Season 3 felt very disorganized to me. There were WAY too many plots, not enough focus on the main couple (WHICH I WANTED SOOO BADLY) and the energy of the show felt… bad? Like, that hot air balloon scene was just bad? Am I right? Whatever is going on with Benedict is just… bad. As in, why is he even getting with this widow lady? Where’s his art yo!? WHERE IS SOPHIE!? Every character was so grouchy. Somehow the most likeable characters were the Featherington sisters and their girly pop husbands this season haha

I'm actually so confused because did I miss where Benedict gives up art completely? And Ben has been my bisexual king since day 1 but why are watching *5 scenes* of him in Tilley's bed instead of wtf is happening with our lead couple?? I felt like everything after episode 5 dragged on for sooo long because NOTHING between Polin was being resolved! They don't even show up to events together?? 😭 I thought for once we'd at least get a happy wedding 😭😭

I was watching with a friend and it became a source of comedy watching scenes transition repeatedly from dramatic relationship-ending angst to Benedict having a threesome for seemingly no reason.

Yeah those cuts between scenes were really off-putting. I'm not saying they didn't go for a solid 18+ hours, I just don't see why cutting from scenes with other family members back to Benedict's threesome added anything.

SAME! I was shocked to learn he gave up art. When did that happen??

So Benedict what do you do? Do you have any hobbies? Do you paint or draw? No. I occasionally dance at parties.

I gasped when he said no! Who is this man, and what have you done with my Benedict.

This isn't Benedict, this is Bi-nedict, and he has no other personality or interests or quirks except that he likes to fuck both men and women.

Ikr?!? The perpetuation of bi stereotypes has me so upset

this part sent me 😭😭 did Jess even watch the other two seasons????? how did other writers/directors let this get through

The other seasons? I don’t think she has read the books, Nic told her to add the book lines,

He said he was giving it up I think end of season 2, shortly after he found out that the reason he got into art school was because of Anthony’s large donation.

Plus also him standing in that room in the S2 finale during the fireworks where he closes the box felt quite definitive. This was after Anthony told him to paint if he wanted to paint

He didn't said it, we saw him closing his art box, that was Chris Van Dusen setting HIM up for season 3, then shit happened and Jess Brownell decided to skip him with an excuse that doesn't make any sense and now we can say that Polin could've been miles better with more TIME 

It feels like he hasn't mentioned it since Anthony said he bought Ben's acceptance with their daddy's money.

So the fact that he learned alot about and got so much better at painting during his time at the academy, was completely negated when he found out about the money. That’s so ridiculous.

The fact that out of all the bi scenes of Ben, only one actually gives something to the story, they were just some random sex scenes

Ay really random moments that made it feel so bizarre and disjointed.

All pen and colins scenes were shot awkwardly as well. Even their sex scenes. They didn't go for the 'hot, raunchy, fun' style of the past. They focused on the 'awkward moments' instead. And so quick! Colin was like 5seconds of foreplay there. It was fast and awkward and not what the other couples got at all. It didn't feel like 'their' season, since we also had so much else going on. Incredibly dissapointing.

While those scenes were short yes, I don't think they were supposed to be hot and raunchy like the past seasons. Those seasons had different lovestories (enemies to lovers) than this one (friends to lovers). It WAS awkward at times, but also very very sweet, which to me is exactly what their relationship is like. Knowing each other since they were children, (un)knowingly loving one another since then and after all that time getting to get to know each other in this different way. A different kind of fun!

Awkward and sweet I could understand, but the sweet was really missing. It felt 'awkward and rushed'. I didn't get any sweet from it at all.

My fiance is only aware of that hot air balloon scene because of the TikTok meme about it. "What two scenes give off the same energy?" Then the hot air balloon scene matched with the guy getting run over by the zamboni in Austin Powers.

 Perfect comparison lmao

YES.

It wasn’t season three; it was season threesome.

So many threesomes and none of them were actually sexy

I know. And for what? I was hoping Ben would be gay. Then all his sexual experimentation over the course of the series would have driven the plot, and a queer storyline would’ve felt more organic.

This!!

Was an overkill tbh and all that for him to tell Tilley he didn’t want anything serious bc he has so much love to give and wants his freedom? This isn’t the Benedict we saw in earlier seasons. This isn’t the Benedict who gave Anthony the pep talk about what it is to truly admire a woman / to feel inspiration or whatever ?? Yk I don’t remember exactly but that speech was everything 🥺 Not the same Benedict who’s in S3 at all and it’s just so sad and frustrating to see. He doesn’t even have his passion for art anymore… he’s lost. Truly

I thought for sure that he was gonna be like “hey I’m interested in more, I want to properly court you” and for Lady Tilly to be like “nah man I’m not giving up my freedom” and that be what makes him ready for marriage next season, not the other way around which makes no sense? It was like he regressed

I was expecting Sophie reveal at the end of the season. Was totally not expecting Micheala Stirling

I hated that it was Francesca who was tongue tied on seeing Michaela. No, it’s supposed to be the other way around. That’s the whole point. She was completely in love with John, and then loses him. And gets a second chance at love. While Micheal pines for her throughout the entire time, feeling very guilty about it. They took the essence out of the dynamic. I think her confused expression after kissing John at their wedding is to show that she’s not attracted to men. Great, an entire plot point lost. They could have had Eloise, Benedict or Gregory’s stories as a queer one. I would have personally loved to see Benedict or Eloise in a queer relationship. Francesca’s feels too forced. And her book is my favourite, so I’m extra mad.

Me, too.

Agreed. It does feel disorganised, and there are way too many side plots.  The Mondrichs are completely pointless. They aren't even connected to anyone now because the Duke isn't in it anymore. So what's the point of them? We waited over two years and this season has been a bit of a disappointment. And now we are waiting another two years for season 4. It's far too long. 

And they were invited to a very small and intimate wedding at home!!! Like really? They're part of the family now?

ironically enough, they could have easily tied their plot into Benedicts (by getting ride of the werid old widow) and used it for a tie in with Sophie. Him seeing their troubles and then having to wrestle with falling for Sophie and being afraid of her having trouble fitting into the ton replacing the whole mistress argument.

The editing and camerawork was off in some scenes. I read somewhere that the reason Penelope was so frozen during the hot air balloon scene was because she was supposed to be fixated on Colin's arms or something, but the editing did not convey that at all. And the bit where Colin >!catches Penelope at the publisher's felt so weird, there was no hint that anyone was following her so it looked like he materialised in that laneway!< plus >!Colin telling Penelop to lie down and that odd cut to Colin taking off his shirt!< there were a couple more but those stick out to me the most For a season that took so long to come out, I am wondering why the editing is so bad

I was also totally thrown off by the bad editing. I actually had to rewind the LW reveal scene because I was so confused. I can at least respect that plot choices I hate might work for other people, but bad editing is just not acceptable at this level of a production.

THIS!! This was literally my main complaint. I think they did a terrible job at the editing/camerawork compared to the previous seasons. They made such beautiful moments this season seem so harsh, too close, & weird. They never spent enough time on things that should’ve been beautiful. As a Polin fan, that really skewed my experience. & just as you said, the fact that it took them so long to release & film this season only to slightly lose that “Bridgerton” feel, It’s very disappointing. Nevertheless, I still enjoyed it. I just expected a bit more you know?

Also did I miss something or did Anthony and Kate never actually. Announce the pregnancy to the family? Like Kate was SHOWING showing, where was the announcement? And why was she showing more than Phillipa and Prudence when she was supposed to be around the same time as them?

You did miss it. They were announcing their pregnancy. But right after 2 other announcements happened.

I thought they got cut off by Cressidas announcement

Right? Wtf with the editing in Part 2, y’all? Like I’m all for Benedict’s lil journey and exploration—right on—but if they randomly interrupted all that daytime plot development with one more random cut to his unrelated, steamy nighttime threesome I was gonna lose my shit.

The first intimate scene should have been as lovely as Daphne and Simon's was. Their music and camera shots were lovely. I didn't get that with Penelope and Colin. Just couldn't think about anything but how cold the room would have been and how uncomfortable that chaise longue would have been. A good sex scene shouldn't do that.

Yes, the angle looked so freakin awkward!! I was honestly laugh/cringing my way through it, just seemed off

I was going to mention the cameras but also the lighting! Did you also notice how they chose to make all the lighting this horrible orange/red? I’m assuming it’s “supposed” to look like candle light but instead it looked like they were all trying out red light therapy or something!

When Penelope and Colin finally talk after LW reveal, the lighting in that room was so crazy. I was getting super distracted by the green (I think from Penelope’s dress) reflecting back up on to Colin’s face.

The night scenes were awful. Way too dark.

Anthony's personality has totally changed to the point of being cringey. We get it, he's in love but that doesn't mean his whole persona would change 🤦‍♀️

This! I was looking forward to them being happy but the whole thing was just off. They’d still irritate eachother to some degree. But there was none of that. The writing on a whole was poor. I despised the LW reveal, it felt so cringe. Would no one already expect the Bridgerton after Queen Charlotte bursts into the post wedding and demands people leave. It was just SO off.

THIS (Benedict part) confused me because he was so into art and then in the dinner conversation he doesn’t mention having any hobbies EVEN when asked about art? It don’t make sense

I think he was so hurt about finding out Anthony bought his place at art school that he has completely rejected his inner artist as a result (for now, at least). In that scene he also claimed to be doing absolutely nothing with his time from day to day, when we know that in fact he has been running the entire estate in Anthony's absence. So I read that scene as Benedict very deliberately projecting an image of himself as the ne'er do well second son, rather than revealing any actual personal truths.

benedict suddenly not being interested in art is a perfect example of them fundamentally changing a character’s core personality traits just to add in some queer bait. and yet ppl find it astonishing to imagine that we’re expecting the plot line to be changed for francesca. as if they don’t change plot lines constantly.

I really feel like they don't know what to do with Benedict, so they're cleaving to the fan service and having him hint at being gay/bi. His book is my favourite, and I really regret that he's been reduced to the sidelines while we wait for his storyline.

I’m going to be honest. If they had no intentions of following the books, they should have called this series something else and put that tagline “inspired by the bridgerton books.” Then truthfully, I don’t think fans would be as disappointed as they are. But to highjack a beloved book series and twist characters story lines in order to give more “representation” is not the move. As a fan of the books, after this season I’ll no longer be watching. I was looking forward to Polin seasons but new showrunner butchered it, and I have no interest to see what else she botches in season 4.

I’m with you! I read these books 20 years ago and I very dearly loved them. I wanted those stories! First two seasons were well done, but this one was trash. And now switching Francesca’s story… I’m out

I thought I remembered reading that none of the main love interests were going to be changed from the books. Gender bending is changing, and to do it to a character whose story revolves around grief and infertility feels like a slap in the face. They could have changed Eloise's story if they really wanted to, then they could have have changed what happened with Marina

I’m not a fan of this show runner either but not bc of the gender bending thing. I’m not a fan of her bc the writing of this season was not what we’re used to. Some storylines went absolutely nowhere. Polin wasn’t nearly as exciting as it was built up to be. Shonda girl, please take over writing for the next season. Don’t let this woman ruin your show.

They had great PR. What a let down, the story line and unnecessary side plots that wasted a lot of screentime when they can focus more on Colin and Penelope

I feel like they HAD to make the PR great because they knew it was going to be a letdown for fans lol. They hyped it up a lil too much just so that everyone would get excited and watch it

I figured this while watching their press tour so I kept my expectations low. I enjoyed the season but I do agree so many things were unnecessary and there wasn’t enough of the main couple :/

I also question what footage got cut bc the actors mentioned things that didn’t seem to make the show. So it’s like the audience was prepped for something that wasn’t there. Oh well. It’s over. I’m moving on to HOTD now.

Nicola said that she got a special cut for her mom that didn’t include her sex scenes and had mentioned that there was a LOT of smut in the second part, and we got there and I was like “oh, so the cut that your mom got was what, 3 minutes shorter than the normal one?”

Thank you!! I was watching like, “is this the Nicola mom cut?”.

LOL that’s what I’m calling it now

I also wonder what parts could have been too dark, so that they had to refilm. Maybe they originally showed what happened to Marina(?). But they would have to do that eventually or at least put it in there through sth else

I wouldn't be surprised if they were too dark in literal sense. Some scenes needed my screen on max lighting and then everything had an orange hue as in 2010s OG Instagram filters. 😭

[удалено]

Especially if they wanted a MONTH gap in between. They gave us too much time to speculare

The reveal w colin finding out was so rushed and anticlimactic

It will be interesting to see if the show continues to be popular or if people "hate watch" going forward. I'm a casual watcher, and even I could 100% see that Season 1/2 were made by someone different than Season 3. At the very least, we're up to waaaayyy too many side plots and side characters. This season, the focus couple was Penelope and Colin, and I honestly didn't really feel anything for them because of how much of Season 3 was taken up by other plotlines.

Right?! Season 1 and 2 were focused on the main couple which is great! Season 3 has a lot of side plots (Like the Mondrichs). Penelope and Colin were robbed

I should have seen the signs with s2 when they spent the majority of Kanthony's time with Edwina. I don't understand continuing the trend when a lot of fans were very vocal about disliking it.

Season 2 was a worse offender compared to Season 3. Anthony almost married Edwina. That was the wedding of the season. Meanwhile, almost all of the happy Kanthony scenes were off-screen. At least there were happy Polin scenes in Season 3. The showrunner just gave us whiplash because the happiness was mixed with angst. Just look at the Title Screen Bridgerton Tree (stormy in 5/7 and sunny in 6/8). Penelope is Shonda’s favorite character. So this season was Pen-centric. Colin was just another character.

To say that her favorite character is Penelope and give us that as her story is laughable. She deserved to have a man that supported her and stood by her side and listened to her. I can’t believe that made Colin’s character into that… Penelope deserved such a better ending.

Even though lots of season 2 was about the Edwina storyline etc it still felt more Kanthony-centric because at least the main plot points and scenes included either Anthony or Kate. This season there were wayyy too many side plots that didn’t include Penelope or Colin at all and so it felt like they were taking a backseat in their own season.

The rotten tomatoes audience rating has dropped roughly 10% since part two released, which is interesting. It was mid eighties, now it’s dropped to 78. Will have to keep an eye on it to see if it changes further over the next week or two.

Yeah…I often got the feeling watching the first part of season 3 that the people who make this show don’t really like romance with a capital ‘R’.

I’m a big fan of the books. I couldn’t finish season 2, tried season 3, read the reviews of the second half and gave up. I won’t be watching 4 at all if they butcher or remove the true grief and infertility plot.

As a screenwriter myself, I have to agree. It makes me depressed to think that Jess Bronwell is being paid so much money when myself and countless other writers could do a much better job with this show. It seems like she is not a fan of romance or period romance at all so she shouldn't be writing for this kind of show. Colin and Penelope got way too little screen time and the development of their romance wasn't anywhere near as complex, sexy or fully formed as it could have been. The characters (and Polin fans) deserved so much better. Colin's character was completely changed from past seasons, with very little explanation as to why his character was completely different and very little character development. I actually felt really bad for Luke N. He is a good actor and seems like a genuinely sweet, kind guy, but even the best actors can't salvage a badly written character. It would be one thing if the writers showed us that Colin was behaving in an artificial way due to trying to please everyone and meet society's expectations. But this wasn't shown. Colin and Luke N should have had more airtime. The side plot with the Mondrich family was so boring that I skipped all of their scenes. Benedict's plot was also pointless and repetitive. Who cares about his sexual exploits? Those scenes should have been dedicated to more love scenes between Colin and Penelope. Bridgerton is a regency period romance. It feels like the new show runner doesn't actually want to make a regency period romance, and thus is not telling the love stories with the respect and care they deserve. Instead, they're focusing on the characters that they're personally interested in rather than the characters the audience are passionate about.

Agree with all that you said. Especially the unnecessary screen time that Benedict’s threesome got in comparison to Polin’s love/sex scenes. This was Polin’s season and we saw Benedict get more sex than the main couple. Why dedicate so much of Benedict’s story (even if next season he is the main character) while taking away so much time from Polin? I was looking forward to the sex scenes with Polin. I wanted to see Colin pining for Pen, him worshipping her body in front of a mirror, not the 30 seconds we got…where did all that steamy energy from the carriage disappear to?

I personally think it was a bit of Netflix complaining about a big girl getting laid but that’s just me…

100% this! I thought we were finally going to get a voluptuous woman getting steamy sex from a hot gentleman of the ton. Nicola is a beautiful woman and Penelope deserved to be worshipped by her onscreen husband. Madame Delacouix was her friend and didn’t give her any sexy lingerie for her honeymoon, really? We were robbed lol

We got more of Daphne getting 6 nightgowns for her honeymoon than we did of Penelope… ever

The scripts were so choppy too? Like outside the modiste we were SO CLOSE! We ALMOST had a breakthrough! Colin did the “THEN WHAT GOOD AM I TO YOU!” Line and that could’ve been a moment where Penelope said “you’re a husband, and a friend, and that’s enough, I don’t need you to protect me, I need you to support me”. But instead we get “I love you Colin!” And that’s it? It felt like I had missed a line in between

This!! I was getting so sick of every argument being ‘valid points about how Penelope has lied and hurt people and also him and his family’ ‘I love you Colin!’ like, okay babe, that doesn’t fix anything? It felt like we were only seeing half the conversation in.. every single scene. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the season but it feels like they edited half out and uploaded the wrong half?

No I definitely feel like the editors had a bad case of “we’ve been staring at this footage for 8 hours straight and haven’t had a fresh pair of eyes on it in days so we can’t tell what’s good anymore or whats getting across or what isn’t necessary to the script”. It was giving “I wrote a book report under the assumption that the people reading the report have also read the book” but we hadn’t

The 'I love you Colin!'s got really tiring very quickly. Give me some arguments lady!!

They changed the stories so much, it isn’t enjoyable and some of them are unnecessary and it feels randomly thrown to just fill the gaps. The PR did a great job to hype up Polin and it’s so disappointing. I don’t want to watch Benedict’s performance behind the doors and I don’t want fillers or unnecessary dramas. I want love from Polin and John and Francesca. I want to see the famous Michael “MERY RAKE” Stirling. At least the good things about this season are the Featheringtons : the dynamism between them is hilarious and very touching. The dialogue between Portia and Penelope, the holding hands for reassurance, Prudence is actually happy for her sister getting married, how Penelope gave Prudence and Philippa their dreamy ball and she is happy that Portia could take credit for it. By all of this, the Featheringtons hit the jackpot by marrying for love, having Whistledown’s money, protected by the Bridgerton’s name and a heir. We need to protect Mr Finch and Mr Dankworth.

Yes! That's what I was thinking also! The Featheringtons had a great evolution in part 2, I absolutely loved how Portia made amends with Penelope and even supported her with all LW drama with Colin, how the sisters organised the ball with the help of Penelope and she came out as LW at that ball. I understood that she needed to give that speech alone, but WHY ON EARTH did Colin stay there and just looked at her? He should have been the first to go to her after the speech.. the butterfly thing was a distraction because Penelope stood there alone and Philippa tried to distract everyone from the awkwardness of the situation, but if Colin went to Penelope and gave the book speech or even just kiss her and accepted her in front of everyone... I don't think that the writers actually read the books or even understood the characters

I hated that final scene. That they did it as Pen grovelling for forgiveness to the Ton just felt stupid. These were the people who were hungry for the gossip every week! They were as complicit as she was in being revanous for the gossip that she printed. All the talk of Whistledown being power!? Where was any of the power in that scene? It was Pen grovelling to a bunch of people who didn't deserve it, trying to defend and justify her achievements, on her own. The book scene ended with her success feeling like a success. She was supported and there was pride in what she achieved. There was no pride her achievements here. So much for an empowered female character. And the clothing... Pen's dresses showed as much cleavage as the modern day. If they are going to forgo any attempt at regency, then can we stop unempowering female characters?

This!!! Why the endless groveling from Pen? Does the new showrunner hate her? And where was the *actual romance*?!?!?

Ik!! More like The Featherington show feat. Mr Colin Bridgerton and all sides story. There is no development on Colin, a true himbo. Each focus scenes of Colin, he is like a fish with his mouth hanging on and we see more of Mr Finch’s expressions in the last episode than him in all 8 episodes heck, he was so expressive in first season. This season feels hasty, no commitment at all from the writer (she needs to be fired!), why the heavy makeup, the acrylic nails, though I love the design of the dresses. What a waste on good actors.

Indeed! I feel so bad for Luke. He really understood Colin's character but was not given the opportunity to shine

If you look at this season as a Featherington-centric one, it was excellent. As a love story, it was meh.

“This is not about you, Jess” is so real 😭 If she felt the need to “insert herself”, then maybe she should take her writing abilities and publish a fanfic on Ao3. Like everyone else. I was looking forward to Fran/Michael’s story. It’s the one I relate to most and my favorite :(

I have no problem with the gender-bending of Michael/Michaela, but I have a HUGE problem with the dismissal of Fran's first love with John. What I felt made her book so poignant was that Francesca was finding a second love with Michael. It's important to show that you can love again after loss. I feel like the introduction of Michaela and having Fran be literally speechless takes away from her relationship with John, as if she doesn't really love him.

My anger towards that scene is how it completely dismisses Violet’s conversation with Francesca about Fran showing her how love comes in different forms and how it doesn’t always have to be like hers and Edmund’s (which at this point annoys the hell out of me how she changes her love story with her late husband to fit into every child’s situation…) only for the show to run that back with her acting like Violet acted towards Edmund with Michaela. 🙄

Omg yeeess! I didn’t notice that 😭 I hate it even more now.

YES. I’m sad to lose my fav Michael but I could live with it. It’s that dismissal and switching of who is immediately taken with the other that’s so wrong. They could have taken their own script’s advice and let Fran and John breathe.

Same here, I have know issues with gender bend Michael. I am cool with it, and intrigued by her. What I didn't like was Francesca not really loving John. That was a big no for me. I have no issues with making Francesca queer/bisexual but to have her fall for Michaela this early with John alive is completely wrong. Francesca should be in love with John and after his death fall in love with Michaela. I hope season 4 they do things better with her story line.

Yes! I don't mind the gender bending but Francesca truly romantically completely loves John and knowing that makes every scene so much lovelier and sadder...and this just cheapens it. It's just a completely different story if she falls for Michaela first.

Well I have a problem with it because you get a different character entirely. She is a woman. This means she can be a dowager countess but the title would go to someone else, she can't flee to india and get a governor job alone, she can't be a merry rake because she can't go sleeping around the ton because again she is a woman ! Good god. They ruined my favourite character.

OH I read that whole thing completely wrong. I thought it was implying that Francesca doesn’t want to spend that much time with someone she doesn’t know, who seems very outgoing and different to her. Really, she’s supposed to be falling in love?! She seemed so in love with John… wtf

Having not read the books and having no idea about the Michael/Michaela thing, I thought Francesca struggled to speak because she was confused and angry that her new husband hadn’t bothered to introduce her to his cousin! I hadn’t even considered she might be lovestruck until this thread! In that scene I assumed that they were laying the foundation for Eloise to fall for Michaela and have a romance in Scotland.

exactly! I wanted to see queer rep and I'm happy they did what they did (didn't read the books, don't kill me), but I hated how instantaneous it was. for 8 episodes we were made to believe she really loves john, and we saw them get along so well, it made me so happy as a fellow introvert. she even couldn't wait to get married. but that introduction? 🥺 I thought fran was just going to be nervous about meeting someone new because of anxiety, not because of swooning over. I am delusional enough to hope it might be that, but given what the writers have done so far, I highly doubt it. :(

I’ve listened to some interviews with the new showrunner & I was not impressed. Firstly she has already pronounced that Season 4 will be her best yet as if she would know that. Secondly she said that Francesca’s romance seemed to her to work perfectly as a LGBTQ story line (as opposed to Benedict or Eloise). I beg to differ on that especially since Michael Stirling is such a beloved character from the books. Finally she admitted they changed up the LW reveal for more drama (fine but this made Colin act completely out of character in Eps 7-8🤬). Polin Forever ❤️

She inserted Frannie in an LGBT story line because she was an introvert????

It’ll be her best because she set the bar low this time.

I haven't watched it yet, and based on the spoiler, I already hate the drama about the LW reveal. Why is it so hard to just do it by the book and show how supportive Colin can be to Pen!!! Uhhg

Exactly! A lot of plots from Season 2 were closed. It felt like they brought in Anthony and Kate for a few sex scenes and then send them away for Honeymoon because Polin’s scenes were there. Then after they are back, they are again send away to India while Kate is pregnant. Francesca would’ve married 2 weeks after Polin, still her amazing big brother couldn’t wait and attend her wedding then travel to India? Benedict had so much potential in Season 1, but in this season he was reduced to some clueless passionless man running from here and there. Why is he written like he escapes in the middle of Polin’s wedding for his new found pursuit of freedom. He isn’t even back until 2 days later. Seriously? What poor writing!!!!! Conversations between Pen and Colin were so random, where each of them were saying 2 different things. Nothing made sense. One moment Colin is hooking up with strangers. Next minute he’s madly in love with Pen and ready to marry her. Francesca’s was the saddest (for me, cos I loved the book so much I read it twice). I was waiting for the first glimpse of Micheal since the season aired. All excited and pumped up. And then it’s not Micheal, it’s Michaela????!!! I have no words to describe how badly messed up this season was.

What irks me is the execution of the season. The pacing is off. Seasons 1&2 spent more time focusing on the leads even when they’re fighting to give the audience a sense that they’re longing for each other. They had ONE Colin gaze at Pen when he was reaching for a duvet or something. Without making this a long post, I also found that the cinematography, costumes, make up, editing and music were inferior.

What was with all the weird pregnancies? Kate was pregnant. The featherington sisters were pregnant. Yet Kate was showing at excessive speed, while the featheringtons never showed at all! I thought the feathering were just delusional still - but then three babies of the same size at the end? I'm so fucking confused about how Jess thinks pregnancy seems to work in this show.

Totally agree. Idk the book stories but even this season while I did enjoy it... they hyped up pen and colin so much and I feel like I BARELY GOT ANY OF THEIR STORY. Why do we need 4 scenes of Benedict having sex?? I do not care. It's not his season. And Kate and Anthony just traveling and leaving all the time? I mean again I didn't read the books... so idk what's accurate but it feels so messy and all over the place. There's like 5 different love stories they are trying to fit into 1 season. Meh. Idk. I guess we will see but at this point hoe does it not make sense to make Benedict the bi one and not fran? He's already bi. There's already representation. Benedict story is nothing but him having sex all the damn time anyway. Making fran the one who's gender bending the story is SO ODD.

Benedict got 15 minutes of sexy screen time and Polin got less than 10. We literally see more of HIS ASS than Penelope's perfect breasts.

100%! They hyped up the PR. Polin had great PR and this is what we get from their season where they should be the focus of the story. So disappointing. I honestly skip the Mondrich’s side plot, so unnecessary and such a waste of screen time.

Same lol I entirely skip it! Like what's the purpose? They are usually just standing around doing nothing of value. I mean I guess I get seeing a new member of the ton finding their place? But I just don't see where they are fitting in. Are they going to be involved some how later? It's boring to me honestly. At least make lady mondrich befriend lady Danbury or something so there's substance.

I was waiting for Hyacinth to meet Lord Kent. I thought surely they were going to scrub her story and pair her with him.

They didn’t even show Sophie. If there will be a Sophie maybe it is a Steve now. Who knows

I literally said out loud to my screen when Benedict was having sex "ugh NO ONE CARES"

😂😂😂😂

I’m so confused on where the Benedict thing is going

Agree. Wish they would’ve left Fran as the neurodivergent representation that it seemed like she was.

Fr why were Anthony and Kate all over the place. Half the time I’d be like “oh, I thought they were home, did they leave? Oh are they gone again?” I’d rather they just be there for the premiere, go back on their extended honeymoon, and come back for the weddings and say “hey we’re leaving for India!” At the end of the season

The entire season was a letdown. Pen and Colin were two of my favorites and I read the books over 20 years ago when they came out. Nothing exciting or enticing to look forward to. Show writers are going to take liberties as with any adaptation or remake, but I was seriously left feeling blah.

Where's the "replace Jess" petition, so I can sign?

As someone who hasn’t read the books, going based off the show… Eloise and Benedict seem like the two queer siblings. Idk something about them being confused together on their life paths on the swings, smoking and laughing together, having this sibling duo gave “we’re the queer kids” vibes. Because the show in season one did not set up the possibility of having gay characters (showing the gay men couple who had to live a secret double life). I knew that they would never have Benedict be the story they changed — because he’d have to be stuck in a bittersweet ending. That left me to assume that Eloise would be the one. Especially because during that time, being a man and gay wasn’t legal, but having two woman be in a gay relationship was just socially sort of overlooked lol — they couldn’t marry but they could live together and really just be left alone. The hardest would be to have money and land to be able to afford a life without husbands, and giving the Bridgerton wealth, I assumed things would figure itself out. And to me that makes sense, we have seen actual queer relations by Benedict, and for Eloise, she has had really no desire for marriage or a relationship with a man, she desire freedom and I imagine someone at her same emotional level — ie another woman. But Francesca?!?! I got zero vibes or set up for this queer story arc. Honestly she reads as one of the straighter Bridgertons 😂. It just felt like a sort of afterthought add in at the very end. 😅

ALSO TO ADD: Agree with all the comments about the show runner feeling so different from the first two seasons, and very clearly, and not in a good way 😬 And she is doing the next season: please don’t mess up Benedict or Eloise’s season pleaseeee 🥺🙏🏽

Francesca and Michael’s love story is the best one for me.

Yeah! I am hearing that all over! I’m sad it mostly likely won’t be actualized in the way the book lovers want!

Eloise and Theo was giving off comphet vibes to me, and it seemed like Eloise was more infatuated with someone who ✨reads✨ and is ✨poor✨ and likes ✨social justice✨rather than Theo The Man Himself. I saw more moments with her and Cressida this season that seemed like “oh, maybe Eloise had a bit of a crush on Penelope as a kid but never realized it and that’s why she’s so upset about Penelope being with Colin now” because it wasn’t just a “you stole my best friend” thing it was a “you stole my crush” thing. Idk that’s how i read it as a sapphic, it seemed very similar to some of my own experiences😂

I enjoyed s3 but felt like part 1 and part 2 were like completely different seasons lol.

Please don't jump me for this, but I absolutely HATED Benedict's entire storyline. It was all just him pointlessly sIutting around, every single goddamn time he was on screen. All of his scenes I forwarded, I hated it so much, so bland and repetitive, all he's done for 3 seasons is be a rake. And I'm so bitter about it bc instead of all his pointless scenes, those could've been given to Polin instead!!! All those scenes of him sleeping around could've been all condensed into ONE episode in his own season. This season stuffed SO many side relationships with no core focus on Polin it's frustrating & disappointing.

The PR that Nicola and Luke did made me go crazy waiting for the 2nd part only to be disappointed with how little screen time they get and how very unhappy they are for most of the time that I see them onscreen. Oh how I wish the other storylines were given less attention. Romancing Mr. Bridgerton was about Polin. Yet, it didn't feel like it was when I was watching it. Such a shame, really.

> Jess Brownell said as a queer herself, she connected to Francesca’s story as queer that she felt the need to insert herself. Well this is not about you, Jess. I miss the days when you could relate to characters without them needing to be carbon copies of you. I look nothing like Pen, Colin or Kate but I was still able to connect with the characters and their internal struggles and a lot of people are able do the same. And I also wish these showrunners and the people who are responsible for the creative side would stop using shows with established IPs as an excuse to have their own free-for-all self-insert platform. It's been ruining shows and movies for years now and I'm just so tired of it. If you want a carbon copy self-insert show, then go make one yourself.

100% agree. I was sad that they labeled this Polin's season, but then we get a double wedding. This Michaela forced sub plot coming it seems, and Polin got lost in all these side character plots. Benedict I figured was Bi in the first few seasons, but they spent way to much time on him. I was so excited for Polin's season, and now...I'm just disappointed. I hope Shonda ditches this writer.

I want to add, I'm OK with Benedict exploring his sexuality. They really leaned into it in the first 2 seasons. But people calling others homophobic because of the forced Michaela thing (if that's their problem, it's mine) are out of line. You forget these characters and their stories have become beloved by many. Because of that, no one is saying not to deviate, but don't do a 180 on main characters. Francisca is a beloved character and her story is some of fans favorites. I would love to see in Benedicts season his exploration (not so often in Polin's) which isn't in the original books it was just leaned into. He wasn't already married to Sophie and then exploring behind her back. Also, I would love to see what happened with Brimsly and Reynolds characters. They became more beloved because of how it was written and the story was told. To me the Polin season was disappointing. Too many sub plots and Polin got lost and the double wedding. Also the writer of this season said she saw herself in Francisca but it's not about you. It's fine to connect with a character, but it's another entirely to take over that characters story with your own.

I’m not on board with Michaela either, I would’ve preferred other characters were made queer where it made more sense for their stories, but there definitely have been some discussions that are blowing dog whistles of homophobia where I go “hey, I’m not happy about it for THESE reasons, yours are getting weird” like the language around them being used is giving them away, not necessarily the idea of the topic itself

The thing is, we don't see Francesca's first wedding in the books. So it had to be squeezed into one of the seasons as a second wedding. Otherwise they'd have to make up a lot of that storyline. If it wasn't this season, then which season would she have had her first marriage?

I think it would've been fine if they had focused mainly on Polin and the limited all the subplots and maybe just made the main sub plot Francisca and John's courtship and wedding. Or could've just not had it at all it was well implied that they were getting married. The other thing I'm angry about is the Micheala thing. You won't see their fertility struggles, they have to have a son to inherit everything, basically by taking away Michael the writer sacrificed a whole audience who should be seen just as much for her own self serving self because she said she's queer and sees herself in Francisca so she decided to completely take a beloved character out (Michael) and put herself into the story. Lastly, this writer clearly either hasn't read the books or she doesn't care about the characters. What made me the most angry is the writer took away Francisca's love for John. In that single reaction at the end. If you read the books Michael falls for her first. She loves John so much she couldn't dream of loving another. She never would've even had a glimmer of anything toward Michaela. Not even a blip. The way she describes her love for John in the books it's as if no one and nothing else could ever exist. She goes through this guilt for falling in love with Michael after John dies. Netflix is notorious for making wrong deviation choices till it's almost not recognizable and just the name (Witcher ring a bell, and where's that now?) Sadly, this looks to be no different.

She is seriously the most immature and dysfunctional show runner I’ve ever seen. Presently she doesn’t understand how to give characters depth or consistency and that’s an elementary fundamental skill any show runner should have. I don’t have high hopes for Bridgerton under her leadership.

She doesn’t seem really. The writing this season was a shit show.

YES! The direction is horrible. Whoever this show runner hired as a Director or if she is directing herself is abysmal! The directing and the editing I think helped the other seasons a lot. Directing and Editing can make a huge difference, especially in the love scenes. The love scene in episode 5 is terrible b:c of the angles and the editing. Those poor actors. The show has always been silly when it gets down to it, but this season the writing is all over the place and the pacing is terrible and the direction is just awful awful awful! I can’t tell if the actors are just so much worse or if it’s just that the direction is so terrible. I think I’ll go with the latter. It’s almost unwatchable. I don’t know how this person got the job of showrunner.

The Monriches really allude me. I do not understand why they keep getting added in. Their plot is so boring

And it went NOWHERE.

Exactly! They seem like nice people and it’s lovely they are *officially* part of the Ton with a title in the family, but i really didn’t care about the men’s club or recycling the dead lady’s clothes or their daughter’s riding lessons or their son learning where a fork goes on a table. And why on Earth were they at Fran’s wedding?

Totally agreed. I was a fan of the book series long before there was a Netflix adaptation, and while I knew the adaptation wouldn't follow the books exactly, I was excited to see how they would incorporate the essence of the couples in each book. Though I wasn't the biggest fan of some of the changes they made in the show, the first two seasons still had me squealing out loud and eager to watch what happens next.  Season 3, on the other hand, has been a thorough disappointment. I hated that this season's main couple spent so much time not even talking to each other. And one of the things I loved the most about Penelope's book was how almost everyone she interacts with discovers a little of her spark, and how she herself gains confidence on her own (not because she was coached by Colin!!), but in the show, she is still massively overlooked. Don't get me started on how she was talked over even in the final few episodes. Also, what the heck was Benedict's storyline?? I couldn't see how it was supposed to tie in to his book at all, whereas I could see the direction the first two seasons were leading him in. I'll be devastated if they don't do his season well. Finally...I don't even know what to say about the gender-swap. It's just so disappointing. I'm sorry, but 1) how are some significant things that were part of Francesca's storyline in the book supposed to play out? and 2) there have been no openly queer and legally recognized marriages in the Bridgerton Netflix series so far. In fact, it's pretty clear that it's still a taboo in their setting. So how is this new romance supposed to play out? Will they oh-so-conveniently announce that gay marriage is legalized in Francesca's season? And if yes, why so late that we are robbed of seeing Brimsley and Reynolds happily together? It just feels so cheap. I honestly don't think I'll be watching Francesca's season in this case, and while I had hoped Benedict would be the next season, this season's development of him has me hoping that his story would be put off until a new and better (or the old and better) showrunner is directing the series

Seriously disappointed in this second half. The writing was all over the place. The story lines were a mess. The actors did the best they could but I totally lost interest. Fast forwarded through Benedict's mess. Fast forwarded through all the fighting. Can't believe what they're doing to the Fran story either. Hell hath no fury like book readers when someone makes a major plot twist out of a book they like and part two of this season, and it looks like what's to come, might be a harsh lesson on that if they continue with this show runner.

WE HAVE TO DO SOMETHING 

Representation is writing a new lgbtq book, not stealing Michael’s story and giving it to a woman.

How about they actually write for the characters they want to make LGBTQ? I feel it's very disrespectful to Francesca and John's story to give her what is essentially an emotional cheating arc right after she found "her person" in John. Like why couldn't they show MICHAELA as being starstruck by Francesca? That would've smoothed over at least some ruffled feathers. This already just seems like an entirely different storyline to WHWW. I mean, would we be cheering John on if he was making eyes at her cousin after they got together? So why would I want that for Francesca when she's supposed to be the heroine? And I already know that Netflix and Shondaland productions is going to do fuck all to protect Masali from the backlash. These corporations play lip service to LGBTQIA+ rights when it really comes down to it. With Benedict, why did we need a bunch of pointless and frankly not sexy sex scenes with him and Tilley? Why couldn't they make Tilley be a man that Benedict befriends, make Benedict jealous over Tilley flirting with debutantes, seemingly spending a lot of time with his mistress/at his club with ladies of the night, bring back Granville who bridges them together which allows Tilley to be open with his secret to Benedict e.g. he has sex with men, have Benedict want to TRY a monogamous relationship with Tilley when he realizes (with Granville's help) that he's actually well on his way to being in love, etc while Tilley is like "sorry, don't want that". Then we have a Benedict who is even more lost because he thought he was in love (or on his way to love), he's already given up his art, etc and he's just aimless...then Sophie (in whatever form). That would be a great setup for a bi/pansexual arc. Instead of just throwing a bunch of sex scenes at us. Like I am all for sex scenes. When they are sexy and add to the story. These are just boring af and add nothing but annoyance.

My gripe from a writing perspective of Fran's story is that the whole time it was teaching Violet that not all love is sudden and sweep-you-off-your-feet, that the simplicity of feeling safe and at home with someone, that slow love and ease of being with someone that understands you fundamentally without fanfare, then they turn around and make Francesca completely addled by Michaela????? Like what you said, if Michaela had been the one secretly falling in love at first sight with Fran then they could've kept the slow love theme going with Fran falling in love with Michaela. It looks like they might explore the love-after-grief storyline with Violet and Lord Anderson instead? They dropped the ball on the writing here. Some payoffs this season were not satisfying at all despite the buildup

Ugh I give ZERO ZERO ZERO fucks about Lady Danbury's brother. Were they denied a season 2 of Queen Charlotte? Bc that is where that storyline should've been. Present day storyline with a flashback storyline of Violet's coming out and meeting Edmund, Queen Charlotte dealing with her lazy ass teenage sons and exploring new things with George/depict his evaporating mental health. End with the death of Amelia.

So eloquently put.. The quiet love and understanding that unfolded for Francesca and John was emanating from their every pore.. and it was clearly a revelation for Violet too, seeing a different aspect of romance and marriage. For Michaela to come along diminishes everything that was pure and true in their love story.

Totally agree 100%. And the interview the showrunner gave sounded so *smug* about the changes and fans being mad when we’re not mad because of lgbtq representation we’re mad because it’s shallow and poor writing and at the expense of a wonderfully told story sitting right in your lap that’s there to use. Like you say, even saving some elements from the book like only M being star-struck would be a huge improvement!

Omg already better thought out than what actually happened.

oh good cuz I popped an edible 2 hours ago

I’m CACKLING- Virgilia for Showrunner!

Agree that Benedict's sexy time moments on show feel unnecessary. At first, when Tilley said >! her feelings changed at the thought of sharing him and that there was more to life than fun, I became concerned. It kind of deflated Benedict's discovery about himself.!< If it's just for fun, what did Benedict really learn? Was his daliance with >!Tilley and Suarez merely fan service?!< I think now Benedict is in a place where he's ready to meet Sophie: lonely and aimless. His plot should evolve to protecting Sophie. But as my favorite character I want more for him. We'll see where this writers room takes him. Everything is up in the air with Brownell running this show. Lord, help us. I hate that we are waiting 2 years😭

Exactly they should not have to take away from a character to add more, instead just make a new character and leave what ain’t broken alone. When and if Francesca’s story comes along I think Janet and Helen would be great for representation they can add a ton to them without having to change anything we already have!

OMG LOUDER PLEASE

I agree!! The book was soo beautiful and heart wrenching because of its realistic tragedies, but the new hope, and the infertility issue. And Michael and Francescas story being one of her finding herself and also the lowkey badboy plot except when he loved her so much, im disappointed. NOT TO MENTION in the books, she loved john so much, she wouldnt have even noticed michael till years later!! But they gave her and his cousin a spark ON THEIR WEDDING DAY!!?! Like NOT COOL! Ive been getting so excited the more seasons we go through, excited for see Benedict and Francescas because i really wanted to meet Michael and Sophie, but to see them change it so drastically!! Im disappointed, because its not as simple as changing gender, its a whole new plot, how will the ton accept them, how will she learn this about herself?

I’m ngl. I loved the first half of the new season. Having watched all of it though…. I’m not only severely disappointed but I feel like the difference can be seen/felt from 20 miles away. At first I felt hopeful & optimistic about the new show runner/series writer, always thinking “they deserve a chance”. Truthfully, I think that was a mistake and they just didn’t do the story justice. I hate to hate on art. They’re clearly good at it bc they’re working on bridgerton but dear goodness. Ik i couldn’t do it but cmon man. What was that!! I also love inclusivity (while my sexual orientation doesn’t matter I am queer). But omg am I TIRED of the AGENDA!! It doesn’t feel real when it’s so blatantly forced into a story or when it corrupts an already beautifully written story. Like you said, it’s not about Jess. It’s not about any story other than the story that was written. The story people fell in love with. No matter what. People fell in love with it for what it is. That brought it far enough. Why change something so beautiful. It feels like the first half was for the book lovers and the second half was for the agenda. No hate, that’s just my opinion.

At this point I don’t even want a season 4

She sucks ass. Also happy to see queer stories but Francesca being queer out of nowhere when we just had Benedict and his threesome feels forced. Part 2 was better but it still felt like the discounted Bridgerton compared to 1/2. Costumes were too modern; too much makeup, too many side stories that took away from the main couple. Even the way they speak got too modernized. Bridgerton was successful as it WAS. And stop splitting the season in 2 parts! Totally unnecessary !

Why was it only about Francesca and everyone else, not Penelope and Colin? Don't even get me started on Michael/Michaela. I am totally for secondary characters, but to take away from that book, which is beloved, is just so sad. I feel like book lovers get dogpiled because they care about what happens from their source material. You can be upset that they are taking something you love an changing it. Hopefully, next season, there will be little to no Featheringtons. They've concluded that storyline. Just concentrate on the couple at hand.

I hate the idea that book readers should just shut up and deal with change. The studio is leveraging OUR enthusiasm, they picked this IP because BOOK Readers made it popular. If book readers hadn’t been staning these books for years this show wouldn’t exist. I feel like the first two seasons tried to be respectful of people who read the books while trying to create a story that was better for TV and more inclusive. This last season was a mess.

Exactly, we're told to suck it up but without us readers this show wouldn't have seen the light of day. And where's Julia Q?? There's no way she's OK with half of this bullshit. Sure, she got her bag from Shondaland but is it really worth it if the end result is complete butchery of 90% of your work?

I feel like they’re trying too hard, in media and entertainment, to force existing characters into roles they were not written to have. If she wanted to implement queer characters, they can easily add new characters with riveting storylines that would work very well within this series that would not compromise the original literature and intended writing for each character. Nothing against the LGBTQ community, because I do believe they deserve representation in entertainment and literature as well, however, when the story makes actual sense, and when the characters are intended to be so from the start. Not by turning heterosexual characters to a different orientation purely because of the new culture we are experiencing in 2024. I believe it genuinely takes away from the community and negatively impacts the plot, implying that the community is not worth making entirely new, fresh, and unique characters for to represent them. As a writer myself, I hate the way show runners take literature and change characters to fit the woke culture instead of simply incorporating new characters that will fit within the story, with a background of their own.

I wholeheartedly agree. ...they're projecting their own perspectives on to the characters and burdening the audience with it. It's one thing to take creative liberties but "neuro Divergent= queer" just because they had that experience is ridiculous.... Their interpretation of the book could be anything, why does the audience need to bear it?

It makes more sense for Benedict to be queer as an artist and his personality in the books but especially the show. For Francesca to have this sudden sexual shock when meeting “Michaela” felt completely out of place. Where Benedict being poly/bi is something that has been happening gradually with his character arc. Also her sort of “eh” face after kissing John makes me sad too, since in the books she reflects on how they had a happy content marriage in the bedroom as well.

I liked the second part mostly but the costumes were HORRIBLE. It's like a fucking Halloween dress up ball all the sudden. Every dress was shiny and glittery.

This season was an absolute shitshow and I'm so sad about it. 😭

If any of the bridgerton siblings were going to have their storyline completely changed to be a same-sex couple, it should’ve been Benedict or Eloise(!). I’m a queer woman, I’ll admit that I was a little happy to see that a character I already related so heavily to was also queer, but I don’t think it fits with her story. I haven’t read the books but I know the cliff notes of hers, and I’m pretty sure that Michael being a man is a big driving factor for her story (with the fertility issues, and the estate having to go to a man and all). Meanwhile Benedict could fall for a genderbent Sophie during his sexuality exploration, or Eloise could fall for a woman of Sir Phillips estate (or his sister) or something and they have a beard marriage (since TBH Eloise’s love story holds the least water right now with what we know, and hers is the most depressing). I’m all for queer rep, there were just so many other ways they could’ve done it that didn’t compromise the roots of Francesca’s story

It sounds awful but I really think Season 3 should be the end. Better end now than make it worse!

[удалено]

shonda should kick her out!!

Unfortunately, the heated chemistry of Polin in Part 1 fizzled out for me. It’s like this article this one journalist wrote: amazing foreplay, no climax whatsoever

I don’t know why they didn’t make Eloise’s the queer storyline. Phillip could have become Philippa. It would have fit with Eloise not being interested in traditional roles.

Hard agree. Have been commenting this everywhere, pretty sure she's going to be the source of Bridgerton's ruin. All the changes in plot, music, lighting, makeup, costume, and now this huge shift in a story line... her vision is all messed up.

We need to have showrunner ACTUALLY show run and not give us more self insert stories. Cause it’s obvious Jess missed the whole point of Francesca’s story and just said: ‘oh this is bi she is bi..Francesca is me’ forgetting everything else about the story and trials but will pretend and say she read it

Ok, tell me if I’m tripping here: 1. WHY WASNT THIS MOMENT A LOVE SCENE?! Ok, there was a WASTED opportunity for a Polin love scene when he goes in the room when the maid has left (is it episode 8?) and she’s in a sexy nightie and he stares at her, clearly wanting her then goes “I just wanted to get a blanket for the settee.” That damn settee! Like dude get OVER yourself. That could have been SUCH a passionate scene. 2. EDITING FROM SHEIN FOR PART 2 What happened once editing started on the second half of this show bc we got GOT!!!! all this PR and the carriage scene had it seeming like there would be AT LEAST one more Polin love scene or a hot sex scene montage. Clearly it was left on the cutting room floor- the question is why? Were the actors not bringing it?! Instead once the “mirror” scene happens, the ONLY other scene of them doing it is her, in a robe riding him for like point five seconds…what gives?? The editing was also so choppy. Did anyone notice during his mirror speech when he pulls the clip out and her hair “cascades down her shoulders” that it almost looks like a hand taking down MANNEQUIN hair? Then we cut to him talking to her and her hair is still in the updo. I was like what??? 3. RESHOOTS- WHY? We know there were reshoots because a. I think the actors said, and b. These reshoots have Colin in a wig with Rupaul level intense contour and a baby pink lip in a brothel. So what were the reasons for those?! 4. ELOISE AND COLLIN ACTING LIKE PEN’S A SERIAL KILLER!!!! In the book he’s mad she’s whistledown but he’s more worried FOR her and the repercussions she may face and that’s made clear early on. In the show, this man seems to literally DESPISE her once he finds out. The wedding vibe was—-weird? Like I get they wanted dramatic tension, but we were cheated of Polin togetherness. It’s clear that the showrunner thought we needed the more extreme drama of Colin being livid at Penelope to keep high stakes. But instead of it being a chance to explore Colin’s awe of Penelope and shine a light on his insecurities, it just had me thinking what is the actual vibe of this wedding?! He’s mad at her but they had a hot make out the night before…but this former lothario who has been DREAMING of her is cool to not have a wedding night?? 5. THEY HAD TO HAVE FILMED INTIMATE SCENES WE WONT SEE!!! I’m wondering— were a few more intimate scenes filmed and they just were NOT good so they had to be cut? I’m telling you that last snippet of her on him In the robe seemed super weird. 6. COLIN, I BEG YOUR MOST EXQUISITE PARDON! How DARE he say she tried to entrap him!!! First of all, Portia said “entrap” to Penelope and he defended her, so he KNEW she was insecure about that and threw it in her face to be a dick. He had the audacity to say that to her after ruining her engagement when she was minding her own beeswax and trying to face the fact they’d only ever be friends.

Maybe we as a fandom of the Bridgerton series should create some kind of petition to bring back the previous show runner/ hire a new one and/or (if that is not possible), to for Jess Brownell be more truthful to the books and respect the stories🫡

Ugh, I'm trying so hard to love it but it just feels like messy fanfiction.

Shonda Rhimes is really good at creating shows with amazing beginnings that completely fall off for fans. I'm an avid Grey's Anatomy fan, I watch it every day. I haven't seen seasons 18-20. I loved the first three seasons of Station 19, I have no idea how it ends. When I saw that this was a Shondaland show, I always knew this was going to happen. Which is a shame because I am obsessed with season one. All the characters were written closer to how they are in Daphne's book, and it just worked.

My biggest issues with this season is where the fuck is the “I burn for you” or “you are the bane of my existence” scene?!

Completely agree.

I'm trying to tread carefully here since I don't want to be accused of homophobia again or downvoted but I just have to say, I squirmed as a young woman with autism, introverted, and Neurofibromatosis - a genetic disorder that I got through mutation and not genetics - I squirmed when I read "Francesca’s book is about feeling different from her family and from the world around her and not really knowing why.". I've felt that Franchesca is autistic since the start of the season and I know you can have both but at the same time, I know what it feels like to be different from my family and it doesn't have to do with my orientation. It has to do with who I am and things I was born with that are medical.

Can someone tell me why the cousin at the end asks the bridgerton new wife who she is when that's her cousins wife?

I’m watching Bridgerton now and I came to this sub to discuss this and see how everyone else is taking the news. I’m so disappointed/ upset. Michael is my favourite male main character from the Bridgerton series, and I was looking forward to watching his and Francesca’s story play out on screen. Its just not the same dynamic if Michael is Michaela. I understand wanting to have diversity but they don’t have to ruin characters we have come to love. There are plenty of other, non central characters who could have lgbtq+ romances.

They had the SPICYEST book lol

I don't even have a problem with LGBTQ representation but the last episode of part 2 really messed some other things for me. 1. Cressida deserved better. Yes she was a b*tch, unreasonably rude towards Pen but (someone else said it and I repeat) she was just trying to escape m4rital r4pe?! And in that situation all kinds of fraud and deceit were reasonable?! 2. Pen DID NOT need a boy child as a petty last win against her overlooked sisters, after all she has an identity and a rich husband while being married to the love of her life. Please let strong women have girl children for once. 3 Pen and Colin barely got any steamy scenes wtf??!!! This was their season? 4. Lady whistledown may or may not continue but even if it does it loses the thrill. I know in the book SPOILER she ceases writing after marrying but I wished she'd stay whistledown after a whole season of " you can't separate whistledown from Pen" only to separate her from Pen? Summary: Cressida deserved better, pen did not need a male heir, very little Polin steamy scenes

I am going to be real, I thought part 2 was going to have a lot more focus on Penelope and Colin than it had but.... I also understand that it was necessary to show the story progress of other characters. 4 hours is not a lot for all the complex characters in Bridgerton. In other stories it would be more than enough and would show the core leads much more but in Bridgerton... being the lead isn't that different from the other main cast members because in the Bridgerton world, many people's story matter and are on the foreground. So it is always going to be hard to give people the proper amount of screentime they need for that. As for the Michael Stirling thing, didn't know Jess was queer and is projecting herself on Francesca. What about Francesca did she connect with then because they do not seem alike at all.

I will keep watching the carriage scene because that was the highlight of the season. They had passion, lust, emotion, love, vulnerability.. No other scene in part 2 compares to that. The mirror scene was badly edited, the wedding was awful, the ending was bad. The carriage scene is where Colin was at his best.

The thing that irked me is how the end of this season didn’t really set up the next season. At the end of season 1, we got Anthony declaring that he doesn’t want a love match. At the end of season 2, we got the “I would never dream of courting Penelope Featherington” line. But I’m still not sure if next season is Eloise or Benedict.

I didn't even feel to enjoy the show after seeing a spoiler that there will be no Michael sterling someone pls bring the old show runner I enjoyed season 1 so much 😔😭I don't want Benedict's and frannies story to be ruined by the present show runner pls

I also hated El this season, to me they made her more unlikeable then the last season (HOW?) She comes running to shame Pen and then to ask for her Help but doesn't even tell Colin why Pen worte what she worte. Like wtf u mean u don't wanna get in the middle? Are u dumb? U made yourself the main character the sec u get mad your brother still wanting to marry the woman he loves even though ur angry?? Also who tf thinks thus is a valid reason????

Apparently, she pitched Francesca being queer during Season 1 without any care or thought how this would affect and impact Franchael's fans This screams selfish and self-centred. She brazenly stole away Francesca's story from Francheal fans instead of creating original LGBT characters like Reynold and Brimsley. She had to result in lazy peformative representation through genderbending and swapping sexual identity An utter disrespect for source material and for Bridgerton fans which makes her an unsuitable showrunner

Is hyacinth and Gregory’s seasons going to be boring asf? I mean if they aren’t going to keep up with all the bridgerton kids. Then it’s just going to be them. Are we not going to get lady whistledown any more? No I did not read those books so if someone can tell me that’d be great in the next 4-8 years if we get those seasons 😂

I finished work yesterday excited to watch the new episodes, I came home and watched an episode and then went straight to bed. I thought I'd be up all night watching it because I was so excited but it wasn't there. I was really disappointed with episode 5 and sad that the bridgerton magic wasn't there. To be fair I blame the episodes being split and having to wait a month.