Just because he’s the perfect man doesn’t mean he’s perfect for Penelope!
Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for Season 3 Part 1 of Bridgerton.
The Big Picture
- Love triangle drama intensifies in
Bridgerton
Season 3 as Lord Debling challenges Colin for Penelope’s heart. - Colin breaks expectations as a unique romantic hero, facing challenges to win Penelope’s affection in a captivating storyline.
- Penelope faces a tough choice between practicality and love, ultimately choosing to follow her heart over societal expectations.
Honestly, the first part of the third season of Bridgerton should’ve opened with a big warning: this TV series might make you catch feelings for characters you shouldn’t. First, there’s Cressida Cowper (Jessica Madsen) being so much more than the mean girl she was made up to be in Seasons 1 and 2. Then, there’s Francesca’s (Hannah Dodd) romance with Lord Stirling (Victor Alli) nearly outshining the season’s main pairing, Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) and Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan). Finally, what do you even do with your heart when you find yourself falling for the part of the love triangle that isn’t even in love to begin with? Oh, Lord Alfred Debling (Sam Phillips), why did you have to be so dashing and captivating?
Bridgerton
The eight close-knit siblings of the Bridgerton family look for love and happiness in London high society.
- Release Date
- December 25, 2020
- Creator
- Chris Van Dusen
- Cast
- Rege-Jean Page , Julie Andrews , Jonathan Bailey , Ruth Gemmell , Polly Walker , Golda Rosheuvel , Phoebe Dynevor , Simone Ashley , Luke Newton , Nicola Coughlan
- Main Genre
- Drama
- Seasons
- 3
- Studio
- Netflix
Lord Debling Follows in the Footsteps of Prince Friedrich and Edwina
Seriously, now that we are all caught up with the four episodes that Netflix has released so far, we can all admit that we had something of a hard time understanding why anyone would choose Colin over Lord Debling, the top-shelf catch that new showrunner Jess Brownell has introduced to the ton and to Penelope’s life. But, come on, the answer to that question is simple: the heart wants what the heart wants. Penelope has been in love with Colin Bridgerton ever since she can remember, and it is not the sudden appearance of a swoon-worthy bachelor that will make her forget her own feelings. However, the level of attractiveness Lord Debling is on definitely poses a problem.
Not for the show itself, of course. Bridgerton‘s romances have always been nearly foiled by third-parties just as gorgeous and interesting as the main couple. In Season 1, the Duke of Hastings (Regé-Jean Page) had to compete for Daphne’s (Phoebe Dynevor) with the equally breathtakingly handsome Prince Friedrich (Freddie Stroma). And, in Season 2, even though it was clear that she was less mature and worldly than her older sister, Edwina (Charithra Chandran) was just as beautiful and interesting as Kate (Simone Ashley). Thus, it is only fair and expected for Colin and Penelope to have someone like Debling standing in their way. However, for this particular couple, the fact that Lord Debling is such a fine catch might be particularly less savory.
Colin Is Unlike Any Other Romantic Hero in ‘Bridgerton’
For starters, we have to take into consideration Colin’s singularity as a romantic hero in Bridgerton. Unlike his siblings, Daphne and Anthony (Jonathan Bailey), Colin isn’t the protagonist of his story. That would be Penelope, who is the one that must grow, change, and make all the hard choices this season. She’s also the one whose happiness we’re rooting for. What matters is that Penelope has been in love with him since forever, thus, we want him to love her back. With that in mind, we have to consider that Colin is also unlike other romantic interests in the show: he wasn’t just introduced to the story, even though he did change his personality quite a bit. Instead, he has always been there. Because of that, there’s also a part of us that is rooting for Colin’s happiness as well as Penelope’s. After all, he’s already a character that we have come to know and love. In a way, he’s also a lot different from Simon and Kate.
But the challenges he faces aren’t that unlike those faced by other Bridgerton protagonists. Much like Daphne and Anthony, he has to stop being stubborn and learn to accept what his heart truly desires. And, much like Simon and Kate, he has to fight for Penelope’s affections with a suitor that is considered much more appropriate than himself. Simon, a rakish duke, had the perfect incarnation of Prince Charming as his rival, while Kate, the daughter of a common clerk, had her own half-sister, the legitimate daughter of a lady, on the other corner. Colin, in turn, a third son with no titles, has as his opposition a man with “lord” attached to his name.
Lord Debling Seems Like the Perfect Match for Penelope in ‘Bridgerton’
But that is not all. You see, in Season 2, for instance, Bridgerton was quick to show us that Anthony and Edwina were a terrible, terrible match. The two had nothing in common with each other and couldn’t be more miserable in one another’s presence. That, however, is not the case with Penelope and Lord Debling. Not only do they seem to enjoy talking to each other, but Lord Debling also brings a lot to Penelope’s proverbial table. First and foremost, he doesn’t read Lady Whistledown (voiced by Julie Andrews) and, therefore, is not aware of Colin and Penelope’s scandalous plan to help her find a husband. And when he finds out, he doesn’t judge her or scorn her for her plan. An environmentalist and a vegetarian in Regency England, he’s heard a lot of junk from a lot of people, and nothing really bothers him anymore. Then there’s the fact that his devotion to nature frequently requires his presence elsewhere, which would grant his wife a lot of spare time that she could devote to her own hobbies. In Penelope’s case, that would mean free time to write more of Lady Whistledown’s Society Papers.
All of this brings us to Penelope’s specificities when it comes to finding a husband. At the age of 28, at least according to her book in the Bridgerton series, Romancing Mister Bridgerton, Penelope is bordering spinster territory. To add insult to injury, in her third year out, she still hasn’t brought any suitors home. This might all be her mother’s fault for dressing her in such horrid outfits, but society doesn’t care. Unable to inherit property due to the legislation of the time, the third daughter in an exclusively female family, and already approaching an undesirable age, Penelope needs to find a husband as soon as possible, and Lord Debling seems like the perfect choice. It’s no wonder that her mother keeps pushing her towards him, and it’s also no wonder that she nearly accepts his unmade proposal. No one would be able to fault her if she did.
‘Bridgerton’ Season 3 Part 1 Ending Explained: More Than Friends
We’ll never look at a carriage the same way again.
Penelope Faces a Hard Choice in ‘Bridgerton’ Season 3
For Penelope, choosing between Debling and Colin is choosing between practicality and love. It’s a choice that many women of her time did not have a chance to make. For them, the practical alternative would frequently be the only one: have a sensible marriage with a wealthy and, if you were lucky, minimally pleasant husband, and that’s it. But Penelope is a romantic. She has always dreamed of marrying Colin Bridgerton and walking down the aisle with Lord Debling would mean the end of all her fantasies. Since Lord Debling would also not be around and is vocally not looking for love, it would also mean a life of loneliness and lovelessness, with just Lady Whistledown to keep her company. When we put that on the table, side by side, with how alone Penelope already feels with her family, well, things change…
Suddenly, it’s not hard to understand why Penelope would go for Colin. It’s marrying your first love versus essentially settling. He might be good-looking, rich, and pretty progressive, but it’s still settling. Who wouldn’t choose love? And who, given the social context, would not be mad at their daughter for squandering such a sensible union? The only problem is that Penelope doesn’t know for sure if Colin loves her back, at least, not initially. As far as she knows, he would never dream of courting her, as he told his friends at the end of Season 2. Perhaps because of that, Penelope doesn’t choose: it is Debling who makes that choice for her. When he realizes that Penelope is in love with Colin, he expresses his concern regarding her fidelity and politely breaks up their yet-to-be-realized engagement.
In the end, the fact that Debling is such a catch is, at the same time, why Penelope should marry him and why she can’t. She should marry him because, on paper, he seems to be the ideal man for her, and she must make sensible choices for her family’s sake. But she can’t marry him because that Mr. Right façade merely serves to hide the fact that she doesn’t love him and that he doesn’t love her. Marrying him would not have made Penelope any happier, nor would it be the right course of action for a romance story such as Bridgerton. So let’s all thank Colin for putting an end to that madness. And if you’re still in love with Lord Debling, well, maybe he still has a chance with Cressida.
Bridgerton Season 3 Part 1 is available to stream on Netflix in the U.S.
This article was originally published on collider.com