Gossip & Glamour: Analyzing Bridgerton Season 3 Episode 1

Thanks to a new Bridgerton entering the society in hopes of finding their perfect love match, we have been blessed with another season of the show where gossip, drama, and romance reign supreme. Not to get too excited though, as we currently only have the first four episodes.

Nonetheless, this time, the spotlight is on Colin and Penelope, whose love story has been eagerly anticipated by many (myself included). Their relationship has been blooming since season 1, giving this particular season a certain level of expectation.

While we wait for the second part of Bridgerton Season 3, let’s take a look at the first four episodes, discussing the plot, characters, relationships and particular scenes. For easier reading, this analysis will be divided into four parts, starting with part 1 for episode one.

Bridgerton season 3 Episode  1: Out of the shadows

Major events:

• Penelope’s makeover,
• Francesca’s debut
• Penelope vs Colin fight

New characters:

• Albion Finch (Philippa’s husband)
• Harry Dankworth (Prudence’s husband)
• Aunt Petunia (related to Pen’s family)
• Mr. Dundas (a guy who deals with wills and money inheritance)
• Lady Kent (great aunt of Mrs. Mondrich)
• Lord Debling

Returning characters:

• Penelope
• Penelope’s family
• Madame Delacroix
• all Bridgerton siblings (except Daphne)
• Kate Bridgerton (previously Sharma)
• Queen Charlotte
• Mrs. Varley (Lady Featherington’s housekeeper)
• Cressida Cowper
• Lady Danbury
• Will Modrich and Mrs. Mondrich

Key interactions:

• Penelope-her family: both her mother and her sisters are very mean to Penelope for no apparent reason.
• Penelope-Colin: Penelope is quite hostile towards Colin, as she has not forgotten what he said about her in the previous season’s ball (that he would never court her).
• Penelope-Eloise: they are not on speaking terms, though Eloise has not revealed Pen’s secret of being Lady Whistledown.
• Eloise-Cressida: they have become friends over the summer; Eloise tries to prevent Cressida from bullying Pen.

Character arcs:

• Penelope – she is more mature and vocal this season. She is not letting people disregard her so easily, which is evident in the way she speaks to others: snapping back at her family, telling Colin off for leading her on, and writing about Colin in Lady Whistledown.

Bridgerton season 3 Episode 1 breakdown

Dearest, gentle reader. We have been apart for far too long.

Lady Whistledown (Bridgerton, season 3)

The Bridgerton family

We start the season off with some changes in known characters. Colin has come back from his travels with a new look. Benedict is the one to point this out to us: “Under what foreign sun did you apparently get so sturdy?”

Colin’s wardrobe has changed, as he now prefers fashion that is popular in Paris, and his personality has taken a turn; he doesn’t discuss his travels with his brothers, which he usually did. The brothers only tease him for it, but this gives us the first indication that Colin has taken the “new year, new me” expression very seriously.

Colin is also showing a lot of interest in the young ladies this season. He is constantly chatting with groups of ladies and showing off his charm. He frequently hangs out with some gentlemen who keep asking him about his travels, specifically his pleasures abroad.

Eloise, however, sees Colin’s new charming persona as a mask and thinks he is actually lonely inside while acting fine and charming on the outside.

Speaking of Eloise, she is another character who has undergone some changes. Before we discuss the elephant in the room, which is Eloise’s new friendship, we have to look at more subtler changes first. Let’s start with her style. Colin points out that Eloise has started wearing ruffles, which is unlike her. She dismisses Colin, saying it is the style of the season, but her expression suggests otherwise.

The following two images compare Eloise’s style in season 3 (on the left) and Season 2 (on the right).

It’s interesting how Eloise thinks Colin’s personality is a mask when the same could be said about her, as she is trying to blend in with the ton while clearly not caring about the topics young ladies discuss (like embroidery and marriage).

My train of thought is further supported when we learn that Eloise has started reading novels. Colin thought Eloise was not interested in silly romances. Eloise responds to that with: “The writings I read before of women making their way outside society, those were the romances.” As she is no longer friends with Penelope, I believe Eloise is not as confident in her way of thinking, since she has been left alone with her ideas. Even Penelope now wants a husband, whom Eloise thought would join her in being happy spinsters.

This book has humor and truth… the pains of friendship.

Eloise Bridgerton (Bridgerton, season 3)

Eloise is clearly referring to Penelope, whom she probably misses dearly, despite their fight last season.

I have noticed how lost both Colin and Eloise seem this season. Both, might I add, have lost touch with Penelope. It seems as though Penelope was their support system, and now that she has cut ties with both of them, they have lost their footing.

As for Eloise’s new friend Cressida, she seems quite shallow. She is goes around insulting people (mostly Penelope) and talking about, you guessed it, herself. Eloise clearly does not enjoy her company as much as she did Penelope, but we see that Eloise literally has no other friend. Eloise later reveals that this friendship came to be because Cressida was the only one being nice to her during the summer in the countryside. Penelope was not around that summer, as she was hiding from Eloise after their big fight last season over Eloise finding out Penelope is Lady Whistledown.

To our and Penelope’s relief, Eloise has not revealed Penelope’s secret identity. She is keeping her distance from Penelope, though she still tries to prevent Cressida from bullying her. She also occasionally checks in on Penelope in various ways (though Colin, by looking at her at social events). Eloise clearly still cares for Penelope; she simply has not forgiven her for what she did last season. I also think that Eloise is mad that Penelope was not present in the countryside, since that left Eloise friendless.

The Bridgerton making their official debut this season is Francesca, though by the looks of it, she wants to get it over as soon as possible. Francesca seems like an introverted character, one who doesn’t want to be in the spotlight; though for the Bridgertons, spotlight is hard to avoid. Her discomfort is shown in the presentation room, where she seems overwhelmed by everyone staring at her, which is very understandable.

While Francesca does want to get married this season, it looks like she is doing it out of obligation. She doesn’t specifically seek out an exciting love like her older siblings Anthony and Daphne are experiencing. She simply wants a kind man that she can marry and fulfill her duty. Violet is taken aback by Francesca’s practicality. She wants the same thing for all her kids – passionate love, which is the opposite of practicality.

Benedict has unfortunately become the “filler” of the season. He himself admits that he was happy looking after the Bridgerton estate while Anthony was on his honeymoon, as that gave him a purpose in life. Now, he doesn’t know what to do, and it seems like the writers also don’t know what to do with this character. So what is the solution? A new love interest sigh. While I love Benedict, his subplot this season feels very unnecessary. We are already dealing with two Bridgerton love stories; we do not need a third one, especially one that will probably be cast aside once Benedict’s turn to marry comes.

We get a few scenes with Kate and Anthony, who have returned from their honeymoon. Apparently, Violet is supposed to move out to a dower house since Kate is the new Lady Bridgerton, the new viscountess. However, since we need Violet’s matchmaking expertise this season, Kate doesn’t rush Violet to move out and even proposes extending their honeymoon to Anthony so they could work on producing an heir or two. This is how the show explains why we won’t be seeing much of Kate and Anthony this season.

The Featherington family

When we get a glimpse at the Featherington family, we see that they are well off with their fortune. As we know from the previous season, Lady Featherington’s cousin, Jack Featherington, was working on a money scheme together with Portia. It all fell apart because Colin discovered the scheme. Portia then tricked Jack into leaving for the Americas while keeping a large share for herself and forging a signature on a document that stated the first son of one of Portia’s daughters would inherit the title and the estate.

However, Portia wants people to believe that they inherited their fortune from Aunt Petunia, who has recently passed. Since people don’t have much information on Aunt Petunia, Portia feels it is the perfect cover-up. Though we see that Mrs. Varley, Portia’s housekeeper, is worried that people will not believe such a tale.

Both Philippa and Prudence are married this season. Phillipa married Albion Finch, and Prudence married Harry Dankworth. While both sisters seem happy in their new relationships, Prudence doesn’t look comfortable engaging in any physical activities with her husband, whether romantic or casual.

As for Penelope, she is getting absolutely no support from her family. Both her sisters and her mother think Penelope is a lost cause; Portia has accepted that Penelope will remain unmarried since this is her third season out.

I do appreciate how Lady Whistledown highlighted women who got married in later seasons, pointing out that women should not be deemed a lost cause just because they don’t get married in their first or second season. While it doesn’t seem like the ton will accept that view anytime soon, it is definitely a great conversation starter.

However, Penelope is fed up with her family. Ever since her sisters got married, her life has become insufferable, so she wishes to marry this season.

It’s been hard enough living under my mother’s rules. But my sisters…To live at the whim of either the most cruel or the most simple person I know

Penelope Featherington (Bridgerton, season 3)

My guess is that the cruel one is Philippa and the simple one is Prudence, though you are welcome to give your own interpretation in the comments.

Penelope has decided that she will change her whole wardrobe with a particular inspiration in mind. “Perhaps something like what they are wearing in Paris?” I will give you a moment to guess what her real inspiration is. If you guessed Colin, congrats, you were right. I thought this little detail was so cute, since Colin specified that his newly bought wardrobe is from Paris.

Irrelevant subplot

The irrelevant subplot of the season that contributes absolutely nothing to the main story is the Mondrich family subplot. They seem like very kind people, but I simply do not care about them. I will summarise their subplot in this paragraph and move on from them, as I considered this subplot a waste of my time, which I would have loved to spend learning more about other characters, like Cressida, for example.

Anyway, Mondrich family is now rich thanks to Mrs. Mondrich’s aunt, who died and gave her riches to Nicholas (their son). He is the new Baron of Kent. Since the Mondrich family worked hard to earn their status in the society (they come from a working-class background), they now have to get used to the new lavish lifestyle and the rules that come with it. That’s it. That’s the plot.

First ball of the season – at Lady Danbury’s

It is officially time for Penelope’s make over. What a moment, really. And to have Gayle’s “ABCDEFU” play in the background while the camera is focused on Penelope… Amazing! It’s like Penelope is saying a big F U to everyone who wrote her off as a lost cause. Also, shout out to Albion Finch, who is a supportive brother-in-law. Would love to see more of his character this season.

When Colin sees Penelope in her new look… sips his drink

Penelope immediately gets attention from three suitors who come up and start talking to her. Unfortunately for Penelope, she is not used to such situations, which leads to an incredibly awkward conversation. She accidentally says the wrong thing, which throws the suitors off, and then she nervously speed-talks through the rest of the conversation. The men scurry off, leaving Penelope feeling quite low.

On the other side of the ballroom, Eloise is stuck in a conversation about embroidery. She clearly has no interest in the topic and tries to steer the conversation in a different direction. In this scene, we can see how miserable both Penelope and Eloise currently feel in their social circles. It’s important to mention that Eloise keeps checking in on Penelope from afar, clearly sensing how the situation on Penelope’s side is going.

Francesca can be added to the list of people who are not enjoying their time at this ball. She doesn’t enjoy the conversations she has with suitors, as they keep asking Francesca weirdly specific questions, for example, “What makes you tick?“

We get a cute scene where Francesca and Penelope are enjoying each others company and having a conversation about social life.

Once one finds oneself on the wall, it is difficult to come off it. No matter what one does.

Penelope Featherington (Bridgerton, season 3)

To this, Francesca answers, “At least the wall is not asking what makes me tick.” Francesca explains how she wanted to have meaningful conversations with the suitors. Instead, she felt as though they were inspecting her, since they were only asking questions and not sharing anything about themselves.

Penelope and Francesca share a relatable moment when they both understand that they are different from their siblings. Sometimes that can be hard, as you can feel like the odd one out, like the black sheep of the family.

Moments later, while walking around the ball room and minding her own business, Penelope gets weird looks from other young ladies (for being unmarried? I really don’t know why they were side-eyeing Pen). She feels down and goes to eat ice cream, which gives her a brain freeze (there is a point to this, I promise). That is when she meets Lord Debling for the first time.

He immediately asks if Penelope is in discomfort from the ice cream or from the major side eyes coming her way. Sadly, Penelope reveals that she gets those type of looks regularly and that she is used to worse (I swear, Penelope’s story is getting sadder and sadder cries).

What is interesting though, is that Lord Debling says this to Penelope: “And why do I have the feeling that you, in turn, know how to make one wither.” it’s as if he knows Penelope is Lady Whistledown (which he doesn’t, but it was an interesting remark).

This lovely interraction is disrupted by Cressida being a bully to Penelope as usual. She steps on her dress (purposefully) and sends Lord Debling scurrying off to get someone who could help Penelope. Eloise seems very sorry for what happened but she didn’t stand up for Penelope in that instance, which did disappoint me. Penelope runs off, Colin sees and goes after her.

This is when we get THE TALK. This was the teaser scene that we got before the season aired and I was so surprised to see it in episode 1. I was VERY excited for this scene, as Penelope will not hold back and finally tell Colin why she has been distant from him lately.

I could transcribe the whole fight here, because it is a turning point for Penelope’s character. Penelope calling herself a spinster and addressing Colin as Mr. Bridgerton. Colin being oblivious to why Penelope is mad at him. Colin whining about Penelope not answering his letters. Then has the audacity to tell her that he misses her and give her his proudest smile.

I’m pretty sure that smile was the straw that broke the camel’s back because Penelope drops the “I overheard you at my mama’s ball last season, telling everyone how you would never ever court Penelope Featherington” bomb. She finishes the fight by expressing how she still doesn’t feel like people are taking her seriously, even after her makeover. She is even more hurt though that Colin out of all people could be so cruel.

Next day’s shenanigans

Next day, Mr.Dundas visits Portia (Lady Featherington) because he suspects that her inheritance seems a bit off and that the document could possibly be forged (which it is). As her cousin Jack (whom Portia described as a swindler) ran off with their money (that is the story Portia came up with), it makes no sense why he would leave the estate to one of her daughters’ sons. Thus, he believes it is fraud and would like to uncover it as soon as possible. 

If he finds out that the document is forged, the Featheringtons would lose the estate. But only if he finds out before one of her daughters gets pregnant and produces an heir. So Portia’s immediate goal is to ensure her daughters give birth to a son.

What makes the Featherington situation worse is that there is no way society would believe that two aunts died and gave their riches away in the same season (for both Mondrich and Featherington families).

Next, we get a glimpse of Cressida’s story. First, Eloise tells Cressida that what she did to Penelope was cruel and unnecessary. Then, Eloise says that Cressida not being able to find a husband is probably her own fault, as she is unkind to other girls. Cressida shares an important perspective on how hard it is to find a real friend since every season it feels like the girls are pitted against one another to fight for a man. We can definitely see that in every season.

We cut to Colin visiting Penelope, apologizing for his behavior and offering his help in securing Penelope a husband. He tells Penelope he has learnt that charm can be taught (further proving that he has been faking his personality this season).

Then, Whistledown is delivered… After Penelope and Colin’s fight yesterday, Penelope poured her heart out in her next Lady Whistledown sheet. She was not done with the fight when she got home that evening because her finishing move was to drag Colin.

But one must wonder, is this new character the real him, or simply a ploy for attention? And does Mr. Bridgerton even know?

Lady Whistledown (Bridgerton, season 3)

The sheet says that Colin has adopted a fake personality for the season. Penelope essentially knocked out Colin, rightfully so. She regrets writing her newest sheet, but honestly, I think Colin needed that. Penelope didn’t write anything THAT bad; she just said he is being a fake, which he is.

When Colin reads the newest Whistledown sheet, he says that he will NEVER forgive Lady Whistledown. Even though he doesn’t know her identity, he promises to ruin her life (yeah right). I personally think this is going to be the conflict of the season.

And that is a wrap for episode 1 of Bridgerton season 3. We got a nice overview of the characters we know and love, met new characters, got gossip, drama and first glances at some love interests. I was impressed with how much we got in the first episode (the makeover, the fight, meeting Lord Debling). Most importantly, I was just happy to see familiar faces on my TV screen.

I hope you enjoyed the first part of this analysis! Feel free to write your thoughts in the comments and share this post with fellow Bridgerton fans.

For even more Bridgerton content, why don’t you check out some of my Bridgerton themed merch – Even a Wallflower Can Bloom, I Work To Support My Bridgerton Addiction, In my Bridgerton era and Waiting For Bridgerton Season 3.

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