Not all fans of the show were impressed by Penelope and Colin’s romance and detected some red flags in what felt like a rushed romance.
Dearest gentle reader: this article contains spoilers for Bridgerton’s Season 3, Part 2.
Previously, we wrote about the love-filled moments in Bridgerton’s Season 3 that captivated our hearts and made viewers believe in true love again. But were there moments Colin could have done better? Absolutely! Not all fans of the show were impressed by Penelope and Colin’s romance and detected some red flags in what felt like a rushed romance. So, to balance out our enthusiasm over the romantic moments in the season, here are four times Colin was the absolute worst in Bridgerton’s Season 3 according to fans, even though he may have redeemed himself at the end.
While the wedding night may not be as big of a deal anymore for most people in the modern day world, and Penelope and Colin did have a beautiful “honeymoon” experience via le miroir before the wedding, it certainly is more significant in the Regency Era Bridgerton is set in. Colin was understandably upset about discovering that Penelope intended to continue being Lady Whistledown, but to leave her alone on her wedding night seemed especially childish and retaliatory. This was a significant moment in Penelope’s life and their fights and arguments seemed to overshadow the joy of the upcoming nuptials (although, we got to admit, the argument before the wedding ending in a steamy makeout session was pretty hot). Viewers express that they wanted more romance and less chaos this season and just got too much turmoil. Other viewers still appreciated their romance despite the arguments. Given that the season seemed more focused on side plots and other characters, there just wasn’t enough peaceful Penelope and Colin moments for many viewers to be entirely satisfied.
Although it’s understandable that we needed to see how Colin had transformed himself throughout his travels, viewers of the show felt certain scenes weren’t entirely necessary. Did we really need a ménage à trois scene with Colin and two random women to show us that Colin was now more sexually experienced? Or that strange eyebrow raise and “come-hither” stare to the gaggle of women constantly surrounding him? We think not.
Technically this was both a best and a worst moment. We love that Colin confessed that he was envious of Penelope because it shows a level of self-awareness and maturity to come to terms with one’s jealousy. However, the fact that he allowed his envy to drive some of his hostile behavior toward her and make their pre-nuptial affairs so tumultuous may be a red flag (in real life it certainly would be). Thankfully, Colin did step up and give a heartwarming speech about supporting Penelope’s ambitions and talent, declaring it would be an honor to love a woman as brave as she is and to be around someone who shines so brightly, so we do give him major props for the redemption. We just wish he had done it way earlier, like before the wedding.
It makes sense that Colin felt like he had been lured under false pretenses when he discovered that Penelope was none other than Lady Whistledown but he also has to look more carefully at his own pursuit of Penelope. If anything, Colin was the one pursuing her even though she had already moved forward after the first kiss. Constantly being around Penelope unsupervised thus threatening her perceived “virtue” to other suitors, “deflowering” her before the wedding, and interfering with her potential engagement to another man actually means Colin was the one who “entrapped” Penelope if we want to get technical here. Penelope should definitely be held accountable for deceiving others about her true identity as Whistledown, but Colin should also take responsibility for the part he also played in ardently pursuing her. Considering men have more free will and agency to pursue their desires in this world whereas women are shamed for doing so and are more limited in their options for who they can be, it does seem like quite the double standard to make such an accusation.
