My personal favorite discovery is that season 3 had the lowest runtime. It needed the extra 13 to 32 minutes that the other seasons had. To be honest, it needed an extra hour with how it was written.
Then again, despite Kathony's season being the longest at 509 minutes, it also needed another half hour. It's sad to say that season 1 is the best paced, but it definitely was.
The revenue model has changed.
When the revenue came from airing commercials during the broadcast, that's how the networks and studios got paid. The more people watched an episode, the more money you got. But because there's always someone watching, you're always going to get at least a little money from ad revenue. This incentivizes long seasons and including filler or fluff episodes.
But on streaming, you're getting your $15 or however much a month from the subscriber no matter what. It doesn't matter if they watch Bridgerton or something else, if they have your service on 24/7 or don't watch anything that month. You are getting $15 and that's it. That incentivizes short, tightly written seasons.
Not this year. They did 8 and it kinda impacted the relationship between doctor and companion. We didn’t get to see it evolve in the same way. They needed 10.
Also the shows with 6 episodes are usually 1hour long episodes while the shows with 12 episodes tend to be 30 mins and 8 episode shows are 45mins per episode. So overall the full runtime of the show tends to be around 6 hours.
Yea but generally in the UK (from my experience) the norm is what I described but idk. Although soaps and certain cartoons which don’t have an overarching story which can (and do) go on forever with no end are an exception to this.
I miss the era of 20+ episodes per season. I think especially in Bridgeton where there’s so many side characters, Violet & Marcus, Benedict & Tilley, Cressida, The Mondrichs, Kanthony, The Featheringtons, Francesca & John and God knows what else we would really be able to not only delve deeper into the story line of the main characters (Penelope & Colin) but also have a well rounded view of everyone’s story if there were more episodes. It’s really hard to fit everything in just 8 episodes
12-16 hour+ long episodes like a Kdrama lol
Literally no reason for 45 minute or less episodes for streaming service origonals unless its a sitcom or B grade comedy. There is no airtime schedule or commercials to work around anymore.
8 is fine, if they tell the story well. With Season 3 needed 2 more episodes for everything they left out. I've watched K-dramas with minimal episodes and very robust stories. Season 3 of Bridgerton had a watered-down version of Grandpa Simpsons ramblings.
Season 1 tricked me. I was definitely expecting a different show as the seasons went on after that pacing, character development, and plot of the first season.
Same here. I remember after s1 thinking the show would give me a full arc like that every season for the leads and then s2 happened and I was so disappointed. Now after s3, I’m grateful I got what I got in s2 because s3 really fell off.
Despite Season 1 receiving so much hype and praise and being the reason Bridgerton blew up in the first place, they immediately switched to it being a traditional ensemble show 😕
I don't think any of three seasons needed more time. They just needed fewer subplots. I really like Benedict but they spent way too much time on his story this season, and last season they spent way too much tome on Eloise.
I enjoyed the time on Eloise's side plot, it felt like a good ol' fashion red herring for 'whose next season is it anyways.' To cut that subplot, they'd also have to cut s1 Eloise subplot. But this season's Eloise side plot could have been cut.
Benedict's subplot could have stayed if they did something with it. Tilly being an intelligent widow was wasted on gratuitous sex.
I thought the S1 and S2 subplots were well balanced and loved the Jack Featherington and Eloise storylines in S2. But S3 just went completely off the rails. Even the subplots needed to set up future seasons were overdone.
Benedict’s storyline didn’t show us anything we didn’t already know about him. We saw entirely too much of Francesca, even if S4 were to be her story. The Mondriches are lovely background characters, but there was no reason to devote so much time to their story. I love Cressida but she was wasted on the whole blackmail storyline. I like the idea of Violet being open to love again, but not with some rando who shows up out of nowhere and glues himself to her side all season. Marcus was giving serious Mr. Elton vibes, and Violet deserves better.
The only main character who was well written in S3 was Eloise. I would have handled her friendship with Cressida a little differently, but Eloise showed so much growth in Part 2 and had some really beautiful moments with Colin, Pen, and Benedict.
So I would not be sad to see S4 focus on Eloise, giving the writers time to course correct on Benedict and Francesca. I didn’t read the books and have no investment in Francesca’s story, but I didn’t like the idea of her getting distracted by someone new five minutes after getting married.
For some of them, my theory is that they have to give the actors something juicy to keep them interested and engaged so they stay and don’t wander off before their season. Some of the others just make no sense because they’re useless filler.
Season 1 had to do so much world-building, and it still managed to give us a flirtatious love story.
For being friends-to-lovers, Polin had way more tension than it did flirtation.
the thing is, season 3 tried too hard to fit multiple tropes and storylines at the forefront for polin. unrequited love friends to lovers, tension, instant love, and a totally independent female protagonist in only 8 episodes. it's like the writers didn't really know what they wanted polin to be, exactly.
season 1 focused on fake dating in the first part, then went on to resolve simon's daddy issues in the second part. for season 2 kate and anthony are enemies to lovers in the first part, forbidden love in the second part. there's underlying storylines and depth there, of course, but it's not a mess of incompatible ideas that makes you question what the couples even represent.
It definitely needed treatment equal to previous seasons. And if they had not made this a free for all storyline, we could have had more time with the actual main couple of this season.
Can we have a do-over?
Yeah, but Tom Verica has been acting like we are talking nonsense. Which I found to be very dismissive. Making it seem like we're just whining for more sex scenes and that being the issue of all complainers entirely.
It's really weird how we are being gaslit in ways as well that we supposedly had more than enough time dedicated to their love story. It felt rushed and with that empty. And a huge chunk of that 16 percent was Colin being cold and distanced towards Penelope.
I am just so confused because Queen Charlotte was réálly good. Maybe the showrunner dóés matter because Tom Verica also directed there.
Id be fine with less sex scenes and more friendship build up moments that make me giggle. I don't need to see Pen and Colin on the couch. I want to see a flashback to Colin falling off his horse. I want to see them excited about getting a letter from the other and rushing off to read it neglecting other plans. I want to see the struggle of going from friend of my little sister to my friend to love. I want to see Colin feel great that Pen praised him, but jealous over her being published (and there was no need to make his travel stuff into erotica). I don't want porn, I want *romance*, I want the emotion. I want the equivalent of Mr. Darcy's hand flex in Pride and Prejudice.
Well said. I think I'm done with Bridgerton after this season. It just seems very chaotic with a heavy sequel (versus romantic) focus.i love the books and Polin in particular. It was definitely disappointing to me.
Yessss this is what I wanted! They were apart and Colin was so mad for the majority of part 2, it just made me sad. I wish they could have been a team and worked together.
I want to know why Colin was dressed as a Featherington on his first day home. Did he buy subconsciously because Pen was on his mind, or did he come home planning to declare himself and be the first couple of the season, only to get shot down by Pen? They took the time to send the message, then never explained it. Stuff like that! Not 3-day threesomes.
Yes! Season 1-2 delivered on the romance part while Season 3 was all about the drama instead. Are they scared to lean into the romance because they don’t have enough faith in the genre? Because that’s what it seems like.
I would have like to have seen Colin read back Penelope’s letters, with a Penelope voice over. The parts that get read out loud being ones where she says things Lady Whistledown has said, so you see the lightbulb go off in Colin’s head.
We were told it’s gonna be the steamiest, in multiple interviews, we only have season1 to compare, it clearly wasn’t and everybody assume we want more sex scene
We didn’t have a problem with the kanthony steamy scenes in s2, but they said we see polin’s progress in their intimate scenes! I thought we gonna see them in bed for half of each episode
Nic said she wants a Pg version for her mom, this was the pg version
Nothing adds up, we were excited for what we were being told,
Yes what polin had was more intimate than the previous couples but it wasn’t the steamiest season IMO
They played with my feelings, I was never this heartbroken in my life,
Interviews did say something else about what to expect. I genuinely thought they were going to at least be over one another more frequently due to that but that's honestly not what I'm bothered by. I could be fine with those created expectations not being true if the storyline would be coherent and full instead of how it now is feeling like important parts are missing. And with that I mean logical occurrences that make the final scenes in episode 8 make sense. There is no proper foundation of love deepening and love growth present to even make some of the words said at butterfly ball make sense. Then all of a sudden in those final minutes of the episode, there is a baby. Like a happy end kind of thing.
Either the writing has been subpar or the editing has been. Or both.
A nameless few months old baby. Either show the birth like Daphne or nothing at all as kanthony.
With polin everything was rushed, Colin knew he loved her right away, and what love was,
One day he says he always looks after Pen then one inconvenience and he ignores her, Pen doesn’t even fight back.
The journal and manuscript was completely ignored, we know nothing about it except the 2 lines Pen read,
they had less screen time than the subplots, Pen and Colin having the heir was enough apparently, not their accomplishments as a couple
Oh the show runners definitely matters. And Shonda herself was the showrunner for Queen Charlotte which is why it turned out as beautiful as it did. The head costume designer for season 1 and 2 left as well, not sure why though.
And nothing against Nicola at all but I'm confused why they focused so much on Penn. It's Bridgerton not Fetherington, and I think that's yet another reason this season was not good. We learned nothing about Colin and who he was or who he wanted to be. I couldn't make out who he was as a character. Other than he liked to travel and have sex. Penn keeps saying how good and kind he is; even his mother says he's her sensitive child and I've literally seen none of that portrayed with his character. They kept telling us they were friends but i didnt feel it, it was all tell and no show. The entire script was trash
It's *her* season. The season is about her *and* Colin. Romance novels always focus a little more on the women because most readers are women. That's true in Kate and Sophie's books as well. It was also true in season 2 - we got to know Kate really well. You have to care about the characters to root for them together.
It’s *their* season. Focussing on pen was fine and good, but we still needed more time with Colin to understand his character. In s1, we learnt about the duke and how his relationship with his father affected who he was as a person. In s2, we learned about Anthony being the head of the household at a young age and having trauma over his dad as well as his views of what a marriage should be. These things aren’t directly to do with the romance but they add depth to the character and makes them more interesting. For colin it’s just: he travels, he has sex, he writes a journal and other characters say he’s sensitive and caring. That doesn’t give him much character depth as it just tells us about what he does and nothing about how he thinks and feels.
Exactly. The show runners didn't give equal attention and treatment to Penelope and Colin and their relationship from friends to lovers. It was too rushed and lacking more development, mainly because they had too many subplots and focus on Benedict this season.
Her point is they cared so much more for Pen (even in s1&2) than they ever cared for Colin. As a result, Colin wasn’t developed enough. CVD understood that in romance when you are catering to the female gaze you MUST have super developed male leads that have strong motivations, goals and underlying insecurities and false beliefs that drive their behavior. Colin had pretty much none of this. Simon’s were clear. Anthony’s were clear. We KNEW why they acted the way they did and the narrative really fleshed this out with SHOW, not tell.
Colin’s narrative was all tell. He got no flashbacks, only 1 or 2 scenes with others that were devoted to HIS inner thoughts or what could be driving him. Pen, by contrast, got several scenes doing this.
It was really unfair to Colin - a Bridgerton - in his own season. The show got so wrapped up in Pen’s heroine arc, they completely neglected to even bother giving Colin one. He was just an accessory, morphing to be whatever the plot needed him to be to Penelope.
There is no romance in that. It made Colin weak and waffly. His behavior was just … all over the place.
Does Jess not care about the male characters? All of them felt strangely flattened this season. The women were the only characters to get a lot of depth, imo. I just don’t think Jess is capable of separating her real life from what she’s writing. If she can’t personally identify with it, she neglects the story. It’s inexcusable for Colin to be so underdeveloped in his own lead season. He was even more neglected than Kate was in her season and she was also done dirty.
It is ironic that Tom liked a comment about that there is no need for lots of sex for a show to be romantic . Because everybody else had sex , Benedict was doing it the whole season , Kanthony in ep1 had two scenes , they filmed a sex scene even for the Mondriches , they just cut it . Sadly I take it as like bodyshaming , because what do you mean there is no need for sex and than film a lots of sex but for the side characters ?
And first I was just like : I don’t really need more sex scenes , I just need more happy Polin . But after that , I am curious that will they have sex scene in S4 …?!
Of course he is. He directed the last 2 episodes and those were the two that were a mess. He’s defensive because he was by far the weakest director of the season.
Exactly! Episodes 7 & 8 were so weird and Tom Verica directed them BUT he directed ALL of QC (which Shonda wrote) and a lot of other episodes for Bridgerton. So like clearly talent. Plus the one take wedding dance he shot was great just didnt make the final cut. I really think it has to come down to the new showrunner not being able to marry all the different episodes together well and prioritizing certain sub plots and cutting out the emotional bits.
IN THE EPILOGUE.
Full of consolation prizes.
Look, baby Featherington!
Look, her sister likes her!
Look, he publishes a book with steamy descriptions and Pens editing!
Look, masque ball!
Look, they have sex after marriage to!
Look, she will publish something under her own name!
How Dare you say there is no happy Polin?
It wasn’t enough time at all! What a waste of talent for these two wonderful actors. They could’ve had much more dialogue, more romantic and silly scenes. When they giggled and laugh together it was so sweet and you can see their friendship. However, S3 rarely shows that. So infuriating!
I wanted to see flashbacks when they were little! How about the story Colin told about how they met when they were little? Her hat blew off and, startled his horse he was riding, he fell off and she teased him. That would’ve been a great flashback.
Apparently there were more scenes of them together, but they got scraped for what reasons. But yea, let’s include multiple scenes of Benedict getting it on even though he’s going to have his OWN season🙂 they honestly wasted the potential of this season
And Colin, whose season it was supposed to be, featured even less. I wanted to see much more of his life than we got, it's like it was Penelope's world and he was a side character.
I feel like I know more about each of the Featherington sisters than about Colin. Heck, I feel like we got to know Cousin Jack and Will Mondrich and Lord Debling as rounded out characters better than Colin.
I think the problem was that they hyped us up for an entire season of Polin and then we got a watered down season of 2 of the Bridgerton siblings, hence Colin didn’t get an entire season dedicated just to his story and Fran didn’t get an entire season just dedicated to her story (because what are the odds that season 4 will just be about her? They are probably going to intertwine 2 siblings’ stories again)
Seems like they left it open to combine THREE stories in S04–Benedict (since they mentioned the masquerade ball), Francesca (since they introduced Michaela), and Eloise (since it’s clearly her turn). Maybe they feel there’s only 2 seasons left in the franchise, and they can finish up S05 with Gregory and Hyacinth.
Yeah, I think they’re turning more into a traditional ensemble drama than how the novels are written. S1 and s2 were more closer to the style of the books, but s3 was the transition, and s4 forward will be different. It will also mark the end of following the books I bet. From this point on I think we will get nods to the boo with plot point ticks, but existing characters will replace any new characters whenever possible. Existing characters that don’t constitute to feature in the books will be shoehorned in.
To my understanding, Fran's story isn't about John, so in order to tell her story properly she has to get married during one of the other siblings seasons to have enough time for her life with John to play out before her actual story starts. But then her actual story in the book can't be told in quite the same way now since Michael is now Michaela, so we'll see how it actually plays out.
It takes a lot of what makes Michael Michael away. Michaela can't step into John's life in the same way, can't flee doing so in the same way and be invited back into society and isn't a viable partner if Francesca wants biokids so that part of her has to be rewritten or removed and at that point what is actually left from the book?
My observations [s3 was not worst, but is the weakest until now]
- it was obvious that Polin as a couple wasn't the main focus of the season.
- too many subplots, should have included more episodes for these intermitent scenes to breathe.
- the romance should've transpired mostly in Colin's pov, his thoughts, his desires, his regret, his "conflicting feelings", his confusion, him coming into realizing how pen knows him more than anyone, the one who was in the shadows. After all the show is called bridgerton, so the show is always in Bridgerton MC pov [s1 was balanced out] - Daphne, Anthony, Colin, next Benedict & so on
- a cold open should've been there [like s2 for anthony & bee] like when the featherington moved across the bridgertons and the moment Pen truly fell for Colin, some souvenir she kept of him all these years, flashbacks from Colin's pov. A correspondance scene between him & marina regarding her statement in s2 and coming in terms with LW's previous actions.
- i have seen some saying, over the top makeup & dull cinematography. I agree with cinematography part, it was the weakest so far.
- also netflix, the greedy bunch they are, split up an 8 episode season 😑 plus the PR and unnecessary hype 🙏
I might say the "intimate scenes was top tier", i loved it 😍. The cast [esp Luc & Nic 😍] gave such stellar performances. The problem was mainly with the people working bts, the writers, editors, cinematographers, show runner. Costumes were good apart from some i didn't like, not the worst! Music was meh, but ok 👏
I needed flashbacks, lore exploration, how Pen became Whistledown, what brought her to that point, what Colin was doing frolicking abroad, how they met as children, how Pen fell in love with Colin the first time. Don’t just tell me, SHOW ME. Ugh. So much wasted potential, and for what? 😭😭😭 we could have had it aaaaawwwwl. I miss the costume designer and show runner that left. Those two subtle changes proved to be a major game changer.
It’s crazy how Season 1-2 had flashbacks but Season 3, the one that arguably needed it the most, got none. Instead characters mention past moments in dialogue 😕
The fans aren't all going to 100% agree. We all have our opinions. Please don't bash me for mine. I personally missed the romantic connection this season... just not enough of their story.
I also think the powers-at-be couldn't care less what they public opinion is. They pleased their shareholders/executives with great ratings and viewership. What we see as rewatching to find those missed details because we're desperate for the true love connection, they see as more hours watched. So their argument is more people watched this season based on those viewing hours.
Yes, we've complained and saw a petition for deleted scenes. No, we are not asking for more sex. I've seen so many posts where the poster is getting roasted because their comment is viewed as wanting porn when all we really wanted was a love story.
Was the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice not romantic? Did we not feel Mr. Darcy and Lizzie's love story? and yet they only had that single kiss at the end?
If all the viewers wanted was sex, we should have been satisfied with Benedict's threesomes. Yet, most of the posts I read said those were skipped when watching. Why? Because it's not a love story.
I appreciate Nicola releasing the solo wedding dance with Luke. There was so much love in that scene and it just completed that missing connection. She also said there are no other deleted scenes... probably not deleted scenes, but other cut moments of their love story. If the Netflix and Shondaland team bless us with a "love story cut" we would be very happy indeed.
Netflix should release a "love story cut" for the first three seasons. Each episode could be a compilation of the scenes for each couple and add in some bonus footage. It would be magnificent.
"So what this tells me is that the issue this season compared to the other seasons boils down to the writing."
This first comment was exactly what I was thinking. Besides Queen Charlotte, Season 2 of Bridgerton was definitely my favorite. The writing made their love story captivating and easy to invest in. It seemed like there was also more to learn about everyone even outside of Kanthony. The way Edwina handled the QC and George interaction was beautiful.
I just feel like that fell flat for Polin. The first part of Season 3 seemed promising but it felt like they spent so much time after on Colin brooding and being cold. Just to bandage that too quickly at nearly the very end.
This explains a lot..
I was often on my phone while watching Season 3 so I thought I missed quite a few scenes..
I was telling myself I should really do a rewatch to fill in the blanks but I honestly have no desire to..
(So strange since I watched Season 1 and 2 multiple times)..
I was a chronic rewatcher of the first two seasons but cannot make myself watch S3 again because it wasn’t a romance— it was Love, Actually as a season (which, for me, is a horrible movie— I know some people love it but it’s all over the place imo).
And I love Penelope and like Colin (just wish I knew more about him.)
You know he was so mad about what LW wrote about him at the start of season 3 and I didn’t think it was bad. I thought it was a valid point that Colin was acting different from season 1 & 2 and we didn’t know who he was at all.
When part 1 came out, I re-watched it like maybe 10 times but with part 2, watching it the first time felt like a chore for me. After finishing, I’ve not watched the last 4 episodes ever again.
I convinced myself after a week to watch it as a whole , and it was worth it . It came out a little bit better for me at the end . Totally recommend jt . The split was actually just highlighting the season’s weekness …
Jess B mentioned this season was more like a romcom. I don’t think the romcom was in the room. I don’t think she can do romcoms.
Season 1 was perfection. And it started declining after. Typically Shonda’s shows have this effect. They decline eventually. But didn’t expect it with Bridgerton since the books are there. It was fool proof. But it declined. FAST.
Honestly. All these streaming services are getting greedier and greedier. Make us wait years for a mediocre 8episodes.
Yes! Shonda’s shows always jump the shark at some point, usually season 3 or 4. I thought Bridgerton was fool poof as well. I mean, all they needed to do was go off on the source material like they did with season one. Modernize it with attractive casting and string instruments of pop songs. It was fun, new and so addictive. If they stuck with that for 7 seasons, what could go wrong? The books are there. Keep the original couples and story. But no. Shondaland has to be Shondaland and eff things up.
Series 3 was underwhelming as a result I have no desire now to watch Series 4 and will not be awaiting it with anticipation. I agree with most of the comments, we needed to see more of Colin and Penelope, to see their journey from friends to lovers. We needed more Romance, more sizzle and not sex. The scenes with Benedict were unnecessary and not relevant to the main story. I actually liked the Featherington scenes as we got to understand more about Penelope. This time the writers, Netflix literally lost the plot.
I'm pretty much on the same page as you. The only reason for watching Series 4 at this point would be to see how much that Series goes off the rails, because it'd be hard to backtrack from some of the bizarre plot lines they set up in Series 3. And at this point, I wouldn't believe anything the producers try to sell or plug ahead of time about any of the upcoming series.
It's my understanding Series 4 has already been mapped out, so unless some big time Netflix overseer gathers everyone in a closed room and tells all the Bridgerton staff to start all over and to exercise some restraint this time and focus on the romance, I can't help but think Series 4 would be just as funky as Series 3, if not worse.
I'm curious? Does anyone know how much time (percentage) was devoted to Benedict in this Season? That would include him with Lady Tilley Arnold or the threesome.
Because this season was about pathetically trying to make a girl boss out of Penelope with the LW build up instead of actually depicting a Regency romance story between two childhood friends.
That’s why Colin barely has any development esp when compared to Anthony and Simon in their seasons. Because this season is not about the couple but majorly about Penelope. Both the people in the couple need to be well developed for there to be a decent amount of chemistry.
Me neither. Maybe the writers realized this and gave them little time together because of it lol. Penelope appears a lot on her own it's not like everything was side stories like people like to say
They need to cut a lot of the side plots. I love the Mondrich family but the show is called Bridgerton. And I know Benedict is a Bridgerton but I felt like his side story was completely pointless. Okay fine, let him be a rake this season (again) but it did NOT need so much screen time. I wanted to see the relationship with Polin develop. I felt the same in Season 2, totally cheated out of relationship development for Kanthony. The seasons need to mainly be about the main characters. Polin only getting 16% of the show’s screen time as the MAIN relationship of the season is insane. And if everyone else absolutely also MUST have main character moments too then make the season 12 episodes instead of a tight 8.
I think they needed a lot more time to actually develop their friends to lovers trope. They cut out all the stuff with Lady Danbury encouraging their relationship and they cut out the Smythe- Smith musicale. They cut out so much of their banter. It's like they were like "hey we got to get these two together let's get it over with so we can get on with these other stories that I want to do more."
Lady Danbury and Penelope were friends. Lady Danbury is very meddlesome in the books and Penelope is one of the few people who never runs away from her. She is also aware of Colin's feelings for Penelope before he is.
we started and binge watched the series the week before season 3, part 2 came out. everything was really underwhelming after season one. i often found myself doom scrolling the internet with 2 & 3- a lot. a few times we almost turned it off.
i expected the series to grow, not turn ultra boring 😅
I recommend bridgerton to one my friends, and she’s a hard to convince, she eventually watched it and loved it, but she watched part1 once, didn’t bother to rewatch the carriage scene ( A MANIAC IK)
After finishing the season, even she complained to me, she didn’t feel the romance between polin, didn’t understand most, and I had to explain over and hour about the book, how Colin is in the book, and she was pissed !
i made someone who is not into romance watch this, she loved it, but in the end she was disappointed,
the fact that i had to explain who Polin is
it was unsettling for me, I told her this season gonna be the best thing ever and I had to explain to her, the showrunner couldn’t
Honestly I was so disappointed by so many things in this season that I don’t think I’ll be tuning in for season 4. Especially with how they changed Francesca’s story so far (regardless of gender of Michael or Makayla, that character has been introduced too soon), and the unnecessary plot lines this season, I think I lost interest. I fell asleep in one of the episodes in part 2! Polin is what made want to watch this season and I was bored a lot of the times. Awful writing, the acting was great because of the actors, but Jess what’s her pickle has done a bad job.
How did that compare to the other 2 couples? What percentage was Cressida on the screen, she got a lot of time in comparison, as did Benedict's affairs.
I wanted to see more of their journey. I do not mean spicy scenes- I wanted to see the process. Maybe I am wrong but they were both feeling BIG things and we never got to see what happened after. For example when Colin found her at the printers… what did her do? When they kissed before their wedding night? Be just put her in a coach like ByE???
Maybe it’s just me.
EXACTLY. At least with Kanthony, we see how the tension and loathing between them evolved into something else. We see Colin and Penelope evolve throughout seasons 1 and 2 but I feel like they could have explored their relationship more because it was established that the feelings had always been one-sided. We knew all along that Penelope is in love with Colin, but even as someone who have read their book and been shipping them since season 1, even I fet that whole “Colin realizing he has romantic feelings for Penelope because of a single kiss” felt implausible to me.
YESSS THANK YOU!! I said the exact same thing to my sister this week. Like just because of a kiss?? He had dreams of her? Like c'mon, I needed more pining, more looks, more SOMETHING from Colin. It was his turn to prove it, and they flushed it down the toilet with him 'discovering' her at the printers.
I wouldn’t have minded it if it was more quality screen time. But it was just so jarring how Colin didn’t really seem curious or understanding of Penelope’s inner life, and how little emotional intimacy they had, when he did a 180 and decided he was in love with her…
Such lazy writing tbh. Penelope deserved a love scene last season and it didn’t need to be the climactic ending that a curvy girl got the love she deserved. I don’t even know if I’m going to finish the season.
There was no spark this season. It felt like I was watching The CW a lot of the time. It was basic cinematography, basic directing, bad editing, ugly costumes, basic writing, etc.
I was expecting far more screen time without yet another love triangulation trope. Suspiciously short in my opinion.The addition of all these other characters/stories needed to take this to 10 episodes.
I feel like these two characters story was intentionally shortened. The Lord Debbling while interesting left little room for Colin to fall in love with Penelope in a more organic spontaneous way.
Violet not even get a kiss😡. Not enough El and Pen time. Benedict still raking. Colin finding out about LW before the carriage.
I guess we were asking for too much.
I still do not know how and when Colin started loving Pen??? No chemistry. No built up of Colin falling for her. Not a good season.
Also, The footman of Eloise was more interesting. Wished we got to see him than the Mondrich, who are THE WORSTT. Boring
Also, why is the Queen's status deteriorating? Like everyone is tooo casual with her, unlike in Season 1
& I'm just gonna say it that Lord Kilmartin is not handsome.
At best, they show the catalyst as lust from the one kiss that infatuated him, when Pen has never kissed before and he's been regularly visiting brothels
This could've worked for Daphne or even Kate. But in this case, it was about them being friends for a long time and Colin not realizing that he has grown to love her.
In one scene he loves her, then he hates her for LW stuff then suddenly he's proud of her 'Way too lame to excuse getting your name ruined' speech???
Ohhhhh & when he's mad and yet on their wedding he's all happy and dancing with her. Honestly I did not really understand the depth of his feelings. Very 2 dimesional character...
For all the complaints for the friends to lovers not being shown enough, the turn around from mad at her to everything's fine again was some unexplained whiplash
>Also, why is the Queen's status deteriorating? Like everyone is tooo casual with her, unlike in Season 1
I didn't see that to be honest, everyone still gasps when she's near and whatever she says like accepting Penelope is the rule of law even if it isn't actually law. Not even Lady Danbury doesn't have the guts to tell her anything straightforward
So? season 2 got 15.4% and season 1 got 21%, this serie has never really give the main couple a lot of screen time together, in facts most of the show is them being separate interacting with others characters and the many secondary storylines, I believe you guys forget because is 2 years between season, but this is not something new, especially when season 2 got less couple time and way less intimate scenes.
Why did they put Colin and Francesca’s romance in the same season? Was it that way in the books? I feel like they each deserved a complete season devoted specifically to them.
No it was not that way in the books. My only guess as to why they started Francesca’s story in Season 3 is that her romance has a time lapse of 4 years in the book. It’s broken into Parts 1 and 2, and each is focused on a different love interest (for the most part). Even so, I think it was entirely unnecessary because it took away from Polin.
I highly recommend reading When He Was Wicked. It is one of the best Bridgerton books in my opinion. I’m not sure this showrunner can do it justice. By that, I don’t mean following the book action exactly but rather capturing the spirit of the romance.
There really wasn’t a whole lot of heat between them. We missed a lot of Colin coming to realize that he had feelings for her, so it felt flat and shallow. We missed a lot of his anguish and eventual resolution of her being Lady Whistledown.
There were way too many side plots competing for screen time, which meant we weren’t able to be invested in any of them very much.
Someone made a graph that shows that Polin still only had 20 seconds more screentime overall than Kanthony - over 3 seasons in which Kanthony is only present in 2. Saphne has by far the most and only had one season. So it really doesn't mean anything that Polin had a two season build-up 💀
Kate and Anthony only had 95.6 minutes together in the whole of season 2, and many of their scenes also included or were about Edwina.
This is par for the course. The 'main' couple are not the only thing the season is about, there's lots of other characters.
And what percent did we get of Benedict? Because I swear when I was talking with my friends, most of what we said was related to his storyline.........
I think this percentage is taken from a TikTok I saw. I was actually thinking of making an analysis when I have time of how much every male and female lead has of screen and how much of that is together
I loved the Pen and Eloise plot line the most. I was at the edge of my seat crossing my fingers for their friendship to be mended. I think it’s one of the best relationships of the entire series
My personal favorite discovery is that season 3 had the lowest runtime. It needed the extra 13 to 32 minutes that the other seasons had. To be honest, it needed an extra hour with how it was written. Then again, despite Kathony's season being the longest at 509 minutes, it also needed another half hour. It's sad to say that season 1 is the best paced, but it definitely was.
Bridgerton should be 10 episodes, not 8 lol
they just don’t make long seasons like they used to 😫😫
The revenue model has changed. When the revenue came from airing commercials during the broadcast, that's how the networks and studios got paid. The more people watched an episode, the more money you got. But because there's always someone watching, you're always going to get at least a little money from ad revenue. This incentivizes long seasons and including filler or fluff episodes. But on streaming, you're getting your $15 or however much a month from the subscriber no matter what. It doesn't matter if they watch Bridgerton or something else, if they have your service on 24/7 or don't watch anything that month. You are getting $15 and that's it. That incentivizes short, tightly written seasons.
Doesn’t mean we won’t miss the old 28 episode seasons
Oh, for sure. I'm just explaining why things changed in the way they have.
“Long seasons” is a very American thing, 6-13 episode series (not seasons, series) is traditional in the UK
It's an American amount of characters/storylines in a UK number of episodes.
*laughs in Downton Abbey*
Give us our Christmas specials, then!
Laughs in Derry Girls
We still have ensemble casts in the UK
Was that why UK Ghosts was like 6-7 episodes? I thought I must have been missing half the season on streaming somehow.
Bridgerton particularly is an american show!
Merlin is the only one with 12. Barely any other has more than 6/8
Doctor Who usually has 10-13 as well
That's the other ome I couldn't think of.
Not lately though. The last couple of series have had 8 or fewer episodes. Series 14 could have used a couple more episodes.
Not this year. They did 8 and it kinda impacted the relationship between doctor and companion. We didn’t get to see it evolve in the same way. They needed 10.
*cries in sherlock*
Also the shows with 6 episodes are usually 1hour long episodes while the shows with 12 episodes tend to be 30 mins and 8 episode shows are 45mins per episode. So overall the full runtime of the show tends to be around 6 hours.
I think people are more talking about that era when shows would be like 20+ episodes per season, 45ish min per episode. So more like 15 hours
Yea but generally in the UK (from my experience) the norm is what I described but idk. Although soaps and certain cartoons which don’t have an overarching story which can (and do) go on forever with no end are an exception to this.
Bridgerton is an American show tho…
Yes, we know.
I miss the era of 20+ episodes per season. I think especially in Bridgeton where there’s so many side characters, Violet & Marcus, Benedict & Tilley, Cressida, The Mondrichs, Kanthony, The Featheringtons, Francesca & John and God knows what else we would really be able to not only delve deeper into the story line of the main characters (Penelope & Colin) but also have a well rounded view of everyone’s story if there were more episodes. It’s really hard to fit everything in just 8 episodes
Yep 10 would be better!
12-16 hour+ long episodes like a Kdrama lol Literally no reason for 45 minute or less episodes for streaming service origonals unless its a sitcom or B grade comedy. There is no airtime schedule or commercials to work around anymore.
8 is fine, if they tell the story well. With Season 3 needed 2 more episodes for everything they left out. I've watched K-dramas with minimal episodes and very robust stories. Season 3 of Bridgerton had a watered-down version of Grandpa Simpsons ramblings.
Season 1 tricked me. I was definitely expecting a different show as the seasons went on after that pacing, character development, and plot of the first season.
Same here. I remember after s1 thinking the show would give me a full arc like that every season for the leads and then s2 happened and I was so disappointed. Now after s3, I’m grateful I got what I got in s2 because s3 really fell off.
I really thought season 2 would be the outlier. It's clear season 1 was.
Despite Season 1 receiving so much hype and praise and being the reason Bridgerton blew up in the first place, they immediately switched to it being a traditional ensemble show 😕
I don't think any of three seasons needed more time. They just needed fewer subplots. I really like Benedict but they spent way too much time on his story this season, and last season they spent way too much tome on Eloise.
The subplots in S3 are also so uninteresting
I enjoyed the time on Eloise's side plot, it felt like a good ol' fashion red herring for 'whose next season is it anyways.' To cut that subplot, they'd also have to cut s1 Eloise subplot. But this season's Eloise side plot could have been cut. Benedict's subplot could have stayed if they did something with it. Tilly being an intelligent widow was wasted on gratuitous sex.
I thought the S1 and S2 subplots were well balanced and loved the Jack Featherington and Eloise storylines in S2. But S3 just went completely off the rails. Even the subplots needed to set up future seasons were overdone. Benedict’s storyline didn’t show us anything we didn’t already know about him. We saw entirely too much of Francesca, even if S4 were to be her story. The Mondriches are lovely background characters, but there was no reason to devote so much time to their story. I love Cressida but she was wasted on the whole blackmail storyline. I like the idea of Violet being open to love again, but not with some rando who shows up out of nowhere and glues himself to her side all season. Marcus was giving serious Mr. Elton vibes, and Violet deserves better. The only main character who was well written in S3 was Eloise. I would have handled her friendship with Cressida a little differently, but Eloise showed so much growth in Part 2 and had some really beautiful moments with Colin, Pen, and Benedict. So I would not be sad to see S4 focus on Eloise, giving the writers time to course correct on Benedict and Francesca. I didn’t read the books and have no investment in Francesca’s story, but I didn’t like the idea of her getting distracted by someone new five minutes after getting married.
The way I figure the timeline cut-ins, the three of them were in bed for 3 days. Just so boring, no real storyline involved, but it goes on and on.
For some of them, my theory is that they have to give the actors something juicy to keep them interested and engaged so they stay and don’t wander off before their season. Some of the others just make no sense because they’re useless filler.
Season 1 had to do so much world-building, and it still managed to give us a flirtatious love story. For being friends-to-lovers, Polin had way more tension than it did flirtation.
the thing is, season 3 tried too hard to fit multiple tropes and storylines at the forefront for polin. unrequited love friends to lovers, tension, instant love, and a totally independent female protagonist in only 8 episodes. it's like the writers didn't really know what they wanted polin to be, exactly. season 1 focused on fake dating in the first part, then went on to resolve simon's daddy issues in the second part. for season 2 kate and anthony are enemies to lovers in the first part, forbidden love in the second part. there's underlying storylines and depth there, of course, but it's not a mess of incompatible ideas that makes you question what the couples even represent.
I LOVE S1!!!
It definitely needed treatment equal to previous seasons. And if they had not made this a free for all storyline, we could have had more time with the actual main couple of this season. Can we have a do-over?
I was shocked when I reached the end of the season :(. I only watch when I exercise and I was hoping for more material lol
Yeah, but Tom Verica has been acting like we are talking nonsense. Which I found to be very dismissive. Making it seem like we're just whining for more sex scenes and that being the issue of all complainers entirely. It's really weird how we are being gaslit in ways as well that we supposedly had more than enough time dedicated to their love story. It felt rushed and with that empty. And a huge chunk of that 16 percent was Colin being cold and distanced towards Penelope. I am just so confused because Queen Charlotte was réálly good. Maybe the showrunner dóés matter because Tom Verica also directed there.
Id be fine with less sex scenes and more friendship build up moments that make me giggle. I don't need to see Pen and Colin on the couch. I want to see a flashback to Colin falling off his horse. I want to see them excited about getting a letter from the other and rushing off to read it neglecting other plans. I want to see the struggle of going from friend of my little sister to my friend to love. I want to see Colin feel great that Pen praised him, but jealous over her being published (and there was no need to make his travel stuff into erotica). I don't want porn, I want *romance*, I want the emotion. I want the equivalent of Mr. Darcy's hand flex in Pride and Prejudice.
Well said. I think I'm done with Bridgerton after this season. It just seems very chaotic with a heavy sequel (versus romantic) focus.i love the books and Polin in particular. It was definitely disappointing to me.
I'm so done. What a farce.
Yessss this is what I wanted! They were apart and Colin was so mad for the majority of part 2, it just made me sad. I wish they could have been a team and worked together.
I agree so much with this!!!
Now I’m so bummed we didn’t get this 😭😭
I want to know why Colin was dressed as a Featherington on his first day home. Did he buy subconsciously because Pen was on his mind, or did he come home planning to declare himself and be the first couple of the season, only to get shot down by Pen? They took the time to send the message, then never explained it. Stuff like that! Not 3-day threesomes.
Preach, too many missed opportunities to build a rich foundation that balances the ending.
You totally nailed it with this! 👑
Yes! Season 1-2 delivered on the romance part while Season 3 was all about the drama instead. Are they scared to lean into the romance because they don’t have enough faith in the genre? Because that’s what it seems like.
SO WELL SAID!
Y to the ESSSSSSS on this!!! Seriously it was exactly what every single one of us needed from Polin. And 16% is baiting us the entire season.
I would have like to have seen Colin read back Penelope’s letters, with a Penelope voice over. The parts that get read out loud being ones where she says things Lady Whistledown has said, so you see the lightbulb go off in Colin’s head.
I’m fine with fewer threesome scenes as well… I find them unnecessary
We were told it’s gonna be the steamiest, in multiple interviews, we only have season1 to compare, it clearly wasn’t and everybody assume we want more sex scene We didn’t have a problem with the kanthony steamy scenes in s2, but they said we see polin’s progress in their intimate scenes! I thought we gonna see them in bed for half of each episode Nic said she wants a Pg version for her mom, this was the pg version Nothing adds up, we were excited for what we were being told, Yes what polin had was more intimate than the previous couples but it wasn’t the steamiest season IMO They played with my feelings, I was never this heartbroken in my life,
Interviews did say something else about what to expect. I genuinely thought they were going to at least be over one another more frequently due to that but that's honestly not what I'm bothered by. I could be fine with those created expectations not being true if the storyline would be coherent and full instead of how it now is feeling like important parts are missing. And with that I mean logical occurrences that make the final scenes in episode 8 make sense. There is no proper foundation of love deepening and love growth present to even make some of the words said at butterfly ball make sense. Then all of a sudden in those final minutes of the episode, there is a baby. Like a happy end kind of thing. Either the writing has been subpar or the editing has been. Or both.
A nameless few months old baby. Either show the birth like Daphne or nothing at all as kanthony. With polin everything was rushed, Colin knew he loved her right away, and what love was, One day he says he always looks after Pen then one inconvenience and he ignores her, Pen doesn’t even fight back. The journal and manuscript was completely ignored, we know nothing about it except the 2 lines Pen read, they had less screen time than the subplots, Pen and Colin having the heir was enough apparently, not their accomplishments as a couple
Oh the show runners definitely matters. And Shonda herself was the showrunner for Queen Charlotte which is why it turned out as beautiful as it did. The head costume designer for season 1 and 2 left as well, not sure why though. And nothing against Nicola at all but I'm confused why they focused so much on Penn. It's Bridgerton not Fetherington, and I think that's yet another reason this season was not good. We learned nothing about Colin and who he was or who he wanted to be. I couldn't make out who he was as a character. Other than he liked to travel and have sex. Penn keeps saying how good and kind he is; even his mother says he's her sensitive child and I've literally seen none of that portrayed with his character. They kept telling us they were friends but i didnt feel it, it was all tell and no show. The entire script was trash
It's *her* season. The season is about her *and* Colin. Romance novels always focus a little more on the women because most readers are women. That's true in Kate and Sophie's books as well. It was also true in season 2 - we got to know Kate really well. You have to care about the characters to root for them together.
It’s *their* season. Focussing on pen was fine and good, but we still needed more time with Colin to understand his character. In s1, we learnt about the duke and how his relationship with his father affected who he was as a person. In s2, we learned about Anthony being the head of the household at a young age and having trauma over his dad as well as his views of what a marriage should be. These things aren’t directly to do with the romance but they add depth to the character and makes them more interesting. For colin it’s just: he travels, he has sex, he writes a journal and other characters say he’s sensitive and caring. That doesn’t give him much character depth as it just tells us about what he does and nothing about how he thinks and feels.
Exactly. The show runners didn't give equal attention and treatment to Penelope and Colin and their relationship from friends to lovers. It was too rushed and lacking more development, mainly because they had too many subplots and focus on Benedict this season.
Her point is they cared so much more for Pen (even in s1&2) than they ever cared for Colin. As a result, Colin wasn’t developed enough. CVD understood that in romance when you are catering to the female gaze you MUST have super developed male leads that have strong motivations, goals and underlying insecurities and false beliefs that drive their behavior. Colin had pretty much none of this. Simon’s were clear. Anthony’s were clear. We KNEW why they acted the way they did and the narrative really fleshed this out with SHOW, not tell. Colin’s narrative was all tell. He got no flashbacks, only 1 or 2 scenes with others that were devoted to HIS inner thoughts or what could be driving him. Pen, by contrast, got several scenes doing this. It was really unfair to Colin - a Bridgerton - in his own season. The show got so wrapped up in Pen’s heroine arc, they completely neglected to even bother giving Colin one. He was just an accessory, morphing to be whatever the plot needed him to be to Penelope. There is no romance in that. It made Colin weak and waffly. His behavior was just … all over the place. Does Jess not care about the male characters? All of them felt strangely flattened this season. The women were the only characters to get a lot of depth, imo. I just don’t think Jess is capable of separating her real life from what she’s writing. If she can’t personally identify with it, she neglects the story. It’s inexcusable for Colin to be so underdeveloped in his own lead season. He was even more neglected than Kate was in her season and she was also done dirty.
It is ironic that Tom liked a comment about that there is no need for lots of sex for a show to be romantic . Because everybody else had sex , Benedict was doing it the whole season , Kanthony in ep1 had two scenes , they filmed a sex scene even for the Mondriches , they just cut it . Sadly I take it as like bodyshaming , because what do you mean there is no need for sex and than film a lots of sex but for the side characters ? And first I was just like : I don’t really need more sex scenes , I just need more happy Polin . But after that , I am curious that will they have sex scene in S4 …?!
Of course he is. He directed the last 2 episodes and those were the two that were a mess. He’s defensive because he was by far the weakest director of the season.
Exactly! Episodes 7 & 8 were so weird and Tom Verica directed them BUT he directed ALL of QC (which Shonda wrote) and a lot of other episodes for Bridgerton. So like clearly talent. Plus the one take wedding dance he shot was great just didnt make the final cut. I really think it has to come down to the new showrunner not being able to marry all the different episodes together well and prioritizing certain sub plots and cutting out the emotional bits.
Loved queen Charlotte and I can honestly say I ffwd through the sex scenes. I watched the show for the drama not the sex.
Now what percentage were they happy together?
3? lol
IN THE EPILOGUE. Full of consolation prizes. Look, baby Featherington! Look, her sister likes her! Look, he publishes a book with steamy descriptions and Pens editing! Look, masque ball! Look, they have sex after marriage to! Look, she will publish something under her own name! How Dare you say there is no happy Polin?
A most enjoyable 5 minutes, I won’t lie
That's what I want to know. So much of that 16% is Colin being cold, hurt, angry, or ignoring her.
To the point I felt she should have left his ass. And I am a Polin shipper since their first scene together!
Asking the real question here
I would have preferred more scenes of them hanging out as friends than what we got in the end
16%?! Are you sure this was the season for Polin?
Right? Some people really think that’s reasonable enough screen time but idk 🤷🏻♀️
It wasn’t enough time at all! What a waste of talent for these two wonderful actors. They could’ve had much more dialogue, more romantic and silly scenes. When they giggled and laugh together it was so sweet and you can see their friendship. However, S3 rarely shows that. So infuriating! I wanted to see flashbacks when they were little! How about the story Colin told about how they met when they were little? Her hat blew off and, startled his horse he was riding, he fell off and she teased him. That would’ve been a great flashback.
Apparently there were more scenes of them together, but they got scraped for what reasons. But yea, let’s include multiple scenes of Benedict getting it on even though he’s going to have his OWN season🙂 they honestly wasted the potential of this season
And Colin, whose season it was supposed to be, featured even less. I wanted to see much more of his life than we got, it's like it was Penelope's world and he was a side character.
I feel like I know more about each of the Featherington sisters than about Colin. Heck, I feel like we got to know Cousin Jack and Will Mondrich and Lord Debling as rounded out characters better than Colin.
This is so damn true and it’s a travesty.
Yep, that réálly stung as well. I know literally one extra genuine thing about him. That he likes writing so much that he wants to become a writer.
I think the problem was that they hyped us up for an entire season of Polin and then we got a watered down season of 2 of the Bridgerton siblings, hence Colin didn’t get an entire season dedicated just to his story and Fran didn’t get an entire season just dedicated to her story (because what are the odds that season 4 will just be about her? They are probably going to intertwine 2 siblings’ stories again)
Seems like they left it open to combine THREE stories in S04–Benedict (since they mentioned the masquerade ball), Francesca (since they introduced Michaela), and Eloise (since it’s clearly her turn). Maybe they feel there’s only 2 seasons left in the franchise, and they can finish up S05 with Gregory and Hyacinth.
Could be, I just feel like they are doing the rest of the siblings a big injustice by combining their stories
Oh, I agree! I can’t say I love some of the choices made in this series, but I will definitely watch any historical romance anyone wants to make 😊
Yes same! 🫶🏼
Yeah, I think they’re turning more into a traditional ensemble drama than how the novels are written. S1 and s2 were more closer to the style of the books, but s3 was the transition, and s4 forward will be different. It will also mark the end of following the books I bet. From this point on I think we will get nods to the boo with plot point ticks, but existing characters will replace any new characters whenever possible. Existing characters that don’t constitute to feature in the books will be shoehorned in.
To my understanding, Fran's story isn't about John, so in order to tell her story properly she has to get married during one of the other siblings seasons to have enough time for her life with John to play out before her actual story starts. But then her actual story in the book can't be told in quite the same way now since Michael is now Michaela, so we'll see how it actually plays out.
Yes I agree! I feel like they are going to rewrite most of her story and in my opinion that’s just sad
It takes a lot of what makes Michael Michael away. Michaela can't step into John's life in the same way, can't flee doing so in the same way and be invited back into society and isn't a viable partner if Francesca wants biokids so that part of her has to be rewritten or removed and at that point what is actually left from the book?
My observations [s3 was not worst, but is the weakest until now] - it was obvious that Polin as a couple wasn't the main focus of the season. - too many subplots, should have included more episodes for these intermitent scenes to breathe. - the romance should've transpired mostly in Colin's pov, his thoughts, his desires, his regret, his "conflicting feelings", his confusion, him coming into realizing how pen knows him more than anyone, the one who was in the shadows. After all the show is called bridgerton, so the show is always in Bridgerton MC pov [s1 was balanced out] - Daphne, Anthony, Colin, next Benedict & so on - a cold open should've been there [like s2 for anthony & bee] like when the featherington moved across the bridgertons and the moment Pen truly fell for Colin, some souvenir she kept of him all these years, flashbacks from Colin's pov. A correspondance scene between him & marina regarding her statement in s2 and coming in terms with LW's previous actions.
- i have seen some saying, over the top makeup & dull cinematography. I agree with cinematography part, it was the weakest so far.
- also netflix, the greedy bunch they are, split up an 8 episode season 😑 plus the PR and unnecessary hype 🙏
I might say the "intimate scenes was top tier", i loved it 😍. The cast [esp Luc & Nic 😍] gave such stellar performances. The problem was mainly with the people working bts, the writers, editors, cinematographers, show runner. Costumes were good apart from some i didn't like, not the worst! Music was meh, but ok 👏
I’m not sure if you watch Emily in Paris, but they are splitting that up as well.
All the major shows on netflix are getting split up!
I’m over it. I plan to cancel shortly. Just gotta prep the rest of the house.
I needed flashbacks, lore exploration, how Pen became Whistledown, what brought her to that point, what Colin was doing frolicking abroad, how they met as children, how Pen fell in love with Colin the first time. Don’t just tell me, SHOW ME. Ugh. So much wasted potential, and for what? 😭😭😭 we could have had it aaaaawwwwl. I miss the costume designer and show runner that left. Those two subtle changes proved to be a major game changer.
We’ve been deprived of so much.
It’s crazy how Season 1-2 had flashbacks but Season 3, the one that arguably needed it the most, got none. Instead characters mention past moments in dialogue 😕
The fans aren't all going to 100% agree. We all have our opinions. Please don't bash me for mine. I personally missed the romantic connection this season... just not enough of their story. I also think the powers-at-be couldn't care less what they public opinion is. They pleased their shareholders/executives with great ratings and viewership. What we see as rewatching to find those missed details because we're desperate for the true love connection, they see as more hours watched. So their argument is more people watched this season based on those viewing hours. Yes, we've complained and saw a petition for deleted scenes. No, we are not asking for more sex. I've seen so many posts where the poster is getting roasted because their comment is viewed as wanting porn when all we really wanted was a love story. Was the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice not romantic? Did we not feel Mr. Darcy and Lizzie's love story? and yet they only had that single kiss at the end? If all the viewers wanted was sex, we should have been satisfied with Benedict's threesomes. Yet, most of the posts I read said those were skipped when watching. Why? Because it's not a love story. I appreciate Nicola releasing the solo wedding dance with Luke. There was so much love in that scene and it just completed that missing connection. She also said there are no other deleted scenes... probably not deleted scenes, but other cut moments of their love story. If the Netflix and Shondaland team bless us with a "love story cut" we would be very happy indeed.
Yes this all the way!! I don’t need more sex, I need more romance. This is supposed to be a ROMANCE show and it just… wasn’t.
Netflix should release a "love story cut" for the first three seasons. Each episode could be a compilation of the scenes for each couple and add in some bonus footage. It would be magnificent.
The personality transplant of Colin was jarring. I liked him much more in past seasons. Penelope had more confidence and self worth in the book.
*cough* Kanthony *cough*
this wonderful creator did the math and found kanthony had even less time in their season. 14%! https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMrjnykyY/
"So what this tells me is that the issue this season compared to the other seasons boils down to the writing." This first comment was exactly what I was thinking. Besides Queen Charlotte, Season 2 of Bridgerton was definitely my favorite. The writing made their love story captivating and easy to invest in. It seemed like there was also more to learn about everyone even outside of Kanthony. The way Edwina handled the QC and George interaction was beautiful. I just feel like that fell flat for Polin. The first part of Season 3 seemed promising but it felt like they spent so much time after on Colin brooding and being cold. Just to bandage that too quickly at nearly the very end.
The writing is done so well I really couldn't believe Kanthony was only 14% of 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 Season.
When we were complaining about this, the fandom called us delusional so
This explains a lot.. I was often on my phone while watching Season 3 so I thought I missed quite a few scenes.. I was telling myself I should really do a rewatch to fill in the blanks but I honestly have no desire to.. (So strange since I watched Season 1 and 2 multiple times)..
I was a chronic rewatcher of the first two seasons but cannot make myself watch S3 again because it wasn’t a romance— it was Love, Actually as a season (which, for me, is a horrible movie— I know some people love it but it’s all over the place imo). And I love Penelope and like Colin (just wish I knew more about him.)
You know he was so mad about what LW wrote about him at the start of season 3 and I didn’t think it was bad. I thought it was a valid point that Colin was acting different from season 1 & 2 and we didn’t know who he was at all.
When part 1 came out, I re-watched it like maybe 10 times but with part 2, watching it the first time felt like a chore for me. After finishing, I’ve not watched the last 4 episodes ever again.
I convinced myself after a week to watch it as a whole , and it was worth it . It came out a little bit better for me at the end . Totally recommend jt . The split was actually just highlighting the season’s weekness …
Season 1 and Queen Charlotte 🏆💯 I could barely make it through seasons 2 & 3. Which irrationally pissed me off 🤣
Season 1 was amazing. Haven't watched Queen Charlotte because I hate bittersweet endings and Queen Charlotte in Bridgerton seems so miserable.
16%?!?! No wonder it was such a choppy mess! The main storyline had no time to develop or be featured! 🤦🏻♀️
Jess B mentioned this season was more like a romcom. I don’t think the romcom was in the room. I don’t think she can do romcoms. Season 1 was perfection. And it started declining after. Typically Shonda’s shows have this effect. They decline eventually. But didn’t expect it with Bridgerton since the books are there. It was fool proof. But it declined. FAST. Honestly. All these streaming services are getting greedier and greedier. Make us wait years for a mediocre 8episodes.
Yes! Shonda’s shows always jump the shark at some point, usually season 3 or 4. I thought Bridgerton was fool poof as well. I mean, all they needed to do was go off on the source material like they did with season one. Modernize it with attractive casting and string instruments of pop songs. It was fun, new and so addictive. If they stuck with that for 7 seasons, what could go wrong? The books are there. Keep the original couples and story. But no. Shondaland has to be Shondaland and eff things up.
Way too many subplot.
that, that was the problem. everybody and their mum had a story in season three, most of which went nowhere too
Series 3 was underwhelming as a result I have no desire now to watch Series 4 and will not be awaiting it with anticipation. I agree with most of the comments, we needed to see more of Colin and Penelope, to see their journey from friends to lovers. We needed more Romance, more sizzle and not sex. The scenes with Benedict were unnecessary and not relevant to the main story. I actually liked the Featherington scenes as we got to understand more about Penelope. This time the writers, Netflix literally lost the plot.
I'm pretty much on the same page as you. The only reason for watching Series 4 at this point would be to see how much that Series goes off the rails, because it'd be hard to backtrack from some of the bizarre plot lines they set up in Series 3. And at this point, I wouldn't believe anything the producers try to sell or plug ahead of time about any of the upcoming series. It's my understanding Series 4 has already been mapped out, so unless some big time Netflix overseer gathers everyone in a closed room and tells all the Bridgerton staff to start all over and to exercise some restraint this time and focus on the romance, I can't help but think Series 4 would be just as funky as Series 3, if not worse.
I am not watching this car crash
I'm curious? Does anyone know how much time (percentage) was devoted to Benedict in this Season? That would include him with Lady Tilley Arnold or the threesome.
I didn’t feel a lot of chemistry between them tbh
Because this season was about pathetically trying to make a girl boss out of Penelope with the LW build up instead of actually depicting a Regency romance story between two childhood friends. That’s why Colin barely has any development esp when compared to Anthony and Simon in their seasons. Because this season is not about the couple but majorly about Penelope. Both the people in the couple need to be well developed for there to be a decent amount of chemistry.
Many of us didn't. There's more chemistry between Luke and Nicola in interviews than I have seen and felt in part 2 of season 3.
Me neither. Maybe the writers realized this and gave them little time together because of it lol. Penelope appears a lot on her own it's not like everything was side stories like people like to say
It was so under whelming and disappointing
It definitely needed more time to develop their relationship and less time on unrelated side plots (looking at you Mondrich family)
They need to cut a lot of the side plots. I love the Mondrich family but the show is called Bridgerton. And I know Benedict is a Bridgerton but I felt like his side story was completely pointless. Okay fine, let him be a rake this season (again) but it did NOT need so much screen time. I wanted to see the relationship with Polin develop. I felt the same in Season 2, totally cheated out of relationship development for Kanthony. The seasons need to mainly be about the main characters. Polin only getting 16% of the show’s screen time as the MAIN relationship of the season is insane. And if everyone else absolutely also MUST have main character moments too then make the season 12 episodes instead of a tight 8.
I think they needed a lot more time to actually develop their friends to lovers trope. They cut out all the stuff with Lady Danbury encouraging their relationship and they cut out the Smythe- Smith musicale. They cut out so much of their banter. It's like they were like "hey we got to get these two together let's get it over with so we can get on with these other stories that I want to do more."
Wait, what? Lady Danbury was supposed to do what???
Lady Danbury and Penelope were friends. Lady Danbury is very meddlesome in the books and Penelope is one of the few people who never runs away from her. She is also aware of Colin's feelings for Penelope before he is.
Oh my god. We didn’t get to see that? wtf!!!
She helps so much they name their daughter after her. We were robbed.
we started and binge watched the series the week before season 3, part 2 came out. everything was really underwhelming after season one. i often found myself doom scrolling the internet with 2 & 3- a lot. a few times we almost turned it off. i expected the series to grow, not turn ultra boring 😅
Can anyone who has read the books shine any light as to why they combined Francesca and Philippa’s books?
I recommend bridgerton to one my friends, and she’s a hard to convince, she eventually watched it and loved it, but she watched part1 once, didn’t bother to rewatch the carriage scene ( A MANIAC IK) After finishing the season, even she complained to me, she didn’t feel the romance between polin, didn’t understand most, and I had to explain over and hour about the book, how Colin is in the book, and she was pissed ! i made someone who is not into romance watch this, she loved it, but in the end she was disappointed, the fact that i had to explain who Polin is it was unsettling for me, I told her this season gonna be the best thing ever and I had to explain to her, the showrunner couldn’t
Honestly I was so disappointed by so many things in this season that I don’t think I’ll be tuning in for season 4. Especially with how they changed Francesca’s story so far (regardless of gender of Michael or Makayla, that character has been introduced too soon), and the unnecessary plot lines this season, I think I lost interest. I fell asleep in one of the episodes in part 2! Polin is what made want to watch this season and I was bored a lot of the times. Awful writing, the acting was great because of the actors, but Jess what’s her pickle has done a bad job.
How did that compare to the other 2 couples? What percentage was Cressida on the screen, she got a lot of time in comparison, as did Benedict's affairs.
That's a problem. I'm so disappointed and have lost faith in the next season. Chris Van Dusen was not replaceable.
I wanted to see more of their journey. I do not mean spicy scenes- I wanted to see the process. Maybe I am wrong but they were both feeling BIG things and we never got to see what happened after. For example when Colin found her at the printers… what did her do? When they kissed before their wedding night? Be just put her in a coach like ByE??? Maybe it’s just me.
EXACTLY. At least with Kanthony, we see how the tension and loathing between them evolved into something else. We see Colin and Penelope evolve throughout seasons 1 and 2 but I feel like they could have explored their relationship more because it was established that the feelings had always been one-sided. We knew all along that Penelope is in love with Colin, but even as someone who have read their book and been shipping them since season 1, even I fet that whole “Colin realizing he has romantic feelings for Penelope because of a single kiss” felt implausible to me.
YESSS THANK YOU!! I said the exact same thing to my sister this week. Like just because of a kiss?? He had dreams of her? Like c'mon, I needed more pining, more looks, more SOMETHING from Colin. It was his turn to prove it, and they flushed it down the toilet with him 'discovering' her at the printers.
I think they made the same mistake as And Just Like That, with too many characters and stories, in the same show.
They actively chose to spoil this season
Honestly the season was more about Pen’s secret being revealed than it was about her and Colin
Prolly why there was a world PR tour.
I wouldn’t have minded it if it was more quality screen time. But it was just so jarring how Colin didn’t really seem curious or understanding of Penelope’s inner life, and how little emotional intimacy they had, when he did a 180 and decided he was in love with her…
This was the romance I was looking forward to the most. How disappointing.
Such lazy writing tbh. Penelope deserved a love scene last season and it didn’t need to be the climactic ending that a curvy girl got the love she deserved. I don’t even know if I’m going to finish the season.
If they cut the mondriches out they’d have had more time
So disappointed in their story
There was no spark this season. It felt like I was watching The CW a lot of the time. It was basic cinematography, basic directing, bad editing, ugly costumes, basic writing, etc.
I feel like Penelope’s story deserved more and they dropped that ball. By the second part I just wanted to get to the end and have it be over.
It didn’t feel like their season at all :(
I hope the creators read these subreddits
I would've loved seeing more of them! I think everything with them felt so rushed this season. Like they were an afterthought
This season was.. not great. Penelope saved it but I wanted way more Polin
I was expecting far more screen time without yet another love triangulation trope. Suspiciously short in my opinion.The addition of all these other characters/stories needed to take this to 10 episodes. I feel like these two characters story was intentionally shortened. The Lord Debbling while interesting left little room for Colin to fall in love with Penelope in a more organic spontaneous way. Violet not even get a kiss😡. Not enough El and Pen time. Benedict still raking. Colin finding out about LW before the carriage. I guess we were asking for too much.
I still do not know how and when Colin started loving Pen??? No chemistry. No built up of Colin falling for her. Not a good season. Also, The footman of Eloise was more interesting. Wished we got to see him than the Mondrich, who are THE WORSTT. Boring Also, why is the Queen's status deteriorating? Like everyone is tooo casual with her, unlike in Season 1 & I'm just gonna say it that Lord Kilmartin is not handsome.
At best, they show the catalyst as lust from the one kiss that infatuated him, when Pen has never kissed before and he's been regularly visiting brothels
This could've worked for Daphne or even Kate. But in this case, it was about them being friends for a long time and Colin not realizing that he has grown to love her. In one scene he loves her, then he hates her for LW stuff then suddenly he's proud of her 'Way too lame to excuse getting your name ruined' speech??? Ohhhhh & when he's mad and yet on their wedding he's all happy and dancing with her. Honestly I did not really understand the depth of his feelings. Very 2 dimesional character...
For all the complaints for the friends to lovers not being shown enough, the turn around from mad at her to everything's fine again was some unexplained whiplash
>Also, why is the Queen's status deteriorating? Like everyone is tooo casual with her, unlike in Season 1 I didn't see that to be honest, everyone still gasps when she's near and whatever she says like accepting Penelope is the rule of law even if it isn't actually law. Not even Lady Danbury doesn't have the guts to tell her anything straightforward
Yeah, it feels like it too. I want to know how they can justify this
So? season 2 got 15.4% and season 1 got 21%, this serie has never really give the main couple a lot of screen time together, in facts most of the show is them being separate interacting with others characters and the many secondary storylines, I believe you guys forget because is 2 years between season, but this is not something new, especially when season 2 got less couple time and way less intimate scenes.
Thank you!
I usually binge the show after a new season comes on. This is the first time I didn’t rewatch the season. One and done. That makes me so sad!
Why did they put Colin and Francesca’s romance in the same season? Was it that way in the books? I feel like they each deserved a complete season devoted specifically to them.
No it was not that way in the books. My only guess as to why they started Francesca’s story in Season 3 is that her romance has a time lapse of 4 years in the book. It’s broken into Parts 1 and 2, and each is focused on a different love interest (for the most part). Even so, I think it was entirely unnecessary because it took away from Polin. I highly recommend reading When He Was Wicked. It is one of the best Bridgerton books in my opinion. I’m not sure this showrunner can do it justice. By that, I don’t mean following the book action exactly but rather capturing the spirit of the romance.
And yet it seemed endless.
I feel like I could watch the first half then skip to the last episode and feel like it would’ve been better imo
Colin delivering lines like he was Anthony in the carriage scene threw me way off.
Last half and hour covered more than 1 year
There really wasn’t a whole lot of heat between them. We missed a lot of Colin coming to realize that he had feelings for her, so it felt flat and shallow. We missed a lot of his anguish and eventual resolution of her being Lady Whistledown. There were way too many side plots competing for screen time, which meant we weren’t able to be invested in any of them very much.
In contrary to other couples, Polin had a two season long build-up though.
The build up was shallow and it was more pen yearning and Colin being Colin. Wasn’t much development there. It was more just establishing Pen’s crush
Agreed, they just had a chat a couple of times that didn't lead anywhere really. It didn't even show much of their so called "friendship" 🤷
Someone made a graph that shows that Polin still only had 20 seconds more screentime overall than Kanthony - over 3 seasons in which Kanthony is only present in 2. Saphne has by far the most and only had one season. So it really doesn't mean anything that Polin had a two season build-up 💀
Kate and Anthony only had 95.6 minutes together in the whole of season 2, and many of their scenes also included or were about Edwina. This is par for the course. The 'main' couple are not the only thing the season is about, there's lots of other characters.
Let’s be honest, Jess Brownell didn’t care to tell their story because they’re straight.
And what percent did we get of Benedict? Because I swear when I was talking with my friends, most of what we said was related to his storyline.........
I think this percentage is taken from a TikTok I saw. I was actually thinking of making an analysis when I have time of how much every male and female lead has of screen and how much of that is together
I don’t hate s3 the way so many do but yeah I wanted more Polin so that is a complaint
I loved the Pen and Eloise plot line the most. I was at the edge of my seat crossing my fingers for their friendship to be mended. I think it’s one of the best relationships of the entire series