Bridgerton: Colin & Penelope Season Should Have Been The Last One

Summary

• Colin and Pen are one of the most popular couples in Bridgerton.
• Their romance was touched on earlier in the show than in the books.
• However, fans feel that their arc should have been revealed at the very end.

Despite Netflix's unpopular decision to split the new season into two halves a month apart, fans were still incredibly excited to see Bridgerton Season 3. Especially considering that this season focused on one of the most beloved couples in both Julia Quinn's novels and the Netflix series, Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) and Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan).

As you probably know, Season 3 was an adaptation of not the third, but the fourth novel in the series, and so many fans feel that the show would have benefited from following Julia Quinn's book order, or from making Pen and Colin's romance the endgame altogether. Let's break down why viewers feel the season dedicated to Polin should have been the final one.

Be warned, the article contains some major spoilers for the third season of Bridgerton. So if you don't want to ruin your impression of how Pen and Colin's relationship developed, we strongly recommend that you watch the last season of Bridgerton before reading this piece.

Why Did Polin Become the Protagonists of S3?

The exact reason why the writers, led by showrunner Jess Brownell, decided to jump straight to the fourth novel in the series, Romancing Mister Bridgerton, instead of the third, is unfortunately unknown.

However, many have speculated that the reason was the possible departure of Nicola Coughlan or Luke Newton from the project in the next few seasons, as was the case with Regé-Jean Page and Phoebe Dynevor.

Now, of course, it's known that both will return for Season 4, and that's a no-brainer, as we've yet to see the effects of their happy marriage, as well as interactions with the other Bridgertons, especially Benedict (Luke Thompson). Still, it's unknown if Coughlan and Newton will appear in the future seasons after it. Apparently, this is what forced the writers to start the Polin arc earlier than expected.

Having the Polin Arc at the End of Bridgerton Would Have Benefited the Plot

And yet such a decision had drawbacks for Bridgerton's entire subsequent narrative.

Firstly, we are now left without any of the intrigue surrounding Lady Whistledown (of course, in the novel, Pen also reveals that this is her alter ego, but before that, we have an entire novel, An Offer from a Gentleman). Secondly, there's an incredible amount of pressure on Pen in this season to never get married — in the novel, she's really becoming a spinster by this point, which is not felt in the show. And thirdly, fans would not have forgiven the absence of Julie Andrews, the voice of Whistledown, although it will be much harder to fit her into the plot now.

It's unlikely that Shondaland and Netflix will want to let Andrews go, so they'll continue to use the invisible image of Lady Whistledown, which goes against the narrative of the novels. After all, now that all of London knows that Whistledown has turned out to be none other than Penelope, it doesn't make much sense for her to cling to her alter ego.

In this regard, Julia Quinn has acted wisely, as the fourth novel in the series touches on a rather lengthy period, about ten years. During this time, Pen has had plenty of time to rethink her attitude to society and its antics, which has become a coherent transition between Lady Whistledown, whose writing skills were wasted on gossip, and Penelope Bridgerton, a successful author in her own right.

Hopefully the writers will be able to handle these aspects wisely in Season 4, which is currently being written.