Bridgerton Season 3: Review
By Sioph W. Leal
Bridgerton is back, this time finding Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) searching for a husband and trying to get over her long-held crush on Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton). Penelope says the one thing she wants is independence so she can live her life how she wants and in peace away from her mother, sisters, and their husbands. While she is confident and quick-witted in her alter-ego of Lady Whistledown, as Penelope, she lacks confidence and any skill with potential husbands. Wanting to win back her friendship, Colin offers his services to help her find a husband and quickly realises that there is more than friendship to their bond. One of the staples of Bridgerton is how they weave together the regency-era setting with a raunchier take, but with the close familial bond of the titular family, and explore common tropes used in the romance genre in a new light. This season is classified as friends to lovers, skipping Benedict Bridgerton’s (Luke Thompson) book in favour of this plot—something that has divided the strong fanbase.
Despite the previous two seasons' worth of build-up in the background of other characters' stories, now that Penelope and Colin’s story is the central focus, it becomes dimmer now that they are propelled into leading positions. While Coughlan is a natural delight as a season lead, the detriment of the season is her leading man. The chemistry, promised by an exuberant press campaign, fails to live up to the hype on screen, mostly due to the limited range of Newton. No matter how overly quaffed the hair or the out-of-place costume (modelled on Marlboro Man and modern cowboy aesthetics, previously confirmed by Jess Brownell at the Tudum event), it is clear Colin Bridgerton lacks any of the charm or pull of his other family members. At times, it often seems that he is not really present in the scene, distracted by the same pout, or, when he does decide to emote a new emotion, it is over the top and distracting, especially when Coughlan steps into the lead so effortlessly.
Traditionally, a leading man has charisma, emotional depth, adaptability, and a commanding screen presence, but Luke Newton, try as he may, proves that he has neither as he attempts the same two looks throughout the season. The writers of Bridgerton try to overcompensate for Newton’s lack of on-screen charisma by constantly reminding the audience that he had salacious adventures (mostly in Paris) and having a group of young women swoon over him at a moment's notice, with everyone doing over-the-top reactions to the tiniest thing he does and dropping praise for his dull character as if he were the only one in the room. Unfortunately, Newton doesn’t have the natural screen presence or charisma to make this believable, which is made more evident when Benedict is on the screen and others naturally flock to him. The same can be said of his romantic rival, Lord Debling (Sam Phillips), who has a calming presence but a magnetic pull that leaves viewers longing to see more of him as if he were the season's lead, and with his natural chemistry with Coughlan, it's something we wish were the case. It's easy to contrast the two given they are both vying for the same woman’s affections, and, for some reason, both are classified as the catch of the season. However, it is easy to see that in Debling, given his natural charm, emotional range, and the character's title, it is hard to see third-born son Colin, who, despite an exaggerated score, gives nothing.
Jess Brownell is Bridgerton’s new showrunner, and though she had a major hand in the past two seasons, the latest instalment feels as if Brownell was apprehensive of exploring different avenues with the new couple, using the blueprints of season one as Colin and Penelope progress their relationship past friendship. One thing that Brownell has been adamant on is that this season is more feminist, but sisters are pitted against each other in a race to have a male heir, enemies are fighting each other to marry a wealthy lord, and this season’s lead wants freedom by finding a husband. Had Brownell not mentioned this feminist angle in recent interviews, that theme would certainly have been missed in the writing of the season. Penelope, as a character, relies a lot on Colin to help her in the marriage market, neglecting Portia’s (Polly Walker's) comical expertise. Proving successful in her matches for her other children and the scheming from the debut season, it is curious that Penelope didn’t even think of her family's help. Of course, it could be for the strained relationship between them all, but with the eldest Featherington daughters now married, it would have been interesting for Penelope and Portia’s dynamic to be explored in this way. In fact, Colin does not help Penelope at all, yet someone gets the credit (an infuriatingly common theme in the first four episodes). It is when Portia inserts herself into Penelope’s mission that she finally secures a proposal from Lord Debling.
In any regency drama, costuming can be just as important as the writing and unfortunately, the costuming seemed to have lost its way this season. While some of the costumes in season three can be lovely to look at, such as Penelope in her more muted tones, there are a lot that seem to disregard the regency element all together, paired with make-up that can be extremely modern. It feels as if those respective departments had decided to go a completely different route to the regency-inspired designs they had wonderfully executed in the previous seasons.
Since season two, the Bridgerton writers have shifted the show's focus into more of an ensemble storyline and while season two teased with this, season three fully embraces it. Characters that have taken a secondary role are at the forefront, and none stand out better than Will (Martins Imhangbe) and Alice (Emma Naomi) Mondrich, as well as Francessca Bridgerton (now played by Hannah Dodd). Will and Alice are thrust into polite society as their eldest son is now the heir to the barony of Kent, and while this seemed a little farfetched, Imhangbe and Naomi perfectly execute the excitement and apprehension of the Ton. Having them explore this new world and its rules gives them a much-needed breath of fresh air. In the past, the Mondrich’s were background players, but seeing them combined in this new setting makes for an enjoyable watch, particularly as Alice learns about the freedoms of her new status and how their family navigates their old life and their new.
Francessca Bridgerton is a natural scene stealer in season three, and that is largely thanks to Dodd’s incredible, delicate performance. She is nothing like her sisters, and while she doesn’t necessarily want a love match, things shift when she meets John, Earl of Kilmartin (Victor Alli). There are times when these two are a masterclass in chemistry; even in their silence, there is a comfortable familiarity, with both clearly wanting more. It’s a stark comparison to the supposed main couple, Colin and Penelope, who try a little too hard to show they are falling in love with each other. Introverted and charming, Francesca’s simple yet sweet performance captures the anxiety she feels in the Ton environment and how much she longs for quiet or playing her music. Despite her quietness, she captures focus well, something Penelope even notices with 'it seems every Bridgerton was born to attract notice,' and that they do, except for the third Bridgerton.
Chemistry is important for the leads of a series focusing on romance and drama, and in Bridgerton, this is something the series has been praised for in the past with Daphne and Simon, as well as Anthony and Kate, characters whose screen time is massively reduced or is no longer part of the season. Simone Ashley and Jonathan Bailey’s chemistry as Kate and Anthony drew much acclaim, but that does not apply to the new leads of the season. Colin gives nothing to his leading partner, who seems to have different aspects of his Bridgerton siblings transplanted into his ever-changing personality to make him interesting or force some chemistry out. It doesn’t work. The chemistry lacks even in moments when it is meant to be palpable, in emotionally intense moments, but there is nothing there. Their first dance, normally a significant moment where their bond oozes with longing, bores. Despite a beautiful instrumental of Taylor Swift’s Snow on the Beach, it comes off as awkward at best and boring at worst. Shortly after is the heavily publicised carriage scene that book fans have been waiting for, and given how Bridgerton has cultivated a reputation for raunchier scenes that engross you, all there is to this scene is panting breath and over-the-top music in something that seems clumsy and not choreographed. They build up to the moment that did not work, and all that is left of this scene is gasps and moans—that’s it. Coughlan does try to make the moment salvageable, but nothing can help it, not even the random and lacking proposal that follows.
It seems that under the new showrunner, Bridgerton is lost for ideas and is afraid of the spark it had cultivated in past seasons. While Coughlan is a strong lead and propels the story forward, Newton is anything but. Ideals of a more feminist approach and fierier chemistry were promised but left unfulfilled, but the season is saved by the ensemble cast of Hannah Dodd, Emma Naomi, Sam Phillips, and Martins Imhangbe. Thankfully, we still have Featherington shenanigans that keep the plot entertaining through Portia’s repeated desire for survival and security.
The first four episodes of Season three of Bridgerton airs on May 16th 2024.