Bridgerton gave Penelope her dream romance but skipped the messy fallout. Her fairy tale ending came with secrets the show conveniently ignored.
Bridgerton finally handed Penelope her fairy tale romance, but in the process, it completely ignored the damage she left in her wake. While fans cheered her glow-up and swooned over her long-awaited love story, the show quietly brushed past the betrayal, manipulation, and hurt she caused in earlier seasons. From throwing others under the carriage to securing her own happy ending, the journey wasn’t exactly spotless.
But instead of confronting that mess, the script chose to focus on ballgowns and butterflies. In the end, it’s a sweet love story, but one built on secrets that everyone seems eager to forget.
Bridgerton’s fairy tale forgot Marina’s truth
Bridgerton season 3 had one major absence that fans couldn’t help but notice: Marina Thompson. Remember her? The one whose life got turned upside down thanks to Lady Whistledown’s cruel reveal about her pregnancy. Penelope may’ve been a “wallflower” with a tragic backstory, but that doesn’t excuse the damage she caused by exposing Marina’s secret. As one viewer put it: “Oh, you’ve spent the past years lying to everyone, spreading horrid gossip about them and fundamentally ruined lives… but it made you feel better!”
It’s not just about the whistle-blowing. Marina’s absence in season 3 highlights a deeper issue. She was crucial to Colin’s story, as he was ready to marry her just last season. Now, she’s a ghost in the narrative, almost forgotten as Colin moves on to his true love.
But Marina isn’t just missing for Colin’s sake. Her presence is key to Eloise’s storyline, too. In To Sir Phillip, With Love, Eloise begins a romance with Sir Phillip Crane after his wife Marina dies. Without closure on Marina’s fate, Eloise’s journey can’t begin.
Now, with Penelope’s reveal as Lady Whistledown, the door is wide open for Marina’s return. Imagine this: Marina comes back to confront Penelope, shaking up the entire dynamic before her tragic end. It’s a chance for us fans to get closure, for Colin to reckon with his past, and for Marina’s story to get the resolution she deserves.
Here’s hoping season 5 finally gives us that long-awaited reunion.
Fans slam Bridgerton for giving Penelope a fairy tale at others’ expense
Fans are seriously not vibing with how Bridgerton handled Penelope’s arc. What started as a promising reveal of her as Lady Whistledown quickly turned into a messy, one-dimensional storyline. Instead of getting a complex character, we got a Penelope obsessed with Colin, while her past mistakes, like ruining Marina’s life, were swept under the rug.
Penelope’s big reveal should’ve come with some serious growth, but instead, it felt like a cop-out. Frankly speaking, Bridgerton missed a major chance to give these characters the depth they deserved.
