Delivering age and flirting with cancellation, Bridgerton is a kind of updated Sabrina, with the same story being told in different ways.

For those who are too young to understand the reference. Sabrina was a collection of low-cost popular novels, sold on newsstands which were always stories of love, sex, and exotic adventures, books that we found in the homes of our grandmothers or single aunts, who always had independent women, but in search of of a prince charming, generally a complex and toxic man transformed by love. The eight books that serve as the basis for Bridgerton, written by Julia Quinn, are very much along these lines.

Transformed into a franchise by Netflix, the Bridgerton series has been engaging fans around the world since 2020. Off the page, the series became a vehicle for inclusion, playfully anachronistic and modern, engaging young people in stories from a pre-Victorian period of great love stories. The third season reached its conclusion focusing on the most interesting character, Penelope Featherington, who goes through significant development throughout the story and officially becomes a Bridgerton.

Throughout the four episodes that remained to end this stage, we followed stories of love and, even more so, of female affirmation. Honestly, the art of engaging with simplicity has never been more obvious. It’s all nonsense, but we become teenagers and let ourselves go, cheering, laughing, and getting emotional. Bridgerton is one of the biggest hits on the platform. Let’s analyze.

Season MVP: Penelope Featherington (Bridgerton)

Penelope Featherington is initially presented as a shy and underestimated young woman from London high society. An intelligent and observant young woman, who does not fit into the conventional beauty standards of the time, she is Eloise Bridgerton’s best friend and is secretly in love with Colin Bridgerton, who is also her friend.

What no one knew at first is that Penelope’s biggest secret is that she is, in fact, the feared Lady Whistledown, the anonymous author of the social chronicles that cause so much uproar in high society and an obsession for Queen Charlotte. This revelation shows a completely different side of Penelope, highlighting her intelligence, wit, and ability to influence social events in meaningful ways, but an obstacle to overcome when Eloise and Colin discover the truth.

Actress Nicola Coughlan is perfect in the role, she already stood out even when Penelope was just a supporting character and took the lead with charisma and talent. It is believable to follow Penelope’s growth in confidence, to understand her conflicts of acceptance and when we move away from her the season loses a lot of its atmosphere. I say this because part of Francesca Bridgerton’s story is in the season and we just want to know about Penelope and Colin.

After “making herself seen and wanted”, which at the time meant trying to find a husband, she wins over Colin and becomes a Bridgerton, with the main problem being what to do with Lady Whistledown.

An obsessed Queen, a jealous husband

In the series, Queen Charlotte is determined to discover Lady Whistledown’s identity because the publication of gossip and revelations represents an uncontrollable and unknown force that threatens the established order and the Queen’s control over information. After all, Lady Whistledown has the power to influence public opinion and shape people’s reputations in society, which the queen sees as a threat to her authority figure.

Colin, on the other hand, has a more contradictory reaction. A man of his word, he is determined not to forgive Whistleblown, but, more than that, he finds himself jealous of being surpassed as a potential writer by Penelope. Incredibly, he finds himself able to forgive the published words that caused so much pain, but not the fact that she – as a woman – is better than him.

The series’ success in placing what could be “a detail” in a story if the leader were a man, but, with a female soul and audience, the story becomes about Penelope’s affirmation as a woman, by and for women also. They all reflect on their lack of autonomy in one way or another and the more sensitive men – Colin returns to the team – try to understand and help. It was the part of the story that became more interesting, reflecting how the older people dealt with and still deal with the limiting reality and how the new generation tries (literally) to rewrite the rules. Not everyone succeeds, but the silent sisterhood is built in an inspiring way.

A mega success that still has more seasons

According to Netflix, in the UK alone, Bridgerton (including spinoff Queen Charlotte) generated over a quarter of a billion pounds and also boosted viewership. They are to the areas mentioned in the story, such as Bath and Bristol.

As each book addresses one of the young Bridgertons, we still have others to be explored in the series. As we mentioned, Francesca’s story has just begun and Eloise and Benedict are also missing.

The platform’s proud strategy, which does not want to give in to the fact that launching everything at once is not a good move and that is why it now divides it into two packages, has harmed its content. This is because it not only hurts the pacing but, as the Hollywood Reporter assesses, “seems to have accidentally drawn attention to the program’s weak points”. Yes, as I already mentioned, Bridgerton is the Gossip Girl of that time, with lots of parties, perfect dresses, and few consequences. Returning to the magazine’s definition, it is “high-tension narrative tension and gasp-inducing twists. She’s basically the epitome of “no plot, just vibes” period drama.”

The main farewell, paradoxically silent, is that, with Penelope taking on the role of Lady Whistledown, she says goodbye to Julie Andrews. In the new version, the author will be “a voice for those who have no voice”, and it will be her own. We will be missed!

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