If you’re waiting until the weekend to binge the first four episodes of the newest season of “Bridgerton,” you may want to stop reading…now. Because those of us who have watched every single scene of the third season (and some scenes many, many, many times over) cannot contain our reactions to the love story between Colin Bridgerton and Penelope Featherington any longer.
Sorry not sorry. Gentle Reader, you’ve been warned.
It’s been two years since we last checked in with the “Bridgerton” milieu, and while the “Queen Charlotte” love story was lovely, two years is simply too long. But you know what? Shondaland has more than made up for it—because even just the first half of season three is everything. (Cue Vitamin String Quartet’s version of Pitbull’s “Give Me Everything,” which will now be on repeat in the minds of thousands of us for the foreseeable future.)
If you’ve read any of Julia Quinn’s beloved books, then you probably know that season two strayed pretty far from the source material. Disappointingly far, to be honest. The only reason the book girlies didn’t riot is because Shonda gave us Jonathan Bailey, Simone Ashley, and the “bane of my existence” monologue, which would have had SNL’s Mary Catherine Gallagher astral projecting should she have recited it at St. Monica’s. (IYKYK, and if you don’t, well, you’re probably a lot younger than This Author. Congrats.)
A quick recap on where are as season three begins: Penelope is ready to free herself from the trenches of Featherington House and her scheming mother and sisters. After she takes charge of giving herself a breathtaking glow-up, she enlists her lifelong crush, Colin Bridgerton, to help school her on how to snag a husband and run her own household. She spends most of the time trying to convince herself she’s completely over Colin, whom she’s been in love with for most of her life, until the fourth episode—where she finds herself (delightfully and contentedly) under him.
All in all, it’s been excellent fan service for the book girlies so far. Any changes made from “Romancing Mister Bridgerton” not only make perfect sense, but enhance the overall plot of the show. How do I know? All you have to do is log onto TikTok or Twitter (This Author refuses to call it “X”) and you’ll see what I mean.
And there’s more:
As someone who read her first Bridgerton book as a teenager, words cannot express just how gratifying it is to see this particular story told so well. Yes, we have the showrunners, costume designers, makeup artists, set designers, and directors to thank for all of that. But hats off to the brilliant performances of Nicola Coughlan and Luke Newton, because watching actors embody book characters you’ve loved for more than two decades of your life is simply…perfect. Anyone who’s loved a book and seen it come to life on the big screen knows that, uh, you don’t always feel that way about a film depiction. And that’s OK!
But this one? Whew. It’s everything. And the entire internet is in agreement for once, which is unheard of. We’re already counting down until June 13.