We’re back! In Bridgerton 3×06 “Romancing Mister Bridgerton,” Penelope has to choose between her identity as Lady Whistledown, the only thing that made her feel seen and that she built for herself, and her future with Colin, the man she has loved all her life. What will she choose? To find out, keep reading! Ready?
Here we go!
Confessions and Dreams in Bridgerton 3×06 “Romancing Mister Bridgerton”
In Bridgerton 3×06 “Romancing Mister Bridgerton,” Colin and Penelope are left alone in the church and Penelope ends up confessing the magnitude of her feelings. She has loved him since she met him, there is not a moment in her life that she doesn’t remember loving him, even when she was her friend, she wanted so much more.
Colin loves hearing this confession from Penelope. Seeing her behavior, how she sometimes avoids his eyes, how bad she has been feeling these days, that secret that she didn’t dare tell him… Colin was terrified that Penelope wouldn’t reciprocate the intensity of his feelings. But here she is, letting him know that she always loved him and the only thing he regrets, as he tells Penelope, is not having seenher before.
But that doesn’t matter. There is nothing that makes Penelope happier than the present, than being with him. Forever. That’s worth any sacrifice…like the one Penelope is making.
However, although Penelope gave up being Whistledown in Bridgerton 3×06 “Romancing Mister Bridgerton,” she can still be close to the world of writing if she helps Colin edit his diary. Thus, not only would she live her dreams through those of her husband, as Portia told her, but they would both live that dream together.
But Colin soon dashes Penelope’s hopes. He wants to edit the diary by himself, to prove to himself that he can do it and also to show Penelope what he is capable of. To deserve her one day. And, as sweet as this is, he breaks Penelope’s heart.
Dangerous Friendships
Eloise and Cressida meet again in Bridgerton 3×06 “Romancing Mister Bridgerton” after the lie that Cressida dropped in the Ton. Eloise, unlike everyone else, knows that Cressida is lying and judges her for it, albeit for the wrong reasons. This time, Cressida is not doing it to attract attention, but because it’s the only way out that she has left. And Eloise should know since she is the only one who is aware of Cressida’s family situation.
The point is that Cressida, on this occasion, doesn’t approach Eloise for any reason other than to use her. Whistledown is cunning and highly intelligent, Eloise is the only one who can replicate her sharp comments without anyone suspecting, including the Queen. But Eloise sees through Cressida’s lies and doesn’t plan to participate in this charade, which is the right decision.
Faced with her refusal, Cressida brings out the cruelest side of her… making accurate comments. She accuses Eloise of only knowing how to talk, not listen. And she is right. Eloise focuses too much on her circumstances, on her feelings, and she doesn’t make an effort to understand other circumstances or put herself in someone else’s shoes. Eloise tends to judge others under the premise of moral superiority without trying to understand their motives.
Additionally, in Bridgerton 3×06 “Romancing Mister Bridgerton,” Cressida also accuses Eloise of being envious because Whistledown is doing something for herself. And it’s not the first time that Eloise has heard these words.
Penelope accused her of the same thing during her fight after Eloise discovered her secret. Then, Eloise laughed at those words and denied it, but now, it’s the first time that she recognizes that there is a part of her that envies that Whistledown dares to do something for herself, while Eloise never dared to do it. Apart from this, Eloise recognizes another important thing. She’s felt invisible this entire season and now she can better understand why Whistledown started writing.
Eloise is admitting that she now understands Penelope’s motives for her secret identity a little more because, if she felt invisible for a while and it was horrible, what must it have been like for Penelope to feel that way her entire life? This is tremendously important because resolving what was broken between Penelope and Eloise not only requires forgiveness but also understanding. And this is the beginning.
Impossible Choices in Bridgerton 3×06 “Romancing Mister Bridgerton”
In Bridgerton 3×06 “Romancing Mister Bridgerton” Eloise comes over to talk to Colin after everything that happened at the engagement ball. And, of course, Whistledown comes up. In this conversation, Eloise glimpses what Colin’s reaction would be to discovering that she knew this secret…and it’s not good.
But beyond that, she listens to him talk about Penelope, about how she is his priority and that the most important thing to him is that she be okay and create a future together.
Eloise realizes at this moment that her brother must not find out the truth. Never. If he does, his heart will be broken beyond repair. It would be too much for him to bear. So Eloise decides to go talk to Penelope and make sure Lady Whistledown is gone forever.
After Cressida’s revelation, in Bridgerton 3×06 “Romancing Mister Bridgerton” Penelope is not willing to let her be the one to reap the fruits of her hard work as Lady Whistledown. Cressida always made her life miserable and took every opportunity she had to mock and humiliate her, hell will freeze over before Penelope allows Cressida to take credit for her work.
However, Eloise has another idea. She keeps thinking that, if Colin doesn’t know Penelope’s true identity, he can’t truly love her, but she has seen that Colin really loves the person he thinks is Penelope and if he knew the truth…that would destroy him but, unbeknownst, Cressida gave them a way out. If Penelope doesn’t discredit her, Colin will never have to learn the truth and this whole thing about Lady Whistledown will be behind them forever.
It’s about Penelope choosing. She can’t be a Bridgerton and Whistledown at the same time. It’s a huge dilemma for Penelope because she always wanted to be part of the Bridgerton family, a family in which she truly felt included, supported, and loved. But Eloise doesn’t understand what she is asking of Penelope. For her, Whistledown is just gossip, but in reality, it’s not like that. It’s not just gossip, it’s the only voice Penelope finds to be heard, to be seen, and is a part of herself, of who she is.
No Decision is Good When Fear Takes Control
We understand where Eloise is coming from but this is a bad idea. Trying to bury the truth forever is still the same as lying. No secret is buried forever… and yes, this solution may save Colin enormous pain now, but when he discovers it, that pain and feeling of betrayal will be even more intense and horrible.
Plus, doing something like that means Penelope would have to give up a part of herself to be with Colin. It’s a choice between everything she has achieved on her own and being happy with the love of her life, her greatest dream. And it’s not fair. Eloise’s words in Bridgerton 3×06 “Romancing Mister Bridgerton” saying that Penelope can’t have it all, that she can’t have Colin and still be Lady Whistledown, are a hard blow because of course Penelope can have it all, she should have it all.
Giving up or hiding a part of ourselves to be with someone or for the benefit of someone else never works. We are who we are and if that person truly loves us, they will not need us to pretend to be someone else or hide part of who we are.
We think that, beyond the initial anger and feeling of betrayal, Colin will continue to love Penelope no matter what. However, we understand that, given the circumstances, neither Penelope nor Eloise can trust this and they think that the only way to fix everything is for Penelope to choose. In this way, Eloise feels that her brother’s heart will be safe.
As for Penelope, although she knows that telling the truth is the right thing to do, she also knows that telling the truth to Colin would mean losing him, it would mean accepting that what is between them would be over forever and, not only that, but Colin would hate her.
The only thing Penelope ever knew was her rejection, and after seeing Colin’s reactions to Lady Whistledown, it’s hard to imagine a scenario in which he would still love her after learning the truth. She has everything to lose if she confesses to Colin, so Eloise’s idea gives her a way out. It’s the “easiest” option, the only one that would allow her to stay next to the man she loves.
As it is, the decision that Penelope has to make in Bridgerton 3×06 “Romancing Mister Bridgerton” is almost impossible for her. On the one hand, there is everything she has achieved as Lady Whistledown, how good she feels writing, it’s her vocation, it’s part of who she is, it’s her dream… and, on the other hand, there is Colin, the love of her life, the man she has been loving silently since she was a teenager, the man she has dreamed of ever since.
Love Sacrifices in Bridgerton 3×06 “Romancing Mister Bridgerton”
Penelope doesn’t know what to do because she feels that whatever she chooses, she feels like it’s going to be like breaking in two, like destroying a part of herself that will never come back. So Penelope asks Portia. Are all marriages like this? Does getting married mean having to give up a part of yourself? Where are her own desires and dreams? Portia tells Penelope about her own experience. Dreams don’t exist for women, at least not at that time.
Her desires and dreams are replaced by her husbands and children, by watching over them and the family. Women live through the dreams and desires of their husbands, always supporting their husbands to achieve them, but in the background, sacrificing their own.
That’s the reality. That happened to Portia and, from the moment she had them, Portia only wanted a better destiny for them than just getting married for security… and Penelope has that. She got it, she can’t take it for granted. And this is the first time we feel that Portia really cares and loves Penelope.
Penelope doesn’t want to give up on her dreams… but if she doesn’t, she will lose Colin forever and that would be like losing part of her heart, her soul. Penelope can live without being Lady Whistledown, but she can’t live without Colin, not anymore, not after knowing what it feels like to love him completely. So the decision is clear: Penelope will let Cressida continue pretending to be Lady Whistledown and take the credit.
That decision frees her in some way, she no longer has to fear losing Colin or the moment when she has to tell the truth. She can look into Colin’s eyes again and enjoy her happiness with him. However, Genevieve must know about her decision…and she doesn’t agree. She, as an independent businesswoman, knows that Whistledown is Penelope’s life’s work and it doesn’t seem fair that she just lets that go.
But Penelope has already chosen. Her union with Colin deserves any sacrifice. Although it’s not something Genevieve agrees with. Being Whistledown is part of who Penelope is, it makes her feel powerful and happy, and she shouldn’t give that up for anything or anyone. And we think she’s right, although we understand why Penelope does what she does.
Whistledown Is Power
Cressida decides to continue pretending that she is Lady Whistledown in Bridgerton 3×06 “Romancing Mister Bridgerton” for a matter of survival. She launched a desperate order and now she and her mother must continue with that plan so as not to sink. However, this lie provides them with additional benefits that neither of them counted on. Now, Cressida is one of the most powerful women in the Ton and she has the Queen’s favor… and she is willing to exploit it.
Eloise and Penelope miscalculate the consequences of their decision in Bridgerton 3×06 “Romancing Mister Bridgerton.” Cressida, the cruelest person they know, is now, after the Queen, the most powerful woman in the Ton. And that can only end badly.
If Cressida had few limits and scruples, with the power she had just achieved, she would no longer have any. Eloise fears that now that their friendship is broken, Cressida will attack her family using Whistledown’s name. She let her into her house, and revealed some secrets to her… and now, Eloise realizes the mistake she made.
And this is what ultimately brings Peneloise together again or, at least, forces them to work together. Thus, for the first time, they talk about what happened between them and Eloise begins to recognize her mistakes, while Penelope does the same.
She explains to Eloise that Whistledown is not just gossip, it’s the only way to have a voice when she didn’t have one in her own life or her own home when she felt helpless in the place that should be her refuge. This is the beginning of repairing what was broken between them.
That said, we don’t like the way Bridgerton 3×06 “Romancing Mister Bridgerton” deals with the issue of Lady Whistledown in this conversation between Penelope and Eloise. Did Penelope make mistakes? Yes — although we think it’s debatable — but so does Eloise.
Therefore, if we see a clear and sincere apology from Penelope regarding what happened, we should also see the same regarding Eloise. However, in this conversation, it’s implied that Penelope is the worst person in the universe due to her identity as Lady Whistledown, and that is not the case.
Is Lady Whistledown a Villain?
In Bridgerton 3×06 “Romancing Mister Bridgerton,” it’s very easy to judge Penelope and say the things she could have done differently, or the decisions she should have made, but in the moment, Penelope made the best decision with the information she had.
Sometimes you have no choice but to choose between two bad options and that’s just what Penelope had to do. If we look back, she begged Marina to choose another man to trick him and, thus, obtain protection for her and her son. Penelope wasn’t asking Marina not to do it, but rather asking her not to do something like that to Colin.
At the time, Penelope wasn’t even asking Marina as a favor for herself or because she expected Colin to suddenly notice her, but because Penelope truly loved and appreciated Colin as a friend and couldn’t stand knowing that her own cousin was cheating on him and she couldn’t do anything. Marina could have chosen someone other than Colin for her plan, but instead, she decided to make fun of Penelope – the only person who had ever truly cared about her – and her feelings for Colin.
When Marina was no longer an option, Penelope decided to tell the truth to Colin but he was too stupid to listen to her and didn’t believe her, he treated her with condescension as if Penelope were a child who didn’t understand anything – when the only one who didn’t understand anything was him.
So Penelope was faced with the dilemma of either ratting out Marina, even if it meant ruining her family, or betraying Colin and allowing him to live trapped in an unhappy marriage for the rest of his life. Penelope chose the best decision of the two.
As for Eloise, Penelope warned her over and over again that she should not play with fire, whether it involved Lady Whistledown or Theo, but Eloise never listened. As a result, the Queen was convinced that Eloise was Lady Whistledown and she was going to stop at nothing to go after her…and not just to have tea.
So, at this point, Penelope had to act fast to convince the Queen that Eloise wasn’t Whistledown, and what better than her writing something that Eloise would never write about herself? Of course, writing about Theo would mean scandal and Eloise’s ruin but Penelope had to weigh which was her best option: ruin Eloise or allow her to face whatever the Queen had in store.
So, considering Eloise is a Bridgerton and they were going to survive the scandal, Penelope chose the best option out of two bad options. Was it risky? Definitely, but it was the best she could do at the time.
This is not to say that Penelope has not made mistakes like Lady Whistledown or could not have done things differently and, perhaps, better, but if Bridgerton 3×06 “Romancing Mister Bridgerton” mentions the bad part of Penelope’s double identity, it also should point out the positive points, such as Penelope finding her voice and becoming an independent woman who could live off the earnings of her own work, without needing to get married to survive, in addition to the example that this can set for women who wish to something more than getting married and having children.
So we would have liked this scene to be more balanced and that we didn’t have to see Penelope feel almost ashamed of who she is, but instead value that part of her and everything she has achieved. We hope to see that before the season ends.
Either way, Eloise and Penelope must act quickly, so Penelope is quick to discredit Cressida in her new – and final – column. And it’s just then that Colin, who was already following Penelope after he saw that Penelope and Eloise went together at the butterfly ball, discovers her red-handed… and makes our hearts explode.
Calm Love is Not for Everyone
John and Francesca officially announce their engagement to the whole family in Bridgerton 3×06 “Romancing Mister Bridgerton” and everyone is happy for them, including Violet. At least, at first. She wants to be cautious and wait to break the news to the Queen, while John and Francesca don’t want to wait. That marks the beginning of the conflict.
Violet is willing to talk to the Queen but she has too many doubts about their relationship, even though she respects Francesca’s choice. And Francesca notices that her mother’s support is, to say the least, cold. She welcomes Penelope into the family as one of her own, but she hasn’t done the same with John, not with such explicit and public support, and Francesca can’t help but wonder why.
In the end, Francesca puts so much pressure on her mother to reveal what she really thinks in Bridgerton 3×06 “Romancing Mister Bridgerton,” that Violet ends up admitting her doubts about John to Francesca. And it’s not a surprise to her.
Francesca knew that her mother expected something different for her and that she didn’t think John was exactly the one. But she loves him. Not all unions have to be dramatic, intense, and close. Sometimes they are simple, sometimes they are as quiet and calm as sitting together sharing the silence, or talking for hours with a passion that only the two of them understand.
Francesca knows that Violet wants something different for her, something similar to what her siblings have, to what Violet had with Edmund, but the love Francesca feels for John is no less valid for being different. And she is right. Violet has to understand that love is no less intense because it is not close or passionate. John and Francesca sincerely love each other, and that’s the only thing that should matter.
Impossible Attractions in Bridgerton 3×06 “Romancing Mister Bridgerton”
Marcus and Violet’s attraction is felt for miles, so much so that he dares to visit her in Bridgerton 3×06 “Romancing Mister Bridgerton.” But if there is anyone against whatever is happening between them, it’s Lady Danbury. She takes it upon herself to try to get Marcus away from Violet, and when he gets fed up, we finally discover the cause of Lady Danbury’s contempt for her brother.
She had the chance to be happy, she had the chance to escape marriage with a man three times her age and be free of it, but Marcus betrayed her, ratting her out to their father, and condemning her to be raped every night for years. Everyone may fall for Marcus’ charm, but Agatha knows what he’s like and she’s not going to let someone like that be close to Violet, the daughter of the love of her life. And we understand it.
Lady Danbury’s words shock Marcus, he feels each word like a pang. We want to hear his side of the story because he seems to feel regret for what he did, even though there are wounds so deep that not even repentance can heal.
In another vein, Benedict deserved better than this soap opera with Lady Tilley. So we’re happy that in Bridgerton 3×06 “Romancing Mister Bridgerton” this is finally over.
We don’t want Benedict to feel that bad because it’s clear that he cared about her and, for Lady Tilley, Benedict was just another adventure, but it was about a damn time to end this once and for all.
Is Lady Tilley Benedict’s ‘Sienna’? We think so. This is another clue that he will be the next leader since if this soap opera with Lady Tilley was useful for anything, it’s to show that Benedict is ready for more.
Other Stuff in Bridgerton 3×06 “Romancing Mister Bridgerton”
- Colin worried about Penelope…how can you not love him?
- We love seeing Colin praising Lady Whistledown almost without realizing it. Part of him hates her for her words but a large part of him admires her for her intelligence, her audacity, and for everything she has achieved.
- The engagement ring is ART!
- “Still it’s half as beautiful as you.” ON THE FLOOR.
- Colin kisses Penelope on the hand. We have a thing with this.
- Hyacinth is the most excited for her siblings. We love her.
- John is super shy, not wanting to interrupt the chaos that is the Bridgertons when they’re together. LMAO.
- Colin knows there’s something Penelope isn’t telling him, but he trusts her and is willing to wait until she’s ready to tell her whatever… a gentleman in love, indeed.
- The Queen doesn’t give a shit about Cressida because she knows better. We love it!
- Colin is going to regret not having seen Penelope before for his entire life. We are melted!
- Those moments when Cressida was outside the Ton felt like justice for all her cruelty.
- Penelope’s sisters are jealous of her, we can’t stop winning.
- John, Colin, and Benedict together. This is the first time that Colin shows himself as he is, without feeling the need to pretend for others. More of them, please, and thank you!
- Colin writer is here!
- Benedict feels directionless and that sounds familiar to us. Anthony felt that way at the beginning of his season and so did Colin. Do we have a lead for season 4? Our money is on yes.
- Colin and Penelope’s looks at the church…they’re so cute!
- Lady Tilley’s dinner is the first time the painting is mentioned to Benedict — what a shame! And we see that he feels very uncomfortable, what Anthony did still hurts him… imagine having developed this instead of returning to Benedict from season 1.
- The Mondrichs finally bow to the Ton’s demands and agree to sell their club, although Will is not happy about this. And we understand, in the end, that he is giving up a part of himself and exchanging it for something that he feels is not like him. And I think this will create problems in his marriage.
- Colin loves to dance with his bride.
- Penelope can’t stand Cressida being praised for being Lady Whistledown…and neither can we!
- When Colin sees Penelope and Eloise leave together at the ball…HE KNOWS!
- Penelope’s smile when she writes as Lady Whistledown….is everything! She can’t give it up, she shouldn’t do it.
Bridgerton season 3 Part 2 is available to stream on Netflix.