Bridgerton is based on Julia Quinn’s book series of the same name, but the Netflix show is known for changing several aspects of the original story, including completely removing one of the Featherington sisters. The historical romance series follows the individual love stories of one Bridgerton sibling, with season 1 covering Daphne’s relationship with Simon Basset, Duke of Hastings, season 2 exploring Anthony’s epic enemies-to-lovers romance with Kate Sharma, and season 3 centering around Colin finally realizing his feelings for Penelope Featherington. Penelope has pined for Colin for years, and it’s time for him to reciprocate her love.
Many moments from Bridgerton season 3 come from the book (Romancing Mister Bridgerton, the fourth installment in Quinn’s Bridgerton book series). For example, the circumstances behind Colin and Penelope’s first kiss, the buzzworthy carriage scene, and more come directly from the source material. Of course, the episodes contain multiple events that never happened in the novel, and Bridgerton season 3 even changes components of the book’s story, like excluding Penelope’s younger sister, Felicity.
Who Is Felicity Featherington? Penelope’s Other Sister From The Books Explained
Felicity Is The Youngest Featherington Sibling
In Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton book series, Portia Featherington actually has four daughters — Prudence, Philippa, Penelope, and Felicity. However, Polly Walker’s character only has three daughters in the Netflix show since the writers and producers cut Felicity from the story. In the novels, Felicity is the youngest Featherington daughter and the same age as Hyacinth Bridgerton, who is 12 years old as of Bridgerton season 3.
Given they are the same age, Felicity and Hyacinth are close friends in the Bridgerton novels. Felicity also isn’t heard about much because of her young age, which prohibits her from attending the same balls and parties as her older sisters. However, by 1824, Felicity had made her debut and began her search for a husband (while two of her siblings, Prudence and Philippa, were already married). Felicity eventually married Geoffrey Albansdale after their courtship during the season, which her mother wasn’t too happy about as Portia had her eyes set on another man for her youngest daughter.
Why Bridgerton Cut Felicity Featherington
The Showrunner Revealed Why Removing Felicity Was Important For Penelope’s Story
At first glance, the producers’ decision to completely exclude Felicity Featherington from the narrative in Netflix’s Bridgerton is a bit confusing. However, Bridgerton showrunner Jess Brownell explained why Felicity is nowhere to be seen in the historical romance series during an interview with TV Insider. Brownell said:
“I think [that] was a smart decision. I think that was a decision made by [creator] Chris Van Dusen and [executive producer] Shonda [Rhimes] early on in the pilot. It just gets hard to characterize three siblings, especially when the Featheringtons are in a secondary position. The main dramatic purpose of the Featherington sisters, they’ve obviously been comedic relief, but they’re there to play as a foil to Penelope … I think in the books, if I’m not mistaken, Felicity is like a kinder sister. I think dramatically it helped Pen [in the show] feel even more isolated and alone and underscored her plight to have her be in this viper’s nest with her sisters who are not very nice to her, and her mother who underestimates her, so we ended up really not needing that character.”
Of course, the Bridgerton siblings are the main focal point of Bridgerton, given that each season revolves around their individual romances. Consequently, the Featherington sisters are the secondary family in the Netflix show. So, since there are already eight Bridgerton siblings to account for, including all four Featherington sisters in the story might have made the series feel slightly overstuffed with characters. But as Brownell explained, Felicity had to be the one to be cut from the plot because of her close relationship with Penelope (and removing her also eases Colin and Penelope’s already scandalous love story in Bridgerton season 3).
Bridgerton season 3 skipped over Benedict’s love story in the books to jump ahead to Colin’s, so, the chronological order of events in the show is quite different from the timeline in the novels.
How Cutting Felicity Changes Colin & Penelope’s Bridgerton Story
It Removes One Unnecessary Obstacle In Colin & Penelope’s Romance
Colin and Penelope’s journey has been complicated enough since the Bridgerton pilot episode, and Felicity’s presence would have made it even more complex (if the show stayed true to the books and followed her story). Just like the Netflix series, Colin surprisingly returned to England in Julia Quinn’s fourth Bridgerton novel, Romancing Mister Bridgerton. But unlike the show, his reappearance occurred during Felicity’s debut season, prompting Portia’s pursuit to match Felicity with Colin despite their significant age difference (12 years). Although Felicity wasn’t interested in Colin and Colin finally realized he loved Penelope, Portia insisted that Felicity marry Colin.
Ultimately, cutting Felicity from [ Bridgerton ] removes an extra obstacle for Colin and Penelope and allows Penelope to have more room to develop in the historical romance show.
If Felicity were a part of the Netflix series’ plot, Portia’s schemes to push Colin and her youngest daughter together would have added more (unnecessary) drama to Colin and Penelope’s love story. The fact that Penelope and Felicity had a strong bond in Quinn’s books would further muddle the narrative in Bridgerton season 3, part 1, and create frustrating tension between the Featherington sisters. Ultimately, cutting Felicity from the story removes an extra obstacle for Colin and Penelope and allows Penelope to have more room to develop in the historical romance show.
Why Bridgerton Not Including Felicity Was The Right Choice
Removing Felicity Gives Penelope A More Well-Rounded Character Arc
The writers and producers had to leave Penelope’s younger sister out of the narrative to strengthen her character development in Bridgerton on Netflix. As viewers have witnessed since the first season, Penelope is the odd one out in the Featherington family. She is kind, reasonable, and not desperate to find a husband (since she spends all her time pining for Colin, but that’s beside the point). As showrunner Jess Brownell pointed out, Penelope’s sisters’ rudeness towards her and her mother’s neglect of her allowed the writers to create an intriguing (and at times, disheartening) character arc for Penelope in Bridgerton.
If Felicity were around, Penelope wouldn’t have felt so isolated, taking away from her development over the course of the historical romance series. Penelope was reserved, quiet, and content with fading into the background at the beginning of the show. However, by season 3, Nicola Coughlan’s character became more confident and ready to prove her family wrong by finding a husband. Felicity’s presence would have given Penelope someone she could rely on in her family. As a result, the writers had to cut Felicity to give Penelope a more well-rounded character arc in Bridgerton, even if it changed Colin and Penelope’s book story.
