that she filmed this season. big mood, there we go. She had been on Dairy Girls, which was like her breakout hit. I haven't watched that, but I've heard wonderful things. And then she came on Bridgerton, and now she's filming this other show. So I think she is only going to continue to rise. I've heard that this season in particular, the ratings have been a smash. it's Been extraordinarily popular even over the other two seasons. There's just something very likable about Nicola and people feel very seen with her character and she's just someone different as a lead love interest and I love her. I'm all for her. I'm on the bandwagon of Nicola Coughlin all the way.

Susan 51:19

me too. Definitely. I'm in full support.

Whittney 51:21

Yes. Same. Overall, how would we rate the season and how does it stack up compared to seasons one and two?

Devon 51:30

It's hard for me to compare these seasons now because I was expecting them to be following the same formula and the second half of this third season was a departure. And it was a refreshing one. It was unexpected. I loved the self empowerment. I loved the confidence and the triumphant ending. Or we could say the triumphant beginning of Penelope's character into her new life. And so it's hard for me to compare the two previous seasons, which I highly enjoyed, but they were definitely more of a steamy romp. And this was more of a self actualization. This season, it started off slow for me. And I was wondering about the leads. I was, I was unsure if this season was going to work for me. And it slowly, but surely built up momentum and. I started caring, and it ended at a high point with the Finch Danckworth ball, and overall I'm really pleased with this season. It left me with a great feeling, and I want to go to the books, and I want more. So that's, all that the writers could hope for.

Susan 52:29

Yes,

Devon 52:29

more. Mm

Susan 52:30

I agree with you, Devin. I had a feeling of warmth throughout the last few episodes. It was warm. It was uplifting. I felt inspired, empowered. It was just, just beautifully done. What you were saying, it got a little bit of a slow start. I actually think the way that they divided the season into two different drops. That wasn't helpful because without having that Stop after episode four, we could have continued and watch the arc naturally develop. It was hard, having that first drop and then having a month off because it did get a bit of a slow start without that carriage scene, that's really, what carried it through. Some people might stop watching, it helps to have it all come out at once for momentum purposes. But, with that said, it was such a strong season. I really enjoyed it. And it's hard to compare seasons because They're, separate entities. They're all unique and strong in their own ways. Each season brings something different and special. But this one in particular felt very empowering

Whittney 53:25

the first two seasons were very, cohesive. And the flow of the plot made sense. This season that changed dramatically for me and the flow of the episodes felt much more disjointed and I think it's entirely due to the fact that Netflix asked Bridgerton to develop the season to be split in half like this, I think that this was purely, a Netflix decision that was communicated to them and that the writers had to make it work for that, but that if they had chosen to do the original single season drop format that this season would probably have looked a lot different and that it would have been more faithful to the plot and that it would have had the normal, rise and fall of action and, have more of a cohesive plot with a rising tension point. Um, The book made more of an impact as far as a cohesive plot. And on this season, there were a lot of these side plots that I couldn't get behind. I know we've talked about Lord Anderson. And I still don't understand that, I think They're going to spin off either a second season of Queen Charlotte, or they're going to, do another season, a series that is, Lady Danbury, like childhood or adolescent season, and they're going to explore Marcus Anderson and, the, incident that they talked about, about how she was trying to leave and he told on her, so I think that they might be trying to set up a spinoff there, this season, while it was great for its own reasons, it didn't sing for me the way I hoped it would.

Susan 55:04

Those are really interesting points. How the flow can really affect. the season and we said before about all the different side characters there was a lot going on and some of it seemed potentially extraneous but I'd like to think that the writers know what they're doing and like you said maybe they're teasing certain things but at a certain point they have to watch to make sure that they're not trying to cook too many things on the stove Devin in our first recap you were really adamant about saying that you wanted there to be more for the characters to do in general, and also more emotional stuff for them to sink their teeth into. So I was curious, did you feel that that ended up happening this season? And I was also curious if in particular you felt that Lady Featherington, the great Polly Walker ended up having more to do and was more utilized in this second installment.

Devon 55:54

Yes, absolutely. It's incredible what happens when the writers allow characters to talk for more than 10 seconds at a time and give them Several sentences in a row as dialogue. A character can actually reveal something about themselves and say something. Bridgerton seems to have a special way of characters can talk and have a conversation in multiple scenes and nothing is actually ever said. That seemed to be the huge takeaway for us in Queen Charlotte, characters hint at things so much and they never say them directly, which can be infuriating to a viewer who wants some actual storyline. to develop. And so in this season, we get the wonderful Polly Walker. She gets her scene with Penelope. She gets several scenes where she actually can express herself and reveal something true. A scene that really stands out to me is when Lady Danbury, she gets two really strong scenes with her brother, Lord Anderson, and they harken back to their childhood and these unresolved emotions and conflicts between them and Lady Danbury, Because she gets to talk more than a second, and she gets to show actual emotion and reveal something about herself, she slips back into her native accent for a minute. And it connects to how she was from, like, a royal tribe in Africa, they mention this in the Queen Charlotte season, and when she's impassioned and she's talking to her brother, her original dialect comes back in, and it, It instantly brought depth and interest to her character again for me. So I was really happy that the writers were not afraid to write some meaningful, extended dialogue for several of the characters. So my palate was quenched. The thirst was quenched that I had for that. growth and evolution of the characters and just the stronger bit of writing. So thank you Shondaland for giving me those wonderful dialogue pieces that I was missing.

Susan 57:57

The performances of all the actors were shining on full display in these last few episodes. And for what it's worth, Whittney, I really like Lord Anderson. He seems like a stand up guy. I feel like he's very charming. He's pleasant on screen. So I'm curious to see what they do with him in the future also.

Whittney 58:16

I have a lot of unpopular opinions today, which, Hey, I feel like normally when, the two of you are, not liking something, I'm usually giving it more of a chance. So that shows my Bridgerton passion, right? That I'm just like, absolutely not. No Lord Anderson. The end.

Susan 58:34

It shows that you have connection to the source material and we don't. So we're coming at it from a different perspective because I understand wanting to be loyal to the source material. That's what, something that you're attached to and you do form a different attachment when you read something in print versus seeing it on screen.

Whittney 58:50

I loved this book. And so I think even though there were changes that were positive, that were made on the series, in the end, I'm generally going to be a person who prefers the book over the screen adaptation.

Devon 59:02

To head to my local library soon and add them to my reading list. I Look forward to having a discussion with you again, Whittney, about the source material.

Whittney 59:12

That's a wrap on Bridgerton season three. And as we discussed, because it takes them two years to create every season, right now they're, scheduled to release in 2026.

Susan 59:24

It gives us time to read the source material in between to whet that Bridgerton appetite that we now have. So maybe that's our goal in the interim,

Whittney 59:33

Yes.

Susan 59:34

Let us know your thoughts on our recaps of Bridgerton Season 3. Do you agree or disagree with us? Whose love story would you like to see next? We'd love to hear your opinions. Please send us an email at susanandWhittney at gmail. com or DM us on Facebook or Instagram.

Devon 59:50

Thanks again for having me on love talking with you ladies.

Susan 59:53

Thanks, Dev. It's always a pleasure.

Devon 59:55

And remember this is a marathon, not a sprint. So we've got to pace ourselves,

Susan 59:59

This is a slow carriage ride, not a fast one.

Whittney 1:00:04

Um, yes, this carriage ride, this carriage driver is taking the long, long, long way around.

Devon 1:00:11

No long way around yet.

Susan 1:00:13

Can the carriage driver not stop driving? He's just going around and around and around. Oh my goodness. Talk to you later.

Whittney 1:00:22

Talk to you later. Join us next time when we pick up where we left off and continue the conversation.

Susan 1:00:29

Check us out on Instagram at Susan and Whitney, or send us an email at susanandwhitney at gmail. com.

Whittney 1:00:34

That's S U S A N, the word and, W H I T T N E Y.

Susan 1:00:42

Our awesome music is by Offshane, and our scripting and editing is by us. Talk to you later. Yay, I think we did a good job.