Dearest Gentle Reader, Bridgerton, Shondaland’s famed courting of singletons, is upon us once again. Although this time, season 3 has been split into two parts leaving us stranded between now and the next four episodes. Part 1 floated gracefully onto Netflix on May 16, yet we’ll have to wait until June 13 for the conclusion of Colin and Penelope’s friends-turned-lovers tale.
Nevertheless, we’ve firmly arrived at the ton for the 1815 season. Anthony and Kate returned from their honeymoon, the Featherington ladies are reveling in their readmittance to good standing in society, and, most importantly, we’ve witnessed this year’s crop of debutantes enter the marriage mart.
While we waited to see who would be this year’s diamond pick from the Queen, there was a new suitor catching everyone’s eye as Colin Bridgerton returned from his travels around Europe with a new look and new confidence. Flirting up a storm with a ‘sturdier’ appearance and a whole heap of winking, Colin surprised us all with his new personality and along with it some rather steamy threesome scenes, placing Bridgerton firmly back into raunchy period drama status.
It’s over the first four episodes though, that we’ve been introduced to this season’s dazzling couple. One that’s been a long time coming. For Part 1, we’ve reveled in the longing glances and deal-turned-real kiss between Colin and Penelope. But what’s next for Polin in Part 2? And the rest of the ton?
There are many paths to follow and predictions to make as we wait until June 13, especially given the absolutely precipitous cliffhanger that the Part 1 finale left us hanging from. So while we wait to find out what is next, here is what we think could happen in the next installment of the third season...
Warning - major spoilers for Bridgerton season 3 part 1 to follow.
Colin and Penelope get engaged
It’d be fair to assume that Colin’s proposal that left us on tenterhooks at the end of Part 1 is to be accepted by Penelope. The pair were intertwined in a rather steamy session in the carriage box, only halted by the arrival at Bridgerton House before he asked for her hand in marriage. Penelope has clearly been infatuated with Colin for a very long time, despite her efforts to find a practical match in Lord Debling, so this proposal would be a dream come true.
So, why wouldn’t she accept the proposal? With love at the forefront and the spark clearly ignited between the pair, it’d be hard to find a reason that she wouldn’t. Oh, apart from the fact Colin is yet to learn her true identity as Lady Whistledown, but we’ll get into that next.
Colin finds out who Lady Whistledown is
You really don’t want it to happen given that Colin and Penelope are finally together, but inevitably it’s going to. Showrunner Jess Brownell herself confirmed it by telling Netflix Tudum, “Colin is going to find out Penelope is Lady Whistledown”. Quite rightly so. Given that they’re most likely getting married, it’d be hard for Pen to continue to hide her identity from him.
Also, Colin’s sister and Pen’s ex-best friend Eloise knows the truth. Her reputation for keeping secrets isn’t a good one given she spread that Colin was giving Penelope private lessons on how to charm a man in the first place. How Colin will deal with the news is a totally different matter. We heard him say in Part 1 that if he ever found out who she was he’d “make sure it is her life that is ruined”.
Episode six is called ‘Romancing Mr. Bridgerton’, which mirrors the name of Julia Quinn’s novel. It is within this novel that Colin finds out about Penelope after seeing her leave the latest Whistledown paper at a church. In the book, this happens before the carriage scene and clearly brings them together. In the show, we’ve gone off-piste. It’s clear that Colin is also a fan of writing, after Pen discovers his travel journals, but whether he’s impressed by their shared talent or continues down the path of ruin, we’ll have to see.
Lady Featherington’s lies will unravel
We know from season 2 that Penelope’s identity is not the only secret in the Featherington household. After cousin Jack and Lady Featherington worked together to scam members of the ton by selling fake jewels, she persuaded him to leave but lied about him going with all the money. She also forged a document with the help of her housekeeper, Varley, to say that the first male born of her daughters would inherit the entire estate and fortune in a desperate bid to keep everything in the family.
Then comes the arrival of Walter Dundas, a worker at the Crown dedicated to securing the lines of succession. Dundas starts sniffing around the Featherington estate asking questions about the validity of the document. It most certainly feels like we haven’t seen the last of him and Lady Featherington has been eager to get her daughters pregnant as soon as possible to produce a male heir before he returns.
Fortunately, it seems both daughters are pregnant by the end of Part 1 with complaints of tender chests and vomiting, but there’s been no confirmation on either pregnancy. Varley herself said the truth has a way of rearing its ugly head. Just how ugly it gets, we’re sure will be revealed.
Francesca will choose her heart over her head
Another Bridgerton lady made her debut this season, the pianoforte-loving Francesca. Much more interested in her passion for music than finding love, Francesca upsets her mother, Violet, by acting seemingly uninterested in the marriage mart and looking simply for a match that will be straightforward and easy.
The debutantes, Francesca included, fail to impress Queen Charlotte to begin with, leading the Queen to declare she won’t be selecting a diamond this year. She will, though, be choosing someone who sparkles. After hearing Francesca’s pianoforte, she chooses her as her ‘sparkler’ and selects Lord Samadani as her match.
It becomes clear almost immediately that Francesca isn’t happy with Lord Samadani, but it appears she may persevere because it’s what society has chosen for her. Enter Lord Kilmartin. An unexpected suitor in the mix, he impresses her with a gesture of music rather than words or pledges. As Part 1 concludes, we see Francesca smiling giddily for Kilmartin leading us to predict that she’ll choose her heart and pursuit of love over her head. Although it seems Violet wanted this for her daughter all along, she seems worried.
We’ll see more of Violet Bridgerton’s new suitor
Francesca isn’t the only one with a love interest in season 3 part 1. In the Bridgerton prequel spin-off, Queen Charlotte, we were given a deeper look into Violet Bridgerton. If you’re yet to see it, one important part is the revelation that she was ready for someone to tend to her garden after so many years alone following the passing of Viscount Bridgerton. And it appears we have a gardener in our midst.
Lady Danbury’s brother, Lord Marcus Anderson has returned to the ton in search of his own part 2, following the death of his wife. He appears charming and pursues many friendly, and flirty, conversations with Violet, which seemingly hint at more.
What’s not clear from Violet’s new suitor though is his relationship with his sister. When hearing that he would be returning she said he was an unwanted visitor and while speaking to Mrs Mondrich, she expressed that it is important to forget past lives and that “it’s a dangerous place to revisit” while gazing upon her brother. If he’s wronged her or isn’t the charming man he appears to be, we’re sure Lady Danbury will tell Violet if she learns of their growing relationship.
Cressida Cowper will marry Lord Debling
Before Lord Debling declared he’d like to propose to Penelope, he had also caught the eye of Cressida Cowper. Cressida is in desperate need of a husband before her mother and father pick one for her, so she’s set her sights on Lord Debling. Despite the rejection, Lord Debling will now find himself, after his pursuit of Penelope has fallen through, in search of his practical match once again.
It seems fair to predict that Cressida would still be willing to pick up the pieces that Pen has left behind and extend her interest back to Lord Debling. She’ll be able to leave her household, live a separate life, and pick a man that seems suitable enough and will leave her with a large estate to tend and freedom to do so while he travels.
We’ll see Eloise struggle with Polin’s relationship
After falling out over Eloise’s discovery of Penelope being Lady Whistledown, much of Part 1 has been spent with the two best friends not talking. In fact, Eloise has struck up a new friendship with Cressida Cowper. It’s clear though that firstly, Eloise finds the conversations with the other ladies dull and secondly, she still thinks of Pen, often asking after her, and even extending an olive branch when wishing her well with her pursuit of a husband.
Finding out that she is now with Colin will really shake things up. Eloise will want to tell Colin about Penelope’s true identity, and will no doubt urge Pen to tell him. It may be that Colin is angry at Penelope and Eloise comes to her defence, or she may lead the charge herself. It does really feel as if Eloise will want to befriend Pen again, so hopefully once the truth is out there, they can start over.
Mr Mondrich will fight for his bar
The Mondrich’s found themselves in a whole new part of society, in fact, just within high society itself as their son inherited the estate and status of Lord Kent. With their new life to enjoy, Will Mondrich struggles to leave his past one behind, desperately vying to keep his bar open and continue to work there.
After being told by many members of the ton that he should sell it and stop working, it appears his wife, Alice, will be the next person to persuade him to do so after the guidance from Lady Danbury. He’s incredibly stubborn though and despite the ton slowly turning their back on the bar, it still seems as though he’ll fight to the bitter end to keep it.
We’ll see Benedict Bridgerton’s new love falter
After meeting at the balloon demonstration, Benedict Bridgerton stumbled into Lady Tilley Arnold, a widower with a sharp tongue and dress sense to boot. They’re clearly impressed by one another, but much like previous relations, they fall quickly into steamy sessions hidden away from the rest of society.
The fact that they’ve kept their relationship a secret from others and that Lady Arnold is seemingly keeping him at arm’s lengths saying she isn’t looking for another husband, leads us to believe that the new love isn’t going to last. Or, perhaps, it’s time for Benedict to change. After spending much of Part 1 dodging and diving interested ladies in the marriage mart, maybe he’s found his match.
Anthony and Kate return from their honeymoon
After a brief return to the ton following their honeymoon, Anthony and Kate decided to extend their time away before formally taking on their role as new Viscount and Viscountess Bridgerton. There was also some very heavy discussion about producing an heir or two for the Bridgerton name and so they may well finish their travels and return to the ton to take on their position. There’s only so long they can holiday before they must come back to real life.
Bridgerton season 3 part 2 will be available to stream on Netflix on June 13.
