Romance Movies & Series

Penelope is the Feral Girl representation we need, and Colin is clearly the best lay in Bridgerton, no arguments about this.

This season did a great job specifically on selling how good the sex was between them for Penelope- and how badly Penelope in particular wanted it- which helps emphasize the angst when they're not having it.

They let Penelope have a healthy curiosity and a high sex drive early on. It starts off innocently enough through our modern eyes, but for Penelope as a chaste regency virgin to hyperfixate on physical intimacy - a kiss- as the one aspect of marriage that she was desperate not to miss out on already shows where she's at. She's not having the same somewhat naive juvenile dreams of wedding day outfits and well-bred men who write poetry that some of the other debutantes are seen talking about throughout the season. When Colin asks her why she wants a husband during the market lesson scene she tells him practical goals about gaining her freedom, but in the dead of night when she's being entirely honest with her desires- she's in full "I don't want to die a virgin" mode.

Speaking of which- she very nearly dies of horniness not too long later, frozen in place staring at Colin Bridgerton in his best outfit of the season, tugging on rope in tight pants with his curls blowing in the breeze instead of running out of the way of a rogue air balloon. Feral. Girl. Representation.

She also has a great appreciation for Colin's smut stories in his journal. The first time she reads them she is entranced rather than scandalized, and tells Colin she enjoyed them and wants to read more. When they talk about the journals in the afterglow scene it's not because Penelope is jealous of the women in Paris, it's teasing. She's had a good time, and is secure in Colin's desire for her, and just wants to read more. When Colin brings up his journals again and tells her he's taking the personal stories out, Penelope tells him that's what she enjoyed about them and giggles when Colin tells her he's saving it for her. And in the epilogue, when we find out Colin is published, the implication is that Penelope as his editor did convince him to leave it in.

She has enthusiastic consent for everything Colin does to her in the carriage scene, immediately asks for another round after losing her virginity (with the messy wig change implying that she gets her wish), and during the argument at the wedding breakfast, Penelope makes sure to mention to Colin that its their wedding night while he's angry. The Queen just crashed their party, accused his family of feuding with her, Colin is clearly distraught and Penelope is still like...but what about the sex? 🥺 (She is very funny for this, I don't know if it was meant to be humorous but I laugh every time I think about it.) Penelope got a preview before the wedding and thought that consummation was a sure thing, only for her man to end up sleeping on the couch for days. Colin was not the only one down bad, not if Penelope was still gauging his interest in sex after being threatened by the queen 5 minutes ago, and if the scene where he walks in on her in her negligee was any indication, Penelope stayed hopeful he would break first.

And of course her sex drive is that high with Colin, because they make it pretty clear that he is very satisfying in bed. Penelope's expressions during their sex scene really show just how into it she is. The euphoria right after she relaxes, and then that narrow-eyed look of determination once she starts moving with Colin? And both of them finishing together? And if we weren't already sure that Colin applies being a people pleaser to all aspects of his life because of how everything Mr Fingerton did in the carriage was solely for Penelope's pleasure (while Colin gets off on getting her off and then has to walk into his family with a raging boner), he then ends their first time by asking her for confirmation that it was alright. Penelope tells him it was perfect, and the way the scene is acted, you believe that it was perfect. He took his time to guide her every step of the way, and only once she was ready did he let himself get into it. Also LN is particularly good at acting out the throes of passion because his face during that scene...

And finally, when she and Colin have their heart to heart after Frannie's wedding, she tells him he's shown her she's capable of pleasure beyond her imagination (please go back and look at Colin's face when she says this). She lets him know that she needs him to hold her and kiss her, and in their final sex scene of the season, feral Pen gets her wish.

Penelope Bridgerton: Queen of the Horny Little Devils!

Just finished Season 3 last night and I didn't love the way that they resolved the Whistledown identity arc. Maybe they did it this way because of the books, which I haven't read (I'm a casual viewer so I might have forgotten things from past seasons as well), but it seemed like the wrong choice for a few reasons.

First, Whistledown's hidden identity is a large part of what gives Penelope so much power. The fact that Whistledown could be anyone keeps people interested because of the mystery and also allows Pen to play the role of wallflower and get information. Further, it gives people a sense that Whistledown is sort of "omnipresent" because they never know if the gossip they are sharing will make it back to her or not (because again, Whistledown could be anyone). The fact that everyone knows it's Penelope will make it way harder for her to get information and ruins the allure of the gossip column.

Second, part of what made Whistledown powerful is that there were no consequences - Penelope could say whatever she wanted, even be mean, etc., and face almost zero repercussions because her identity was secret. Season 3 goes to lengths to point out how this unchecked power of the press was dangerous, and how it lead Penelope to be careless, but this is precisely because it was real power. Now, whatever Pen writes, she has to be conscious of not offending people too much, which is a major, major check on her ability to write freely (not to mention government interference, see my last point below).

Third, now that people know Whistledown is Pen, it makes it so much easier for people to disregard or publicly counter whatever she writes. It will be so much easier for people to say, "well, just because Penelope F. says so, doesn't mean it's true." Whistledown's secret identity was part of her mythos and a reason she became a legend among the ton - having the column reduced to "Pen's thoughts" allows people to throw the gauntlet down and publicly challenge Pen's thoughts, whereas there was no such target. If you wanted to publicly disagree with Whistledown before, you couldn't just march to her door, you would have had to write something in response in a paper, or try to convince people one at a time the gossip was false. Now, all you have to do is convince people that Penelope has faulty info or go complain to her directly. It just changes what Whistledown is entirely and makes it far to easy for people to respond, which diminishes the power of the role.

Fourth, and this is maybe the one that irks me the most - Whistledown had legitimate political power to challenge the Queen's authoritarian regime. The matches in the marriage market aren't just for love - they forge political alliances between families, which has deep implications for the balance of power among the ruling class. Whistledown's secret identity meant Penelope could challenge the Queen's decisions and preferences in front of the entire ton and sway public perception among the aristocracy, which put the Queen on the defensive and often influenced her decisions.

How lame then, that Penelope basically has to come forward and grovel in front of the queen, asking her forgiveness and blessing to continue. Whistledown moving forward will only weild a small fraction of her power because Penelope now has to self-censor so she doesn't piss the Queen off. The Queen will have no proper rival because she can just cart Pen off to a dungeon if she doesn't like what Whistledown has to say moving forward.

I haven't seen much discussion on this so wanted to share my thoughts! It seems like the ending was trying to spin this as some wonderful compromise for Pen where she gets to continue being Whistledown and a Bridgerton, but I can't help but feel she seriously lost some power here :(

I was underwhelmed when he was casted because Michael was always the end game and WHWW is my favorite book so I was like gah just a stepping stone, let's get to the real plot!!

Who else was surprised at how awesome he turned out to be? The Fran scenes were sweet sure, but I loved when his personality came out with the boys. So witty and funny! He didn't have many lines or screen time but he made a huge impression.

What was your favorite unexpectedly awesome John scene?