We’re back! In Bridgerton 3×03 “Forces of Nature” Colin cannot stop seeing Penelope and realizes that he feels more for her. While he tries to figure out what that means, Penelope decides to embrace the possibilities that a new suitor, Lord Debling, offers her. Ready?
Here we go!
Significant Advances in Bridgerton 3×03 “Forces of Nature”
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Eloise is struggling with the consequences of her mistakes at the beginning of Bridgerton 3×03 “Forces of Nature.” Finally, she dares to apologize to Penelope and let her know that she didn’t mean to hurt her. And we’re going to give her this because it takes a lot of courage to do it.
The fury Eloise felt the night before ended suddenly after everything that happened and she truly, from the bottom of her heart, wishes that Penelope finds what she is looking for. Eloise wants her to be happy and this feels like a kind of goodbye, like Eloise is definitively closing this chapter of her life and leaving it behind. From now on, each one will go her way and Eloise will pretend Penelope doesn’t exist, for better or worse.
However, when something is finished, it doesn’t make you feel anything. Eloise still feels hurt by Penelope’s double identity, as shown by her irony at the beginning of the conversation that we see in Bridgerton 3×03 “Forces of Nature.” So we think this is not as closed as Eloise would have us believe.
That being said, we hate Penelope’s victimhood attitude in this scene. She tells Eloise that, if she had intentionally hurt her, she wouldn’t hold it against her, as if she deserved it, as if Penelope had to beg for Eloise to be kind to her. And we don’t like this at all. Yes, Penelope made mistakes but so did Eloise and Penelope has to stand up for herself, not accept being stepped on and hurt.
Kisses Between Friends
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Colin, for his part, begins Bridgerton 3×03 “Forces of Nature” with his deepest desires turned into a dream. He can’t sleep, eat, or think… his mind replays over and over again the kiss he and Penelope shared, the softness of her lips, their taste… is it attraction or does Colin feel something else for Penelope?
This dilemma will be on his mind throughout the episode. And, amid all those doubts, he and Penelope meet again. None of them know how to act, between being embarrassed and eager to say so many things…. Colin just wants to taste her lips again and he felt a physical blow when Penelope told him that would not happen again and that they had to stay away.
Colin can’t stop looking at her and he’s afraid that she’ll walk away from him. Colin can’t let Penelope do it but, at the same time, he feels that he has to do it, he wants her to be happy, and getting away from her is the right thing to do, right? They’re just two friends who kissed passionately under the moonlight. There is nothing strange here. Everything’s fine.
But nothing is.
There are too many things unsaid between them in this scene from Bridgerton 3×03 “Forces of Nature.” Colin is confused with what he feels and Penelope doesn’t want to fall back into that deceptive hope for something more that she felt since she met Colin. So none of them say anything about what they really feel.
Luckily, the Ton is full of balls, so getting away isn’t so easy for Polin. And the looks they share in the new ball say so much…we just want them to kiss again now and not let go! Penelope has other ideas and tries to approach potential suitors, but her reputation is still ruined and no one wants anything to do with her. Stupid, if you ask us.
More is Polin’s Secret Language in Bridgerton 3×03 “Forces of Nature”
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But Colin is not stupid and he doesn’t let Penelope out of his sight, wanting to get closer to her while he hates to imagine another kissing her, marrying her, sleeping with her… All of Colin’s nightmares come true in front of his eyes in Bridgerton 3×03 “Forces of Nature” when Lord Debling comes to talk to Penelope.
She is already resigned to not having any kind of possibility, which makes her stop pretending. Penelope is herself, without worrying about how Debling is going to see her or think about her. It’s precisely that sincerity that delights Debling. He’s already fed up with fake debutantes who create a facade to trap him, he just wants someone sincere, whom he can trust, by his side.
If there is anything worse for Colin than seeing Penelope in the company of Debling, it’s listening to her while she tells everything about Debling with a smile from ear to ear. He listens to her but Colin doesn’t hear anything about love or affection… and that’s the least Penelope deserves, she can’t settle for less. He won’t let her do that.
Colin can barely bear to wish Penelope luck. He hates seeing her with Debling and is confused about what he’s feeling in Bridgerton 3×03 “Forces of Nature.” Penelope is her friend, getting married is what she wants and things are going well for her, so why does he feel this jealousy and this desire to beat Debling to death?
That jealousy that burns in Colin and that desire to hit something when he sees Penelope next to another, the way he can’t stop thinking about her, how he doesn’t have eyes for anyone else, the way he only thinks about kissing her again, to caress her, the way he can’t stop looking at her…that doesn’t speak of friendship. It talks about more. Much more.
Friendship is the First Step to Love
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For her part, in the middle of the ball, Penelope feels that she has little to do with Cressida charming Debling and her gaze meets Colin’s across the room. They both remain hooked on each other as if a magnet attracted them. And Colin thinks, “why not? “Anything is possible when it comes to feelings.” He doesn’t know when, or how, he just knows that he feels more for Penelope and, once he accepts his feelings, he can’t ignore them and goes to her.
Penelope continues to stare at him…but decides to go to Debling’s side. She has been dreaming about Colin Bridgerton for too long, hooked on him, stuck on that page of her own story, it’s time to end that and work on her reality. So, at this point in Bridgerton 3×03 “Forces of Nature,” Penelope decides to talk to Debling and be honest with him. Enough theatrics, enough pretending to be someone she’s not, whether Debling is interested in her or not.
And he is. Penelope’s sincerity is precisely what Debling is looking for to share his life, not a clone of himself. So, officially, Lord Debling is courting Penelope Featherington with Colin Bridgerton keeping an eye on them.
Before doing anything he might regret, Colin decides to talk to his mother. He needs to be sure that more isn’t something temporary like what happened with Marina, he doesn’t want to hurt Penelope ever again. What is it like to feel more for someone? Every word his mother says sticks in Colin’s heart because that’s how he feels about Penelope. The passion, the emotion, a captivating love that destroys everything in its path. But could it be that, love? After all, his parents were friends before they became more.
In the society in which they live it is not usual but yes, Violet makes it clear to Colin in Bridgerton 3×03 “Forces of Nature” that friendship and love are just one step away. So Colin knows that yes, moremeans love. But what if she doesn’t feel the same way? Well, there’s only one way to find out. As Violet tells him, he just has to ask. So, Colin knows what he has to do. It’s time to tell Penelope how he feels about her, it’s time to find out if she feels the same or if he should let her go.
Unspoken Words Destroy Everything in Bridgerton 3×03 “Forces of Nature”
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When Colin meets Penelope, oh goodness, the way he yearns for her….and she senses the strange atmosphere surrounding him. Penelope feels that Colin wants to tell her something important, something that will change everything. For a moment it seems like more… And a big part of her wants Colin to tell her, to tell her what she’s been dreaming of hearing from his lips for so long, but another part of her is afraid that he will, afraid that it’s not real and her heart will end destroyed again.
Debling becomes the most hated character in Bridgerton 3×03 “Forces of Nature” due to his interruption right at this moment. However, that doesn’t help Penelope forget about Colin, she looks at him, wanting him to tell her, to stop her from dancing with Debling, to do something. But Colin doesn’t do anything. He doesn’t dare to say anything and he just stands there looking at her.
Penelope nods silently and almost imperceptibly as she feels how that tiny hope, that small light, that had come to be born against her will, breaks into a thousand pieces and leaves her in darkness. So, she picks up the pieces of herself and accepts Debling’s hand. And it feels like more than a dance, it feels like a vital decision. Penelope is already done with Colin Bridgerton. She’s done waiting for him to love her, she’s done dreaming of a future with him. Period.
Colin, oblivious to the fact that Penelope has decided to end whatever it is that unites them, watches them from a distance, dying of jealousy, wanting to interrupt them and take her away, wanting to shout to the world that Penelope belongs to him, but remaining paralyzed, not having the courage to do it. Without having the courage to fight for her. And being aware that, because of that, he just lost her.
Silence Always Brings Surprises
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Francesca ends up getting the Queen’s attention in Bridgerton 3×03 “Forces of Nature,” despite her reluctance. So she decides to trust whoever the Queen chooses for her and this sets off alarm bells for Violet. Violet just wants her daughter to follow her heart, wherever it leads. They will support her if Francesca considers that the suitor chosen by the Queen is not the one she wants, just as they support Daphne or Anthony.
For Violet, the important thing is Francesca’s happiness, and that she manages to find the spark, the happiness, the passion, the emotion… a love that moves her. But again, we see here that this is not what Francesca is looking for. She doesn’t want that captivating passion, she does want a spark, yes, but calmer, more…like her.
So Francesca hopes that the Queen’s election will provide her with all that. But Violet doesn’t conceive of a life like that for her daughter, comfortable but not happy… and she fears that Francesca is just choosing the easier path, she worries that she is settling. And that may have been a bit of the idea, but things with her new suitor don’t go well for Francesca in Bridgerton 3×03 “Forces of Nature.”
Francesca didn’t feel anything about this suitor, they had nothing in common and she didn’t feel even a spark, she just felt… overwhelmed and bored. And she doesn’t know exactly what to do because she wants to get married and she doesn’t need that overwhelming love that her mother expects her to feel, but Francesca does need to feel something, to feel that the person she is going to share her life with understands her. Luckily, in the silence, she finds something… or someone.
Cressida and Penelope Are Two Sides of the Same Coin
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In Bridgerton 3×03 “Forces of Nature” we discover that Cressida doesn’t have an easy life. Her family doesn’t support her, doesn’t value her, and pressures her to the maximum. Therefore, what she is looking for in a husband is someone like Debling, a thoughtful man who can give her the warmth of family that she never had.
In reality, Cressida is not that different from Penelope in this regard. Both have families that they cannot count on, that humiliate them, belittle them, and don’t value them, both have not been successful in the marriage market — Cressida is also in its third season — and both are looking to belong to a family, fleeing from their reality through marriage.
But while Penelope has a good heart, Cressida chooses to become bitter about her circumstances and be cruel to others, the same way her family is cruel to her. Cressida makes others feel bad to make them feel the way she does. That doesn’t excuse her cruelty but explains it. And it’s a shame because we think that, if Cressida had not chosen this path, she and Penelope would be very good friends. After all, they could understand and support each other like no one else.
But things are what they are and in Bridgerton 3×03 “Forces of Nature,” we see a kind of competition between Cressida and Penelope for Debling and, because of this, Penelope makes the mistake of entering this game and pretending to be someone she is not…and that’s only something that hits Cressida, not her. That’s why, in the end, Cressida’s theater is worthless, Penelope dared to be herself and that was the only thing that mattered.
Other Stuff in Bridgerton 3×03 “Forces of Nature”
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- Colin tries to hide from his family after his dream with Penelope. LMAO
- We love that Colin, unlike what happened in episode 1, has eyes for nothing and no one but Penelope. Only Penelope exists for him. Not beautiful debutantes, not his friends, not even his sister. Just Penelope. Puppy in love.
- Colin feels like a hormonal teenager because of an innocent gesture from Penelope. That man fell badly!
- Colin saves Penelope but not being the hero to her. Poor puppy.
- Colin goes to Penelope’s side immediately when she calls him. We love it!
- Violet KNOWS.
- We love to see how Cressida underestimates Penelope and believes that she is not a rival and then she stares while Penelope and Debling are being a thing. Cinema!
- We didn’t like Eloise helping Cressida in her theatrics, reluctantly or not. Knowing what Debling means to both of their lives, she should have remained neutral.
- Benedict meets his new conquest, the widow Lady Tilley and we roll our eyes. Of all the stories they could have given Benedict, they give this one, a regression to the character we met in season 1. No comments.
- Violet also knows someone and there was definitely a spark there… but if Lady Danbury doesn’t trust this guy despite being her brother, we do not either.
- The aristocracy is not as brilliant as it seemed to the Modrichs and they are going to have to make more sacrifices than they thought. They have to do nothing to be part of them. We suppose that even in the jungle there are rules, even if they are stupid.
Bridgerton season 3 part 1 is available to stream on Netflix.