DEAREST GENTLE READER.
Reflections on Season 3 of Bridgerton and the Wallflower's journey to inner power.
*Includes Season 3 SPOILERS. Read at your own risk*
Dearest Gentle Reader,
I fear I am to blame for the heinous decision by Netflix to drop Season 3 of Bridgerton in two separate parts.
Two episodes into the “Part 2” drop and I could just feel my guides and ancestors spiritually dragging me for filth through Penelope and her inner battle between her newly realized inner power and her crippling insecurity and self-doubt.
Honestly, I haven’t been able to get into the central love story between Colin and Penelope—which is no shade to the actors—but more so that the most intense build up of true love and sexual tension in this season has been between Penelope and Lady Whistledown (in this case, her PASSION).
See, this season is complex because the Bridgerton books and Bridgerton brand has build the fandom’s expectations of ONE love story at a time. The fact that the writers chose to make Francesca’s story overlap with Penelope’s has upset the one love story at a time pattern that Bridgerton has set thus far. And though, yes, previous seasons have highlighted or laid ground work for other couples, the way Francesca and Lord Kilmartin’s story seems to be almost equally central as Colin and Penelope breaks with the tradition of the previous seasons.
There have been many critiques within the fan base that this season has fallen flat compared to the love stories of Season 1 and 2. Believe me, the fact that Penelope is a plus-sized character—and all the additional layers of bias and prejudice that adds to the equation—is not lost on me in the slightest. Though, an alternate perspective could be that the true central love story is between Pen, and well…her pen.
All season, we’ve watched Penelope hyperventilate over Colin and disempower herself even though she is seemingly getting what she wanted and manifested. Colin Bridgerton is finally in front of her, asking for her hand in marriage, and saying everything she’s dreamt of…yet she is conflicted as the secret of Lady Whistledown is putting their relationship in jeopardy. Her one form of authentic expression has seemingly become dangerous to herself and her loved ones. But if that is the case, shouldn’t it be easy to just let Whistledown go? It’s perfectly logical, but something inside her resists.
When it comes to creating that feeling of sexual tension there has to be a sense of longing. I knew that this season was not about her relationship with Colin when she had overcome the “friend-zone” and essentially secured her dream man mid-season. In previous seasons, the writers have painfully edged the audience when it comes to letting us have the steamy release scenes, but this season has already freely given away all the “Polin” build-up moments usually saved for the very end.
In fact, this season is more about Penelope and the irresistible pull of embracing her power and brilliance. It was about her learning to stop kowtowing to the whims and desires of her family, friends, or society (read: The Ton™). Even more so, it was about not letting the limitations and short-sightedness of others become her truth. Here again lies the sexual tension between Penelope and her most powerful state.
The reason why social media has been in an uproar about Penelope’s character in the first half is because the audience knows how powerful this woman is, but she stifles herself because the world has repeatedly kicked her down. So instead, she continues the abuse toward herself which makes the viewer just want to shake her. People were in a tizzy on TikTok screaming “For the love of God, Penelope, girl—STAND UP!”
In her state of disempowerment, she is literally begging for shreds of dignity, respect, and love… My good sis, you are literally the MAIN CHARACTER of your season, yet you’ve spent the majority of it questioning if you even belong. As if you’re not Lady F*cking Whistledown, the baddest to ever do it! You, the one who has the entirety of The Ton™—and the Literal Queen of England—hanging on your every word, waiting for your next move! This is the true tension; the will-she, won’t-she back and forth. Will Penelope and her backbone ever be reunited?
When someone has been heavily overlooked and frequently disempowered, the ability to connect deeply and find moments of true empowerment becomes instrumental to their survival. If you’re often alone or lonely, sometimes your inner world is the realest thing you have and the only place that feels familiar enough to let your truest self out. The innate drive to create and express becomes a vital function. Otherwise you simply die inside…
…And with talents like Pen’s and an inner world as colorful as hers, what a terrible loss it would be to herself (and everyone in The Ton™) if she lost her connection to self, soul, and Spirit.
Penelope is seemingly forced to choose between her love (in the physical sense, Colin) or the love of her authentic self. But the audience is desperate for Penelope to fight for herself because maybe, just maybe, she would realize that there are more possibilities open to her than she previously thought. In fact, I don’t believe the choice she thinks she’s making is even the actual choice at hand.
You see, she can have her cake and eat it too if she chooses to stop making herself small and embrace herself. Yet, anyone who has struggled with themselves knows the very real possibility that she could fumble her blessings due to resigning herself fear and insecurity. So much so that she temporarily forgets to use her creative genius and gifts to take charge and present an alternate route.
Penelope needs her true moment in the spotlight in all her glory—confident, abundant, radiant, intelligent, beloved. At this point, she is due her moment in the sun after all her years in the shadows.
There are many karmic debts that Penelope is owed from all the injustices she has experienced in life. She didn’t deserve a family that belittled her, a best friend who couldn’t perceive her, and a love who fought himself internally the whole season because he processes too slowly to figure out that the feeling had always BEEN mutual…typical. Let alone the constant threats of poverty and ruin, the whispers of The Ton™, and the impossible comparisons to the golden Bridgerton family—a race the Featheringtons always lost.
Let’s be honest, Penelope is not without faults. She can be messy and is liable to turn that pen into a sword when upset. Yet, despite her mistakes, she remains kind-hearted, even with valid reasons to become a complete menace. The Ton™ is fortunate that she leans more toward being an agent of (much-needed) chaos and stimulation. For the most part, she uses her gifts to liven up that stuffy and shallow crowd of socialites. People of all ages, genders, classes, and backgrounds scurry to her pages to behold something real, something that makes them pull their heads out of their own behinds for once. Her frequent choice of kindness means she is due her moment, her season as the lead, and to be the focus of the central love story—even if that is the love of self.
It’s scary for Penelope to believe she’s worthy of good things because the world has taken pleasure in building her up just to knock her down and watch the hope drain from her eyes. When that happens often enough, it can really have a lasting prison-like effect on someone’s whole sense of self. If you believe the force-fed propaganda, it becomes terrifying to receive anything good. You think that it’s another practical joke from the Universe. You question who you can trust and what those closest to you are capable of. You start to self-sabotage, either through actions or through negative self-talk and limiting beliefs. Essentially, putting shackles on your own mind and holding yourself hostage.
Luckily, because it is Bridgerton, there is a certain sense of safety and security when it comes to the success of the central love story. The counterparts will go through trial and tribulation, but you know that they will find their happily ever after in the end.
Coming Full Circle
I started this entry saying that I may be the reason they dropped the second half of the season a full month later. I believe that it must have been larger than Shondaland or Netflix, but rather a work of divine timing. The Universe needed me to experience and reflect on my own inner lessons that have been mirroring Penelope’s.
The timing has aligned with my own battle against self-doubt and the subconscious desire to shrink. Like Penelope, I have become aware of my power and gifts in the past few seasons of my life, yet I still find myself backtracking and sabotaging my progress. I have channeled my authentic voice and witnessed the reach and impact I am capable of, yet these moments of self-realization are often overshadowed by my hesitations. Sometimes, I even go so far as to outright avoid growth, despite repeatedly proving to myself how resilient and magical I can be.
Life has been pushing me to decide whether I am willing to give up my inner fire to remain ordinary and small, or if I will fight through fear, doubt, and discomfort to reach for what I am capable of and see how far it stretches.
And let me tell you, the “sexual” tension between me and living my BEST life is palpable…perhaps even more so than Penelope’s heaving bosom in every other scene…
I know that my rooting for Penelope is a reflection of me rooting for myself. It has been truly beautiful to see how much the audience supports Penelope, mirroring the love and validation I've been receiving as I navigate this journey. It feels foreign to be noticed when you're used to the wallflower life.
This season felt like it was made just for me, bringing themes and messages that encouraged me to seize my moment. While it may not resonate with everyone, it arrived at a crucial time for me, offering the motivation I needed.
I know that facing and healing the injustices, traumas, and violations from myself and others means that good karma is on its way back to me. Yes, it's scary to imagine good things for myself, and I'm tempted to avoid my healing and intuition like the plague. But the loudest “yes” comes from that inner flame that wants to stay alive.
More than anything, I want to stand unwaveringly in my authenticity, my weirdness, my large body, and larger-than-life abilities. I want to validate myself from within and let everything else be surplus. I desire beautiful miracles in my life for my highest good, to be continually amazed by life’s wonders, and to discover deep gratitude for being alive. I want to be at one with my most limitless self—at power and at peace—with ease and magical simplicity.
It is my season.