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Bridgerton Season 3 Review: Better Than Diamonds
Organizing my thoughts on Season Three of Bridgerton proved to be a challenging feat.
On one hand, I adored it. However, after seeing several viewers dissatisfied with this season, my opinions were at odds.
It took me a while to come to a conclusion about Bridgerton’s latest season and how to express my feelings about it.
I thought Season Three of Bridgerton was sparkling, as Queen Charlotte would describe it.
Better than diamonds, if I may.
Because this time Bridgerton walked a very fine line between predictability and its opposite, occasionally swaying between the two.
It was comforting yet deliciously jarring at the same time.
Season 3 was pervaded by moments old and new. The old are friendly squabbles between the Bridgerton siblings, Lady Danbury and Queen Charlotte’s entertaining conversations, always riddled with metaphors.
And of course, Lady Whistledown’s alliterative and sharp remarks on society, brought to life by the heavenly timbre of Julie Andrew’s voice.
While I devoured these moments, the new ones were what I savored.
The Underlying Theme
It doesn’t matter if you’re a long-time Bridgerton fan or a new one, it’s not hard to understand that each season of Bridgerton focuses on one of the blue-dressed siblings and their search for, or sometimes accidental discovery of, love and happiness.
It’s also obvious that Bridgerton is an ensemble show, with ample screen time for other characters besides the titular ones.
Every season of Bridgerton has had an underlying theme, subtly interweaving itself into the primary love story and some of the other interactions.
Season one, with Daphne and Simon (Duke of Hastings) at the center, underscored life after marriage—that it isn’t at all something you can predict.
Season two of Bridgerton was meant to show the divide between duty and love. Anthony’s frustrating struggle between what he thinks is right and what his heart desires makes the audience ask the question—why can’t it be both?
Similarly, Season Three had a great emphasis on identity, intersectional or otherwise. And the most significant example of this is Penelope’s secret cover.
Colin’s (and even Eloise’s) initial efforts to persuade Penelope to give up her column irked me.
Certainly, she has done a lot of wrong, and coming to terms with a shock like that is bound to take time.
But who’s to say that Penelope’s Whistledown paper isn’t the regency version of celebrity gossip magazines—whose words people treat like gospel?
If the highly anticipated Lady Whistledown reveal to the bon ton has made me realize anything, it’s that there’s no separating Penelope from her columnist identity. They are one.
In the end, I admired Penelope’s decision to continue with her column—only this time for good. And I’m grateful that Colin accepts it.
It’s not only Penelope’s identity crisis we’re exposed to.
I, for one, liked the Mondrich’s storyline.
It illustrated that identity may not be something you are born with. Your identity can shift in the blink of an eye, whether you like it or not.
Will Mondrich’s reluctance to give up his bar mirrored Penelope’s reluctance to give up her column.
Plus, Alice and Will Mondrich form the only couple on the show whose marriage life is delved into after having children.
The rest of the show is about the build-up of love and eventually, some characters are left unexplored after the birth of the first child.
Francesca’s Introverted, and Perhaps Neurodivergent Personality
Francesca’s nearly absent in the first two seasons, so her character finally being present was something I was looking forward to.
It’s hilarious sometimes that people are encouraged to think differently and “be unique” but as soon as one does as such, they’re chastised for it.
As a fellow introvert, I felt incredibly seen by Francesca’s introverted nature. My quiet soul was soothed by her need for silence at social events, her preference for playing the pianoforte for herself before others, and her ability to discuss her passion for hours.
Side Note: Hannah Dodd makes a beautiful Francesca.
Love Isn’t One-Size-Fits-All
Speaking of Francesca Bridgerton, her love story surprised me in the best way. I adored her relationship with John Kilmartin.
Francesca’s love for John challenged the notion that there’s only one kind of love—the kind that gives you butterflies.
But nothing beats the kind of love where one feels safe and secure with another.
It’s truly magical when you find someone you can share silence with. I’m glad Bridgerton highlighted that love is different for everyone.
I do know John suffers a tragic end, making Francesca’s story riddled with trauma.
I also know she ends up having a second shot at love with Michaela Stirling (Michael Stirling the books)—a reminder that you can fall in love more than once.
Eloise’s Growing Maturity
Now it seems most of Bridgerton Season Three surprised me.
I was so accustomed to Eloise’s remarks on marriage and the women who seek it, that it was shocking to see her soften a little toward women on the marriage mart.
She was clearly starting to understand their points of view.
Not to mention, her weird friendship with Cressida somehow became something I anticipated this season.
If one ignored Cressida’s boisterous gowns, her interactions with Eloise made her seem almost human. Almost.
Granted, Eloise Bridgerton has a long way to go.
But the fact that she recognizes she hasn’t had sufficient experience with the world to change it means she’s taking the right step forward.
Colin and Penelope
I have a lot of thoughts on Bridgerton Season Three, but if I wrote everything that came to mind, this blog post would be extremely long!
So I’ll end with Season Three’s central love story.
Contrary to popular belief, I did not think Colin and Penelope’s romantic pacing was off. Their romance has been developing since the first season!
Nothing was disappointing about their story. We eventually discover how they first became friends. We notice a new, more transparent side to their exchanges.
Personally, I was hoping they’d get together soon so we could advance to the juicier parts.
Parts like steamy carriage and mirror scenes (jaw-dropping), the LW reveal, and life after marriage.
Colin and Penelope’s love story struck a delicious balance between steamy, sweet, and vulnerable. Luke Newton and Nicola Coughlan did a killer job.
What did you think of Bridgerton Season 3?
