Colin having other men question whether he’s courting Penelope might be the first time anyone has brought that possibility to mind for him. Now that the idea of Penelope as a wife is in the back of his head, I want a scene in season 3 where Philipa has a newborn daughter & Colin sees Penelope holding the tiny redheaded baby and smiles at how happy & beautiful she looks with a baby in her arms. It could be the first time he truly considers Penelope as a woman ready to become a wife & mother.
Better yet let the scene mirror the scene from season 1 when Colin & Penelope saw Lady Trowbridge and her redheaded baby (who looked like her footman). Let’s see Colin & Penelope notice the baby crying and instinctively team up to soothe the child and it’s basically a glimpse of how they would be with a child of their own.
Since we can’t know exactly how the show plans to have Polin’s story play out, I was thinking if they do intend to make Colin jealous, how fun would it would be to have, “Single Ladies, (Put A Ring On It)” playing at a ball while Penelope’s denying Colin a dance or ignoring him altogether.
I have a whole Polin inspired playlist I WISH I could share with whoever selects the music for the show… instead I’m sharing it here.
Phil Colin’s “Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now) is another great song for Polin while Colin feels disconnected from Penelope and is missing her. There’s a reason this song is a classic.
“That you cared for me. That you would never forsake me. I’m beginning to believe that now.”
The next time Polin speak he’s visiting her house and when she walks him out he says they’re relationship has developed so naturally that it is easy to take it for granted. I don’t know if he realizes how true that statement really is yet because he’s still not quite ready to recognize exactly how deeply his feelings for Penelope run.
Colin’s never had to consider that Penelope is actually very important to him, she’s been constant in his life like part of his family for years. I really think it’s going to take a major reality check for him to understand that Penelope doesn’t owe him her presence in his life. I think Whistledown is going to write how Colin said he’d never court her and he’s going to feel terrible for the embarrassment it causes her and try to apologize.
It’s my hope that when he does, Penelope accepts the apology but insists for the first time ever that he observe proper etiquette with her going forward. He’ll need to stop referring to her by name & call her Miss Featherington, and refrain from taking her hand, touching her or pulling her into a room alone again since it would be improper and maybe she’ll even refuse to dance with him anymore to avoid giving anyone the wrong impression.
Basically I want Colin to be cut off from his friend Pen completely and feel the loss hard because she’ll be right there in front of him yet completely inaccessible & when he stops to think about how much he misses the closeness of what they had before, he’s going to be devastated.
I need Colin to fall so hard and fast for Penelope that he doesn’t know what to do with himself. I’m just gonna say it, I need Colin to cry and be visibly fearful that he’s ruined his chances with the one woman he knows he can’t live without.
There was a scene in season 2 where they mentioned snow coming in the winter… I really hope that was foreshadowing because I’d love a Season 3 Polin kiss under mistletoe
In the first few episodes I really sympathised with Marina and her situation. I also loved how supportive Penelope was even though she didn’t really understand the situation.
But, when Marina started to seduce Colin, I did start to dislike her. I don’t know if this is me being overly protective of the Bridgerton bois, or if I would have had a problem with this if it were anybody else.
Penelope wasn’t just jealous of the attention Colin was paying Marina, she was genuinely concerned for both Colin and the rest of the Bridgertons. She puts all of them on a pedestal of goodness and sees them as a second family, which is obvious from later on when she just turns up in their drawing room and no one bats an eyelid. In the books at least Anthony, Benedict and Colin all like her from the beginning, and so does Violet, despite her issues with the rest of Penelope’s family.
While what she did was wrong, Colin did deserve to know. But there were other options:
1) Tell Anthony. I know this would have been slightly difficult, but he already had his doubts so he would have taken what she said seriously.
2) Tell Violet. She’s had 8 kids, it wouldn’t have taken much observation on her part to pick up on it once the suspicion was placed in her head.
3) Tell Eloise. Probably the most obvious course of action.
4) Just tell Colin. I know there are other issues with this, and she did at least try, but she could have been more upfront about it.
Publishing it in Lady Whistledown was a low blow, but this wasn’t just about her feelings for Colin, this was about a man she had been friends with for years, and a family who had never made her feel worthless, unlike so many others.
Was it petty and cruel? Yes. Do I feel any pity for Marina? No.
She turned on Penelope the moment she was anything less than 100% on her side, and couldn’t even fathom that her concern came from anything other than jealousy.
In Penelope’s mind at least, she was being loyal to those she cared for. And in the next season, I think we will see Penelope become much more aware of the damage she can do, despite no long term damage this time around.
Since Polin has been announced as the main couple for season 3, my previous list of “Things I’d Like to See in Season 3” is now better for season 4.
So here’s some predictions now that it’s confirmed that Polin will be taking center stage! (And I bet most if not all will be disproven).
This got long, so I’m putting it under the cut!
1- Penelope Cold Shoulder
The first time we see Colin approach Penelope at a party or a ball, he’s going to be in for quite the shock of his life when his “Pen” addresses him as “Mr. Bridgerton” instead of Colin. Eloise isn’t talking to Penelope, so she’ll be of no help and Colin will try to visit the Featherington residence to call on Penelope and get answers.
2- Featherington Matchmaking (?)
There is a Featherington sister from the books who is absent from the show: Felicity Featherington. And in the book Romancing Mr. Bridgerton, Portia gets it into her head that if 33-year-old Colin Bridgerton decides to marry that year, he should marry early-20s Felicity Featherington. Since Felicity doesn’t exist in the show, it’s possible that Portia might take Colin coming to the Featherington residence the wrong way and try to push him towards Prudence.
3- Eloise Will Tell Colin About Penelope
From some comments Colin made in season 2 toward Eloise, I’m inclined to think that he suspects his sister of being Lady Whistledown. He confronts her in the book about this, too. But at this time, nobody knows about Penelope’s alter ego.
I think in the show, Colin will confront Eloise about being Lady Whistledown. She’ll deny it vehemently, they’ll argue back and forth, and then she’ll exclaim in a fit of anger: “I’mnot Lady Whistledown! It’s Penelope!”
Or he could find out on his own like he does in the book.
4- Another Baby Gender Swap
This is based entirely on Portia’s reveal in the final episode of season 2 that the first of her girls to bear a son will automatically inherit the title of “Lord Featherington” instead of Cousin Jack. I think that season 3 could end with Penelope and Colin and a baby. In the books, their first child is a girl named Agatha in honor of Lady Danbury. While I sincerely hope they keep baby Agatha, it’s not outside the realm of possibility that they’ll have a son first instead. They’ve already done this with Daphne having a son named Augie instead of a girl named Amelia like in the books.
So instead of Amelia being the firstborn (again, I hope they don’t change this, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they did), maybe their son Thomas would be.
5- Masquerade (?)
So far Bridgerton has done a build up to/foreshadowing of the next season’s couple alongside the main couple’s storyline with both of their seasons. If they continue with this trend, it’s entirely possible that the masquerade ball where Benedict meets Sophie could be in this season. Maybe in the final episode? That could allow for a time cut in season 4 and maybe some flashbacks to Sophie’s childhood and how she got to the ball.
This one honestly seems the least likely to me and they’ll probably hold off until season 4 for the masquerade. But who knows?
6- Introducing John Stirling (and maybe Michael)
I was not surprised by the Francesca recasting news. The actress seems in high demand. I believe they intended for her to be in more episodes in season 2, but conflicts with other projects meant she was only in 3 episodes. And since she landed the lead role in a different show and Francesca’s storyline won’t come around until much later, it’s understandable that she’d want to take the opportunity instead of being a background character for the next couple of years.
With Francesca being recast with an older actress, I think we’ll see more of her in the show. Season 3 will be the perfect opportunity for Francesca to debut and be presented to Queen Charlotte. Then her subplot, while the Polin drama is going on, can be her relatively tame romance and engagement to John Stirling, Earl of Kilmartin. And if John is introduced this season, maybe a later entry into the season will be Michael Stirling.
I can’t wait for 2023, where all of my predictions will be proven wrong.
Reasons Why I’m Okay With Polin Being the Season 3 Couple
It has been confirmed that the main couple of season 3 will not be Benedict x Sophie after all and instead, Colin and Penelope will be taking center stage. Now, book purists are probably incensed that the show is screwing with the book order, but I don’t think it’s going to be the end of the world for them to shuffle things around this way.
Here are a few reasons why I’m okay with Penelope and Colin (Polin) being the main couple of season 3.
1- They already set it up to happen in the final episode of season 2
Colin stated quite loudly to the Asshole Brigadeat the Featherington Ball that he would “never dream of courting Penelope Featherington.” This is already a departure from the books since in An Offer From a Gentleman, he said something similar, but it was to his brothers on a relatively empty street.
Another departure from page to screen is that in the books, Colin was made aware pretty much immediately that Penelope had heard every word he said. But in the show, Colin doesn’t know that Penelope heard him.
This will set up the conflict at the beginning of season 3 when Penelope is giving Colin the cold shoulder and Colin will be very confused as to why it’s happening.
2- It makes more sense for Eloise’s story to follow right after Benedict’s
In the books, Eloise decides to try and see if marriage to Phillip Crane would suit her after Penelope marries Colin. But she also states in To Sir Phillip, With Love that the reason she went so long without getting married or accepting a proposal was the love story between Sophie and Benedict. If she was ever going to get married, she wanted a romance like theirs.
In the show, Benedict is Eloise’s favorite brother and the Brigerton sibling she feels closest to. In the context of the show, it makes sense that Eloise would move her romance forward following the marriage of Sophie and Benedict.
3- Happily Ever Afters
(I would like to preface this point by saying I’m a white woman, not a person of color, but I’m going to try my best here. I’m mainly just repeating some points that people of color have already made.)
We’re all well aware at this point that Bridgertonis not your typical period drama. Up until recently, most productions that took place in this era had a fully white cast. And when period productions do have people of color in more prominent roles, their plots tend to have them going through something traumatic. Like they have to go to hell and back andmaybeget a happy ending kind of traumatic. And it’s almost always about how that trauma affects the white lead or drives the plot of the white lead forward.
I think we can also safely say that women probably make up more of Bridgerton’sviewership numbers than men. And to paraphrase Charithra Chandran from Netflix’s TUDUM event, she never imagined that someone who looks like her would ever be in a production like Bridgerton. As someone who always had the luxury of seeing women who look like me getting their happily ever after onscreen, I can only imagine what it must feel like for women who look like Charithra and Simone.
Now, if the Bridgerton show remained in book order, then there would be four seasons in a row where women of color did not get to see other women of color in the starring role get their happily ever after in a genre they aren’t normally seen in. These four women in the leading role would be Penelope, Eloise, Francesca, Hyacinth. If Colin’s season comes first, that leaves room for a woman of color to be cast as Sophie in Benedict’s season. It would still be three seasons in a row without a woman of color in the leading role, but it’s a step up from four seasons.
And even with a three-season gap of women of color in the starring role, there are still other women of color in the show that will have more prominent roles, even if it’s not the starring role (Kate, Lady Danbury, Queen Charlotte for example).
(I’m aware of some of the concerns that the Sophie/Benedict storyline could tread into white savior territory. But I don’t want to overstay my welcome treading into a talk about representation.)
TL;DR: Polin is next year’s main couple and that’s fine with me.
Penelope learned a long time ago that she would never be the princess of her story and that Colin would ever offer her a happily ever after.
But one night, a little misunderstanding (really, it could have happened to anyone) and a gorgeous pair of shoes may just turn her life into a fairytale after all.
IV. He sought after her thoughts on nearly every topic
Pairing: Colin x Penelope Rating:G
Series Summary: What if Colin loved Penelope first
a/n: this is the first scene i wrote of the series. one lil’ colin bridgerton calling on one penelope featherington for the first time, out of the blue.
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They found one another throughout the summer, both on purpose and by chance. Colin even offered to accompany her and Eloise on walks, (much to his sister’s dismay), just to hear Penelope’s thoughts on whatever possessed them that day. If it was the weather, or what she was reading, or what soapbox Eloise was forcing her to go along with. He wanted to know her favorite snacks and meals; if she preferred tea or lemonade and why. What she would like to be doing instead of being here in London, what she had been doing summers of late. He would rather hover around them for a moment of pleasant conversation than galivant around Mayfair with his friends.
Three weeks before the season’s end, Colin called on Penelope - a book in hand.
He hadn’t told anyone where he was going, leaving Number 5 and sauntering down Bruton Street until he reached the Featherington House on Mount Street. It was ten in the morning and Colin was fairly certain most distinguished families would have long sat for breakfast by now, yet early enough that Penelope wouldn’t have departed for the day.
“May I help you?” the Featherington footman greeted.
“I am Colin Bridgerton. Here to speak with Miss Penelope Featherington.”
“Colin?” he heard her voice in a doorway just beyond the foyer, head peeking around their footman.
Colin entered on his own accord, meeting her in the entrance of the drawing room.
“I thought you might like this,” he presented the leatherbound book. “I read six pages and knew I had to bring you a copy.”
“Oh-” he watched her eyes rove the cover. She looked up at him with the sweetest of smiles. “That’s lovely, Col-” her mother pointedly cleared her throat from her seat not too far away ”Mr. Bridgerton. Thank you.”
“Go on.”
“I don’t want to be rude,” she nearly whispers.
“You won’t. I insist. Read the first page at least.”
She does. He sees her fingers curl to turn the page.
“And?”
Penelope looked him right in the eye, as best as her short stature would allow but still as striking. “I don’t want to put it down.”
“I knew it,” he said smugly. The smile tugging at the corners of his mouth was anything but smug. Delighted, satisfied and most certainly relieved.
Penelope cradled the book to her chest. “Thank you. Truly.”
Something changed at that moment.
Colin took half a step towards her in the already waning space between them and placed a delicate hand at her bare elbow.
“I must know your thoughts. You’ll tell me once you finish the chapter?”
“Yes, of course.”
Penelope’s mother sat with calculating eyes, hot gaze never moving from the third son of a very well-to-do family.
With a smile Colin took his leave, determined to finish the chapter that afternoon.
And that’s how it started. Notes passed via lower valet’s across the street when they weren’t bound to meet or too impatient to wait for social calls. It took them four days to finish that first novel, and immediately they moved on to the next.
Again and again they went through as many novels as time would allow, his choice then hers. The most splendid blend of respect and widening perspectives.
Even when Colin was at Eton he and Penelope would keep their correspondence. He appreciated her more, knowing that she was always reading another book in tandem because his studies had slowed him down.
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a/n:thanks for reading. i’ve decided where i want this to end and that means there’s only two short parts left. hopefully you don’t mind
