Hey Marshall! I just started watching your videos. You got a new subscriber! Marshall, I can be off here but I have a feeling that we had this Mondrich plot line because Sophie is going to be one of their maids next season. I can't for the life of me see any other explanation for dragging them along this season. Great video! You made me laugh several times. Keep up the awesome work you do. ❤😊🎉
The visual language was completely demolished this season. Also, why is everyone now dressed like a Featherington?? The costume director did an interview where he said "we throw different fabric together to see what happens" I'm like yeah.... WE KNOW... Everyone looks awful. Truly.
Yes! I get so annoyed whenever anyone criticizes the costuming and people immediately come back with, " It's not supposed to be historically accurate!" Yeah, we know it's not historically accurate, but this season the costumes were so wild that it didn't seem like the characters were even inhabiting the same time period or society. Previous Bridgerton costumes (mostly the dresses) were never period accurate, but they at least matched enough to give the sense of the world these characters inhabited. (And the exceptions to the rule, like Cressida's wild embellishments or the queen's devotion to outdated silhouettes were consistent character details with purpose.) This season more than ever, the fabrics seemed cheap and the styles too disparate from each other. It was just another detail that takes the viewer away from being fully immersed in the world.
@@jessicasaccone7608 They went from a delicate Regency ballgown inspired riff (with some Spencer jackets thrown into the mix) to looking like Macy's clearance prom dresses, which now REDUCES the visual impact of Cressida's wardrobe (dressing for desperation) and the Featheringtons' (dressing to demand attention due to their position). I swear costume-wise late season 1/season 2 was the peak of this show.
@@jessicasaccone7608 They always say that you can’t criticize it because ”it’s just fantasy”. I critize it because I am a fantasy fan. Costuming is an art form and part of the worldbuilding, it doesn’t have to be historically accurate but it should be consistent within the world.
How is it possible that Luke and Nicola have more chemistry with each other on every single press appearance than Polin? And also: I don't understand how Luke is this really handsome and kind-looking man, but in the show, they film him in some of the least flattering angles I've ever seen. Literally how??
yes very true.. I blame the storyline and scenes though. Throughout the season they were really anxious and feeling upleasant plus there weren't many scenes focusing on the character's connection with each other. But then again, they didnt even feel like the same characters from before
Luke looked beautiful in that scene where he had just woken up on the couch on the day of Francesca's wedding. The back-brushed hairstyle made him look weird.
Having said all of that, the "Insert himself? Insert himself where?" scene was actually the funniest scene I've seen in ages. That one was worth watching the rest of the drivel.
@tata-yo9id Likely because it was sliced between other scenes that took across multiple days, making the timeline confusing. Like, is it bad editing or is Benefict on a multi-day threesome? 🤨
It’s surprising that polin was the only couple to have 2 season of build up before their season and still the show managed to mess up their love story. Like why was Kate and Anthony’s 3 minute bedroom scene in ep 5 more beautiful than pen and Colin’s entire story this season?😭 It’s so annoying cause I was so excited for Penelope’s story
Same!! I was looking forward to their love story. There just was so many subplots that were not necessary. Not enough Polin scenes to build their characters. They could have included flashbacks that would have helped. Honestly..I think it would have been better if they would have followed along with the book. It could have been so much better.
somehow kate and anthony were present for three out of eight episodes and still stole the show for me. there are these glimpses of nicola and luke having chemistry e.g. the carriage scene (not the sex, the conversation) but then it just disappears. idk i feel like the director and writers did penelope and colin (especially colin, who has no personality) so dirty.
Because Kate and Anthony had a different showrunner who wrote their season. And even though he changed a lot of the book story, he still kept the integrity of the characters. The characterization for every single character in season three was horrendous. Colin was by far the worse. But there was no good characterization. Francesca character got the least amount of damage.
Idk if its anxiety lol but I had a gut feeling s3 was gna be a total flop n my sentiment basically immortalised when It took me 4 or 5 sittings to watch ep 1 haha
but they had the same director, maybe being friends got in the way regardless of the stories they were so eager to share on their press tours, they were over compensating which built expectations because we believed what they sold :)
@ShaddaiSpencer they di ld a throw away line from that scene in the book in the church. It wouldn't or couldn't have worked there bc 1. It was so unnoticeable. They just randomly decided to dance in the middle of the hallway and she says "were you ever beaten as a child." 2. She would no longer be curious about this yk....cause there getting married. Also this scene was supposed to establish how privileged she thought he was versus how lost he was actually feeling. And they grow together bc of that. U can't just throw it in the first sentence of an important scene, cut away and then say it was a book reference as if it had no meaning or substance. They did the same with the glass cutting scene where pen reads his book. I wanted praise kink Colin so bad who had sm respect for his best friend he knew that he compliments and words meant something and sigh. I'm just very disappointed
I sometimes wonder how beautiful it would have been if in the last scene they show us flashback of the exact moment where small Penelope fell in love with small Colin . The full circle moment we needed!
@@joanna0988I didn't feel like Simon and Daphne had a lot of chemistry and there were a lot of unnecessary sx scenes that looked very technical and boring. It was a predictable "good girl meets a bad boy and she fixes him" story. And I hated Anthony and Benedict's characters in the first season. It was all around very basic, pretentious and forgettable for me.
I am thoroughly disappointed in part 1. More attention to Colin's unnecessary threesomes than building a lover's connection between Colin and Penelope. It should have been easy considering their genuine friendship. Instead it was non-existent. The second half has much better storytelling.
We are to believe NO ONE had a problem with Pen being LW, not even the Queen who threaten Eloise in S2. They went out of their way to trash Francesca & John. Francesca looked so homely and Pen looked so much artificially better it looked inconsistent. Wrong Early 19th regency culture- premarital sex!, no chaperone for a single woman (still remember Kate's chaperone during Season 2 hunt scene) and Colin didn't even ask for Pen's mother's permission to marry!?! Even if Lady Featherington is a bad person she deserved respect.
And did I miss where John asked for permission to propose to Francesca? Also, I've read elsewhere that she is now a Countess. Daphne has been referred to as a Duchess and Kate a Vicountess...seems like an oversight. Speaking of Daphne...did I miss a throwaway line about her? Did someone mention her and I missed it?
@@ceriseanne1 I believe it was acceptable to ask or announce as a couple, because of John's "shyness". Colin announcing to the Bridgerton's first is Not the right behavior during the regency era. Hate to trash S3, but didn't John have a mother or family members in the Ton. Violet knew a little bit about them. John mentioned his mother did not prefer to host an event. Where were the Kilmartin family at the wedding? S3 seemed to have been rewritten several times that's why it appeared to be chopped up storylines.
I agree that Colin should have asked Lady Featherington's permission to marry Pen. I didn't actually think Pen would let her mum find out through Whistledown! They could have literally walked across the street and announced the engagement to Pen's family.
He just whisked her off without a chaperone after telling her mother off, to some love nest and put a baby in her. Lord Debling at least came to ask her mother for permission to propose.
This reminds me of Debling again with that scene where he implicitly asked Penn's hand for marriage in a subtle way by asking her how she would write it, if it were a book. "Then he needs to ask her mother", it was so beautiful. But ofc he got cast aside after his job is done by the series
Its funny because Lady whistledown wasnt some journalist out for truth, writing harmless stuff, she actively ruined people's lives. Portia finding out Penelope wrote shit about her family when she was actively trying to save them was actually sad, but that confrontation should've been so much more powerful than it was. The ton should absolutely hate Penelope for how many lives she's ruined at this point, but they get distracted by butterflies after such a huge revelation. Also Colin's actor was either directed poorly or hes just not a good actor because the interviews with Nicola and Luke are so much better.
This! Penelope should be a walking target with the way she pretty much destroyed a lot of people's lives and reputations. To say that her writing was harmless during a time where reputation was everything to a member of the gentry is silly. Bridgerton seems to have forgotten the timeline they're in and what values people held back then, which is why a lot of people felt attracted to it in the first place. There are stuff that imo (in terms of accuracy) can be ignored, but the magic of regency is the intricacies of their dynamics, how something we nowadays see as normal could have doomed them back then, and how they navigate such world while also trying to be happy.
You just made me think of something: It would've been more believable for people to be angry with Pen. However, they also could've somehow shown all of the people LW helped; like when she saved Daphne from marrying Lord Berbrooke by revealing his true nature & his treatment of the maid he impregnated. Or how she put that lord on blast about how he was treating his new wife; or that she temporarily ruined Eloise so she could save her & her family from the Queen. That would've been great to show!
@@earlonaweary9155 that wouldn't matter to the ton though. To the viewers? Yeah, but that's because we care about the Bridgertons. What I get from your suggestion though is that it would have been great if we were shown how she did more good than just those few actions (like defend those in a vulnerable position). However, that wouldn't have made her less of a target, but it could have ensued a "civil war" of sorts inside the ton, dividing them by those who want to protect her and those who want to harm her.
You forgot to talk about Penelope’s sisters suddenly going from being jealous of her then in the end liking her. It was done so poorly. It was done subtly with weird glances but it was sudden and not properly explained !
Yes! I actually thought Prudence was going to figure out that Penelope was LW and out her from a place of jealousy. There was a scene where she was looking at her mom and Penelope with an annoyed and slightly conniving look. She's the smarter of the two other sisters and I just figured she would accidentally stumble on it since she is in the same house. I was disappointed when they just went all happy family without much of a fight.
I was honestly mad Pen paid for their ball. Prudence said she looked like a beautiful bride or whatever the line was and honestly? It came across as sarcastic to me but I guess it was meant to be sincere? And that’s literally it. One nice comment on HER WEDDING DAY. Wooooow what progress. NOT. Like come on. She has what 18, 19 years of torture from them and after a few months of not being evil (although they had moments of being terrible during this season??) and a single nice comment was enough for her to give a MASSIVE sum to them?? I’m sorry. No!! It’s okay for her to hate her sisters. Trust me. It’s okay. Plenty of people hate their siblings or parents for very valid reasons. Or even just being ambivalent towards them. That’s fine too! Idk I just hated it
Can’t agree more!!! And all of the costumes were pulling unnecessary attention and honestly ridiculous About the interviews being “YOU MUST NOT WATCH IT WITH YOUR MOM” and then there is a tiny portion of advertised spice. This is just a parody of first 2 seasons which is honestly so sad
After watching some seasons of Game of Thrones with my mother I kept waiting to see what in the world of Bridgerton was so spicey that I couldn't watch with my mother. I discovered nothing which makes me believe those scenes were cut drastically.
After watching it with my Mom I can confidently say there was not a single moment where I was uncomfortable in any way... aside from those times when we were both baffled by the writing choices😆 Well, at least this script's numerous shortcomings provide plenty of material for fruitful discussions. After all, like the members of the ton, we do enjoy tea.☕
I dislike how they girl-bossified both pen being LW and her mother stealing from the rest of the ton…LW is not a girl boss empire or a voice for the voiceless. It was gossip, which isn’t necessarily the worst thing in the world but it does make Pen an active contributor towards the downfall of many people’s lives. (Though I don’t understand why one of the reasons Colin is mad at Pen is because she ‘ruined’ marina…like boy. She literally tried to trap you?) so basically Pen isn’t a girl boss but a mean girl with a superiority complex. And she brushes off her mom having stolen from the bridgertons, Pen’s new family. And mom justifying stealing because they “needed it” and the others didn’t. As if keeping up with the joneses to stay rich like the rest of high society is a good thing. Na. You’re not Robin Hood. You’re just a rich woman stealing from other rich people to stay up with the trends and not have to rewear dresses…neither are the underdog story the writers think they have.
It has now become clear that Chris Van Dusen is a GENIUS showrunner - he was a true artistic talent that should have NEVER been allowed to walk away. I heard Netflix wasn't offering him enough money to stay on, so he walked, and took his brilliant team with him! Well - Shonda and Netflix went with the discount, low budget showrunner Jess Brownell and an inexperienced production team - and THIS IS THE RESULT. Sometimes you have to pay for quality Netflix should have paid whatever Chris Van Dusen was asking. Whatever that man wanted, he was worth every penny. Sure, they saved money hiring Brownell - but the RESULT speaks for itself. I'm reposting my (crazy long, slightly edited) comment from the other video below - but first I want to say - I was a #1 Bridgerton fan - loved all the past seasons, told everyone I knew to watch. So I say this as a stan, not a hater: For Season 3 Part 2 - The costumes, the makeup - terrible. I actually felt sick to my stomach watching. Lady Arnold was dressed as a character from the 1950s or 1960s - THEY DESTROYED KATE - Kate was dressed so perfectly season 2, every gown was perfection -what happened?
Cressida looked beyond shocking - Eloise looked strange too. This costume designer should be fired and NEVER work again, on any production, in any capacity - should be banned from Hollywood . I'm not a period drama expert, but I feel I could have done a better job dressing the actors. Compare the costumes sense and sensibility (Ang lee) or pride and prejudice to this - yes Bridgeton is whimsical fantasy but this season the COSTUMES went WAY OFF THE RAILS. The previous 2 seasons, especially queen charlotte, were beautiful, elegant and struck the right balance between fantasy and authenticity.
Season 3 costumes felt like . . I was watching a children's show? A really trashy one.
Like, I literally couldn't focus on the scenes - I had to cover my eyes, they were so bad. The hair was all wrong, the makeup was terrible - why eye shadow? Why so much blush on everyone? - esp on Francesca - a beautiful woman who doesn't need to be painted up like a prostitute? Why acyclic nails? Again, some liberties are fine - but this was too, too, much. I actually couldn't enjoy the actor's work, the way they were dressed was so distracting and anachronistic. HORRIBLE cinematography - strange camera angles - some of the scenes were lit so poorly - what more can I say? Set design poor this 2nd half - the Fetherington sister ball in particular looked strange. The dancing scenes looked . . . odd? They were great in all the other seasons, not sure what happened here. Why are they changing all these things that worked in previous seasons? The things everyone loved? I can't believe that in the end, there was NO point to the Mondrich plot line - they're nice people, but they could have been completely 100% cut out, and that times used for Polin. Far too much Cressida plotline - esp in her terrible costumes. Sex scene was awkward and strange. Strange writing - awkward plotting and so many things that didn't make sense - why were the mondrich couple at Francesca’s small family wedding? But not her own sister - Daphne? Again - why were the Mondrichs in this season at all? Since the previous actors have left the show, they should have cut the Francesca wedding scene, or made her elope. We didn't need to see it. No romance or chemistry between Colin and Pen - but I thought this was a romance series? Much more chemistry with the wonderful Lord Debling It's starting to look like a soap opera in stead of a regency romance - with weird sci-fi/Hunger games inspired costumes. They should have kept three sidelots - benedict throuple, the funny fetherington pregnancy thing, and introduce Francesca, who is a great neurodivergent character - and REMOVED everything else. Ideally, you should be able to watch each season as a STAND ALONE - just like the books. You shouldn't have to go back and watch old seasons to enjoy the main couple. Maybe 2-3 side plots, not 12 different side plots! Every thing I loved about QC and season 2 - a season devoted to a main couple with intense chemistry - has been utterly destroyed. Who was the main couple of the season? Francesca and John? I'm not quite sure.
This season was a huge misfire, a disaster of epic proportions, not just 'the worst season' like people are saying. I like Shonda, like all the actors, like the inclusion and diversity, LOVED the past seasons - but we need to be honest about the disaster that is Season 3.
@@mahekk1556 I thought Kate looked objectively great, the makeup and clothes suited the actress really well. BUT it did absolutely nothing for the setting and storyline! In fact every time I saw anybody's costumes, I felt like I time traveled to another time period.
I agree so much. There was so much sparkly shit on dresses and makeup caked on eyelids. It was so distracting, no harmony with backgrounds, I felt allergic after a few episodes. Cressida was a monstrosity of course, but even Violet's costumes were giving me whiplash. Season 1and 2 were masterfully done, Daphne's makeup was limited but so so effective. Think I'm gonna have to go back and watch a Jane Austen movie from the 2000s to recuperate.
I think they really changed Kate's wardrobe to camouflage her within the family, during the S3 trailer, I did not recognise Kate was there in first glance.
The lack of Polin screen time due to 50 different subplots running at the same time makes this season the messiest in my opinion. They’ve used quite a bit of their source material this season but again, it all got overshadowed with so many unnecessary subplots. As a book reader, I was so confused when they were trying to give Cressida a redemption arc because she’s just a bully. She does try to claim the reward money and then blackmail Penelope in the book as well. So I’m confused by the setup of her character when this is exactly what she was supposed to do. However, the forced marriage plot in the show does explain her actions and adds some dimension to her. Michael is also a huge favourite among book readers so this switch will most certainly change her entire storyline and get rid of some really beautiful and powerful parts.
From my perspective Lady Featherington is simply a realist and any mama of that era would think the same if they were put through the same conditions their family was put through also given that penelope was a wallflower and often disappears from the event it is no wonder she thinks that penelope would never have a husband.
Yea, I never found her to be cruel. It's clear she was operating out of survival, a 'by any means necessary' kind of woman. That doesn't make for a good mother, but she does ultimately care for her and her kids.
Small nitpick, but it makes no sense that Colin was called ‘the most eligible bachelor’ of the ton and that he was so desired by all the women. He’s a third son, therefore doesn’t have a title or his own money, at this point he’s also unemployed, and he’s known for frequenting brothels. There’s nothing technically desirable about him apart from his looks. But his vacant stare isn’t gonna pay the bills. Debling and Kilmartin are whole Earls, they should’ve been more desired by the women of the ton
They should've shown flashbacks of Colin and Penelope meeting as children while Penelope was walking down the Isle and Colin reminiscing on that moment. Shows that despite her being LW, she was sweet friend and now soon to be wife. Also I feel like they spent too much time on angry Colin. If they were going to do that we could have seen angry Colin but still having a longing for Penelope. They almost did that in the street scene at night but it should have been expounded upon further. Needed more passion.
like they just and said and didn't show anything, like how are we supposed to believe they were close friends because in the previous seasons it just seems like pen is just eloise's best friend to him, not his friend like there's a difference between my friend and my sister's friend who i know-
The dialogue as well is so lacking. It has absolutely no regency dialogue and is pretty much modern dialogue with posh english accents. In the first two seasons there at least was an effort to use regency slang and to delve a bit into the intricate and disctinctive style of regency dialogue, but they just completely dropped the ball this time and not only is it frustrating, but also incredibly distracting.
They should have put the Modrich's in Ben season- Left Micheal as a male- gave more screentime to Polin- kept the showrunner from the other seasons- let Cressida have her redemption arc or just never give her one at all (it reminds me of Chole from Miraculous Ladybug)
I hated what they did to Francesca. She had the best storyline in the season, we got the first representation of a quiet and comfortable love, all to be thrown away in the last episode. In the books, Francesca and John are described to be the perfect couple and after he dies, she spends like 6 years mourning. She was so in love with John and only years after his passing she gets involved with Michael. Another thing is why change to a woman? Am I the only one bothered that we won't get the character from the books? I don't mind storyline like Benedict's, but changing the source material to this degree is so annoying. Make a new story instead of changing the original one man
The "we miss working and not being rich, money makes us lose who we are :(((((((" arc is so silly and tasteless rn in this economy. I was just thinking shuuuuuut up.
Am I the only one that's so angry that they're taking 2 years to release 8 episodes? like, you took 2 years to give me season 3, which was not a great one, and now you want me to wait 2 more?!!!!
The worst thing about this season was that it actively feels like it's being done for the sake of the viewers, like, like a sitcom! Not like how the other seasons and Queen Charlotte feel like we're just getting glimpses into their life They just have such an immersive atmosphere This season's Bridgerton's quality was just... bad
my biggest pet peeves with this season: 1- I'm no film major but the tilted camera angles made the "we're engaged!" scene and benedict accepting the 3some proposal scene look like we were supposed to be scared for them 2- why the hell did they put pen in RED LIPSTICK in the final episode. sir this is 1815 3- season 1 sets up that penelope is as clueless about s3x as daphne. then now in season 3 colin non-verbally asks to f1nger her and she nods as if she KNOWS what that is 4- colin's gaping mouth (no shade to luke n he seems like a great guy and talented actor and this is also the editing's fault) 5- cressida becoming friends with eloise off screen 6- no polin childhood friendship flashback 7- have yall noticed nothing happens in episode 6? 8- cressida claiming to be whistledown so she doesn't have to marry a crook when season 2 has established a young woman has power to call off an engagement without it damaging her reputation if there's no scandal 9 - colin rushed into a marriage with a featherington and almost got screwed over. he then rushes into marriage with a featherington 2 years later and no one mentions it -- I was CONVINCED Anthony would say something I could go further but I'll stop at the "petty" mistakes so i don't just stay here forever
You are so right. This season could have been so much better if they only treated it like the first and second season -the protagonists are clear protagonists, no useless side plots (sorry but it was exasperating to watch the Mondrichs). Penelope is the best character and she is freaking Lady Whistledown…did they really have to fumble her season of all seasons?? And yes, the dresses are ugly this season. Prudence’s green dress for her and Philippa’s ball is hideous. It just looks incoherent, like it’s a masquerade party and everyone just brings whatever they want instead of everyone dressing in the style of the time.
Jessica Brownell said "get this sensual tension and plot pacing out of here." 1) I hoped Colin would help Pen with LW and they'd bond, since they both like to write. 2) didn't LW ruin lives?? Nobody tried to fight Pen?? 3) Colin confuses me. He wants to be a man. He tried traveling, raking, and marriage. I don't feel like he learned masculinity in the end 4) Eloise was a bore 5) I thought we had a nice autistic love story but NOPE! Just gay 6) With Benedict, I thought Tilley would show him that he wants a regular relationship, but Idk
Please read the books before you review the series! They are short and easy to consume via audiobooks but it will change some of your perspective on future arc. In saying that I agree with most of your review. I like the first part of the season more, the second part was very rushed and all over the place! I sooooo wanted a sexy man to play Michael (he was meant to be the most handsome of them all) he also inherits the title and is a rake so I just can’t see how a girl can inherit a title and be known as a “rake” respectively in that era.
This story arc required more than 8 episodes in order to be done right. They should’ve made an exception and lengthened the season due to not only their romance being in the plot but also Lady Whistledown
In the book, Colin knows that Penelope is lady whistledown BEFORE all the sex scenes and just before the carriage scene. It makes them feel more meaningful since there isn’t a weight of this secret putting a barrier between their relationship. Letting Colin in on the secret invites him into Penelope’s world in such a way that makes those sex scenes feel more intimate.
If all it takes is a visit to few printing houses across the town to discover who lady whistledown is, how come she manages to elude the queen for so long? 😅
my biggest problem with this season is that colin is so upset with pen. and then at the last few minutes of the final episode he forgives her because she gave a speech and he read her letters.
The problem with Benedict's scenes is the tone. Like we were just seeing some emotional stuff happening with the other characters and then it would cut to Benedict having sex. It's just weird!!! I get that Bridgerton has a horny reputation to uphold but they didn't hit the mark with HOW they portrayed the sex in this season. It was totally off.
They should have had Pen/Colin scenes in season 1 and 2 that were like the Eloise/Benedict scenes. Just quiet moments of them confiding in each other. That would have gone a long way for me really believing that they were best friends for years.
Reading the book made me go crazy cause they have so much chemistry you can tell how much he ends up wanting her and he’s so surprised but really happy about his feelings and her love for him gave me butterflies
That scene where Violet and Lady Danbury were having their heart to heart- Was anyone else extremely distracted by the shite angles? Yes I understand that a shot over the shoulder is *supposed* to establish closeness between those on stage. *When it's done Cleanly.* All this did was make me shift in my seat like I would be actually able to peer around someone who was in the middle of my screen. So messy. He probably covers this, but I got in 1:44 of the video and the terrible camera shots were mentioned and I hate to RANT.
When they started showing Cressida's storyline and why she acted the way she did I was expecting a redemption arc for her but they just wasted her potential what was the point of humanizing Cressida if they are not going to develop her
Thank you! I so agree: I finished this season and thought: this was not much better than some random soap opera which is super disappointing. I would so sign a petition asking Netflix to get a grip!
I think this hit some main points for sure. I think everything was just rushed. Their sex scene made me feel weird and cringey, whereas in previous seasons I was giggly and giddy. Also, all the support characters/ side plots I feel had more screen time than the main Polin plot. I'm so sad their story was told like this
I was severely disappointed by this. Pen is my favorite character and Romancing Mr Brigerton is my favorite book in the series not to mention how much of an icon Nicola is. And yet polin felt like side characters in their own story, i didnt feel the tension or love it was really disappointing. This a is a major fail on the writers. Also why did the mondrichs story just stop making sense before completely disappearing through this part, like if you are gonna add an unnecessary story line atleast finish it out. Im glad they made Benedict bisexual and that Francesca got her happy ending but still
Being a book reader and watching this season is absolute torture. It had its flaws but damn it had a personality which they watered down to promises of sexiness that didn't deliver, at least not in amount. Even the simple things: Penelope tripping and falling off the carriage, Colin being a foodie, Pen's friendship with Lady Danbury. Now for Ben's season, it can only get better for me bc I didn't like his book that much and all his plot points so far have bored me to death, but I'm an artist and I hope they bring that forth.
The dialogue in this season was really jarring to me. I’m not a stickler for historical accuracy- Bridgerton to me is more historical fantasy than anything and I’m totally okay with that. But I feel as if the first season established a certain sort of dialogue that was largely ignored in season 3. Every now and then someone would have a line that felt incredibly out of place. When Penelope said “you have no idea/you don’t know how much that meant to me” it sounded so, so off. Not her delivery- I adore Nicola- but that line felt like something out of a fanfiction. Everything about this season screamed lazy, lazy writing to me. From the increasingly modern dialogue to the way the writers pawned off the job of developing Colin’s character onto the viewer.
I agree with him totally this season was horrible. The sex scenes with pen and Colin were horrible. Colin hated wissledown then he didn't wth. Eloise was the only one that called pen out and it was real. I still can't head my head around Pen and Colin as being a match.
the other thing about this season is that you can't talk about the negatives without being jumped. people will accuse you of being either fatphobic, or racist or homophobic and that is truly not the case (for me at least). The issue is the editing and the shots. The pacing. The strange intercuts of Benedict's threesome- I'm all for the threesome but just make it one block instead of randomly adding it in the middle of other scenes. It really takes you out of the drama of Penelope/Whistledown. I liked Benedict with the guy he hooks up with. Dare i say he had a bit more chemistry with him than with Lady Tilly? lol. I could have done with more of that IF the pacing was better and not literally cutting into serious parts of the main plot. Could have bee used to cover up the lulls of Colin & Penelope.
yeah. that editing of Benedict treesome was so bad it was almost funny. ..... Like how long he had that treesome ? WHOLE TWO DAYS ? At least 24 hours according to editing.
The lighting and music absolutely drove me crazy this season. You're telling me they're outside at night away from any fire but their faces are perfectly lit? And it's not even just an issue in the technical sense but it's like they chose the most boring lighting options every single time. Where the dynamic shadows? Why are you so opposed to making your show look interesting? Thank god it got slightly better in part 2. And don't get me started on the music. VSQ did a great jobe with their covers but why are we listening to ABCDEFU during the middle of this intimate dance scene, or Pitbull during this intense sex scene? It was scored like a cartoon. I felt like I was going crazy the entire time and no one else was saying anything. Edit: I agree, Eloise is probably the best written character on the show and it helps that Claudia Jessie is one of the best actors on the show. Claudia Jessie and Nicola Coughlin are fighting for that top spot.
When you're really a Bridgerton stan, I recommend to you to read the books. They are quick and entertaining reads. Personally I think that Daphne's book (the first one) is the weakest of them, but the orhers are really good. Fast paced (as I said: quick reads), but really enjoyable.
A true fan can tear apart poor plotlines, bad writing, shallow characters, and dismal editing and still love the show. As someone who eagerly ripped apart what parts I hated in The Ones Who Live. I'm still a Walking Dead fan and of course Rick and Michonne are OTP. I highly respect you sir and feel your criticism is correct. Considering how much money Netflix makes we SHOULD have better. The color saturation really is waaay too high now. Tbh Season 3 kinda looks like A series of Unfortunate events or one of the Dr. Seuss films.
Copy-pasteing this one again because I don't have time to re-write and I was really disappointed: The worst mistake of season 3 is not the gender swap or polyamory or whatever... it's failing on the romance department. Luke and Nicola are such good professionals and so incredibly cute that they can pull it off, but the show did NOT show their romance properly (as the book did). 1st missing romance part: Colin has literary aspirations and Pen is a (/n anonymously) successful writer. They beautifully bond over that. 2nd missing romance part: Colin falls for Pen slowly, gradually. When Pen asks him to kiss her, he was thinking about kissing her first. So it's more a double sided slow burn romance. 3rd missing romance part: Colin asks Penelope to marry him AFTER knowing she's Lady Whistledown. This is, to me SUPER important. It is even wrong (in my eyes) for her to even accept his proposal without him knowing that HUGE part of her. 4rth missing romance part: Colin heroically defends Penelope from the fallout of being Whistledown, in a scene of rare perfection. That scene is not only funny "I'm a recently married man and you'll have to put up with my nonsense" (quoting from memory, so wrong), but is one of the rare scenes in which EPICNESS is achieved by mere words. I was reading it and thinking "Penelope must be BURNING with desire after what Colin has just done". 5th: Dishonorable mention: SISMANCE lost. Penelope's conversations with Lady Danbury got lost. BAAAD, BAD SHOWRUNNER!
Shockingly the only aspects I felt were changed for the better were the Featherington sisters (with husbands) and Cressida. Cressida actually sparkled in S3 with what she added to the plot and the dynamic it brought for Eloise’s character (though I’m disappointed Eloise did not care to help her). But honestly everything else was a let down and it felt like the new show runner forgot it was meant to be a romance. I loved Francesca’s relationship with John until her marriage and had been pleasantly surprised how it was set up to show different types of love that are just as valid more like Sense and Sensibility - to just throw it all away. Anthony and Kate also seemed too changed to the S2 pall mall ending where they were still competitive and battle of wits. You can be happy but still have some of your own personality in the relationship and the best they came to showing it was with the game in episode 5. Colin was the worst part of his own season and it spent more time showing a toxic relationship and anger than the romance with both Colin and Pen coming across more unlikeable. Colin was funny and naturally charming in S1 and S2 and it is like the writers didn’t understand his character that they just wanted to change him. They forgot everything that actually made him endearing to viewers and charming. They missed the opportunity to use his writing to gain a sense into the character, spent part 1 not interacting with Pen in a way that showcased their friendship or why they were well suited and then part 2 in anger. Colin lacked ownership of his own behaviour like reflecting why he mocked Pen in S2 ending or why he wasn’t communicating with Pen on their argument. Most online have anger to his entrapment accusation or treating Pen with less respect than Marina. Plus I don’t feel like Colin’s anger to that extent was truly earned as the only time LW truly hurt the Bridgerton’s was Eloise - certainly not to set up Colin as LW’s enemy. He never even brought up how Pen depicted herself in LW which if you love someone wouldn’t you care about their self worth? The characterisation suffered greatly from the choice to cut out their scenes in part 2 and not have Colin support Pen with the reveal. I will be giving S4 a miss especially with the cinematography, costumes, makeup and storyline quality dropping.
Benedict's 1000 sex scenes over the ONE sex scene of Polin who were supposed to be the MAIN Couple were extremely unnecessary and took too much time away from Polin. I get liking sex scenes but for the purpose of the story, all they did was waste time!
I thought I was the only one who noticed the hair styles not being consistent and what not. It made me so irritated lol Colin’s hair went from a quiff to combed over in the same scene!!! Uggg😩😩
it was definitely upsetting to see that all the buildup they had for Francesca's and John romance being something different and more quiet was quickly tossed out. The writers were like SIKE!! that's not REAL love. love needs to have you bumbling like an idiot, not feel peaceful. it was such a beautiful sweet romance with the message at the end being that's not real romance.
that's fking crazy....i act JUST caught on to the michaela thing omg 😭 it was so unconvincing i thought they were setting up a jealousy/managing plotline with michaela.
Worst season, and I blame it on the new showrunner. Lack of consistency. No sense of proportion. Terrible pacing. Awkward scenes and dialogues. As if the conductor (showrunner) couldn't keep all the elements together and instead of a beautiful, romantic symphony we heard only a cacophony. The most romantic season as they promoted? Certainly not. Hardly any romance between the supposed main love interests, just drama and angst. I couldn't believe their love story. Colin didn't have any charisma, Penelope was overshadowed by the plot about the identity of Lady Whistledown. I enjoyed some parts and storylines, but in the end it was a disappointment after all the hype. I'm not convinced that with this showrunner the next season will be better.
I believe they'll cancel after the 4th series, unless they change their minds about even filming it. There will be many who won't bother watching because of the current changes.
They also promoted that there is bodypositivity in the show. But in my opinion it wasn't enough. Penelope was gorgeous, but Colin didn't really cherish her body. There wasn't enough intimacy between the two and for me their sex scene was awkward. Colin didn't help her enough to overcome her insecurities.
@@udesivalihegexactly! Imagine the same scene with an actor like and directed same as Jonathan Bailey. Worlds apart! It’s like they were afraid to have Collin touch her (in a way that could be seen), instead of just the explicitly penetrative stuff. He went on about how much he had dreamed about her breasts, for example. But then? It didn’t feel as genuine, but mainly from his part. I think Nicola Coughlin did the best she could, and Luke could’ve used more direction and choreographing if that was needed.
@@marabanara I agree, they could have shown Colin playing with her breasts (the scene shouldn't have been very explicit, there are many ways, plans, angles, editing etc. not to show everything), touching and kissing her everywhere, whispering in her ears how he loves every part of her body etc. I missed the sensuality of their scene. They couldn't show that even a plus size woman can be the object of all desires.
When you realize it took Arcane League of Legends to establish Ekkos and Jinx childhood friendship in 2 minutes and even after a whole season we still don't believe Polin were even friends as children
Yeah, it's clearly possible to establish traits of a character/a relationship within a short amount of time. the previous season they had changed Anthony's character from S1 but they did that with an effective montage so you weren't confused throughout S2 why he was the way he was. they could've done that with Polin or start each EP with a flashback to their friendship, even if it was just 1 min
Benedict scenes were so boring I actually skipped them. His love interests have no depth and his story arc is entirely a pointless pursuit. Worse than the Modrichs storyline.
We could have had a funny side plot where we see Benedict trying to run the Bridgerton household while Anthony was away. He was so lost when S2 ended and this season was an opportunity to show some growth and maturity for his character and weave him into the story in preparation for his season but they chose to give us an irrelevant trio instead. Disappointing.
Yes, Benedict the entirety of S3 was just sadly very boring. And I was intrigued by his artist storyline earlier because there was clearly some tension there between them (even though Benedict denies it in S3?) and then he got swept up in the wild parties and all the art and it felt very believable. It felt like Benedict was able to be himself and feel freedom to pursue who he is outside the family network in a variety of ways, including a hobby/potential future job that wasn’t very male Bridgerton, romance and passions that weren’t traditionally male Bridgerton, etc. This S3 trio felt so contrived and plotless in comparison.
I also just skipped through most of his scenes. The man and woman were both so unappealing. They seemed like sketchy cartoon villains. (Loved his scenes with the family, though. He’s a great character.)
it’s interesting that previous seasons of Bridgerton were focused, well, on a Bridgerton sibling. this season felt like Penelope and her adventures while Colin was an annoying subplot
You wouldn't even know Colin was THE bridgerton focus of the season if you watched just this season. Why were we seeing Cressida so much? She wasn't even a love interest like Edwina was
to be fair, Colin's book was Penelope's book. As in, the book itself centered around her. He is boring as hell in the books too. But maybe just a tad better than the show version, idk. His character is insufferable in the book because he's always moping about his writing. Book version of Colin IS jealous of Pen's writing. But show Colin never had the writer's arc so his epiphany/ confession/ declaration came out of left field entirely
They shouldn't have made him a rake. They should have focused on his journal writing and his self-doubt over that. Then tie that much earlier and much more deeper to Pen and Whistledown. That was a good connection that didn't get explored well. Also, why weren't there any childhood flashbacks for them? For the romance between childhood friends!
Yep they should not have made him into a rake. They should have bonded over writing and books instead of him helping her find a husband. He could’ve also had some conflict within his family where he also struggles to be taken seriously and he and pen can bond over that.
@@celiner7400 Exactly. Maybe Colin finds out that Penelope knows a lot of gossip and can't understand why. Put her discovering his journals much earlier and have her convince him to open up about them gradually. There's just so much that they could have done.
@@TacticusPrime Yep and about Colin's sexcapades, why does he have to be a rake in order to have a sex life? He could've just mentioned that he gained experience from Paris and that's it. No need for brothel scenes. He can also manage to get a copy of kama sutra from his travels. I mean he was able to score some drugs from Greece in season 2. A little more imagination from the writers would've been nice.
So maybe an unpopular opinion but idk that lady whisledown needed to be revealed to everyone this season. Colin needed to find out but I think they could’ve done a twist where pen told the queen and she made a deal to protect her since she is present for more of the books. All in all I felt like things seemed very rushed this season and too much crammed into 8 eps.
Right like I was on the fence of revealing her at the end of S1 - thinking they could ride the mystery for a few seas- op, well everyone knows 2 seasons later 💀 It makes me think there aren't going to be many seasons left tbh... Especially if they're going through 2 siblings per season now
I agree, I haven’t read the books and was kinda hoping that is what would happen bc I thought revealing Whistledown’s identity to the Ton was too quick and premature. It would have been nice if Whistledown’s identity was a little secret only a few select people knew. It was nice they could use her money to save the Featheringtons from fraud at the end though, that’s the only saving grace.
She’s actually only present for another book which is benedict’s. If they keep her around and reveal her later they can keep julie andrews but have time to expand the resolution for how the ton will perceive LW without this messy writing 😭😭
Totally agree - there's no central tension to the story anymore without that secret. The idea that the Queen doesn't care is absurd. Queen Charlotte and Lady Danbury are so watered down this year, really disappointing! I doubt anyone will care by the time season 4 comes out since this season was so bad. Unless they change the showrunner, I'm out.
I think the point of this season was (supposed to be) penelope owning to who she is. in the books colin is the one who proudly announces she's LW and that's a full circle moment for him because he was jealous of her. i like that they have her the power in this, but i agree with you -- what will this show be without LW in the next seasons?
I was really confused when watching interviews of Nicola and Luke... their chemistry off screen was so beautiful and comfortable, it was very perplexing to see that not translate AT ALL in the show. I didn't believe thier love for eachother, it almost felt like Colin didn't actually love pen and that was something he was hiding/uncomfortable with the entire series. There was almost no pining. Pen should have slapped him in the face.
A slap could've only helped the chemistry progress! I hate to say this, but I would've taken a slightly more angry, unhinged, or even toxic Colin just to see that he cared more, rather than this stiff and sedate Colin. Which is a sad thought cause Penelope deserves a non toxic guy! Then again, I didn't even find Penelope likeable with her confused Marina 2.0 actions
She definitely should've yelled at him at least. I was really annoyed at how they wrote him to not even let her speak or defend herself. That's not how you treat a person you love.
Don't you just love it when the female lead is acting her heart out during romantic scenes only to have all those emotions ricochet off the empty-headed love interest. It's like she was romancing a piece of cardboard.
FINALLY SOMEONE SAID IT !! Luke N is not a bad looking guy and miss nicola was really doing all the heavy lifting. He also received no help from the writing or the costuming sadly
I really wanted this to be a great season but this was honestly a waste of time- Frans ending is confusing and came out of nowhere with her stuttering over Micheala as if she didn't just get married to Jon like 2 days before. Ant and Kate kept disappearing. Mama Bridgerton's garden is in bloom so I h0pe Marcus waters it. Polin was a disappointment. I skipped past every Benedict scene expect for the ones with the siblings. Lady D and the Queen are always interesting to watch. ATP I won't be watching anything else from Bridgerton
Totally agree!! As a side plot, Francesca and John's love story was so interesting and beautiful. They did John and the viewers dirty 😤 don't even get me started on the fact that we didn't understand why colin went from friendzone to lust?! There was no build up, no longing! 😭 I think this season, Lady Featherington stole the show. Penelope sister's were fun too and Hyacinth, what a cutie!
It may not have been an explicit representation of a Neurodivergent relationship, but it was nice to see a love Story (Fran and John), that was calm, peaceful and gentle.
same here, I skipped every Benedict and Mondrich. I hope Fran's story gets salvaged, in the books, she did love John and only fell for his cousin after he died. Bridgerton's portrayal is a travesty. I wonder how Julia Quinn feels about how Polin's plot was trashed. Will John's mother thank Michaela for letting him love Fran first?
@@ambberhill1090 I also hope Frans story gets salvaged I hope they say Micheala has a twin Brother named Micheal anything but what we were given. I feel so bad for authors whenever they books don't get properly adapted/changed it feels like a slap in the face.
Me too...I skipped all the Benedict scenes. They weren't worth a watch. And they did a very poor job with Colin and Pen. It was a very disappointing season and if this is the future of the show, they just lost me. don't want to see another season like this. It wasn't worth the wait. We so wanted to see a lovely story of Colin and Pen's relationship and something clever where Whistledown was concerned because Whistledown is clever. It just didn't measure up. And even Pen's relationship with Eloise ...their reconciliation was rushed and poorly constructed. Bridgerton's may have needed a longer season. And whatever they do, I hope they don't bring our beloved Benedict back like this ...yuck!
Couldn’t agree more. It was like they purposely filmed Nicola Coughlan from the most unflattering angles. The woman is very pretty but her glow-up scene was laughable like the shot of her putting her shoe on. All that did was highlight how short she is.
The first part was so slow that it was crazy to me just how much the writers managed to cram into the second part. Just with Penelope and Colin, we got the engagement, their first time, Colin finding out, the fallout, the wedding, Cressida's blackmail, the reconciliation, the reveal to the ton and their happy ending. All of that is already a lot for 4 episodes but then add on all of the side plots? It's just too much and not enough substance.
Finally, someone said it. And we didn't notice it before because it looks like he worked out for the main role and it accentuated his expressions. Also, no offense to Luke N, but Luke T and Johnny B have better body language and facial expressions, because they have been in theatre for a long time, and I think that makes Luke N's "flaws" if you will, stand out more.
@@RealTalkWithSSG. He was doing it in previous seasons as well (yes, I went back to see it, because it bothered me too), but we don't actually see/goes unnoticed because many of the times he is the background and you're most likely to be looking at the person who is in front of him or the editing cuts short, so you're left thinking he is about to close it and you just didn't see it, or it's "hidden" by the camera angles. I think some of the best episodes that help with this are: s1x4 when he is talking to Pen about the baby (he open his mouth, but the camera is shooting from the side and you're most likely to pay attention to her in here) and 2x3 at pall mall, when he tells Kate and Anthony to fetch for their balls (the editing helps hide). It's an acting choice of his for the most over the top scenes (the ones he knows are important for plot), but in s3 mostly all his scenes are important for plot and you can't really edit out your male lead, so it becomes more visible, more obvious and he does it more often as well.
Another thing that bugs me about this season is that we barely see Penelope and Colin's romance flourish, compared to Daphne and Simon and Anthony and Kate in the previous seasons. They were side characters in their own story. All the time wasted on the Mondrichs could have been used to build up Pen and Colin more. Literally, the writers could have cut the Mondrich family and no one would have even noticed because they were that irrelevant to the plot and did nothing to advance the story.
THIS - remove the mondrichs! Or if you must include them, a scene or two. More ROMANCE please - that is what we are tuning in for. It didn't feel like a romance, it felt like a soap opera
I can only think the showrunners did not believe Penelope and Colin interesting or believable enough as a couple that they felt they needed to butcher the season by adding such irrelevant and boring characters and story lines.
@@sandyrodz6699 I agree! and honestly whose fault is that? nicola and luke n are very talented. i may be overreaching but sometimes I feel fatphobia is a little factor in this. and also maybe some part of the fanbase hating penelope for being LW
She should take a page out of Ryan Condal's book on how to do faithful adaptations because season three wasn't it. Shows tend to go down hill when showrunners believe they can make it better and 99% of the time they make it worst.
I just can’t forgive them for Michaela. I was waiting for so long for our fan-fav Michael. I know that a show is never going to be completely book faithful, but I think that the core LIs should be kept. Gender swapping is a huge change, it was obviously a self-insert from our “amazing” showrunner. ✌️ I’m going to drop Bridgerton honestly, because in most aspects, it lacked SOOO much! Bridgerton S1 was beautiful, but this season felt like a random show, not a Netflix series worth millions of dollars. The money had to go to the costuming, because it’s just insane. It immersed me out of the show, pretty much only Eloise has decent styling. I still can’t believe they gave Hyacinth a dress that didn’t cover her torso/chest area, since those were reserved for women in season, it just didn’t make sense. There were obvious plot-holes and things that didn’t line up with past seasons. They just abandoned Cressida and kept the Mondrichs (They add nothing to the show atp). It’s so bad in quality, it’s insane. I’m just waiting for Benedict and Eloise’s season so they can butcher it. Sorry for the long comment, but I’m pretty over the hype of the show at this point. Let’s pray they change Jess. 🙏
@@sumysim3245 I got spoiled on twitter when I was just finished watching the first ep of the part 2, and when I discovered that Michael will never be, I didn't watch the others ep. I think I will watch the others seasons only for the story of Benedict and Eloise. I feel you, I am so disappointed.
I really hate it that Francesca and John didnt have their great love story. In the books she is grieving him and feels bad for falling for his brother. They hat a happy marriage but in the Show she just sees Michaela and falls for her.
I never read the books thanks for letting me know what was supposed to happen. Yea, I think her falling for his cousin (which honestly escaped me when I was watching) undermines everything they established about quiet love.
That and changing Michael’s gender. Fran’s story was heartbreaking, and it focused a lot on a woman who struggled with the possibility of infertility. She marries Michael because she wants children. Can’t do that with ‘Michaela’
@@Bree5threeit COMPLETELY went over my head! I thought Micheala was going to be rude or something. And during the wedding, I just thought Fran felt awkward kissing in front of her family! Not only is this subplot unnecessary, but badly done
During the press tours, Luke T often looked exhausted..almost breakdown level...Nicola did most of the talking (as usual😊 and Luke would say Yeah, yeah yeah. I hope he takes a holiday at home or abroad with His girlfriend.❤
All of the characters seemed out of place for a historical setting like the show has just completely given up any semblance of being the regency era and just want them to be modern. This goes for the costumes, hair, makeup and language used. Atleast S1 tried to a certain extent.
I said this elsewhere but I really dislike Penelope's character development. To me, it seems as though the show never gave her a genuine personality other than being involved with the Bridgeton's and being whistledown. I didn't get 'girl boss' energy from her. It more so came across as " I exposed everyone because it made me feel less like a wallflower." (Reminds me of bullying) She also said how being lady Whistledown was power, yet she used that power countless times to talk negatively about a family she "loves". When she was justifying her actions, I think she just came across as bratty. I also didn't feel the chemistry with Colin and Penelope. I also wasn't a fan of their acting this season. He had to put in no work to be with her. I couldn't see why they loved each other, other than one day they just decided to. I think this whole season was an absolute mess. However, I was let down by Penelope. I think they should have done a movie or spin off of "Unmasking Lady Whistledown" and then Colin and Penelope find each other after that.I think part of the reason for the strange angles might be because of the actors height difference. I noticed the strange angles the majority of the time when it was Colin and Penelope. Also, there was about 10 scenes of Penelope writing, we get it, she's Lady Whistledown.
Totally agree!! He didn’t do much to prove he deserved Penelope’s admiration or affection, he’s riding on her decades long infatuation to do most of the work for him. Would have been way more interesting if she rejected him and distanced herself from him a bit longer so he actually had to do something to prove himself and his feelings towards her to be genuine not desperate because he needs her validation of telling him how amazing he is.
Very true, I envisioned Penelope to be vicious as Lady Whistledown, but as herself, to be able to clearly explain why she did the things that she did (she does need the money, she likes the power, and made mistakes but will avoid mistakes of the past). Instead whenever confronted, she just says "I'm sorry, please forgive me" tearfully, and does the same things again. Add that with her agreeing to an engagement with no intention to come clean to Colin. Yes, Colin was unlikeable here, but Pen, when agreeing to marry him, didn't even think she had to tell him the truth until Eloise! She came across as bitter, selfish, and unlikeable, rather than the sweet and witty person from previous seasons.
Yep in the book she verbally put Cressida in her place using her gift with words which is what lead to Cressida to realize that she was LW. Instead they just showed that she and Eloise were both good at riddles?? I think that the bragging rights of a 10 yo falls short for Penelope coming into her own in the real world. Really the whole book was about her taking more agency in her life outside of LW and giving peaks into how she managed to girl boss through the logistics of LW. Which helps the reader see her in a different light while she is further coming into her own in her interactions with the Ton. I also dislike the fact that her glow up involves always hiding a part of her face. I’m glad that she didn’t have to lose weight to be seen but I wished that there was more time spent idealizing her in a delicate way like the other leading ladies got. And more time spent showing them enjoying themselves. They didn’t even get a post marriage bedroom scene which is weird.
I just don't understand why they had to cram all these storylines into only 8 episodes. The show is one of the most successful ones on Netflix, it doesn't make sense that they would sell it short like that. I also agree with previous posters that the weird af costuming didn't help.
Yes, this is what I have been saying! Like we could have, had a spinoff the time between Kanthony's and Polin's season where we could have shown Eloise and Cressida getting closer, the Mondrich family becoming members of the ton, etc
I loved Eloise’s outfits, especially her green jacket. Fran and the other Bridgertons were okay as well, But everyone else seemed to be inspired by the Featheringtons
I agree with practically everything you said!! 👍👍 I would say I was very very disappointed with the way they twisted Francesca’s arc, and I do not give a damn about Michael/a. Book spoilers ahead… Her arc is about overcoming her terrible grief and falling in love a second time. And in one swift stroke they made a joke about what was the very real love she and John shared. Say goodbye to the cute, original, lovely shy lover’s story I thought they were going for, they just cheapened it for the sake of shock effect. She was struck by a bolt and fell in love ON HER WEDDING WAY, and now she’s stuck in a marriage that won’t make any of them happy.
I didn't read the books, but really loved Hannah's portrayal of Francesca, I probably relate most to this character. What a serious letdown, the only thing I did like just evaporated with her mooning over Michaela. When drama is prioritized over solid characters
Here they went through this whole long arc trying to show Violet that love can come in different forms and look differently than just the lightening bolt infatuation, that in all honesty will fade and isn’t what is needed to make a real marriage work long term, only to come in at the last minute and say nope! Yeah Francesca didn’t know what she wanted and now she is stuck. Haha! I didn’t like it especially since they set up these two with so much care at the beginning of the season. Just let them have their time and then introduce Michaela later not on their wedding day!
They really shouldn’t have swapped out show-runners. I think Chris would have done a better job at this. It’s clear that everything has declined since Jess took the helm-quality, writing, costumes, character development, cinematography, and even music.
I hated, HATED, that they made Francesca a lesbian and not at least bisexual. Because we just saw that these writers are incompetent, and I know that they are going to treat poor John as an obstacle, try to justify Francesca cheating with Michaela and expectating the viewers to cheer (again! Because we were through this with Edwina before) I also hate that they throw the idea of a quiet love out of the window, and everything have to instant love/lust, with fireworks and shit. All they had to do was make Michaela the one star struck by an oblivious Francesca, make Fran have a very happy marriage with John, and then when he dies, she and Francesca get close. Bam! You have your Sapphic romance with great representation
The did such a good job with John only to sideline him at the last moment. The Francesca storyline was the only thing I found acceptable and somehow they ruined that too! Even debling, a far better love interest than bland Colin, was dropped off the bridgerton world once the writers couldn’t use him as a love interest anymore
It's such a shame bc Francesca ans John's relationship and chemistry feel the most natural to me. They're also relatable bc i got closer to my now bf thanks to sharing mutual interests in art
Seasons 1, 2 and Charlotte spinoff had so many beautiful scenes and iconic dialogues that live rent-free in my brain. It's a shame this season is forgettable overall. I can't even recall one dialogue that really stood out to me. Sorrows, sorrows, prayers. nothing has matched the scale of Charlotte saying she'll stand with George between heaven and earth or Anthony saying Kate is the bane of his existence and his honour is hanging by a thread. India is not far enough.
It also helps if you have good actors and, let's be honest, neither Luke nor Nicola are main character material, although I will concede that she is a bit better than him. Luke's delivery as Colin has always been flat and forced and, as for Penelope, this season it seemed she could only express two emotions: astonishment and over reaction.
i am actually a bit disapointed at the fact that francesca gave a whole speech how love doesnt need to be big and grand and how she likes the quiet and safe love she found… just for her to have the stutter-when-i-first-met-them moment with michaela at the end! why couldnt she just have a quiet love first? it felt like the writers were siding with voilet at the end, which felt weird…. they had a chance of showing a different type of love, but they went (again) with the live altering, all consuming kind of love… and it cheapens all the scenes between Francesca and John
this! quiet, gentle love is valid! ... I really don't understand why Francesca could not be bisexual who was first in quite love with John and then after his death she would discover that there is not just one true love and she would fall in love with Michaela.
Them not having Colin know shes whistledown before the engagement and sex scene bothered me so so much. Took all my ability to enjoy those moments away because he hates a core part of her identity and has no idea. And them still fighting during the wedding? Awful! And why would they not have Cressida marry Lord Debling??? Seems like an obvious solution
made me feel rather icky too as you'd question had he known would he have had sex with her? to me it was a consent issue and i really felt for colin as i'd feel so deceived considering the damage LW's done.
On my first watch I was willing to give those scenes the benefit of the doubt. My thinking was that if they’re saving the reveal for later, surely that means his reaction isn’t too bad… oh how wrong I was. After finishing the season I can’t enjoy those moments anymore, not with knowing how astonishingly awful Colin takes it. Most romantic season? Is the romance in the room with us now??? I feel so robbed.
Same. Granted, I've had a great time with the Bridgerton-era cultural zeitgeist (attended a themed ball, went to some fashion exhibitions, teas, etc), but I think my time w/ the show is done. S3 was a slog for me, watching felt obligatory and I haven't been inclined to rewatch despite having S1 and 2 on in the past as beautiful background noise / visuals. I honestly think the popularity will wane w/a 2 year wait just to get to S4. Don't mean to be unkind to the actors, creative teams, writers, etc but I just don't see us getting through all 8 siblings/books. I kind of feel like the ball is over and it's time for me to move on.
This season did NOTHING right, and for that, I will no longer waste time on coming seasons. I only watched part 2 with a waning hope it would redeem itself, instead I wanted to claw my eyes out and get back the time I spent (even skimming the episodes)
@@naveenakoneru9211 I felt the same. Despite fast forwarding half of it as the storylines didn't reflect the book, I still resented the four hours wasted.
I get that this isn't meant to be a historically accurate show, and that's fine. But I think they went way too far with the costumes and makeup this season. All of a sudden all the women have obvious fake lashes, colourful eyeshadow, lipstick, and ACRYLIC NAILS?! It kind of made it hard for me to believe the characters, they all looked like regular 21st century people dressing up for a costume party... Shame because I was so excited for this season :(
The pacing was terrible. The costumes.filters, language and angles took us out of world emersion. There was way too many plots in the first place, then they tried to introduce whole story lines for those plots intstead of letting us dipping our toes in for next season. Collin is a horrifically written charachter and its not what he deserves. He became Pens shadow when it should have been a equal season. There is so much conflict but the conflict resolution happens before you can blink. Why do we need multiple queer story lines all of a sudden? Are we collecting them like pokemon. Why not just do one, properly Benedict being the best one for it. Also correct me if im wrong...........WAS THIS NOT A POLLIN SEASON? Do the writers hate them? All of their scenes were rough and strange when they needed to be the most genuine and powerful. So much hollow yapping from Collin, I did actually like Pen this season she was the only redeemly factor. What happened with Eloise? She is a horrible friend to both Pen and Cressida, and what became of Theo? The Queen was having imposter syndrome, she was such a weird version of herself. All in all there was alot left to be desired the only reason I watched this season is because some of the actors are indeed good actors and carried alot of this bad writing.
I like what you said about language…..They used words that were not in their vocabulary! For all the reasons we loved the show it’s gone! Nonexistent. They were so busy trying to make a point that they lost the whole story and the characters..
In the book, Colin already knows Pen is Whistledown by the time he proposes and there's none of this "entrapment" nonsense. He's conflicted but is also very protective of Pen and doesn't want her to be outcasted from society. He is also willing to use the Bridgerton name to protect her. He actually gives a speech praising her to the ton and lets everyone know she is Whistledown at the end. I like that in the show, Pen is the one divulging her identity but we didn't get a protective Colin. :(
@@diannehall3504 maybe... in the sense that it would have given Colin something to DO. But i think they gave that to Penelope to let her have her agency. That was the final arc of her coming into her own. Her accepting and owning both sides of her identity. And because of that, the show had Colin go off to face Cressida to try and dissuade her
I know the show wanted to have Penelope "save herself" rather than having Colin do it for her. But I felt like that scene after she give her speech about being Whistledown, the queen says whatever bs she said and leaves, and Pen is just standing on the platform as people start to whisper about her, that's when Colin should have come up to join her, publicly showing that he supports her (and by extension the Bridgerton family supports her as well). Don't get me wrong, I loved Philipa shouting to release the "bugs", but they could have still had that with Pen and Colin on the platform together.
@@jessicasaccone7608yes! I was waiting for him to stand by his wife and… nothing. It not only makes for a bad romance but for a bad marriage. That scene was weird.
Pens outcome seems to be more of luck that the queen and nobody cared to be unpleasant, rather than her actually doing something smart to get herself and her family out of trouble.. theQueens generosity worked in seasons 1 and 2 because she’s partial to love stories. Now she’s pardoning everything under the sun. I can’t imagine she would let Whistledown off without some consequences. The ton would want to tear into her honestly
I agree with the camera angles and edits being awkward in the back half of season 3. it felt like I was on a visual rollercoaster half the time. It feels like show runners forget how well-shot and edited scenes can further immerse a viewer into the world and make it visually appealing. You can get away with some mistakes if you have moments and scenes that can make up for them. Great analysis!
Daphne’s absence during her siblings weddings wasn’t mentioned once while Edwina’s marital bliss was mentioned twice. HECK, even Cressida’s Aunt Joanna was mentioned more than the oldest and most influential daughter of the family who plays an instrumental role in the book. Anthony and Kate are here as guest appearances which I’m not mad abt but they could’ve given them more screen-time rather than focusing on Benedict’s threesome. The theme of this season had “friendship” written all over it and the makers fumbled so hard. Polin’s friendship isn’t given importance, Eloise and Pen’s friendship is hanging by a tread, Violet and Lady D are in an awkward situation and have to reevaluate their friendship. Even the Featherington’s learning how to befriend each other could’ve been used so much more. The entire season lacked the Bridgeton effect. That tension, that build up, the pacing. In the first season they had all the brother’s fencing and drinking together. This season the family bonding that we love so much is missing. I wanted to see more of Violet the mother. Violet’s scenes with both Daphne and Anthony could give Colin a run for his money. This season we barely see Violet present in her kids lives or even Violet having a heartfelt conversation about her role in society as a widowed dowager falling for someone after all these years. Colin feels bland. Benedict’s plot is lost. Eloise is just there. Francesca is speechless and apparently smitten after seeing her two day old husbands cousin, Daphne is not mentioned, Anthony is not to be seen even-tough he is the main financier of the family, Gregory and Hyacinth don’t have many scenes. The Family of Bridgeton’s don’t feel like a family anymore they feel so scattered, lost, out of touch which is just so sad. Penelope and Colin was supposed to be the most loved couple of all and sadly didn’t live up to the mark because we barely got Colin and Penelope as kids or teens. This season had so much potential and they fumbled BIG TIME. Here’s hoping the team takes the criticism seriously and works out the loop holes for the next season.
THIS THIS THIS, agreed with every word you said, whewww this was my exact thoughts, the potential to be the most loved with the theme of ‘ friends’ and they couldn’t pull through
This season was so off. The magic that the first 2 seasons had was lost. The main love story for this season didn’t get the time it needed to build up the ‘swooning’ between the two. It was so rushed and it didn’t give their love story the depth it deserved. You’re right about the camera angles as well. The scene where Eloise and Colin are at the staircase discussing their feeling about Pen being Whistledown should have been extremely emotional. The actors did a good job in the scene but having to watch the interaction between the railings of the staircase made me lose the emotional build up in that discussion as I couldn’t focus on the emotional impact it had on the actors properly. I don’t even know much about directing or filming but the angle stood out to me 😐 It’s so sad that they fumbled the season for pen and Colin 😪
Okay, sorry in advance for the unbelievably long comment (but I have way too many thoughts and feelings 😅) My God this season was a mess. I really appreciate you talking about the technical elements, because it really does influence how an audience perceives the show, whether people realize it or not. From the way it was shot and edited all the way down to the costumes, which were all over the place this season, the visual language was abandoned, none of it was cohesive. The first two seasons struck a balance between the regency aesthetic and modern sensibilities. Even as the period drama snob that I am, I could appreciate and praise the show for addressing that it wasn't trying to be historically accurate and preferred to create their own in-universe logic. But this season all logic has been thrown out the window. Where's all the respect and care put into the first two seasons and QC?? Jess Brownell has to be taken out of this writers room immediately. Please, Lord, bring back Chris Van Dusen. - Kate and Anthony were the light of this season, Jonathan and Simone are a blessing. I love seeing Anthony so unhinged and chaotically in love and Kate living her best life being so loved and supported by him and at ease within the Bridgertons. But even their exits weren't safe from sloppy writing. You have two of the best characters in the show, who're fan favorites, played by two actors (one of them arguably one of the best actors of his generation, rising to superstardom) with amazing chemistry who've both been very vocal about wanting to come back to continue their characters' story and you just keep sending them away?? - Benedict is basically just a piece of meat to the writers at this point. For a show that prides itself on not being 'exploitative' & 'gratuitous' with it's sex scenes, his scenes felt pretty fuckin' gratuitous. Its a shame Luke Thompson's talents are not being utilized to their potential. - The conclusion to Francesca's storyline is a slap in the face to book readers (and I say this as someone hasn't read them) Not just the gender swap, which is a disservice to the source material, but the mere fact that Francesca shows interest in someone other than John literally TWO DAYS after getting married only adds insult to injury. They managed to get us invested in this sweet, quiet, love story only to throw it away, when the main theme in Fran's book is about having two great (different) loves and how one doesn't diminish the other. - Wtf was that Mondrich storyline? Literally no purpose whatsoever. - I actually appreciated Eloise's character development this season and the fact that her & Pen's relationship was treated with the importance it deserves. - As for Polin, I tend to feel the same as you. They felt like an afterthought in their own season. I will admit that they started to win me back a little during this second half (I enjoyed Colin defending Pen against her family), but thats mostly on Luke and Nicola more so than the writing itself and by the end I didn't really know what to think. Pen had some great character moments, specially with Portia, but with Colin its literally like "What even is Colin?". Whereas the previous male leads have been incredibly complex characters he's got the personality of cardboard and even though the plotline of him wanting to be a writer came from the book, in the show it was just thrown in there. - And lastly, the resolution to Whistledown was so underwhelming, considering that this plot has been a throughline since the first season. While I do agree that the Queen definitely enjoyed her rivalry with Whistledown, are we really expected to believe that she would be that chill about it after being challenged so many times? After her stellar spinoff, her arc this season felt like a disservice to her character. Also that the ton would just be ok with Pen after all the damage she has inflicted upon them? Was the conclusion to a 3 season long storyline really "gossip is what bonds us all together"? This season was such a misfire, and its insane to realize how much a single person (showrunner) can change things. It's really sad to see a season of television with so much potential be thrown away. Obviously one would hope it gets better but, it is not looking good.
The makeup and costumes were awful this season it felt like they were in the Bridgerton theme Halloween party. They also dropped the ball with the editing so hard that you don't need any movie expert to point out that even the general audience can see it! I think the writers didn't know what to do with Colin's character, although you don't always agree with Penelope's choices at least she is interesting. Overall, I think this season lacked "care" from the showrunners when compared to the previous seasons. In S1 & S2 the cinematography was beautiful it had a unique fantastical touch with its mesmerising outdoor shots and closeups on the intricate details of the background of the ball scenes such as the closeups of rain drops in the lemonade glass, flowers in S1E8. Whereas this season felt almost like a parody of Bridgerton which people loved.
'Bridgerton-themed Halloween party ' - good one! You are so correct. The dresses that Phillipa and Prudence wore to their ball were so bad that I doubt you'd find them at a Spirit store (local Halloween costume store that pops up in October).
A year ago I read that season 3 had been delayed over 'dark' storyline changes: "Filming has been delayed due to the screenwriter not being happy with the direction of it. There are some elements that Shonda is just not happy with so wants to change them. Some of it got very dark." I still wonder what the original storyline was.
Hey Marshall! I just started watching your videos. You got a new subscriber! Marshall, I can be off here but I have a feeling that we had this Mondrich plot line because Sophie is going to be one of their maids next season. I can't for the life of me see any other explanation for dragging them along this season. Great video! You made me laugh several times. Keep up the awesome work you do. ❤😊🎉
Thank you so so much! Also good pick up, I hope it goes somewhere like that too!
Ah I hadn’t thought of that
Do you mean she would become their maid instead of being Phillip Cavender's maid?
Having not read the books… who is Sophie?
@@RebeccaScritchfield Benedict's love interest
The visual language was completely demolished this season. Also, why is everyone now dressed like a Featherington?? The costume director did an interview where he said "we throw different fabric together to see what happens" I'm like yeah.... WE KNOW... Everyone looks awful. Truly.
Yes! I get so annoyed whenever anyone criticizes the costuming and people immediately come back with, " It's not supposed to be historically accurate!" Yeah, we know it's not historically accurate, but this season the costumes were so wild that it didn't seem like the characters were even inhabiting the same time period or society. Previous Bridgerton costumes (mostly the dresses) were never period accurate, but they at least matched enough to give the sense of the world these characters inhabited. (And the exceptions to the rule, like Cressida's wild embellishments or the queen's devotion to outdated silhouettes were consistent character details with purpose.) This season more than ever, the fabrics seemed cheap and the styles too disparate from each other. It was just another detail that takes the viewer away from being fully immersed in the world.
@@jessicasaccone7608 They went from a delicate Regency ballgown inspired riff (with some Spencer jackets thrown into the mix) to looking like Macy's clearance prom dresses, which now REDUCES the visual impact of Cressida's wardrobe (dressing for desperation) and the Featheringtons' (dressing to demand attention due to their position).
I swear costume-wise late season 1/season 2 was the peak of this show.
I couldn't believe me agree! What the hell happened?
@@jessicasaccone7608 They always say that you can’t criticize it because ”it’s just fantasy”. I critize it because I am a fantasy fan. Costuming is an art form and part of the worldbuilding, it doesn’t have to be historically accurate but it should be consistent within the world.
The costumes were so shiny and glittery and synthetic this season, really ruined the look. And they took cressida's outfits too far, in my opinion
How is it possible that Luke and Nicola have more chemistry with each other on every single press appearance than Polin? And also: I don't understand how Luke is this really handsome and kind-looking man, but in the show, they film him in some of the least flattering angles I've ever seen. Literally how??
I think he lost too much weight, at times he looked really frail and his hair looked thin.
THIS
@@adwoamk8918none of this pls
yes very true.. I blame the storyline and scenes though. Throughout the season they were really anxious and feeling upleasant plus there weren't many scenes focusing on the character's connection with each other. But then again, they didnt even feel like the same characters from before
Luke looked beautiful in that scene where he had just woken up on the couch on the day of Francesca's wedding. The back-brushed hairstyle made him look weird.
Having said all of that, the "Insert himself? Insert himself where?" scene was actually the funniest scene I've seen in ages. That one was worth watching the rest of the drivel.
That was a great scene, one of the very few.
her delivery on that line...priceless! 😂
The main romance was terribly developed but the featherington sisters (+ their husbands) carried the season for me
@tata-yo9id Likely because it was sliced between other scenes that took across multiple days, making the timeline confusing. Like, is it bad editing or is Benefict on a multi-day threesome? 🤨
That's cause the Featheringtons carried this whole season
It’s surprising that polin was the only couple to have 2 season of build up before their season and still the show managed to mess up their love story. Like why was Kate and Anthony’s 3 minute bedroom scene in ep 5 more beautiful than pen and Colin’s entire story this season?😭 It’s so annoying cause I was so excited for Penelope’s story
Same!! I was looking forward to their love story. There just was so many subplots that were not necessary. Not enough Polin scenes to build their characters. They could have included flashbacks that would have helped. Honestly..I think it would have been better if they would have followed along with the book. It could have been so much better.
somehow kate and anthony were present for three out of eight episodes and still stole the show for me. there are these glimpses of nicola and luke having chemistry e.g. the carriage scene (not the sex, the conversation) but then it just disappears. idk i feel like the director and writers did penelope and colin (especially colin, who has no personality) so dirty.
Because Kate and Anthony had a different showrunner who wrote their season. And even though he changed a lot of the book story, he still kept the integrity of the characters. The characterization for every single character in season three was horrendous. Colin was by far the worse. But there was no good characterization. Francesca character got the least amount of damage.
Idk if its anxiety lol but I had a gut feeling s3 was gna be a total flop n my sentiment basically immortalised when It took me 4 or 5 sittings to watch ep 1 haha
but they had the same director, maybe being friends got in the way regardless of the stories they were so eager to share on their press tours, they were over compensating which built expectations because we believed what they sold :)
The way they neglected Polin's long friendship with some simple flashback is just revolting.
Ummm yes hello frfr..the dance in the courtyard scene is completely cut out which was important...ugh so disappointing and everyone is out here mad
@ShaddaiSpencer they di ld a throw away line from that scene in the book in the church. It wouldn't or couldn't have worked there bc 1. It was so unnoticeable. They just randomly decided to dance in the middle of the hallway and she says "were you ever beaten as a child."
2. She would no longer be curious about this yk....cause there getting married. Also this scene was supposed to establish how privileged she thought he was versus how lost he was actually feeling. And they grow together bc of that. U can't just throw it in the first sentence of an important scene, cut away and then say it was a book reference as if it had no meaning or substance. They did the same with the glass cutting scene where pen reads his book. I wanted praise kink Colin so bad who had sm respect for his best friend he knew that he compliments and words meant something and sigh. I'm just very disappointed
I sometimes wonder how beautiful it would have been if in the last scene they show us flashback of the exact moment where small Penelope fell in love with small Colin . The full circle moment we needed!
this is genuinely the worst bridgerton season till date
Soooo bad 😢
I disagree . I think the first one was the worst one, story wise.
@@iridescentraindrops Well at least it was visually stunning, had complete storylines and the chemistry of the main couple was believable.
@@joanna0988I didn't feel like Simon and Daphne had a lot of chemistry and there were a lot of unnecessary sx scenes that looked very technical and boring. It was a predictable "good girl meets a bad boy and she fixes him" story. And I hated Anthony and Benedict's characters in the first season. It was all around very basic, pretentious and forgettable for me.
I am thoroughly disappointed in part 1. More attention to Colin's unnecessary threesomes than building a lover's connection between Colin and Penelope. It should have been easy considering their genuine friendship. Instead it was non-existent.
The second half has much better storytelling.
We are to believe NO ONE had a problem with Pen being LW, not even the Queen who threaten Eloise in S2. They went out of their way to trash Francesca & John. Francesca looked so homely and Pen looked so much artificially better it looked inconsistent. Wrong Early 19th regency culture- premarital sex!, no chaperone for a single woman (still remember Kate's chaperone during Season 2 hunt scene) and Colin didn't even ask for Pen's mother's permission to marry!?! Even if Lady Featherington is a bad person she deserved respect.
And did I miss where John asked for permission to propose to Francesca? Also, I've read elsewhere that she is now a Countess. Daphne has been referred to as a Duchess and Kate a Vicountess...seems like an oversight. Speaking of Daphne...did I miss a throwaway line about her? Did someone mention her and I missed it?
@@ceriseanne1 I believe it was acceptable to ask or announce as a couple, because of John's "shyness". Colin announcing to the Bridgerton's first is Not the right behavior during the regency era. Hate to trash S3, but didn't John have a mother or family members in the Ton. Violet knew a little bit about them. John mentioned his mother did not prefer to host an event. Where were the Kilmartin family at the wedding? S3 seemed to have been rewritten several times that's why it appeared to be chopped up storylines.
I agree that Colin should have asked Lady Featherington's permission to marry Pen. I didn't actually think Pen would let her mum find out through Whistledown! They could have literally walked across the street and announced the engagement to Pen's family.
He just whisked her off without a chaperone after telling her mother off, to some love nest and put a baby in her. Lord Debling at least came to ask her mother for permission to propose.
This reminds me of Debling again with that scene where he implicitly asked Penn's hand for marriage in a subtle way by asking her how she would write it, if it were a book. "Then he needs to ask her mother", it was so beautiful. But ofc he got cast aside after his job is done by the series
Its funny because Lady whistledown wasnt some journalist out for truth, writing harmless stuff, she actively ruined people's lives. Portia finding out Penelope wrote shit about her family when she was actively trying to save them was actually sad, but that confrontation should've been so much more powerful than it was. The ton should absolutely hate Penelope for how many lives she's ruined at this point, but they get distracted by butterflies after such a huge revelation. Also Colin's actor was either directed poorly or hes just not a good actor because the interviews with Nicola and Luke are so much better.
This! Penelope should be a walking target with the way she pretty much destroyed a lot of people's lives and reputations. To say that her writing was harmless during a time where reputation was everything to a member of the gentry is silly. Bridgerton seems to have forgotten the timeline they're in and what values people held back then, which is why a lot of people felt attracted to it in the first place.
There are stuff that imo (in terms of accuracy) can be ignored, but the magic of regency is the intricacies of their dynamics, how something we nowadays see as normal could have doomed them back then, and how they navigate such world while also trying to be happy.
You just made me think of something: It would've been more believable for people to be angry with Pen. However, they also could've somehow shown all of the people LW helped; like when she saved Daphne from marrying Lord Berbrooke by revealing his true nature & his treatment of the maid he impregnated. Or how she put that lord on blast about how he was treating his new wife; or that she temporarily ruined Eloise so she could save her & her family from the Queen. That would've been great to show!
No mention of marina at all…
@@earlonaweary9155 that wouldn't matter to the ton though. To the viewers? Yeah, but that's because we care about the Bridgertons. What I get from your suggestion though is that it would have been great if we were shown how she did more good than just those few actions (like defend those in a vulnerable position).
However, that wouldn't have made her less of a target, but it could have ensued a "civil war" of sorts inside the ton, dividing them by those who want to protect her and those who want to harm her.
@@lDaNu 🤔 Good point!
You forgot to talk about Penelope’s sisters suddenly going from being jealous of her then in the end liking her. It was done so poorly. It was done subtly with weird glances but it was sudden and not properly explained !
Yes! I actually thought Prudence was going to figure out that Penelope was LW and out her from a place of jealousy. There was a scene where she was looking at her mom and Penelope with an annoyed and slightly conniving look. She's the smarter of the two other sisters and I just figured she would accidentally stumble on it since she is in the same house. I was disappointed when they just went all happy family without much of a fight.
I was honestly mad Pen paid for their ball. Prudence said she looked like a beautiful bride or whatever the line was and honestly? It came across as sarcastic to me but I guess it was meant to be sincere? And that’s literally it. One nice comment on HER WEDDING DAY. Wooooow what progress. NOT. Like come on. She has what 18, 19 years of torture from them and after a few months of not being evil (although they had moments of being terrible during this season??) and a single nice comment was enough for her to give a MASSIVE sum to them?? I’m sorry. No!!
It’s okay for her to hate her sisters. Trust me. It’s okay. Plenty of people hate their siblings or parents for very valid reasons. Or even just being ambivalent towards them. That’s fine too! Idk I just hated it
Can’t agree more!!!
And all of the costumes were pulling unnecessary attention and honestly ridiculous
About the interviews being “YOU MUST NOT WATCH IT WITH YOUR MOM” and then there is a tiny portion of advertised spice.
This is just a parody of first 2 seasons which is honestly so sad
And yesss to the whole season 3 review; even a retrospective into season 1 and 2 would be great!
After watching some seasons of Game of Thrones with my mother I kept waiting to see what in the world of Bridgerton was so spicey that I couldn't watch with my mother. I discovered nothing which makes me believe those scenes were cut drastically.
After watching it with my Mom I can confidently say there was not a single moment where I was uncomfortable in any way... aside from those times when we were both baffled by the writing choices😆
Well, at least this script's numerous shortcomings provide plenty of material for fruitful discussions. After all, like the members of the ton, we do enjoy tea.☕
Literally!!! They were talking about breaking furniture in the interviews and all we got was Colin ogling her breasts 😡😡😡
I dislike how they girl-bossified both pen being LW and her mother stealing from the rest of the ton…LW is not a girl boss empire or a voice for the voiceless. It was gossip, which isn’t necessarily the worst thing in the world but it does make Pen an active contributor towards the downfall of many people’s lives. (Though I don’t understand why one of the reasons Colin is mad at Pen is because she ‘ruined’ marina…like boy. She literally tried to trap you?) so basically Pen isn’t a girl boss but a mean girl with a superiority complex. And she brushes off her mom having stolen from the bridgertons, Pen’s new family. And mom justifying stealing because they “needed it” and the others didn’t. As if keeping up with the joneses to stay rich like the rest of high society is a good thing. Na. You’re not Robin Hood. You’re just a rich woman stealing from other rich people to stay up with the trends and not have to rewear dresses…neither are the underdog story the writers think they have.
Agreed 🙌
It has now become clear that Chris Van Dusen is a GENIUS showrunner - he was a true artistic talent that should have NEVER been allowed to walk away.
I heard Netflix wasn't offering him enough money to stay on, so he walked, and took his brilliant team with him!
Well - Shonda and Netflix went with the discount, low budget showrunner Jess Brownell and an inexperienced production team - and THIS IS THE RESULT.
Sometimes you have to pay for quality
Netflix should have paid whatever Chris Van Dusen was asking. Whatever that man wanted, he was worth every penny. Sure, they saved money hiring Brownell - but the RESULT speaks for itself.
I'm reposting my (crazy long, slightly edited) comment from the other video below - but first I want to say - I was a #1 Bridgerton fan - loved all the past seasons, told everyone I knew to watch. So I say this as a stan, not a hater:
For Season 3 Part 2 - The costumes, the makeup - terrible. I actually felt sick to my stomach watching.
Lady Arnold was dressed as a character from the 1950s or 1960s - THEY DESTROYED KATE - Kate was dressed so perfectly season 2, every gown was perfection -what happened?
Cressida looked beyond shocking - Eloise looked strange too.
This costume designer should be fired and NEVER work again, on any production, in any capacity - should be banned from Hollywood . I'm not a period drama expert, but I feel I could have done a better job dressing the actors.
Compare the costumes sense and sensibility (Ang lee) or pride and prejudice to this - yes Bridgeton is whimsical fantasy but this season the COSTUMES went WAY OFF THE RAILS.
The previous 2 seasons, especially queen charlotte, were beautiful, elegant and struck the right balance between fantasy and authenticity.
Season 3 costumes felt like . . I was watching a children's show? A really trashy one.
Like, I literally couldn't focus on the scenes - I had to cover my eyes, they were so bad.
The hair was all wrong, the makeup was terrible - why eye shadow? Why so much blush on everyone? - esp on Francesca - a beautiful woman who doesn't need to be painted up like a prostitute? Why acyclic nails?
Again, some liberties are fine - but this was too, too, much.
I actually couldn't enjoy the actor's work, the way they were dressed was so distracting and anachronistic.
HORRIBLE cinematography - strange camera angles - some of the scenes were lit so poorly - what more can I say?
Set design poor this 2nd half - the Fetherington sister ball in particular looked strange.
The dancing scenes looked . . . odd? They were great in all the other seasons, not sure what happened here.
Why are they changing all these things that worked in previous seasons? The things everyone loved?
I can't believe that in the end, there was NO point to the Mondrich plot line - they're nice people, but they could have been completely 100% cut out, and that times used for Polin.
Far too much Cressida plotline - esp in her terrible costumes.
Sex scene was awkward and strange.
Strange writing - awkward plotting and so many things that didn't make sense - why were the mondrich couple at Francesca’s small family wedding? But not her own sister - Daphne? Again - why were the Mondrichs in this season at all? Since the previous actors have left the show, they should have cut the Francesca wedding scene, or made her elope. We didn't need to see it.
No romance or chemistry between Colin and Pen - but I thought this was a romance series? Much more chemistry with the wonderful Lord Debling
It's starting to look like a soap opera in stead of a regency romance - with weird sci-fi/Hunger games inspired costumes.
They should have kept three sidelots - benedict throuple, the funny fetherington pregnancy thing, and introduce Francesca, who is a great neurodivergent character - and REMOVED everything else.
Ideally, you should be able to watch each season as a STAND ALONE - just like the books.
You shouldn't have to go back and watch old seasons to enjoy the main couple.
Maybe 2-3 side plots, not 12 different side plots!
Every thing I loved about QC and season 2 - a season devoted to a main couple with intense chemistry - has been utterly destroyed.
Who was the main couple of the season? Francesca and John? I'm not quite sure.
This season was a huge misfire, a disaster of epic proportions, not just 'the worst season' like people are saying.
I like Shonda, like all the actors, like the inclusion and diversity, LOVED the past seasons - but we need to be honest about the disaster that is Season 3.
Well said, I blame this mess to the new showrunner. The first and second seasons were far better.
agree with everything else, but I liked Kate's outfits in S3 more than S2. Which outfit did you not like?
@@mahekk1556 I thought Kate looked objectively great, the makeup and clothes suited the actress really well. BUT it did absolutely nothing for the setting and storyline! In fact every time I saw anybody's costumes, I felt like I time traveled to another time period.
I agree so much. There was so much sparkly shit on dresses and makeup caked on eyelids. It was so distracting, no harmony with backgrounds, I felt allergic after a few episodes. Cressida was a monstrosity of course, but even Violet's costumes were giving me whiplash. Season 1and 2 were masterfully done, Daphne's makeup was limited but so so effective. Think I'm gonna have to go back and watch a Jane Austen movie from the 2000s to recuperate.
I think they really changed Kate's wardrobe to camouflage her within the family, during the S3 trailer, I did not recognise Kate was there in first glance.
The lack of Polin screen time due to 50 different subplots running at the same time makes this season the messiest in my opinion. They’ve used quite a bit of their source material this season but again, it all got overshadowed with so many unnecessary subplots.
As a book reader, I was so confused when they were trying to give Cressida a redemption arc because she’s just a bully. She does try to claim the reward money and then blackmail Penelope in the book as well. So I’m confused by the setup of her character when this is exactly what she was supposed to do. However, the forced marriage plot in the show does explain her actions and adds some dimension to her.
Michael is also a huge favourite among book readers so this switch will most certainly change her entire storyline and get rid of some really beautiful and powerful parts.
From my perspective Lady Featherington is simply a realist and any mama of that era would think the same if they were put through the same conditions their family was put through also given that penelope was a wallflower and often disappears from the event it is no wonder she thinks that penelope would never have a husband.
Yea, I never found her to be cruel. It's clear she was operating out of survival, a 'by any means necessary' kind of woman. That doesn't make for a good mother, but she does ultimately care for her and her kids.
Small nitpick, but it makes no sense that Colin was called ‘the most eligible bachelor’ of the ton and that he was so desired by all the women. He’s a third son, therefore doesn’t have a title or his own money, at this point he’s also unemployed, and he’s known for frequenting brothels. There’s nothing technically desirable about him apart from his looks. But his vacant stare isn’t gonna pay the bills. Debling and Kilmartin are whole Earls, they should’ve been more desired by the women of the ton
They should've shown flashbacks of Colin and Penelope meeting as children while Penelope was walking down the Isle and Colin reminiscing on that moment. Shows that despite her being LW, she was sweet friend and now soon to be wife. Also I feel like they spent too much time on angry Colin. If they were going to do that we could have seen angry Colin but still having a longing for Penelope. They almost did that in the street scene at night but it should have been expounded upon further. Needed more passion.
like they just and said and didn't show anything, like how are we supposed to believe they were close friends because in the previous seasons it just seems like pen is just eloise's best friend to him, not his friend
like there's a difference between my friend and my sister's friend who i know-
The dialogue as well is so lacking. It has absolutely no regency dialogue and is pretty much modern dialogue with posh english accents. In the first two seasons there at least was an effort to use regency slang and to delve a bit into the intricate and disctinctive style of regency dialogue, but they just completely dropped the ball this time and not only is it frustrating, but also incredibly distracting.
Your brigerton commentary has honestly been the only thing worth watching the season for😂❤
Yup, I'm actually enjoying the commentary so much more than the actual season!
They should have put the Modrich's in Ben season- Left Micheal as a male- gave more screentime to Polin- kept the showrunner from the other seasons- let Cressida have her redemption arc or just never give her one at all (it reminds me of Chole from Miraculous Ladybug)
We need to go back to the old days of 22 episodes per season. 8 just isn’t enough.
I hated what they did to Francesca. She had the best storyline in the season, we got the first representation of a quiet and comfortable love, all to be thrown away in the last episode. In the books, Francesca and John are described to be the perfect couple and after he dies, she spends like 6 years mourning. She was so in love with John and only years after his passing she gets involved with Michael. Another thing is why change to a woman? Am I the only one bothered that we won't get the character from the books? I don't mind storyline like Benedict's, but changing the source material to this degree is so annoying. Make a new story instead of changing the original one man
The "we miss working and not being rich, money makes us lose who we are :(((((((" arc is so silly and tasteless rn in this economy. I was just thinking shuuuuuut up.
Totally. Very un-WokeFlix of them
Every storyline directly connected to Queen Charlotte is genuinely good and more compelling than the main storyline
Fire Jessica Brownell immediately!!!! She is destroying the show!!!
Am I the only one that's so angry that they're taking 2 years to release 8 episodes? like, you took 2 years to give me season 3, which was not a great one, and now you want me to wait 2 more?!!!!
The worst thing about this season was that it actively feels like it's being done for the sake of the viewers, like, like a sitcom! Not like how the other seasons and Queen Charlotte feel like we're just getting glimpses into their life
They just have such an immersive atmosphere
This season's Bridgerton's quality was just... bad
my biggest pet peeves with this season:
1- I'm no film major but the tilted camera angles made the "we're engaged!" scene and benedict accepting the 3some proposal scene look like we were supposed to be scared for them
2- why the hell did they put pen in RED LIPSTICK in the final episode. sir this is 1815
3- season 1 sets up that penelope is as clueless about s3x as daphne. then now in season 3 colin non-verbally asks to f1nger her and she nods as if she KNOWS what that is
4- colin's gaping mouth (no shade to luke n he seems like a great guy and talented actor and this is also the editing's fault)
5- cressida becoming friends with eloise off screen
6- no polin childhood friendship flashback
7- have yall noticed nothing happens in episode 6?
8- cressida claiming to be whistledown so she doesn't have to marry a crook when season 2 has established a young woman has power to call off an engagement without it damaging her reputation if there's no scandal
9 - colin rushed into a marriage with a featherington and almost got screwed over. he then rushes into marriage with a featherington 2 years later and no one mentions it -- I was CONVINCED Anthony would say something
I could go further but I'll stop at the "petty" mistakes so i don't just stay here forever
You are so right. This season could have been so much better if they only treated it like the first and second season -the protagonists are clear protagonists, no useless side plots (sorry but it was exasperating to watch the Mondrichs). Penelope is the best character and she is freaking Lady Whistledown…did they really have to fumble her season of all seasons??
And yes, the dresses are ugly this season. Prudence’s green dress for her and Philippa’s ball is hideous. It just looks incoherent, like it’s a masquerade party and everyone just brings whatever they want instead of everyone dressing in the style of the time.
Jessica Brownell said "get this sensual tension and plot pacing out of here." 1) I hoped Colin would help Pen with LW and they'd bond, since they both like to write. 2) didn't LW ruin lives?? Nobody tried to fight Pen?? 3) Colin confuses me. He wants to be a man. He tried traveling, raking, and marriage. I don't feel like he learned masculinity in the end 4) Eloise was a bore 5) I thought we had a nice autistic love story but NOPE! Just gay 6) With Benedict, I thought Tilley would show him that he wants a regular relationship, but Idk
Please read the books before you review the series! They are short and easy to consume via audiobooks but it will change some of your perspective on future arc. In saying that I agree with most of your review. I like the first part of the season more, the second part was very rushed and all over the place! I sooooo wanted a sexy man to play Michael (he was meant to be the most handsome of them all) he also inherits the title and is a rake so I just can’t see how a girl can inherit a title and be known as a “rake” respectively in that era.
Yeah, that kinda makes me worry that they messed up too much with future plots.
This story arc required more than 8 episodes in order to be done right. They should’ve made an exception and lengthened the season due to not only their romance being in the plot but also Lady Whistledown
In the book, Colin knows that Penelope is lady whistledown BEFORE all the sex scenes and just before the carriage scene. It makes them feel more meaningful since there isn’t a weight of this secret putting a barrier between their relationship. Letting Colin in on the secret invites him into Penelope’s world in such a way that makes those sex scenes feel more intimate.
this show was one of my top 10 but after this season i cant look at it the same 😭
We honestly need 10 - 15 episodes to fully flesh out storylines especially if we're waiting 2 years for seasons
If all it takes is a visit to few printing houses across the town to discover who lady whistledown is, how come she manages to elude the queen for so long? 😅
my biggest problem with this season is that colin is so upset with pen. and then at the last few minutes of the final episode he forgives her because she gave a speech and he read her letters.
The problem with Benedict's scenes is the tone. Like we were just seeing some emotional stuff happening with the other characters and then it would cut to Benedict having sex. It's just weird!!! I get that Bridgerton has a horny reputation to uphold but they didn't hit the mark with HOW they portrayed the sex in this season. It was totally off.
They should have had Pen/Colin scenes in season 1 and 2 that were like the Eloise/Benedict scenes. Just quiet moments of them confiding in each other. That would have gone a long way for me really believing that they were best friends for years.
Reading the book made me go crazy cause they have so much chemistry you can tell how much he ends up wanting her and he’s so surprised but really happy about his feelings and her love for him gave me butterflies
IKKK book colin and pen were fucking hot and it's such a wasted opportunity cuz nicola coughlan is stunningly gorgeus 😭😭😭 i want more s3x scenes!!!
That scene where Violet and Lady Danbury were having their heart to heart- Was anyone else extremely distracted by the shite angles? Yes I understand that a shot over the shoulder is *supposed* to establish closeness between those on stage. *When it's done Cleanly.* All this did was make me shift in my seat like I would be actually able to peer around someone who was in the middle of my screen. So messy.
He probably covers this, but I got in 1:44 of the video and the terrible camera shots were mentioned and I hate to RANT.
When they started showing Cressida's storyline and why she acted the way she did I was expecting a redemption arc for her but they just wasted her potential what was the point of humanizing Cressida if they are not going to develop her
Thank you! I so agree: I finished this season and thought: this was not much better than some random soap opera which is super disappointing. I would so sign a petition asking Netflix to get a grip!
I think this hit some main points for sure. I think everything was just rushed. Their sex scene made me feel weird and cringey, whereas in previous seasons I was giggly and giddy. Also, all the support characters/ side plots I feel had more screen time than the main Polin plot. I'm so sad their story was told like this
It’s true lmao the production quality PLUMMETED. Insane how the budget went up too 💀💀💀💀💀
I was severely disappointed by this. Pen is my favorite character and Romancing Mr Brigerton is my favorite book in the series not to mention how much of an icon Nicola is. And yet polin felt like side characters in their own story, i didnt feel the tension or love it was really disappointing. This a is a major fail on the writers. Also why did the mondrichs story just stop making sense before completely disappearing through this part, like if you are gonna add an unnecessary story line atleast finish it out. Im glad they made Benedict bisexual and that Francesca got her happy ending but still
While I enjoyed Bridgerton so far, it simply cannot compete with BBC productions.
Casting, storylines, dialogues, camerawork are sloppy. Too bad…
Being a book reader and watching this season is absolute torture. It had its flaws but damn it had a personality which they watered down to promises of sexiness that didn't deliver, at least not in amount. Even the simple things: Penelope tripping and falling off the carriage, Colin being a foodie, Pen's friendship with Lady Danbury. Now for Ben's season, it can only get better for me bc I didn't like his book that much and all his plot points so far have bored me to death, but I'm an artist and I hope they bring that forth.
I want Chris back
The dialogue in this season was really jarring to me. I’m not a stickler for historical accuracy- Bridgerton to me is more historical fantasy than anything and I’m totally okay with that. But I feel as if the first season established a certain sort of dialogue that was largely ignored in season 3. Every now and then someone would have a line that felt incredibly out of place. When Penelope said “you have no idea/you don’t know how much that meant to me” it sounded so, so off. Not her delivery- I adore Nicola- but that line felt like something out of a fanfiction. Everything about this season screamed lazy, lazy writing to me. From the increasingly modern dialogue to the way the writers pawned off the job of developing Colin’s character onto the viewer.
I agree with him totally this season was horrible. The sex scenes with pen and Colin were horrible. Colin hated wissledown then he didn't wth. Eloise was the only one that called pen out and it was real. I still can't head my head around Pen and Colin as being a match.
We need a Featherington spinoff with Portia's backstory in flashbacks ❤
the other thing about this season is that you can't talk about the negatives without being jumped. people will accuse you of being either fatphobic, or racist or homophobic and that is truly not the case (for me at least). The issue is the editing and the shots. The pacing. The strange intercuts of Benedict's threesome- I'm all for the threesome but just make it one block instead of randomly adding it in the middle of other scenes. It really takes you out of the drama of Penelope/Whistledown. I liked Benedict with the guy he hooks up with. Dare i say he had a bit more chemistry with him than with Lady Tilly? lol. I could have done with more of that IF the pacing was better and not literally cutting into serious parts of the main plot. Could have bee used to cover up the lulls of Colin & Penelope.
yeah. that editing of Benedict treesome was so bad it was almost funny. ..... Like how long he had that treesome ? WHOLE TWO DAYS ? At least 24 hours according to editing.
The lighting and music absolutely drove me crazy this season. You're telling me they're outside at night away from any fire but their faces are perfectly lit? And it's not even just an issue in the technical sense but it's like they chose the most boring lighting options every single time. Where the dynamic shadows? Why are you so opposed to making your show look interesting? Thank god it got slightly better in part 2. And don't get me started on the music. VSQ did a great jobe with their covers but why are we listening to ABCDEFU during the middle of this intimate dance scene, or Pitbull during this intense sex scene? It was scored like a cartoon. I felt like I was going crazy the entire time and no one else was saying anything.
Edit: I agree, Eloise is probably the best written character on the show and it helps that Claudia Jessie is one of the best actors on the show. Claudia Jessie and Nicola Coughlin are fighting for that top spot.
When you're really a Bridgerton stan, I recommend to you to read the books. They are quick and entertaining reads. Personally I think that Daphne's book (the first one) is the weakest of them, but the orhers are really good. Fast paced (as I said: quick reads), but really enjoyable.
How do you express exactly how I feel about this season so eloquently??
A true fan can tear apart poor plotlines, bad writing, shallow characters, and dismal editing and still love the show.
As someone who eagerly ripped apart what parts I hated in The Ones Who Live. I'm still a Walking Dead fan and of course Rick and Michonne are OTP. I highly respect you sir and feel your criticism is correct. Considering how much money Netflix makes we SHOULD have better. The color saturation really is waaay too high now. Tbh Season 3 kinda looks like A series of Unfortunate events or one of the Dr. Seuss films.
I so enjoy your reviews. You have so much insight and in my view are quite fair in your comments.
Copy-pasteing this one again because I don't have time to re-write and I was really disappointed:
The worst mistake of season 3 is not the gender swap or polyamory or whatever... it's failing on the romance department. Luke and Nicola are such good professionals and so incredibly cute that they can pull it off, but the show did NOT show their romance properly (as the book did).
1st missing romance part: Colin has literary aspirations and Pen is a (/n anonymously) successful writer. They beautifully bond over that.
2nd missing romance part: Colin falls for Pen slowly, gradually. When Pen asks him to kiss her, he was thinking about kissing her first. So it's more a double sided slow burn romance.
3rd missing romance part: Colin asks Penelope to marry him AFTER knowing she's Lady Whistledown. This is, to me SUPER important. It is even wrong (in my eyes) for her to even accept his proposal without him knowing that HUGE part of her.
4rth missing romance part: Colin heroically defends Penelope from the fallout of being Whistledown, in a scene of rare perfection. That scene is not only funny "I'm a recently married man and you'll have to put up with my nonsense" (quoting from memory, so wrong), but is one of the rare scenes in which EPICNESS is achieved by mere words. I was reading it and thinking "Penelope must be BURNING with desire after what Colin has just done".
5th: Dishonorable mention: SISMANCE lost. Penelope's conversations with Lady Danbury got lost. BAAAD, BAD SHOWRUNNER!
Shockingly the only aspects I felt were changed for the better were the Featherington sisters (with husbands) and Cressida. Cressida actually sparkled in S3 with what she added to the plot and the dynamic it brought for Eloise’s character (though I’m disappointed Eloise did not care to help her). But honestly everything else was a let down and it felt like the new show runner forgot it was meant to be a romance. I loved Francesca’s relationship with John until her marriage and had been pleasantly surprised how it was set up to show different types of love that are just as valid more like Sense and Sensibility - to just throw it all away. Anthony and Kate also seemed too changed to the S2 pall mall ending where they were still competitive and battle of wits. You can be happy but still have some of your own personality in the relationship and the best they came to showing it was with the game in episode 5.
Colin was the worst part of his own season and it spent more time showing a toxic relationship and anger than the romance with both Colin and Pen coming across more unlikeable. Colin was funny and naturally charming in S1 and S2 and it is like the writers didn’t understand his character that they just wanted to change him. They forgot everything that actually made him endearing to viewers and charming. They missed the opportunity to use his writing to gain a sense into the character, spent part 1 not interacting with Pen in a way that showcased their friendship or why they were well suited and then part 2 in anger. Colin lacked ownership of his own behaviour like reflecting why he mocked Pen in S2 ending or why he wasn’t communicating with Pen on their argument. Most online have anger to his entrapment accusation or treating Pen with less respect than Marina. Plus I don’t feel like Colin’s anger to that extent was truly earned as the only time LW truly hurt the Bridgerton’s was Eloise - certainly not to set up Colin as LW’s enemy. He never even brought up how Pen depicted herself in LW which if you love someone wouldn’t you care about their self worth? The characterisation suffered greatly from the choice to cut out their scenes in part 2 and not have Colin support Pen with the reveal. I will be giving S4 a miss especially with the cinematography, costumes, makeup and storyline quality dropping.
Benedict's 1000 sex scenes over the ONE sex scene of Polin who were supposed to be the MAIN Couple were extremely unnecessary and took too much time away from Polin. I get liking sex scenes but for the purpose of the story, all they did was waste time!
I thought I was the only one who noticed the hair styles not being consistent and what not. It made me so irritated lol Colin’s hair went from a quiff to combed over in the same scene!!! Uggg😩😩
it was definitely upsetting to see that all the buildup they had for Francesca's and John romance being something different and more quiet was quickly tossed out. The writers were like SIKE!! that's not REAL love. love needs to have you bumbling like an idiot, not feel peaceful.
it was such a beautiful sweet romance with the message at the end being that's not real romance.
I noticed that too and it’s awful :( also a disservice to John
I noticed that too and it’s awful :( also a disservice to John
that's fking crazy....i act JUST caught on to the michaela thing omg 😭 it was so unconvincing i thought they were setting up a jealousy/managing plotline with michaela.
I was relating to get story the most I got mad when that happened
Yeah it's awful
Worst season, and I blame it on the new showrunner. Lack of consistency. No sense of proportion. Terrible pacing. Awkward scenes and dialogues. As if the conductor (showrunner) couldn't keep all the elements together and instead of a beautiful, romantic symphony we heard only a cacophony. The most romantic season as they promoted? Certainly not. Hardly any romance between the supposed main love interests, just drama and angst. I couldn't believe their love story. Colin didn't have any charisma, Penelope was overshadowed by the plot about the identity of Lady Whistledown. I enjoyed some parts and storylines, but in the end it was a disappointment after all the hype. I'm not convinced that with this showrunner the next season will be better.
Your post is closest to my own opinion....
I believe they'll cancel after the 4th series, unless they change their minds about even filming it. There will be many who won't bother watching because of the current changes.
They also promoted that there is bodypositivity in the show. But in my opinion it wasn't enough. Penelope was gorgeous, but Colin didn't really cherish her body. There wasn't enough intimacy between the two and for me their sex scene was awkward. Colin didn't help her enough to overcome her insecurities.
@@udesivalihegexactly! Imagine the same scene with an actor like and directed same as Jonathan Bailey. Worlds apart! It’s like they were afraid to have Collin touch her (in a way that could be seen), instead of just the explicitly penetrative stuff. He went on about how much he had dreamed about her breasts, for example. But then? It didn’t feel as genuine, but mainly from his part. I think Nicola Coughlin did the best she could, and Luke could’ve used more direction and choreographing if that was needed.
@@marabanara I agree, they could have shown Colin playing with her breasts (the scene shouldn't have been very explicit, there are many ways, plans, angles, editing etc. not to show everything), touching and kissing her everywhere, whispering in her ears how he loves every part of her body etc. I missed the sensuality of their scene. They couldn't show that even a plus size woman can be the object of all desires.
When you realize it took Arcane League of Legends to establish Ekkos and Jinx childhood friendship in 2 minutes and even after a whole season we still don't believe Polin were even friends as children
Yeah, it's clearly possible to establish traits of a character/a relationship within a short amount of time. the previous season they had changed Anthony's character from S1 but they did that with an effective montage so you weren't confused throughout S2 why he was the way he was.
they could've done that with Polin or start each EP with a flashback to their friendship, even if it was just 1 min
I think even his brothers didn't believe they were friends and became in love...
@18Aleziita like when Anthony was shocked with engagement I was like.....same
arcane mentioned!!
arcane mention on a bridgerton video is insane. the quality of writing couldn’t be further apart 😂
Benedict scenes were so boring I actually skipped them. His love interests have no depth and his story arc is entirely a pointless pursuit. Worse than the Modrichs storyline.
We could have had a funny side plot where we see Benedict trying to run the Bridgerton household while Anthony was away. He was so lost when S2 ended and this season was an opportunity to show some growth and maturity for his character and weave him into the story in preparation for his season but they chose to give us an irrelevant trio instead. Disappointing.
💯💯💯 so boring and contributed nothing to the story
Yes, Benedict the entirety of S3 was just sadly very boring. And I was intrigued by his artist storyline earlier because there was clearly some tension there between them (even though Benedict denies it in S3?) and then he got swept up in the wild parties and all the art and it felt very believable. It felt like Benedict was able to be himself and feel freedom to pursue who he is outside the family network in a variety of ways, including a hobby/potential future job that wasn’t very male Bridgerton, romance and passions that weren’t traditionally male Bridgerton, etc. This S3 trio felt so contrived and plotless in comparison.
I also just skipped through most of his scenes. The man and woman were both so unappealing. They seemed like sketchy cartoon villains. (Loved his scenes with the family, though. He’s a great character.)
Me too, after the dinner party between the 3 of them I got bored with his story- big fast forward energy
Also this season made Kate and Anthony seemed like they were perfect star crossed lovers which made Pen and Collin seem a whole lot less of a match
real, kanthony really sold me on their love which polin paled in comparison to
Agreed!!
True
The chemistry between Kate and Anthony was insane
it’s interesting that previous seasons of Bridgerton were focused, well, on a Bridgerton sibling. this season felt like Penelope and her adventures while Colin was an annoying subplot
hhahahahahaha
And Francesca's falling in love/marriage was also only a minor subplot....?
You wouldn't even know Colin was THE bridgerton focus of the season if you watched just this season. Why were we seeing Cressida so much? She wasn't even a love interest like Edwina was
to be fair, Colin's book was Penelope's book. As in, the book itself centered around her. He is boring as hell in the books too. But maybe just a tad better than the show version, idk. His character is insufferable in the book because he's always moping about his writing. Book version of Colin IS jealous of Pen's writing. But show Colin never had the writer's arc so his epiphany/ confession/ declaration came out of left field entirely
😭😭😭 he really is just an acessory subplot to her 😭
I could forgive anything if Collin wasnt the most one dimensional charachter ever.
he was a lot more charming and funny in s1 and s2
They shouldn't have made him a rake. They should have focused on his journal writing and his self-doubt over that. Then tie that much earlier and much more deeper to Pen and Whistledown. That was a good connection that didn't get explored well. Also, why weren't there any childhood flashbacks for them? For the romance between childhood friends!
Yep they should not have made him into a rake. They should have bonded over writing and books instead of him helping her find a husband. He could’ve also had some conflict within his family where he also struggles to be taken seriously and he and pen can bond over that.
@@celiner7400 Exactly. Maybe Colin finds out that Penelope knows a lot of gossip and can't understand why. Put her discovering his journals much earlier and have her convince him to open up about them gradually. There's just so much that they could have done.
@@TacticusPrime Yep and about Colin's sexcapades, why does he have to be a rake in order to have a sex life? He could've just mentioned that he gained experience from Paris and that's it. No need for brothel scenes. He can also manage to get a copy of kama sutra from his travels. I mean he was able to score some drugs from Greece in season 2. A little more imagination from the writers would've been nice.
So maybe an unpopular opinion but idk that lady whisledown needed to be revealed to everyone this season. Colin needed to find out but I think they could’ve done a twist where pen told the queen and she made a deal to protect her since she is present for more of the books. All in all I felt like things seemed very rushed this season and too much crammed into 8 eps.
Right like I was on the fence of revealing her at the end of S1 - thinking they could ride the mystery for a few seas- op, well everyone knows 2 seasons later 💀
It makes me think there aren't going to be many seasons left tbh... Especially if they're going through 2 siblings per season now
I agree, I haven’t read the books and was kinda hoping that is what would happen bc I thought revealing Whistledown’s identity to the Ton was too quick and premature. It would have been nice if Whistledown’s identity was a little secret only a few select people knew. It was nice they could use her money to save the Featheringtons from fraud at the end though, that’s the only saving grace.
She’s actually only present for another book which is benedict’s. If they keep her around and reveal her later they can keep julie andrews but have time to expand the resolution for how the ton will perceive LW without this messy writing 😭😭
Totally agree - there's no central tension to the story anymore without that secret. The idea that the Queen doesn't care is absurd. Queen Charlotte and Lady Danbury are so watered down this year, really disappointing! I doubt anyone will care by the time season 4 comes out since this season was so bad. Unless they change the showrunner, I'm out.
I think the point of this season was (supposed to be) penelope owning to who she is. in the books colin is the one who proudly announces she's LW and that's a full circle moment for him because he was jealous of her. i like that they have her the power in this, but i agree with you -- what will this show be without LW in the next seasons?
I was really confused when watching interviews of Nicola and Luke... their chemistry off screen was so beautiful and comfortable, it was very perplexing to see that not translate AT ALL in the show. I didn't believe thier love for eachother, it almost felt like Colin didn't actually love pen and that was something he was hiding/uncomfortable with the entire series. There was almost no pining. Pen should have slapped him in the face.
LOL perfect summary
I agree. Hate to say it but I think Luke is just not a good actor. Very clunky season and one I won’t rewatch.
@@rebeccapettiford5389 Good point. I could always buy Penelope's obsession with him but not his lust or love for her 😥
A slap could've only helped the chemistry progress! I hate to say this, but I would've taken a slightly more angry, unhinged, or even toxic Colin just to see that he cared more, rather than this stiff and sedate Colin. Which is a sad thought cause Penelope deserves a non toxic guy! Then again, I didn't even find Penelope likeable with her confused Marina 2.0 actions
She definitely should've yelled at him at least. I was really annoyed at how they wrote him to not even let her speak or defend herself. That's not how you treat a person you love.
Don't you just love it when the female lead is acting her heart out during romantic scenes only to have all those emotions ricochet off the empty-headed love interest. It's like she was romancing a piece of cardboard.
They’re really she’s everything and he’s just ken cuz he has no chemistry he was giving nothing and she was doing all the heavy lifting 😭😭
FINALLY SOMEONE SAID IT !! Luke N is not a bad looking guy and miss nicola was really doing all the heavy lifting. He also received no help from the writing or the costuming sadly
Ikr it's so frustrating
I really wanted this to be a great season but this was honestly a waste of time- Frans ending is confusing and came out of nowhere with her stuttering over Micheala as if she didn't just get married to Jon like 2 days before. Ant and Kate kept disappearing. Mama Bridgerton's garden is in bloom so I h0pe Marcus waters it. Polin was a disappointment. I skipped past every Benedict scene expect for the ones with the siblings. Lady D and the Queen are always interesting to watch. ATP I won't be watching anything else from Bridgerton
Totally agree!! As a side plot, Francesca and John's love story was so interesting and beautiful. They did John and the viewers dirty 😤 don't even get me started on the fact that we didn't understand why colin went from friendzone to lust?! There was no build up, no longing! 😭 I think this season, Lady Featherington stole the show. Penelope sister's were fun too and Hyacinth, what a cutie!
It may not have been an explicit representation of a Neurodivergent relationship, but it was nice to see a love Story (Fran and John), that was calm, peaceful and gentle.
same here, I skipped every Benedict and Mondrich. I hope Fran's story gets salvaged, in the books, she did love John and only fell for his cousin after he died. Bridgerton's portrayal is a travesty. I wonder how Julia Quinn feels about how Polin's plot was trashed. Will John's mother thank Michaela for letting him love Fran first?
@@ambberhill1090 I also hope Frans story gets salvaged I hope they say Micheala has a twin Brother named Micheal anything but what we were given. I feel so bad for authors whenever they books don't get properly adapted/changed it feels like a slap in the face.
Me too...I skipped all the Benedict scenes. They weren't worth a watch. And they did a very poor job with Colin and Pen. It was a very disappointing season and if this is the future of the show, they just lost me. don't want to see another season like this. It wasn't worth the wait. We so wanted to see a lovely story of Colin and Pen's relationship and something clever where Whistledown was concerned because Whistledown is clever. It just didn't measure up. And even Pen's relationship with Eloise ...their reconciliation was rushed and poorly constructed. Bridgerton's may have needed a longer season. And whatever they do, I hope they don't bring our beloved Benedict back like this ...yuck!
This whole season sucked. The plot, the writing, the camera angles, the costumes....worst season by FAR.
I thought it was just me that hated the costumes
Couldn’t agree more. It was like they purposely filmed Nicola Coughlan from the most unflattering angles. The woman is very pretty but her glow-up scene was laughable like the shot of her putting her shoe on. All that did was highlight how short she is.
The first part was so slow that it was crazy to me just how much the writers managed to cram into the second part. Just with Penelope and Colin, we got the engagement, their first time, Colin finding out, the fallout, the wedding, Cressida's blackmail, the reconciliation, the reveal to the ton and their happy ending. All of that is already a lot for 4 episodes but then add on all of the side plots? It's just too much and not enough substance.
Yess, thought the same way.
I can't unsee the open mouthed Colin.
Finally, someone said it. And we didn't notice it before because it looks like he worked out for the main role and it accentuated his expressions. Also, no offense to Luke N, but Luke T and Johnny B have better body language and facial expressions, because they have been in theatre for a long time, and I think that makes Luke N's "flaws" if you will, stand out more.
So traumatised by it! 🤣🤣
Sloth mouth haha
@@RealTalkWithSSG. He was doing it in previous seasons as well (yes, I went back to see it, because it bothered me too), but we don't actually see/goes unnoticed because many of the times he is the background and you're most likely to be looking at the person who is in front of him or the editing cuts short, so you're left thinking he is about to close it and you just didn't see it, or it's "hidden" by the camera angles.
I think some of the best episodes that help with this are: s1x4 when he is talking to Pen about the baby (he open his mouth, but the camera is shooting from the side and you're most likely to pay attention to her in here) and 2x3 at pall mall, when he tells Kate and Anthony to fetch for their balls (the editing helps hide).
It's an acting choice of his for the most over the top scenes (the ones he knows are important for plot), but in s3 mostly all his scenes are important for plot and you can't really edit out your male lead, so it becomes more visible, more obvious and he does it more often as well.
@@Ana_Paula.Frasson The Director could easily have corrected him
Another thing that bugs me about this season is that we barely see Penelope and Colin's romance flourish, compared to Daphne and Simon and Anthony and Kate in the previous seasons. They were side characters in their own story. All the time wasted on the Mondrichs could have been used to build up Pen and Colin more. Literally, the writers could have cut the Mondrich family and no one would have even noticed because they were that irrelevant to the plot and did nothing to advance the story.
THIS - remove the mondrichs! Or if you must include them, a scene or two. More ROMANCE please - that is what we are tuning in for.
It didn't feel like a romance, it felt like a soap opera
Or Benedict's subplot. It seems unnecessary for the season and it feels off, as if he is not in the main story at all.
I can only think the showrunners did not believe Penelope and Colin interesting or believable enough as a couple that they felt they needed to butcher the season by adding such irrelevant and boring characters and story lines.
@@aibazaar3150 I was skipping Benedict's scenes by the second orgy, tbh
@@sandyrodz6699 I agree! and honestly whose fault is that? nicola and luke n are very talented. i may be overreaching but sometimes I feel fatphobia is a little factor in this. and also maybe some part of the fanbase hating penelope for being LW
Jessica Brownell will pay for her crimes
She should take a page out of Ryan Condal's book on how to do faithful adaptations because season three wasn't it. Shows tend to go down hill when showrunners believe they can make it better and 99% of the time they make it worst.
We can all hope.
I just can’t forgive them for Michaela. I was waiting for so long for our fan-fav Michael. I know that a show is never going to be completely book faithful, but I think that the core LIs should be kept. Gender swapping is a huge change, it was obviously a self-insert from our “amazing” showrunner. ✌️
I’m going to drop Bridgerton honestly, because in most aspects, it lacked SOOO much! Bridgerton S1 was beautiful, but this season felt like a random show, not a Netflix series worth millions of dollars.
The money had to go to the costuming, because it’s just insane. It immersed me out of the show, pretty much only Eloise has decent styling. I still can’t believe they gave Hyacinth a dress that didn’t cover her torso/chest area, since those were reserved for women in season, it just didn’t make sense.
There were obvious plot-holes and things that didn’t line up with past seasons. They just abandoned Cressida and kept the Mondrichs (They add nothing to the show atp). It’s so bad in quality, it’s insane. I’m just waiting for Benedict and Eloise’s season so they can butcher it.
Sorry for the long comment, but I’m pretty over the hype of the show at this point. Let’s pray they change Jess. 🙏
@@sumysim3245 I got spoiled on twitter when I was just finished watching the first ep of the part 2, and when I discovered that Michael will never be, I didn't watch the others ep. I think I will watch the others seasons only for the story of Benedict and Eloise.
I feel you, I am so disappointed.
@@rh9110unless they change Sophie to Sophieus
This season is terrible. Completely unwatchable and a cheesy hallmark movie
At least cheesy hallmark movies know what they are cheesy. This season was trying so hard to be serious, it made me cringe
@@naveenakoneru9211True, especially all those "nit like other girls" scenes of Pen.
very cheesy
I really hate it that Francesca and John didnt have their great love story. In the books she is grieving him and feels bad for falling for his brother. They hat a happy marriage but in the Show she just sees Michaela and falls for her.
I never read the books thanks for letting me know what was supposed to happen. Yea, I think her falling for his cousin (which honestly escaped me when I was watching) undermines everything they established about quiet love.
That and changing Michael’s gender. Fran’s story was heartbreaking, and it focused a lot on a woman who struggled with the possibility of infertility. She marries Michael because she wants children. Can’t do that with ‘Michaela’
@@Bree5threeit COMPLETELY went over my head! I thought Micheala was going to be rude or something. And during the wedding, I just thought Fran felt awkward kissing in front of her family! Not only is this subplot unnecessary, but badly done
The thing that bugged me the most was Colins look, like he got too much self tanner on or something. And the movement around his mouth, so weird.
I noticed it that with his mouth it was always open and he pronounced his Ts really weird
During the press tours, Luke T often looked exhausted..almost breakdown level...Nicola did most of the talking (as usual😊 and Luke would say Yeah, yeah yeah. I hope he takes a holiday at home or abroad with His girlfriend.❤
Seemed like the were too focused on Colin's glow up and looking hot from every angle? It was awkward
All of the characters seemed out of place for a historical setting like the show has just completely given up any semblance of being the regency era and just want them to be modern. This goes for the costumes, hair, makeup and language used. Atleast S1 tried to a certain extent.
And the rasp when he speaks, like he's trying to be sexy. Ugh.
I said this elsewhere but I really dislike Penelope's character development. To me, it seems as though the show never gave her a genuine personality other than being involved with the Bridgeton's and being whistledown. I didn't get 'girl boss' energy from her. It more so came across as " I exposed everyone because it made me feel less like a wallflower." (Reminds me of bullying) She also said how being lady Whistledown was power, yet she used that power countless times to talk negatively about a family she "loves". When she was justifying her actions, I think she just came across as bratty. I also didn't feel the chemistry with Colin and Penelope. I also wasn't a fan of their acting this season. He had to put in no work to be with her. I couldn't see why they loved each other, other than one day they just decided to. I think this whole season was an absolute mess. However, I was let down by Penelope. I think they should have done a movie or spin off of "Unmasking Lady Whistledown" and then Colin and Penelope find each other after that.I think part of the reason for the strange angles might be because of the actors height difference. I noticed the strange angles the majority of the time when it was Colin and Penelope. Also, there was about 10 scenes of Penelope writing, we get it, she's Lady Whistledown.
Totally agree!! He didn’t do much to prove he deserved Penelope’s admiration or affection, he’s riding on her decades long infatuation to do most of the work for him. Would have been way more interesting if she rejected him and distanced herself from him a bit longer so he actually had to do something to prove himself and his feelings towards her to be genuine not desperate because he needs her validation of telling him how amazing he is.
Very true, I envisioned Penelope to be vicious as Lady Whistledown, but as herself, to be able to clearly explain why she did the things that she did (she does need the money, she likes the power, and made mistakes but will avoid mistakes of the past). Instead whenever confronted, she just says "I'm sorry, please forgive me" tearfully, and does the same things again. Add that with her agreeing to an engagement with no intention to come clean to Colin. Yes, Colin was unlikeable here, but Pen, when agreeing to marry him, didn't even think she had to tell him the truth until Eloise! She came across as bitter, selfish, and unlikeable, rather than the sweet and witty person from previous seasons.
Yep in the book she verbally put Cressida in her place using her gift with words which is what lead to Cressida to realize that she was LW. Instead they just showed that she and Eloise were both good at riddles?? I think that the bragging rights of a 10 yo falls short for Penelope coming into her own in the real world. Really the whole book was about her taking more agency in her life outside of LW and giving peaks into how she managed to girl boss through the logistics of LW. Which helps the reader see her in a different light while she is further coming into her own in her interactions with the Ton.
I also dislike the fact that her glow up involves always hiding a part of her face. I’m glad that she didn’t have to lose weight to be seen but I wished that there was more time spent idealizing her in a delicate way like the other leading ladies got. And more time spent showing them enjoying themselves. They didn’t even get a post marriage bedroom scene which is weird.
I 100% agree with this
She was annoying as fuck
I just don't understand why they had to cram all these storylines into only 8 episodes. The show is one of the most successful ones on Netflix, it doesn't make sense that they would sell it short like that.
I also agree with previous posters that the weird af costuming didn't help.
Yes, this is what I have been saying! Like we could have, had a spinoff the time between Kanthony's and Polin's season where we could have shown Eloise and Cressida getting closer, the Mondrich family becoming members of the ton, etc
I loved Eloise’s outfits, especially her green jacket. Fran and the other Bridgertons were okay as well, But everyone else seemed to be inspired by the Featheringtons
I suspect that Netflix only gave them enough $$ for 8 (comparatively low cost) episodes.
I agree with practically everything you said!! 👍👍
I would say I was very very disappointed with the way they twisted Francesca’s arc, and I do not give a damn about Michael/a. Book spoilers ahead…
Her arc is about overcoming her terrible grief and falling in love a second time. And in one swift stroke they made a joke about what was the very real love she and John shared. Say goodbye to the cute, original, lovely shy lover’s story I thought they were going for, they just cheapened it for the sake of shock effect.
She was struck by a bolt and fell in love ON HER WEDDING WAY, and now she’s stuck in a marriage that won’t make any of them happy.
Yes I feel sorry for the fans of Francesca and Michael’s book
I didn't read the books, but really loved Hannah's portrayal of Francesca, I probably relate most to this character. What a serious letdown, the only thing I did like just evaporated with her mooning over Michaela. When drama is prioritized over solid characters
Here they went through this whole long arc trying to show Violet that love can come in different forms and look differently than just the lightening bolt infatuation, that in all honesty will fade and isn’t what is needed to make a real marriage work long term, only to come in at the last minute and say nope! Yeah Francesca didn’t know what she wanted and now she is stuck. Haha! I didn’t like it especially since they set up these two with so much care at the beginning of the season. Just let them have their time and then introduce Michaela later not on their wedding day!
They really shouldn’t have swapped out show-runners. I think Chris would have done a better job at this. It’s clear that everything has declined since Jess took the helm-quality, writing, costumes, character development, cinematography, and even music.
I hated, HATED, that they made Francesca a lesbian and not at least bisexual. Because we just saw that these writers are incompetent, and I know that they are going to treat poor John as an obstacle, try to justify Francesca cheating with Michaela and expectating the viewers to cheer (again! Because we were through this with Edwina before)
I also hate that they throw the idea of a quiet love out of the window, and everything have to instant love/lust, with fireworks and shit.
All they had to do was make Michaela the one star struck by an oblivious Francesca, make Fran have a very happy marriage with John, and then when he dies, she and Francesca get close. Bam! You have your Sapphic romance with great representation
The did such a good job with John only to sideline him at the last moment. The Francesca storyline was the only thing I found acceptable and somehow they ruined that too! Even debling, a far better love interest than bland Colin, was dropped off the bridgerton world once the writers couldn’t use him as a love interest anymore
Or like just stick to the source material ??? We don't need anyone to be Bi or whatever. My god , they ruined benedict wasn't that enough??
@@fay4967 they ruined benedict by making him bi? how so?
this. that would be much better storyline. but show-runners LOVE drama and cheating storylines so ....
It's such a shame bc Francesca ans John's relationship and chemistry feel the most natural to me. They're also relatable bc i got closer to my now bf thanks to sharing mutual interests in art
Seasons 1, 2 and Charlotte spinoff had so many beautiful scenes and iconic dialogues that live rent-free in my brain. It's a shame this season is forgettable overall. I can't even recall one dialogue that really stood out to me.
Sorrows, sorrows, prayers. nothing has matched the scale of Charlotte saying she'll stand with George between heaven and earth or Anthony saying Kate is the bane of his existence and his honour is hanging by a thread. India is not far enough.
It also helps if you have good actors and, let's be honest, neither Luke nor Nicola are main character material, although I will concede that she is a bit better than him. Luke's delivery as Colin has always been flat and forced and, as for Penelope, this season it seemed she could only express two emotions: astonishment and over reaction.
"Inserts himself? Inserts himself where?"
@@sandyrodz6699true. I always felt they couldn’t carry the season on their shoulders like Jonathon did
i am actually a bit disapointed at the fact that francesca gave a whole speech how love doesnt need to be big and grand and how she likes the quiet and safe love she found… just for her to have the stutter-when-i-first-met-them moment with michaela at the end! why couldnt she just have a quiet love first? it felt like the writers were siding with voilet at the end, which felt weird…. they had a chance of showing a different type of love, but they went (again) with the live altering, all consuming kind of love… and it cheapens all the scenes between Francesca and John
this! quiet, gentle love is valid! ... I really don't understand why Francesca could not be bisexual who was first in quite love with John and then after his death she would discover that there is not just one true love and she would fall in love with Michaela.
Them not having Colin know shes whistledown before the engagement and sex scene bothered me so so much. Took all my ability to enjoy those moments away because he hates a core part of her identity and has no idea. And them still fighting during the wedding? Awful! And why would they not have Cressida marry Lord Debling??? Seems like an obvious solution
made me feel rather icky too as you'd question had he known would he have had sex with her? to me it was a consent issue and i really felt for colin as i'd feel so deceived considering the damage LW's done.
On my first watch I was willing to give those scenes the benefit of the doubt. My thinking was that if they’re saving the reveal for later, surely that means his reaction isn’t too bad… oh how wrong I was. After finishing the season I can’t enjoy those moments anymore, not with knowing how astonishingly awful Colin takes it. Most romantic season? Is the romance in the room with us now??? I feel so robbed.
It’s rubbish and so bad I probably won’t watch next season onwards 😢
Same. Granted, I've had a great time with the Bridgerton-era cultural zeitgeist (attended a themed ball, went to some fashion exhibitions, teas, etc), but I think my time w/ the show is done. S3 was a slog for me, watching felt obligatory and I haven't been inclined to rewatch despite having S1 and 2 on in the past as beautiful background noise / visuals. I honestly think the popularity will wane w/a 2 year wait just to get to S4. Don't mean to be unkind to the actors, creative teams, writers, etc but I just don't see us getting through all 8 siblings/books.
I kind of feel like the ball is over and it's time for me to move on.
@Sol-fo2zu they need to bring back Chris Van Dusen. His vision was cohesive. It's sad to say but I'm vouching for the man and need Jess to be fired.
I won't watch any more - prefer to read the books, as written.
This season did NOTHING right, and for that, I will no longer waste time on coming seasons. I only watched part 2 with a waning hope it would redeem itself, instead I wanted to claw my eyes out and get back the time I spent (even skimming the episodes)
@@naveenakoneru9211 I felt the same. Despite fast forwarding half of it as the storylines didn't reflect the book, I still resented the four hours wasted.
I get that this isn't meant to be a historically accurate show, and that's fine. But I think they went way too far with the costumes and makeup this season. All of a sudden all the women have obvious fake lashes, colourful eyeshadow, lipstick, and ACRYLIC NAILS?! It kind of made it hard for me to believe the characters, they all looked like regular 21st century people dressing up for a costume party... Shame because I was so excited for this season :(
The acrylics and bold red lip did it for me. Felt so jarring and out of place. I love a bit of glam and camp, but there’s gotta be a line somewhere.
And the costumes? The last episode at the ball looked plastic. 😭😂
The pacing was terrible. The costumes.filters, language and angles took us out of world emersion. There was way too many plots in the first place, then they tried to introduce whole story lines for those plots intstead of letting us dipping our toes in for next season. Collin is a horrifically written charachter and its not what he deserves. He became Pens shadow when it should have been a equal season. There is so much conflict but the conflict resolution happens before you can blink. Why do we need multiple queer story lines all of a sudden? Are we collecting them like pokemon. Why not just do one, properly Benedict being the best one for it. Also correct me if im wrong...........WAS THIS NOT A POLLIN SEASON? Do the writers hate them? All of their scenes were rough and strange when they needed to be the most genuine and powerful. So much hollow yapping from Collin, I did actually like Pen this season she was the only redeemly factor. What happened with Eloise? She is a horrible friend to both Pen and Cressida, and what became of Theo? The Queen was having imposter syndrome, she was such a weird version of herself. All in all there was alot left to be desired the only reason I watched this season is because some of the actors are indeed good actors and carried alot of this bad writing.
I like what you said about language…..They used words that were not in their vocabulary! For all the reasons we loved the show it’s gone! Nonexistent. They were so busy trying to make a point that they lost the whole story and the characters..
In the book, Colin already knows Pen is Whistledown by the time he proposes and there's none of this "entrapment" nonsense. He's conflicted but is also very protective of Pen and doesn't want her to be outcasted from society. He is also willing to use the Bridgerton name to protect her. He actually gives a speech praising her to the ton and lets everyone know she is Whistledown at the end. I like that in the show, Pen is the one divulging her identity but we didn't get a protective Colin. :(
It would have been so much better if they had let Colin and the Bridgertons come to her rescue!
@@diannehall3504 maybe... in the sense that it would have given Colin something to DO. But i think they gave that to Penelope to let her have her agency. That was the final arc of her coming into her own. Her accepting and owning both sides of her identity.
And because of that, the show had Colin go off to face Cressida to try and dissuade her
I know the show wanted to have Penelope "save herself" rather than having Colin do it for her. But I felt like that scene after she give her speech about being Whistledown, the queen says whatever bs she said and leaves, and Pen is just standing on the platform as people start to whisper about her, that's when Colin should have come up to join her, publicly showing that he supports her (and by extension the Bridgerton family supports her as well). Don't get me wrong, I loved Philipa shouting to release the "bugs", but they could have still had that with Pen and Colin on the platform together.
@@jessicasaccone7608yes! I was waiting for him to stand by his wife and… nothing. It not only makes for a bad romance but for a bad marriage. That scene was weird.
Pens outcome seems to be more of luck that the queen and nobody cared to be unpleasant, rather than her actually doing something smart to get herself and her family out of trouble.. theQueens generosity worked in seasons 1 and 2 because she’s partial to love stories. Now she’s pardoning everything under the sun. I can’t imagine she would let Whistledown off without some consequences. The ton would want to tear into her honestly
I agree with the camera angles and edits being awkward in the back half of season 3. it felt like I was on a visual rollercoaster half the time. It feels like show runners forget how well-shot and edited scenes can further immerse a viewer into the world and make it visually appealing. You can get away with some mistakes if you have moments and scenes that can make up for them. Great analysis!
Daphne’s absence during her siblings weddings wasn’t mentioned once while Edwina’s marital bliss was mentioned twice. HECK, even Cressida’s Aunt Joanna was mentioned more than the oldest and most influential daughter of the family who plays an instrumental role in the book. Anthony and Kate are here as guest appearances which I’m not mad abt but they could’ve given them more screen-time rather than focusing on Benedict’s threesome. The theme of this season had “friendship” written all over it and the makers fumbled so hard. Polin’s friendship isn’t given importance, Eloise and Pen’s friendship is hanging by a tread, Violet and Lady D are in an awkward situation and have to reevaluate their friendship. Even the Featherington’s learning how to befriend each other could’ve been used so much more. The entire season lacked the Bridgeton effect. That tension, that build up, the pacing. In the first season they had all the brother’s fencing and drinking together. This season the family bonding that we love so much is missing. I wanted to see more of Violet the mother. Violet’s scenes with both Daphne and Anthony could give Colin a run for his money. This season we barely see Violet present in her kids lives or even Violet having a heartfelt conversation about her role in society as a widowed dowager falling for someone after all these years. Colin feels bland. Benedict’s plot is lost. Eloise is just there. Francesca is speechless and apparently smitten after seeing her two day old husbands cousin, Daphne is not mentioned, Anthony is not to be seen even-tough he is the main financier of the family, Gregory and Hyacinth don’t have many scenes. The Family of Bridgeton’s don’t feel like a family anymore they feel so scattered, lost, out of touch which is just so sad. Penelope and Colin was supposed to be the most loved couple of all and sadly didn’t live up to the mark because we barely got Colin and Penelope as kids or teens. This season had so much potential and they fumbled BIG TIME. Here’s hoping the team takes the criticism seriously and works out the loop holes for the next season.
Thank you❣
THIS THIS THIS, agreed with every word you said, whewww this was my exact thoughts, the potential to be the most loved with the theme of ‘ friends’ and they couldn’t pull through
This season was so off. The magic that the first 2 seasons had was lost. The main love story for this season didn’t get the time it needed to build up the ‘swooning’ between the two. It was so rushed and it didn’t give their love story the depth it deserved.
You’re right about the camera angles as well. The scene where Eloise and Colin are at the staircase discussing their feeling about Pen being Whistledown should have been extremely emotional. The actors did a good job in the scene but having to watch the interaction between the railings of the staircase made me lose the emotional build up in that discussion as I couldn’t focus on the emotional impact it had on the actors properly. I don’t even know much about directing or filming but the angle stood out to me 😐
It’s so sad that they fumbled the season for pen and Colin 😪
Okay, sorry in advance for the unbelievably long comment (but I have way too many thoughts and feelings 😅)
My God this season was a mess. I really appreciate you talking about the technical elements, because it really does influence how an audience perceives the show, whether people realize it or not. From the way it was shot and edited all the way down to the costumes, which were all over the place this season, the visual language was abandoned, none of it was cohesive. The first two seasons struck a balance between the regency aesthetic and modern sensibilities. Even as the period drama snob that I am, I could appreciate and praise the show for addressing that it wasn't trying to be historically accurate and preferred to create their own in-universe logic. But this season all logic has been thrown out the window. Where's all the respect and care put into the first two seasons and QC?? Jess Brownell has to be taken out of this writers room immediately. Please, Lord, bring back Chris Van Dusen.
- Kate and Anthony were the light of this season, Jonathan and Simone are a blessing. I love seeing Anthony so unhinged and chaotically in love and Kate living her best life being so loved and supported by him and at ease within the Bridgertons. But even their exits weren't safe from sloppy writing. You have two of the best characters in the show, who're fan favorites, played by two actors (one of them arguably one of the best actors of his generation, rising to superstardom) with amazing chemistry who've both been very vocal about wanting to come back to continue their characters' story and you just keep sending them away??
- Benedict is basically just a piece of meat to the writers at this point. For a show that prides itself on not being 'exploitative' & 'gratuitous' with it's sex scenes, his scenes felt pretty fuckin' gratuitous. Its a shame Luke Thompson's talents are not being utilized to their potential.
- The conclusion to Francesca's storyline is a slap in the face to book readers (and I say this as someone hasn't read them) Not just the gender swap, which is a disservice to the source material, but the mere fact that Francesca shows interest in someone other than John literally TWO DAYS after getting married only adds insult to injury. They managed to get us invested in this sweet, quiet, love story only to throw it away, when the main theme in Fran's book is about having two great (different) loves and how one doesn't diminish the other.
- Wtf was that Mondrich storyline? Literally no purpose whatsoever.
- I actually appreciated Eloise's character development this season and the fact that her & Pen's relationship was treated with the importance it deserves.
- As for Polin, I tend to feel the same as you. They felt like an afterthought in their own season. I will admit that they started to win me back a little during this second half (I enjoyed Colin defending Pen against her family), but thats mostly on Luke and Nicola more so than the writing itself and by the end I didn't really know what to think. Pen had some great character moments, specially with Portia, but with Colin its literally like "What even is Colin?". Whereas the previous male leads have been incredibly complex characters he's got the personality of cardboard and even though the plotline of him wanting to be a writer came from the book, in the show it was just thrown in there.
- And lastly, the resolution to Whistledown was so underwhelming, considering that this plot has been a throughline since the first season. While I do agree that the Queen definitely enjoyed her rivalry with Whistledown, are we really expected to believe that she would be that chill about it after being challenged so many times? After her stellar spinoff, her arc this season felt like a disservice to her character. Also that the ton would just be ok with Pen after all the damage she has inflicted upon them? Was the conclusion to a 3 season long storyline really "gossip is what bonds us all together"?
This season was such a misfire, and its insane to realize how much a single person (showrunner) can change things. It's really sad to see a season of television with so much potential be thrown away. Obviously one would hope it gets better but, it is not looking good.
The makeup and costumes were awful this season it felt like they were in the Bridgerton theme Halloween party. They also dropped the ball with the editing so hard that you don't need any movie expert to point out that even the general audience can see it! I think the writers didn't know what to do with Colin's character, although you don't always agree with Penelope's choices at least she is interesting. Overall, I think this season lacked "care" from the showrunners when compared to the previous seasons. In S1 & S2 the cinematography was beautiful it had a unique fantastical touch with its mesmerising outdoor shots and closeups on the intricate details of the background of the ball scenes such as the closeups of rain drops in the lemonade glass, flowers in S1E8. Whereas this season felt almost like a parody of Bridgerton which people loved.
'Bridgerton-themed Halloween party ' - good one! You are so correct. The dresses that Phillipa and Prudence wore to their ball were so bad that I doubt you'd find them at a Spirit store (local Halloween costume store that pops up in October).
This new showrunner needs to get the boot, I did not enjoy it at all.
A year ago I read that season 3 had been delayed over 'dark' storyline changes: "Filming has been delayed due to the screenwriter not being happy with the direction of it. There are some elements that Shonda is just not happy with so wants to change them. Some of it got very dark." I still wonder what the original storyline was.
Me too I am so curious.
Ohh I'm curious now!!
Based on what was actually released, I can't believe it was anything else other than literally a remake of Society.
Yeah, and Luke N kept saying how intense some things were that he was in tears and needed to regroup after.
Oh, wow, I am super curious now as to what got rewritten.