If we weren’t already obsessed enough with Polin…
Editor’s note: The below contains spoilers for Bridgerton Season 3 Part 1.
The Big Picture
- Penelope and Colin’s carriage scene in
Bridgerton
Season 3 Part 1 marks a pivotal moment of vulnerability and passion for both characters. - The female-focused intimacy scene challenges traditional norms and showcases the growth and dynamic of their relationship in a modern way.
- Colin’s transformation from frivolous bachelor to attentive lover highlights his maturity and newfound pursuit of Penelope’s pleasure above his own.
In the finale of Part 1, Season 3 of Bridgerton, the episode closes out on a high note that leaves all of us out of sorts and completely breathless. After seasons of pining from afar and tiptoeing around each other, our new favorite couple, Penelope (Nicola Coughlan) and Colin (Luke Newton), hop into the privacy of a carriage to argue but end up rocking the carriage in an intimate scene that would make romance veterans blush. While this may just seem like the ultimate payoff for ardent Polin fans, the steamy scene actually says a lot about each of the characters’ individual development, while also marking the growth and dynamic of their relationship… or, according to Colin, marriage.
With so much anticipation built up for this particular scene through Julia Quinn‘s novels, filming it as an entirely female-focused experience, where Penelope’s pleasure is prioritized over Colin’s, makes us realize how much of a trademark it is in Bridgerton’s successful pairings. The show flips the script on traditional intimacy rules, leaving us gushing over the tantalizing atmosphere created by this fan-favorite couple.
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
- Seasons
- 3
Penelope Learns How To Be Vulnerable in ‘Bridgerton’ Season 3
Penelope’s character has been gradually fleshed out over the past two seasons, as she is clearly obsessed with romance yet is too scared to branch out of her comfort zone. Despite being donned in bright canary colors, she prefers to remain hidden in the shadows, safely tucked away from the throes of passionate romance and content in her role as an observer, embodied by her secret identity as Lady Whistledown (voiced by Julie Andrews). As such, the Bridgerton Season 3 storyline of Colin helping Penelope find a suitable husband emphasizes her need to come into her own and break free from the societal shackles of the ton to indulge in true romance. This is accentuated by her stunning transformation that she wasn’t quite ready for. Ironically, she switches out her vivid colors for a moody emerald to fit into the mold of the ton‘s aesthetic expectations, yet is further ostracized due to her lack of comfort around social interactions. Colin’s lessons of standing against social pressures and becoming more vulnerable become the essence of Penelope’s arc, and though it seems like this culminates in her pursuit of Lord Debling (Sam Phillips), the real payoff is the carriage scene.
The power of this intimacy scene in Episode 4 of Bridgerton is her raw vulnerability, something that Colin had been trying to teach her. And really where is she more herself and less caring about what others think than behind those doors of that carriage? Penelope sheds all her awkward reservations and effortlessly leans into the scene, literally trembling with visceral passion and vulnerability. While the scandal of her needing help to find a suitor made it into the pages of her Whistledown installments, it is here that Penelope truly becomes the open and daring romantic protagonist she writes and fantasizes about. Though this display may still be behind closed doors, and she still has a lot of distance to cover before she truly transcends the boundaries of the rigid ton, it is a far cry from her silent longing in Season 1.
Colin’s Character Arc Peaks in ‘Bridgerton’s Carriage Scene
On the other hand, Colin has been wrought by his unanticipated and sudden feelings for Penelope in the last couple of episodes, completely unraveling himself with his unbidden thoughts and dreams. Newton himself describes Colin as “tortured” during an interview with TV Insider, which is the perfect word to describe the tousled, dark-eyed Colin during this period. Returning from his travels, he very quickly falls into the rhythm of toying with the ton’s debutantes’ feelings and laughing about it in the gentlemen’s club, all depicting the typical culture of young bachelors. However, during this more “tortured” period, there is a scene where Colin fleetingly attempts to challenge the norms of young men behaving frivolously and superficially about women’s bodies. However, being met with laughter and ridicule, he quickly separates himself from the crowd, actually taking his own advice to Penelope about following one’s own inner self. This transition to love marks his growing maturity, and this is especially exemplified in how he treats Penelope in the carriage scene.
Going from the raucous scenes with sex workers to now practically worshiping Penelope’s body, he places love above the casual flings he prioritized before. After going through his wrought and depressing internal conflict, he lays himself down at the altar of Penelope, and is only really concerned with her pleasure without worrying about his own. It also hints at a sort of resolution of his mental distress, as his previous wandering eye is pulled into a single-minded pursuit of Penelope’s pleasure. During the same interview with TV Insider, Newton says he is both “excited and proud” of Colin as he has “finally got his ducks in a row and knows what he wants” as he confesses his feelings to Penelope. However, with his closing proposal, there is a chance he may be getting too carried away (although they did just exit the carriage unchaperoned, so it’s definitely the road to go down). The entire scene is topped off with the string rendition of Pitbull’s “Give Me Everything,” as Colin ravenously devours Penelope and also rips the souls out of our bodies as well.
‘Bridgerton’s Couples All Have One Thing in Common
While the carriage scene marks milestones in the couple’s individual journeys, it certainly also has implications for their relationship. With the scene being so female-focused and Colin taking most of the agency in ensuring Penelope’s pleasure, it reflects the mentor-mentee dynamic they had earlier in the season. Colin’s passionate yet delicate treatment of Penelope is almost as if he is still trying to coax her out of her shell, while also constantly being aware of how comfortable and safe he feels. He sporadically pulls back to quickly gauge her confidence levels before going back and pushing it further, creating a beautiful, heart-warming and gentle display of consent and love. Coughlan mentions in an interview with USA Today that the cameras were placed outside the carriage, making the moment far more intimate: “Really, it’s just this moment between these two characters.” It also makes this first time feel more like an untouchable bubble of love, far away from the condescending ton and their expectations.
The focus on female pleasure is also a motif for love in the primary Bridgerton couples in the show. More often than not, we see Anthony (Jonathan Bailey) and Simon (Regé-Jean Page) going down on their wives instead of focusing on their own pleasure in intimacy scenes. In fact, there is a direct comparison in Season 3 where Anthony is focused on far more “important things” than the chaos outside when he is in bed with Kate (Simone Ashley). On the other hand, this season also includes a direct contrast of the loveless marriages of Penelope’s sisters, who, admittedly, don’t really get anywhere near the pleasure we see with Penelope. As such, the carriage scene also deftly places Penelope and Colin alongside the tested and idolized couples on the Bridgerton podium, earning them a sort of credibility and cache that they certainly didn’t need but is exciting to see.
‘Bridgerton’s Carriage Scene Flips Traditional Intimacy Rules
Using female-focused intimacy scenes like this is another one of Bridgerton’s ways to add modernity to this Regency-era piece. Alongside the beautiful string versions of pop songs and the culturally diverse casting, Bridgerton stays relevant and modern through these touches that are hidden beneath so much grandeur that they become subtle. And yes, this includes the color-blind casting, because if you saw Simon glide on screen and immediately challenged the validity of a person of color as a Duke in Regency London, before being gobsmacked about how drop-dead gorgeous he is, you are lying to yourself. Similarly, Bridgerton assaults us with emotion and breathlessness before we can question how Colin and Penelope managed to get away with being unchaperoned in a carriage, while also instantly breaking down all traditional depictions of intimacy.
While the limited time in the carriage may have been a factor in choosing who gives and who receives, the show could have easily switched the roles over and followed the traditional rules of intimacy that are commonplace on the screen and in real life, where men’s pleasure is prioritized and a woman’s is essentially omitted. The stigma around women’s pleasure is gradually being eroded, as we also see it freely and voraciously represented in Prime Video’s recent film The Idea of You, but it is still refreshing to see it being so indulgently exhibited on screen. As such, this female-focused scene becomes a love letter to women’s pleasure but also sets up a tantalizing sexual dynamic that embodies the growth of this fan-favorite couple.
The first four episodes of Bridgerton Season 3 are available to stream on Netflix in the U.S., with Part 2 set to premiere on June 13.
WATCH ON NETFLIX
This article was originally published on collider.com