We are back in the world of Bridgerton, however, this episode felt very different to previous seasons in some ways.
Image Credit: Liam Daniel / Netflix
As with the opening episodes of previous seasons this episode sets up the story for the season, however, as the protagonists of this season are known already there was less to set up in terms of meeting the lead characters. We do have a 'new' Bridgerton (of sorts) to meet however with Francesca taking a main role we will get to see her more this season. In the previous two seasons Francesca has been mostly absent due to filming conflicts with the actress, the recasting of the role has allowed for her to have a more prominent role this season.
As always this season begins with a Lady Whistledown voice over setting the scene, and the season follows on from there. Unlike season 2 it is the Featheringtons - or more specifically Penelope and Portia - that we see in the initial stages, as we learn that Prudence married in the off season and therefore is no longer in the house. After seeing Portia and Penelope return to London we move to the Bridgerton House where Francesca is preparing for her presentation. Tradition is kept with Lady Danbury hosting the first ball, and in a homage to season 2 we see the protagonists of the season have an altercation outside the ball.
Within this episode it sets the scene for Penelope with her makeover and 'glow up', and for Colin with his new charm and flirty ways. The rift between Penelope and Eloise is still in play with Eloise having befriended Cressida, whom we discover was the only person to show Eloise kindness in the country. This naturally creates more problems for Penelope and Eloise, but more interestingly we see a lot of the language of romantic relationships being used within this trio, giving a verbal manifestation of what Jess meant when she said that Peneloise is the second love story of the season. I did feel a bit more effort was put into this storyline than the main love story to be honest.
Will Mondrich and Alice are also back, this time with a bigger role in the show, as we see that their son has inherited a Barony (Baron of Kent), complete with a new estate. Speaking of Inheriting a Barony, Lady Featherington lets it be known to her daughters that the first son born to any of them will inherit the Barony, this perks the interest of Prudence and Philippa in particular. Portia is visited by an agent of the Crown, Mr Dundas, who is responsible for ensuring the lines of succession in the peerage. Mr Dundas raises the issue of the inheritance of the Barony, and whilst it will cause him a lot of bother if he found the document to be forged before one of her daughters had a sone, he would go to that trouble to strip them of the title and have it redistributed to a new family. Thus the Featherington heir race is on.
After returning from their honeymoon we find Kate and Anthony still unable to keep their hands off each other, so much so that Kate suggests that they extend their honeymoon in order to 'make an heir or two'. Despite having far too little of them onscreen in the first episode there is still a lot to be unpacked around Kate and Anthony, and so I will be looking at to do a post on them in the period between parts.
After finding out that Penelope was aware of his callousness in the previous season Colin goes to apologise, and here Penelope tells him she is looking for a husband. Colin offers to help Penelope in a call back to season 1 with Simon helping Daphne. The season ends with a Lady Whistledown voice over talking about change, and specifically Colin's change, thus angering Colin and having him vow to unmask her and destroy her.
Highs:
- Bridgerton Family Banter. I feel that this is the heart of the season when we see the family together and just being a family. It is one of my favourite parts of Bridgerton
- Kate and Anthony hands (more to come on this). In season 2 we saw as Kate and Anthony's connection, their yearning and their intimacy, was told through their hands, especially once the touch barrier was broken in episode 3, it is good to see that they maintain that connection and intimacy as a married couple through their hands, now with love and reverence. I saw a comment on X (I think) where it was said that this was a very Bollywood thing, and interestingly it is something that I connected to India as many of the hand movements - of Kate in particular - made me think of the hand movements in traditional Indian dances.
- The bond that Kate appears to be building within the family, especially with Violet. In one scene as Lady Danbury mentions the previous season we see Violet pull Kate close to her as if protecting her. I love seeing that Kate is being loved and protected by more than just Anthony, and that Violet sees her as a daughter.
- The influence of Kate on the ladies in the family shown through something as simple as their hairstyles. We see Violet (and Francesca) with a similar style and hair decoration to Kate's diamond ball look in season 2, and to see Eloise with a side ponytail pulled around with a braid similar to Kate's is just so sweet to see.
- Francesca. Whilst I loved all three of the Bridgerton girls, I really loved Francesca and I can't wait to see her story develop over this season.
Lows:
- Some of the aesthetics. I am not a fan of all of the costuming, or makeup. I especially disliked Penelope's look at Lady Danbury's ball, and the frills on Eloise. I also am not sure what the point of sticking a load of scrap material to some of the dresses is.
- The pacing felt off, and most of the stories were uninspiring and unimaginative, and very little engaged me in terms of any of the stories, with the exception of one or two.
- Too much happening, and much of it feeling disjointed in terms of storytelling.
- The lack of a decent storyline for Kate and Anthony, and wasted potential of any number of stories for them.
- The lack of chemistry between Colin and Penelope. This has been an issue for these two since the first series, and it is something that persists. The interesting thing to note is that out of all the leads that there have been in the Bridgerton universe, these are the only two that didn't have a chemistry read before being cast, and sadly it shows onscreen. Penelope has more chemistry with Eloise than with Colin - actually if I am being honest both Penelope and Colin have more chemistry with Eloise than with each other. We can only hope it improves, but I fear that with two seasons behind us if I can't see any chemistry now between them then I probably never will.
Overall it was an okay start to the season, and will please the Polin fans, there was enough to interest most viewers I think, but for me it felt that it was missing some of that Bridgerton magic that we saw in the previous seasons.
