Quite literally the biggest spoilers of Bridgerton Season 3, Part 1 are ahead. If you have not watched the regency romance, you can stream the first four episodes of the latest season with a Netflix subscription.
Dearest reader, after two long years of waiting, the first part of Colin and Penelope’s love story has premiered on the 2024 TV schedule. This means I’ve been ruminating on my annoyed feelings about Colin Bridgerton for a very, very long time – we all remember what he said about Pen – and I wasn’t sure if I could get over it. However, Bridgerton worked its magic, and by the end of the first four episodes of Season 3, my tune about the middle Bridgerton brother totally changed because of two specific scenes.
Why I Was So Annoyed With Colin At The End Of Season 2
At the end of the regency romance's second season, I was head over heels for most of the Bridgerton characters, however, when it came to Colin I had a bone to pick. He’s always been blissfully ignorant, however, toward the end of Season 2 that cluelessness turned into arrogant ignorance, and while unintentional it was not good at all.
He made some royally stupid decisions at the end of the season – namely speaking ill of Penelope – and I could not forgive him for it at the time.
First of all, the fact that he was so blind to Pen’s love for him baffles me. Secondly, he was so clouded by his need to please people and be wanted, that he lost all his better judgment, which is annoying. That kind of clueless confidence really rubbed me the wrong way, and I didn’t know how he’d be redeemed in Season 2.
I had no doubt they’d be able to change my mind about him though, because they turned me into the biggest Anthony fan last season after not liking him in Season 1. And guess what? They did.
Violet’s Conversation With Colin Was Very Eye-Opening
While Colin got a glow-up this season physically, I also needed him to have one mentally. In Seasons 1 and 2, so many of his decisions were made in an effort to please those around him, and in a way, it made it so he didn’t know who he truly was. He said things he didn’t believe, like speaking poorly about his best friend, and it was sad to see.
However, there was a conversation Colin had with his mom, Violet, in the fourth episode where she called out his people-pleasing tendencies, and asked him to put himself first. She said:
You have always been one of my most sensitive children. Always aware of what others need, always trying to be helpful or offering a joke to lighten the mood. You so rarely put yourself first. I am proud of your sensitivity, but living to please others, I imagine it can be wearing at times, painful, perhaps. So, I do not blame you for putting on armor lately. But, you must be careful that the armor does not rust and set so that you might never be able to take it off.
While I always knew Luke Newton’s character was a people pleaser to a fault, I had never seen it this way. It was necessary for Colin to realize why he was acting the way he was, and it was necessary for me too.
Violet pointing out her son’s sensitivity and need to make others happy allowed me to have more empathy for Colin, and it helped me better understand why he made the mistakes he did in Season 2. This conversation also pushed him to finally do something for himself and not worry about what society thinks of it.
Overall, both the Bridgerton boy and I had a reckoning about his behavior because of Voilet, and I’m very grateful to her for it.
Colin Acting On His Feelings For Penelope Was When The Tides Fully Turned For Me
So, my opinion of Colin was moving in a positive direction throughout Season 3’s first part, however, I was still vexed with him. For the first two episodes, he was utterly clueless about Penelope’s love for him, and it took her kissing him to shift his entire world.
Once Mr. Colin “Down Bad” Bridgerton entered the chat, I started to get more on board. He became more aware of both Pen’s feelings and his own, and he started acting for himself rather than others. Although, his lack of action in episodes two and three wasn’t the best.
That all changed though after his conversation with his mom and his dance with Penelope. He realized he had to act on his feelings, and he needed to be with her. Finally seeing him come to his senses and not be so blind to the world around him and what he wants made me incredibly happy.
Then, to see him so confidently pursue Pen’s carriage and tell her how he felt was the true turning point for me.
He was so vulnerable and honest, and he finally wasn’t acting with armor on or trying to impress someone. He knew, with confidence, that he wanted to be with Penelope, and he wasn’t afraid to tell her that.
What followed in the carriage was proof that he was ready to pursue this relationship and that he didn’t care what society felt about it. He knew when he kissed her and they shared that intimate moment in the carriage, they had to get married, and he wanted that.
The final line of the season’s first part was:
For God's sake, Penelope Featherington, are you going to marry me or not?
That right there solidified my love for Colin Bridgerton, and proved to me that he had grown far past that low moment at the end of Season 2.
Now, as we go into Part 2 of Bridgerton Season 3 -- which drops on June 13 per Netflix’s 2024 release schedule -- I’m curious to see how Colin grows as an individual and in his relationship with Penelope. There’s still obviously the problem of he doesn’t know she’s Lady Whistledown to solve. However, now that our leading man has matured and reckoned with his people-pleasing tendencies and ignorance, I think he’ll handle it much better than he’s managed issues in the past. Or at least that’s what I’m hoping.
I love Colin Bridgerton now, and I’m not afraid to say it. Now, I can’t wait to see how my appreciation and admiration for him evolves in Bridgerton Season 3, Part 2.
