The following review contains spoilers from Bridgerton Season 3 Part 2. “In the beginning, I didn’t think anyone would take my writing seriously. Why should they? No one has taken any part of me seriously”, says Penelope (played by the ravishing Nicola Coughlan) in the penultimate scene of Bridgeton Season 3 Part 2. A part of me, the critic who is always on the lookout for love and validation could relate to her. It is a feeling known to all those who have felt invisible, perhaps too unimportant or uninteresting for anyone to notice.
For Penelope, this feeling of loneliness is an inherent part of her identity as Lady Whistledown. Under Lady Whistledown’s barbs and scathing critique lies profound sadness. Penelope observes those around her in minute detail, yet no one suspects her of being the scandalous scribe because her existence itself is inconsequential to those around her. The former Featherington, soon-to-be Bridgerton finally reveals her identity this season as she comes face-to-face with the queen.
Bridgerton Season 3 Part 2 Overview
Bridgerton Season 3 Part 2 begins shortly after Penelope and Colin’s (Luke Newton) steamy makeout session in the carriage. “Pulling off a surprise is one part secrecy and one part speed”. Colin makes up for the speed by introducing Penelope as his future wife. The Bridgerton women are all elated, except Eloise (Claudia Jessie) who is rightfully livid because both Penelope and Colin kept their union a secret from her.
Meanwhile, Cressida Cowper (Jessica Madsen) is soon to be betrothed to a geriartic Lord Greer who, in Eloise’s words, is on “death’s doorstep”. Cressida’s parents are hell-bent on her marrying the old man who is basically her great grandfather’s age, lest she’ll be sent to her Aunt Joanne. Romance brews between Lady Bridgerton (Ruth Gemmell) and Marcus Anderson (Daniel Francis) which Lady Danbury (Agatha Danbury) eventually approves of.
Bridgerton Season 3 Part 2 Plot
Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel) is able to deduce that Lady Whistledown is in a vulnerable position based on her columns. She announces a reward of 5,000 euros to whoever brings her information of the scandalous writer’s identity. Cressida uses this as a golden opportunity to avoid marriage and buy a house in Vienna. As Eloise coerces Penelope to reveal her identity, Cressida wrongfully claims that she is Lady Whistledown—a lie which no one buys, even her own mother.
In her most vicious and scathing critique yet, Lady Whistledown writes “I will not insult the devil by drawing parallels between him and Cressida Cowper. One is a liar, a fraud, a succubus of first water, the other is not known to this author”.
Elsewhere Benedict Bridgerton (Luke Thompson) discovers he wishes to be in a polyamorous relationship as Kate (Simone Ashley) and Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey) announce their pregnancy, much to the delight of Bridgertons. The season’s debutante Francesca Bridgerton (Hannah Dodd) and Lord Kilmartin (Victor Ali) get hitched as the two head off to Scotland.
Without a doubt, Bridgerton season 3 part 2 is the best one in the series yet Not only does it tie up all the loose ends, it is a near-perfect culmination of Penelope’s character arc and Lady Whistledown’s (voiced by Julie Andrews) literary journey. When asked by Cressida to write a glowing column for her in exchange for keeping her identity a secret, Penelope doesn’t budge. A columnist who stays true to her word, Penelope refuses to compromise on her editorial integrity by softening her critique of British society.
The season’s climax is essentially a grand reveal at a ball where Queen Charlotte confronts Penelope after her identity is revealed. “What’s life without a little gossip”, the queen asks a humbled Lady Whistledown. Penelope is confronted with the choice of hanging up her pen or marrying Colin.
Bridgerton Season 3 Part 2: What Works, What Doesn’t
Fearing that her columns might bring disrepute to the Bridgerton family, Penelope offers annulment to Colin, who stands firmly by her and embraces her identity as Lady Whistledown. In what can be called the biggest payoff in TV history, we hear Penelope and Lady Whistledown’s voices merge together as the final column by the scribe ends with the sign-off “Yours truly, Penelope Bridgerton”.
As Eloise and Penelope reconcile, Penelope is accepted as Lady Whistledown by the ton, Her relationship with Lady Featherington (Polly Walker) also improves significantly. A phenomenal chapter in the saga, season 3 feels like the perfect series finale. While a fourth season is in the works, one wonders what the writers have in store for us. Rest, as Lady Whistledown says in the last few minutes of the show, “With every closing chapter, the story is sure to grow richer and deeper”.
Bridgerton Season 3 Part 2 is streaming now on Netflix.
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