Bridgerton Season 4: Fans Demand an Apology and a Redo

Summary

• Bridgerton showrunner noted that the team is almost done writing Season 4, and that it will be much better than the previous ones.
• But dissatisfied fans feel that the same amount of energy should have been put into the third season.
• A fan petition for the return of the deleted scenes from Season 3 has garnered more than 55,000 signatures.

When the third season of Bridgerton landed on Netflix on May 16, 2024, after two years of agonizing anticipation, we were all in awe, with incredibly high hopes for the love story of Penelope Featherington and Colin Bridgerton, played by the inimitable Nicola Coughlan and Luke Newton. The first half was quite promising and captivated fans of Julia Quinn's book series as well as those following the development of the Polin relationship for the first time.

Unfortunately, the second half was more than underwhelming. No, the blame does not lie with the talented actors or the equally talented designers who made the last season of Bridgerton incredibly vibrant and expressive. Many fans feel that the main couple of this season was not treated fairly at all, that their story was only superficially touched upon and brought to a quick (and definitely unimpressive) end.

In contrast, showrunner Jess Brownell and her writing team are already focusing on next season, which they believe will be the best yet. Only the fans are demanding justice for Season 3.

Jess Brownell Says Season 4 Will Be 'Some of My Best Work'

Jess Brownell sat down with The Hollywood Reporter to reveal a number of details about Season 4 and the state of its production. According to her, the next season will be 'some of [her] best work':

'I'm really excited about what we're writing. We're toward the end with the writers room season, with the scripts. And I feel like it's some of my best work and my writers room's best work. We've just really gelled our collaboration, and we're firing on all cylinders, so I can't wait for fans to see what we have.'

But Didn't Season 3 Deserve Just as Much Effort?

However, fans felt that the writers should have put as much energy and enthusiasm into the third season, instead of counting on future success. After all, S3 felt like the result of a very sloppy job.

Neither Colin nor Pen deserved the way the writers treated them. In the source material, Romancing Mister Bridgerton, Polin was a real power couple, but in the second part of Season 3, most of the time there is discord between them and abrupt developments — absolutely no growth as a couple.

Of course, in the book there are moments of misunderstanding, they fight, and Colin feels betrayed after learning the identity of Whistledown. However, Quinn showed how much he has matured as he is willing to support Pen and eventually does, working with her to reveal to the Ton who Whistledown is.

In the show, however, Colin played no part, only suddenly forgetting his grievances when Pen was praised by the Queen herself. In return, Penelope supported Colin on his journey and actively encouraged him to publish his diaries.

Pen is undoubtedly an example of an independent woman, admired by early feminists like Eloise, and the show perfectly expressed that Colin should not 'save' her. And yet their romance essentially went nowhere, even though they are BFFs who help each other no matter what!

Fans Seek Justice for Bridgerton S3

Fans started a petition on Change.org demanding that Season 3 be updated with a number of deleted moments. According to them, there were some great scenes in the second part that would have perfectly corrected the situation with Polin described above. Among the listed deleted scenes are Pen persuading Colin to publish his diaries or much more intimate scenes and dialogues between the two.

Fan dissatisfaction is something no production team wants to face, so it is imperative that Brownell and co listen. Especially since the petition has already garnered over 55,000 signatures!

Source: The Hollywood Reporter, Change.org.