#I love Colin and Nicola so much but this is far and away my least favorite half hour of Who ever

[threeacttragedy]

Entry 12: The One Where We Start Laying the Yellow Brick Road to Italy

I realized the other day that, even though I like to bounce around from place to place in the Lukola timeline, I probably needed to start tightening things up on the ship if I ever wanted to get to the end of the story. And, yes, dammit, this story better have a finale at some point because there’s nothing more annoying than an open-ended ending, particularly in the romance genre.

Today we’re going to take a quick jaunt over to Italy because –

NO! Not because Luke is allegedly filming there. If you’re into real-time stalking, you’re in the wrong blog. But, I’m sure there’s a Discord for that.

It’s because I’ve had several people ask for my opinion about the change in behavior between Luke and Nicola during their Day 1 interviews there. Wait – people are interested in my thoughts? Wow, that’s actually kind of nice. Thank you! Okay, back to what I was saying –

Was there a change in behavior when Luke and Nicola reached Italy? Yeah, actually, there kind of was.

By May 9, we had been gifted with a slew of material from Luke, Nicola, and the Bridgerton cast and, I must admit, those early interviews are some of the most entertaining of the tour. In the very beginning, Nicola appeared as the utmost professional – charming, intelligent, and witty at the right moments – and Luke played her likeable counterpart to “Book Colin” perfection – bouncing between being awkwardly boyish and wickedly roguish, all while looking at Nicola like she had just served him homemade peanut butter crumble.

The two of them together, playing off each other, in my opinion, was better than Bridgerton Season 3 (you cannot beat the World Tour being 99% Luke and Nicola, with only a few random side characters taking up screentime). There was some major “Electric Love” radiating from those two throughout the tour, but it seemed very much heightened in the beginning (probably because they hadn’t yet answered the same question 67 times). By the way, if you haven’t heard that song by Børns, go have a listen. It will, at the very least – hopefully – put you in an upbeat mood for the day.

Now, where was I? Oh, yes – was there a change in behavior between Luke and Nicola when they reached Italy?

Absolutely.

Do I know why?

Absolutely not.

Perhaps Luke was bent because someone spilled his coffee, or Nicola was upset because her stylist made her to wear that little silver bow in her hair. In my opinion, the most intriguing part of Day 1 of the Italy press junket was that Luke and Nicola struggled with answering the question, “What is love?” I swear they both babbled on like two kids in debate class who hadn’t bothered to read the material given to them before taking their respective podiums. They finally seemed to settle on Luke’s “Maybe it’s, like, connection.” Well, they seemed to be missing the “connection” that day.

Honestly, no one can explain their “don’t stand so close to me” vibe during those first day interviews except Luke and Nicola. But, we can at least have some fun and speculate about it with a bird’s eye view. At this point, you should know that I love spreading the puzzle pieces out and seeing how they might all connect. Most people – when putting a puzzle together – start with the side pieces, right? You’ll get my joke in a moment (I hope).

In March 2024 – I don’t know the specific date because my timeline is rather murky going back that far (I was unaware Lukola even existed!) – Luke traveled to Los Angeles for a photo spread with InStyle magazine. I’ve heard two versions of this story. The first being that Luke traveled to Los Angeles with Antonia alone; the second being that he traveled to Los Angeles with his friend group, which included Antonia. I couldn’t tell you which is true, and it really doesn’t matter because it doesn’t necessarily add or take away from today’s story.

Before I get started, I wanted to give a “hurrah” to The-One-Whose-Group-Chat-Fills-in-Lots-of-Missing-Bits-for-Me-Including-the-Part-Where-Video-Footage-of-Antonia-in-Los-Angeles-Seemed-to-Indicate-a-Celebrity-Was-Not-the-Videographer-and-There-Were-So-Many-British-Accents-in-the-Background-One-Would-Fancy-a-Guess-She-was-Traveling-with-a-Group.

Moving along…

On April 7, 2024, Antonia posted a series of photographs and clips to her Instagram grid indicating she had been in Los Angeles, including one where she was laying on a blanket in front of the Griffith Observatory and one where she was sitting at a table marked with the number “95.” On April 14, she posted a second set of photographs, tagging her location as Beverly Hills, California and using “End of Beginning” as her audio (yes, I side-eyed this choice of music so don’t feel bad if you did as well). The second photo dump included her lounging on a rooftop.

I’m not going to delve into posts made by Luke and Nicola during that timeframe. I mean, I’m sure Nicola’s comment, “’Friends’…sure Jan,” on Luke’s April 11 reshared post about Bridgerton Season 3 was only meant to be applicable to Polin. And, if Luke wanted to use yellow and black hearts to represent the colors Nicola and he were wearing in his April 12 post, that’s cool, too. And, I am definitely not going to speculate on Nicola’s April 15 post (for Big Mood) that Luke liked, and she captioned, “I will bite off anything that dangles.”

By April 21, Luke and Nicola were in Australia at the World Premiere of Bridgerton. I am only going to provide a quick overview of Australia instead of a full-fledged recital because, at some point, I will almost certainly dedicate an entry to this country. Let’s start with Luke pulling off the hottest walk-up in Netflix human history (I mean, have you watched it in slow motion?). Then, we had the hard launch of the handholding business (because why again?). And, we had Luke tripping over his words, “We’re very, like, giving…I’m not talking about those scenes…” Oh, and Nicola telling an interviewer that, “[y]ou can’t keep a good girl down,” and, in response, Luke’s lips curling into a wicked-ass Cheshire cat's. We had them in the garden, with Nicola bending down to hug Luke after she had scratched/hit/petted his head. Perhaps I should not mention the possibility of a man’s shirt being visible on a bed behind Nicola (I said possibility not that it was). And, Nicola telling Luke, “You’re the funnier one,” when he was concerned that perhaps Benedict was funnier than Colin. Then we had the ���Nicola-in-the-green-dress” day where, as they were going down the steps, Luke seemed to instinctively reach for Nicola’s hand, but she played it cool and took his arm instead. Oh, and that entire “green dress” day in general (I mean, there was so much shit going on that day). And, best we do not forget Nicola saying, “the best foundation for love is friendship,” which mirrored the bracelet “someone…in Australia” gave Luke that read, “Do you believe the best foundation for love is friendship?” Because that’s not suspicious at all. Alright, let’s get the fuck out of Australia – but not before I mention Nicola commenting on Luke’s April 27 Instagram post with “Ready for the next?” and Luke replying, “Absolutely.” Yeah, yeah, yeah, their shenanigans in Australia expanded the USS Lukola tenfold.

Oh, also, let me throw this in here because, if you are a “ring truther,” this fact plays a significant role in the Lukola timeline. If you do not know what a “ring truther” is, that’s perfectly fine. You can catch up by reading Entry 6 (The One Where I Explained the Claddagh Ring to My Dad) of my blog. I mentioned in Entry 6 that some Lukola sleuths have stated the metadata they pulled from the sketches of the Claddagh ring uploaded by Chupi indicate they were done as early as April 26. In other words, it means the Claddagh was likely commissioned between Australia and Italy. In fact, if we are to believe Chupi when it said it took four weeks to make the ring, then it had to have been commissioned by May 9, 2024, at the latest. Oh, lookie there, that’s Day 1 of the Italy interviews.

But, before we get to May 9, let’s pause on April 29. That was the day Luke’s InStyle spread was published – yes, the one I mentioned earlier. Luke has pictures from this photoshoot still on his Instagram grid – in fact, Nicola commented, “Yess dude!!” on them – but those aren’t the pictures I want to talk about. No, I want to talk about the pictures InStyle posted on its Instagram grid that day. These photographs came directly from Luke, which was confirmed by the InStyle article when it said, “…the actor delighted the InStyle team by delivering the polaroid photos he’d taken for this story tucked oh-so-carefully in a little brown bag for safekeeping.” The pictures Luke provided, among others, included one where he was laying on a blanket in front of the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles; one where he was sitting at a table marked with the number “95;” and one where he is sitting in a lounge chair on a rooftop. If you want to see the pictures, InStyle still has them available – you just need to go through hundreds of posts to find them. Luke did not like this InStyle post, which was kind of odd because he was tagged in it, and they were reportedly his pictures.

Why did these InStyle polaroids seem so familiar?

Oh, that’s right, because they were.

Remember that April 7 post of Antonia’s I mentioned a bit ago? Yeah, the one where Antonia posted a bunch of random pictures from Los Angeles and – only after InStyle posted Luke’s polaroids – fans realized Antonia had preemptively posted her version of some of Luke’s polaroids.

I am not going to speculate too much about these pictures or their implications in this blog post, but these pictures may resurface in future posts because I find myself side-eyeing the fact they even exist. And, we should probably accept that Luke was aware of them before his pictures came out on April 29 because he threw a like on Antonia’s April 7 post. Could it have been a “blind” like? Sure, I guess, but the logical side of my brain says he probably looked through them at the time she posted. Let’s not worry too much about it right now, though.

After trying to write out my “general” opinion about the pictures several times, I finally decided that the best way I could articulate my thoughts was through the conversation I had with my father. Yes, Dear Dad returns again for another insightful Q&A.

I started by showing Luke and Antonia’s three “matchy” pictures to my dad and then asked him to compare them. To be clear, the pictures were their respective Griffith Observatory, Table 95, and Rooftop Lounging pictures.

Me: “So what do you think?”

Dad: “About what?”

Me: “Ugh! Why did Antonia take those pictures?”

Dad: “Well, to show she’s part of the ‘in’ crowd. The only reason I can see them being taken is if she was going to put them on the Internet.”

Me: “Uhh, as a matter of fact, she did put them on the Internet! Approximately three weeks before Luke’s were published.”

Dad: “See! I’m not as dumb as you think.”

Me: “Whatever. So, you really believe that? She took them to show people that she was, like, there?”

Dad: “Yeah. Why else would she take them? They’re not the kind of photos you’d take normally. What’s she going to do, put them in an album and show her friends in five years and say, ‘Look, I sat in Luke’s chair?’ Who does that? Nobody. Plus, Luke’s pictures look like they were taken with a polaroid camera and Antonia took hers with, I guess, a phone. Why use two different cameras? Again, it doesn’t make sense. Seems to me like she knew what pictures he was taking, and she was trying to copy them so she could put them on the Internet.”

Thanks, Dad.

You do not have to accept my father’s thoughts on the photographs. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. However, I think we can meet in the middle and opine that, at a minimum, Antonia’s pictures caused the weak Lukolas to jump overboard; at most, they gave some people stalker vibes; and somewhere in between, they introduced Antonia's negative influence over the fandom and what some may consider trolling behavior (even if it wasn’t recognized then).

Now, before we land in Italy on May 9, let’s summarize what has happened during the preceding two months.

First, we had Luke traveling to Los Angeles in March with Antonia, either alone or as part of a friend group. Luke had pictures of himself taken while there.

Second, we had Antonia posting pictures in early April that would be linked directly to Luke’s pictures by the end of the month.

Third, throughout the month of April, we had Luke and Nicola traveling together for the World Tour. We have all seen these interviews, and we have all formed independent opinions about them.

Fourth, based on Chupi’s own words, we know the Claddagh ring must have been commissioned no later than May 9.

Okay, now we’ve reached May 9, Day 1 of the Italy press junket.

Besides the press interviews, what happened on that day?

Well, Antonia reposted Luke singing Coldplay’s “Yellow” to her TikTok account.

Uhh… Huh. Interesting.

I mean, it’s possible that this was just a coincidence and she just liked Luke’s version of it. Or, it’s possible Antonia knew that “Yellow” was the Polin wedding song and she anticipated trolling Nicola and/or the fandom with it. But, if we believe she knew “Yellow” was the Polin wedding song, that means either Luke told her, or someone with that knowledge told her (i.e., someone from Luke’s team or family/friend group). We also know that Luke mentioned this song in the May 16, 2022 Netflix Tudum article when Nicola and he were asked about their song choices for Season 3. Luke stated his frontrunner was “Yellow” by Coldplay “because of Penelope’s dresses.” Regardless of why Antonia posted the song, I find it hard to imagine Netflix, Bridgerton, Shondaland, Nicola, or Luke were too impressed by Antonia resharing it on TikTok. I mean, at this point, Netflix & Co. would surely have been aware that Antonia’s “copycat post” went over with the fandom like a wet blanket in December in Canada. I imagine some questions were being asked and Luke may very well have received a hand slap from Corporate – and maybe even from Nicola.

But, that’s not the only thing that happened on May 9.

Luke posted his Homme magazine spread to his Instagram grid on that day, too. He captioned the post, “Chatting through all things S3 with @hommeplusmag [o]ut next week x.” Nicola commented, “Yessss,” and Luke tagged his post with the location of Hackney, London. That last part – about Luke tagging the location in Hackney – apparently sent the fandom into a deep-dive of…Nicola’s backyard. Why? Because Nicola lives in Hackney (Nicola herself confirmed she lived in Hackney in a March 18, 2024 interview with Derry Now), and rumors started to circulate that Luke’s pictures were taken at her home.

Hmm, I didn’t realize May 9 was such a busy day, did you?

So, which came first – the chicken or the egg? Did Antonia repost “Yellow” to her TikTok before Luke posted his Homme in Hackney images to Instagram, or vice versa? I’m sure someone out there has this information. The answer might help shine some light as to why Luke and Nicola seemed “off” in the early part of their Day 1 Italy interviews. But, then again, does the order really matter? Regardless of who posted first, it would seem to me that “Yellow” was a very possible culprit for the different energy on set that day.

That, or Luke really was peeved over someone spilling his coffee.

[dollypopup]

so now that season 3 is done and dusted can we FINALLY admit that Colin got the WORST hand for his season, and in the entirety of the show? And about how people were so rude to Luke Newton (and continue to be) because he isn't excited to have been given absolute crumbs in the entirety of the season as a lead? Like look me in my eyes and tell me otherwise. No other character is just an accessory to their love interest like they made him be. No other character gets hardly any backstory or screentime, least of all in their own season.

here's some proof, if you don't believe me

SOURCE

Colin got 138 minutes of screentime in his own season. He didn't get much of any POV in previous ones, so comparing that to Pen's 168? And Anthony's 181? When Anthony and Pen were BOTH main characters with ample screentime in previous seasons before their own?

Yeah, paltry. Hell, Kate got 170 and Simon got 150. And they weren't the Bridgertons of their season.

In the episode titled after HIM, 'Romancing Mr. Bridgerton', Colin got. . .drumroll please. . .FOURTEEN minutes of screentime.

Fourteen.

One. Four. 14.

Viscount Who Loved Me? Anthony got 23. Kate got 22. Duke and I? Daphne got 35. Simon got 25.

Penelope got 20.

Colin got 14.

FOURTEEN.

There is never, not once in Season 3, a time when Colin, the Bridgerton of the season, got more screentime than Pen. Not. One. Time.

So, what exactly are we meant to think, then? Colin is the ONLY Bridgerton so far, and likely for the entirety of the series, to get less screentime in his own season than his love interest. Even if you say he IS the Love Interest, and Season 3 was Featherington instead of Bridgerton- he STILL got peanuts as he got the least screentime of ANY character thus far!!!

And it SHOWS!

What is Colin's narrative? Tell me. And how much of it DOESN'T serve Penelope's? What is JUST Colin's narrative?

His first heartbreak with Marina? Serves Penelope's story, as she had a hand in breaking them up.

His travels? Well, he even said Penelope was the one who inspired him, and we didn't get any insight into them, or POV of him having them.

His writing? And how much of that did we actually see him grapple with? How much screentime did it actually get? And in the end of it, it intertwines with Penelope ANYWAY because she becomes his editor.

His 'friends' in season 3 and suave personality? Well, the show said that since Penelope ghosted him, that was why he adopted that persona in the first place.

Colin is my FAVORITE character. I adore him, so do not take this as an attack on him, more so as a question and an indignation at how poorly he's been treated: because who even is he to this show? If you say that he's a character in his own right, you're lying. Colin exists as a prop in the confines of Bridgerton. He has no relationships that are allowed to exist outside of Penelope. His relationship with Eloise? In season 3, near all their conversations are about . . .? His entire family hardly responded to him on his travels, yet the only discussion about a lack of response is Penelope's. Part 1's narrative? Pursuing Penelope. Part 2's narrative? Accepting Penelope.

What about him? What about Colin?

Who are his friends? What are his interests other than being a 'wife guy'? What are his hobbies? When will we actually see them? What do we know about how he grew up? Why didn't we see him and Fran's relationship? Him with Hyacinth and Gregory? In the background, he's always watching over them, but there's never any weight to that in the narrative. Conversations with his mum about ANYTHING other than Penelope? Conversations with ANTHONY about anything other than Penelope?

Season 3 was meant to be HIS season- and what did he get out of it?

No wonder Luke Newton wants to be far away from it. Between the blatant ableism he's had to deal with (I won't forget how of everything, they chose a MAD LIBS interview where he's been open about having dyslexia, and Nicola has been open about being a former English major) and the lack of screentime and character development (near everything about him was told behind the scenes, Luke Newton is the ONLY reason Colin has any depth at all, since the writing denies it of him), hell, I'd be running far away. Especially with a fandom as rude as this one.

The show doesn't care about him and neither does this fandom. There's no fleshing out of his character. From jump we've only ever seen him as an extension of Penelope, and thus he only exists in Polin as an accessory. That's why people can say 'Oh, we'll get Polin S4!' and it's just conversations about Pen grappling with Lady Whistledown.

Colin's only narrative was to fall in love with Penelope. Now that he's there, what's his purpose? His role? To continue being an accessory to her.

Is Kate an accessory to Anthony? Is Anthony an accessory to Kate?

Was Daphne an accessory to Simon? Was Simon an accessory to Daphne?

You know damn well Benedict and Sophie won't be accessories to one another.

So why is Colin dealt this hand? Why is he the only one denied backstory? The only one denied personhood and depth? The only one who has to just exist to soak up his partner's light- indicating he's lesser than her?

The production has even said, flat out 'I don't think Colin's smart enough for Penelope'. They don't respect him as a character, and I don't think they respected Luke as an actor.

Colin got less screentime as a Bridgerton in his OWN SEASON than love interests in theirs. Don't say it's because he was already established- we got no POV for him in Season 1 or Season 2, so he's at a deficit, and now all the articles and conversations about Polin in Season 4 continue to be about Colin serving Penelope's story.

This fandom would gleefully replace him with a cardboard cutout or a sexy lamp and have no issues.

He deserved better.

WE deserved better.

[diamonds-of-the-first-water]

It’s Polin Season

*Spoilers ahead for Bridgerton Season 3 part 1*

so i finished part 1 and oh my god. it was great. i’m gonna rewatch it later, but i want to list some of my favorite things after first watch (i’ll probably forget things I have been awake all night and am sleep deprived but oh well)

colin and el being elusive with one another about their activities

colin having a wet dream after one kiss

colin groping penelope like she was gonna float away

penelope’s new wardrobe and hair (they suit her so well)

PRUDANK

FROHN

phillipa not understanding how a baby is made or born and wondering why her husband has to change his pants after they kiss

surprisingly the music choices! when they were initially released i was wary but they all seem to fit the moment (aside from dynamite which was kinda just there?)

the carriage ride was even better than i imagined and i have imagined it many different ways so bravo team

ending with an almost direct book quote (for gods sake penelope featherington are you going to marry me or not?) chefs kiss. absolutely zero notes

for the show i’m glad the whistledown reveal wasn’t before the carriage scene it wouldn’t have made sense and there wouldn’t have been enough time to resolve it

honestly cressida makes much more sense as a character to me this season but it still doesn’t excuse her being a bully ( i like her but i love pen so)

marcus anderson seems like a good match for violet and i want to learn more about him

we got to see happy kanthony without them overshadowing the new couple (much like daphne in the first season)

things i didn’t like very much

another plot about benedict sleeping with some woman who will no longer be relevant next season

cressida being straight. this is wrong, do it again and get it right this time.

i honestly would have preferred penelope break off the engagement because she’s still in love with colin than debling doing it for her, but the tension cause of the broken engagement was sweet

though i’m glad kanthony wasn’t overused i still wish they showed up more in part 1, i know they will be back but still. at least one other episode

lady danbury and penelope’s relationship isn’t as strong as it is in the books. mind you polin names their first kid after her.

summary:

with what I have seen so far i almost wish we had gotten weekly releases instead. ideally we’d get the whole thing at once but if that wasn’t an option weekly would have been nice. i’m kinda tired of the binge model. overall i loved part 1 and will definitely be rewatching it later

more thoughts to come! thank you nicola and luke for doing our polin justice

[marchentraume]

Bridgerton S3 thoughts/show future below

Okay first and foremost if it wasn't clear by my reblogs and tags, I love LOVE Michaela Stirling and the direction hinted at Francesca's story (our beautiful sapphic bi-queen). I am also really disgusted by the backlash towards this gender blind casting choice, as someone who read the book and has it as their second fave in the series so far this in no way discredits her storyline at all. This is no way erases her feelings for John, this in a way adds layers to their relationship that we didn't really know much beyond her memories and the prologue in WHWW (so kudos to the show making it even SADDER).

Suddenly historical accuracy matters after years of "it's a show and they're doing their own thing"? Suddenly only cishet women go through infertility issues??????? Please do not come here with that, the book still exists and the show can also exist and do it's own thing without change that! Amazing right?! You also have had 4 whole seasons of heterosexual (well on the surface) love stories, including Queen Charlotte, so please let us have fun and enjoy this. FFS their season isn't even OUT yet and probably won't be for a while!

~Speaking of, S4 BENEDICT/SOPHIE HYPE TRAIN BEGINS NOW~

At least I'm hoping that's the direction they go with, Eloise is way too soon and she herself said she needs to get out and see the world outside her family estates which is a good step forward from the books. Creloise didn't happen...this season. I don't think Cressida's story is quite over yet, her getting away to that aunt looks shitty but if they ended her story like this after escaping a really gross marriage arrangement would seem so...shitty? Even for her. I just hope the show doesn't go with "only the smart pretty women who are kind get happy endings" isn't what they're going for (I really doubt it but...putting a pin there for a while). IDK how I feel about her and Eloise as a ship now as well considering the latter quickly threw her aside, thus both going away for a while will be good in general.

Back to Benedict, our bi-king, I do wonder now what direction Sophie will go as this season wanted to establish a lot with his personality and choices in life. As long as he meets her at the masquerade ball and they fall in love I will be happy, and also the book still exists so it'll be entertaining hopefully no matter what. I just REALLYYYYY hope they're next, NGL Pen and Colin's story isn't my fave even in the books. I have no real issue to even bring up, the trope itself doesn't really do much for me. But I AM a Nicola Coughlan fan and she knocked it out so hard this season, I hope she gets the recognition in the next awards season!

Anyway I am gonna be here for the next 2 years thinking of who Sophie will be and Michaela and Francesca getting to know each other <3

[pensbridgrton]

Thoughts of the S3 Polin? I love them and I'm so excited

i'm clearing out this inbox of mine... and i haven't properly ranted about this in a while, so... yeah. So if you're excited about S3 and don't want to hear anything negative, this may not be the post for you. (I'd classify it as bittersweet, maybe.)

I still HATE the idea of Polin being S3. I hated it when it was rumored, I hated it when it was announced, and even if I've now accepted that it's happening, I still think it was a TERRIBLE decision and actively ruins some of the elements of Polin I love the most (Namely: two characters growing up individually until they're in the right time and space to fall in love and grow together; the spinster and the bachelor; Penelope being successful for a DECADE at LW before being ready to move on; Colin enjoying his travels but being ready to settle down.)

But here we are.

Ignoring the past two weeks, I've been pretty pessimistic about S3. For me, in order to LOVE a romance I need to LOVE both individual characters. I can still like and enjoy a romance if that isn't the case, but with Polin - a book ship that is one of my all time favorites - I had high expectations in S1. My expectations post-S2 were pretty much on the floor because Show!Pen and Show!Colin - while not terrible characters in any way - are not MY characters, or at least not the ones I would die on a hill defending. In addition, while I do not care about plot in the slightest (and therefore do not care about the - frankly, sparse - RMB plot being done away with) I DO care about vibes and keeping characters in character. I love fic, obviously, but I love IN CHARACTER fic... and the show is wildly OOC fic right now. Not my cup of tea. So... really, in the end, I'm just here to support Nicola and Newts. I have always believed that S3 would be wildly popular, eaten up by the casual audience, and generally well-loved... I just felt that S3 wouldn't be my all time favorite season with my all time favorite couple as Show!Polin had the potential to be (especially if it had been S4 and had gone through with the actual slowburn, individual character development route).

Now, ever since TUDUM and some of the interviews that have come out... I wouldn't say I'm cautiously optimistic, but I am choosing to have more of an open mind and be open to the possibility that I might enjoy the main romance without having to turn my brain off. I know there are probably going to be things I dislike/despise (jealous/possessive Colin, Pen not apologizing to Marina, Marina dying, an overemphasis on the sex and not enough on the friendship, Colin's costuming, etc. who knows what else) but I know I will enjoy watching Nicola and Newts play these characters on my screen (the stills had me giddy!)

More importantly, while I try not to read TOO much into interviews, everything Nicola and Newts have said about the season so far does give me hope about Penelope and Colin as individuals. Again, I don't care about the plot. The quotes? Are fun! I'm definitely really happy about "you're my mess" and any other book quotes/scenes were get. But hearing Nicola talk about how Penelope needs to grow up, how she's terrible with men, how she's made mistakes.... hearing Newts talk about how S3 is basically a different Colin... THAT is what gives me hope. Because for me, I am always drawn to character-driven romances but it's hard to be invested in that romance if you're not invested in the characters. And again while Show!Pen and Show!Colin are fine, I really miss their book characters and hearing that they both might be GROWING into their book selves (especially Colin, imo, bc Show!Pen just needs to grow in general and I'll be happy whereas I really didn't like the writing for S2 Colin) does, actually, get me a little excited.

But yeah, I'm still here. I'll watch. I'll keep an open mind because Nicola and Newts clearly care about these characters and the romance and I do appreciate that and at the end of the day, it's an adaptation of the show and if I hate it (wouldn't be the first time!), I'll always have the book.

[more-than-a-princess]

Bridgerton!

SEND ME A FRANCHISE OR SERIES AND I WILL TALK ABOUT IT - Accepting!

JUNE 13 IS ALMOST HERE! I will not be replying to threads on Thursday. And possibly not Friday as well. Season 3 Part 2 drops and I need Polin like I need oxygen-

With that in mind, hi, I'm the Bridgerton fan, it's me.

I was about halfway through Season 1 when I decided to read all 8 of the original series back-to-back, so while I wasn't a book fan from the start, I've kept them in mind when watching the last half of Season 1 and the subsequent seasons. I like the fact that this series, written and acted, really seems to embrace historical fantasy. It's a romance series and not meant to be historically accurate at all, but I think it gives a fresh take on the Regency period that differentiates between Jane Austen and all of the various offshoots and adaptations. It's also just a visual treat, y'know? Polyester lace and plastic beads and sequins certainly weren't around in the 1810s, and yet it's just plain fun to watch.

When ranking everything, I think Season 2 is my least favorite of the seasons so far, which is apparently a spicy take on the internet. I didn't like how the show handled Edwina in correlation to Kate and Anthony, and I was disappointed to see how Kate and Anthony's engagement scene was cut from the show, or at least was depicted differently than in the book. The book version made me, truly, laugh out loud (just like Eloise facing her brothers in Book 5! I actually repurposed this exact type of scene for a RP thread a little while back because it was just too fitting).

In my other terribly spicy Bridgerton take: I think Penelope's outing of Marina's pregnancy in the show was valid. Pen has done a lot of wrong things, but Colin needed to know the full story about Marina before he agreed to marry her. I know there are lots of fans who see Penelope as the devil for this in Season 1, and while Pen isn't perfect, I think this was the morally right thing to do.

Other things I hope for in the show (as the books are done, there's little reason to speculate about them):

Season 4 is either Benedict's or Eloise's season, depending on how the last four episodes of Season 3 go. Francesca will be in the background to some degree with her husband, though I hope a certain cousin is introduced in this season or next, cough cough.

I hope the show doesn't keep all of the book canon love interests, actually. If only because Benedict's book and LI are some of my least favorites in the entire series, and I think Eloise's book love interest doesn't need the spotlight on this show because, frankly, he kinda sucks. Can you tell I didn't like her book much either, save for when her brothers come to 'rescue' her?

If this show does not include Michael Stirling (or the genderswap version that's a very prevalent rumor right now), I riot. When He Was Wicked is the best of the books, fight me.

If this show does not include Gareth St. Clair, I will riot but riot a little quieter. He is so underrated.

Let. Cressida. Be. Sapphic. The show is hinting at this SO MUCH. Just go through with it, showrunners! Give her a yearning crush on Eloise and actually be clear that she is, indeed, sapphic!

Queen Charlotte is, IMO, becoming a little stale on this show. I would not be upset if she didn't return in Season 4. In reality, Queen Charlotte died in 1818, so even with the show's messy take on the timeline in comparison to the books, it would make sense that she will be passing away in the next few years.

Violet needs her garden watered and Lady Danbury needs to deal with the fact her brother can oblige. She slept with Violet's dad, Violet can sleep with her brother.

Colin and Penelope can likely disappear after Season 3 but I will be sad about it. I love them. LOVE. THEM.

Nicola Coughlan is an actual queen and always fabulous. She's been killing it this press tour in her outfits, support of Palestine, and calling out chauvinistic male reporters by reminding them she has perfect breasts. She is ICONIC. I still need to watch Big Mood but Derry Girls is amazing, watch Derry Girls if you haven't yet.

And with that, I need to run out to the post office! I have yards upon yards of fabric to send to my dressmaker who is making new two new Penelope gowns from Season 3 for Dragon Con this year.

[billy-hargrooves]

I posted 6,450 times in 2022

That's 3,044 more posts than 2021!

171 posts created (3%)

6,279 posts reblogged (97%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@sweetoothgirl

@emziess

@prideandprejudice

@edwardslovelyelizabeth

@sugarplumsfairy

I tagged 6,447 of my posts in 2022

#photography - 1,465 posts

#stranger things - 860 posts

#bridgerton - 688 posts

#s4 - 527 posts

#bridgerton s2 - 502 posts

#stranger things s4 - 481 posts

#movies - 420 posts

#dune - 325 posts

#dune 2021 - 316 posts

#timothee chalamet - 299 posts

Longest Tag: 130 characters

#i'm going to be grateful forever to denis villeneuve that he cast tim as paul and how because of it he brought me tim into my life

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

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193 notes - Posted October 24, 2022

#4

Nicola and Luke via their stories (4/4/2022)

When the actors are shipping their characters as a couple themselves and are also promoting #polinweek to supprt their fans. - What is there more to dream of and hope for then having such actors to portray your fave characters ❤.

213 notes - Posted April 4, 2022

#3

See the full post

302 notes - Posted November 16, 2022

#2

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317 notes - Posted July 20, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Ohh my, this season was a let down. Damn. I wanted to love or at least really, really like it...

But after watching - and skipping many minutes of each episodes because I wasn't interested in so many of the side plots - I'm so sorry that I have to say this and it's not because the season was so different from s1, how in general the story was told.

I have expected something more, something different.

There is too much of everything and too less of everything at the same time. Does that make sense?

Why so many side plots? Why that Featherington side story? Why adding so much drama? Wasn't there enough?

There was not enough time for Kate and Anthony themselves in their own story, instead of making them marry at the end they could have gotten married the same way, without showing us, but after that at least how their life together looked like. This I like/ love you but can't be with you took far toooo long!

I also dislike many of the changes, they just don't feel right. Yes, I know that adaptations differ from books, but why the drama between Pen and Eloise? Why does Eloise have to know?

Honestly, that's such a major change! For Pen's and Colin's story cause he is the one who finds out and who wants to protect Pen and she was able to keep that secret for a decade, that fact is an impotent part of their story, know they took this away from them. And Pen and Eloise not being friends anymore? They were the (almost) only good thing in this season.

At least we got some Polin scenes. At first I wasn't sure what to think of them. Colin still seems to be slow on the uptake, but fine if Pen is only a friend for him. Ok.

But then the more time past by, you could feel that somethings changed. Colin always had that way of looking at Penelope, for example when he arrived back home after his trip and Pen was there with the whole family. But at some point it was like he was looking at her differently, as if they made some baby steps forward.

Hope they won't be ruined when Colin finds out what Pen did, if Eloise will tell him, if - well we don't know that. So let's hope she won't.

364 notes - Posted March 25, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[thebluemallet]

My Top 5 Favorite Moments From Bridgerton, Season 1, Episode 6

5. "No one ever takes me seriously, except Marina."

This line is especially heartbreaking when you know what is really going on and, on later rewatches, when you know how the episode ends. Marina certainly doesn't take him seriously at this point. She's definitely using him. Penelope, as much as she thinks she loves him at this point in time, I don't think she takes him seriously, either. She still has him up on a pedestal. The poor boy is about to have his heart shattered.

4. The Montage

Let's just admit it: we were all fanning ourselves during that library scene, alright?

3. Marina Speaks French

Is Marina doing a shitty thing by trapping Colin into marriage with a baby that won't be his? Yes.

Do I understand why her position as a pregnant woman in Regency England might motivate her to take such drastic steps? Yes.

Is it also really underhanded to blackmail Madame Delacroix by threatening to expose her fake French ruse? Also yes.

But in desperate times, Marina is very resourceful and cutthroat in a world that would tear her apart in seconds for her condition. In the 21st century, Marina could get away with being a single mother, but 1813 is a dangerous world to be pregnant out of wedlock, so I can understand her actions and motivations, even if I don't approve.

2. Penelope Cries In The Garden

Nicola Coughlin is an excellent crier and her breakdown in the Bridgerton garden made me tear up, too.

1. Marina's Secret Is Exposed

Colin and Marina are about to run away to Gretna Green together and elope. Colin is sure he's in love and he's about to start a new life with his bride. Marina is sure that all of her problems are about to be solved. But Lady Bridgerton and Lady Featherington are both waiting to intercept the would-be lovebirds with Lady Whistledown.

I love the differences in how they both find out. There's a pause after the narrator says Marina is with child and Colin drops his bag to the floor in shock. I love that bit of editing.

Marina, by contrast, doesn't need to read what Lady Whistledown wrote. All she needs is to see Lady Featherington's face and the gossip sheet in her hands and you know that she knows it's all over. She's risked it all and she's lost.

Both parties say little or nothing at all in that scene. It all comes down to the actors, the Lady Whistledown voiceover, and the music.

I will admit that this is probably my least favorite episode of season 1 (and of the series so far). Like everyone else, I was not on board with the rape scene. Season 1 kept to its book much more closely than Season 2 did, but for all the changes they made, why couldn't they have changed this???

For those of you who haven't read the book, you get some of Daphne's internal dialogue with this scene and...wow, it makes the scene so much worse.

[circular-time]

Twin Dilemma re-watch: "Yuck”

I could only stomach part one.

I haven’t gone back and rewatched Six’s episodes, because I had such a hard time with them when they first aired. I was... 13, I think. 

I do so love Colin now, thanks to his excellence in Big Finish and his all-around decency as a human being and a proponent of Doctor Who. (I love his article on behalf of Whittaker in the Guardian.)  So I thought I should rewatch his stories as an adult.

I know there will be good things in future serials, but after watching Part One of Twin Dilemma again, I am struck by how much it seems like a NEVER DO THIS list of the worst possible ways to introduce a new Doctor...

It followed directly after Caves of Androzani. So instead of the usual practice of introducing a new Doctor after a summer of antici----pation, he barged in while most fans were still in the initial NOOOOOOOO!!! phase of the Five Stages of Grief/Loss for his predecessor.

Androzani ended with an emotional exit for the Fifth Doctor, sacrificing himself for a companion (whom we barely knew, and I confess I resented her, too, because of that). Then, Six sits up and sneers at Peri, the person Five just died for, throwing a bucket of cold water over a raw, touching moment. Subverting sentimental moments with cyncism can work, but it relies on mood whiplash for the viewer, so it must be done with care. 

Twin Dilemma starts not in the TARDIS but instead in a crappy set with wooden actors. Suspense is fine, but the contrast with Androzani is painful.

Back in the TARDIS, the new Doctor pats himself on the back to tell us how handsome, intelligent and thoroughout wonderful he is. I remember wanting to shove a pie in his smarmy face. It should be funny, but again, in context of Androzani, it’s childish and irritating.

The worst possible way to establish a new Doctor is to spit on the grave of the last Doctor while fans are mourning him. Which is exactly what Six does, mocking Five for being “sweet” and “feckless” and claiming that wasn’t his true self. He sneers at Peri for being attached to him— and so, indirectly, he sneers at Five’s fans.

Every Peri & Doctor scene is intercut with the uninspire’d B-plot’s more wooden acting, crappy sets and cheap-looking costumes, and a Who monster design nearly as clunky as the Myrka. End-of-season leftover budgets don’t serve a new Doctor well.

The Doctor dons his new costume, the much-derided technicolor nightmare coat, after  sneering at another predecessor (Two) in passing. Peri expresses what most viewers must be thinking: “Yuck.”

At least the wardrobe scene shows that some of Six’s behavior is due to regeneration sickness. Unfortunately, by depicting regeneration’s after-effects as acute, violent fits of madness interrupting his train of thought, it implies that his sneering, arrogant, narcissistic personality is his “real” one.

And of course, if we weren’t already rattled as much as Peri, there’s the infamous strangling scene. This was still a show targeted at children as much as adults. That scene seriously, SERIOUSLY terrified me, far more than anything else in classic Who history. Consider: a trusted adult, authority figure, parental figure, or best friend— the Doctor is all these things to his young audience— suddenly starts verbally abusing Peri, gaslighting her, ignoring her, and acting erratically. Then he violently assaults her, winding up straddling her in a posture disturbingly reminiscent of sexual assault. Even for children and teens who haven’t suffered abuse in real life, that sequence was traumatizing. But for young people who have been emotionally and/or physically abused, for whom Doctor Who is escapism? Devastating. We could no longer project RL fears onto fictional monsters and enjoy the fantasy of a trusted authority figure/best friend/protector. Suddenly, he was the monster. 

After the Doctor snaps out of it, his non-apology consists of dragging Peri off to “suffer” with him on a barren asteroid. Another nightmare of children: adults take you somewhere against your will, and you’re afraid and powerless, and you’re afraid they’ll hurt you.

Peri spends the whole episode whining, whimpering and bickering with him. Which isn’t any fun either. 

The first episode ends with the Doctor viciously guilt tripping Peri for wrongly assuming there’s no survivors of a nearby crash: “you would’ve left your own kind to die.” The wording reinforces the gulf between him and us.

In response, Peri finally snaps and tells him off for being cruel and self-centered.

In short, the Doctor has been transformed from a compassionate Dad or big brother figure into an untrustworthy monster who neglects and abuses his companions. At age 13, I understood that message all too well; I mentally switched him to the “dangerous adult, cannot trust” category. 

I don’t blame Colin for this fiasco. He performed the script he was given to the best of his ability. It’s largely due to his skilled voicework and physical improv that Six’s intro is so memorable and terrifying. 

I know that the showrunners were trying to do something new, different, and edgy. But. “Let’s make the Doctor as jarring and unlikeable as possible” is a dangerous way to break the mold. They needed to provide some reason to keep watching.

After Twin Dilemma, viewers had to wait over a year to see the next story, a very long time to stew over what we’d just seen. Bad first impressions had time to set like concrete.

To make matters worse, this was about the time VCRs became common in households, so many fans could rewatch Androzani and Twin Dilemma to contrast/compare.

All of which leads back to my contention that Twin Dilemma was dreadfully unfair to Colin Baker: giving him a piss-poor intro, then expecting him in the following season to win back the fans the script had driven off. It wasn’t very fair to Nicola, either. 

I’m pissed at Michael Grade & company for throwing so many barriers in Colin’s way, above and beyond the usual headwind of fans clinging to the old Doctor and being wary of the new. And I’m pissed at my younger self for letting Twin Dilemma rattle me so thoroughly that I barely noticed when the true Six, the heart of gold under that pompous facade, started to shine through in later stories. 

[terryballs]

My favourite Doctor Who writers

10. Neil Gaiman

Neil Gaiman is one of the most talented people to ever write for Doctor Who. Of course, talent alone is not enough - Douglas Adams, Alan Moore, and Naomi Alderman all miss out on this list. What makes Gaiman special is his fairytale, fantasy approach to the show. He has big ideas, full of heart, and I am always delighted by them.

Why isn’t Mr Gaiman higher up on the list? Simply because he has only done four stories. One of them, “The Doctor’s Wife”, is an all-time classic, while the others are at least good. With a couple more stories, Mr Gaiman would surely be higher.

9. Paul Magrs

Coming in at #9 is one of the most important writers of non-televised Who. Paul Magrs has written nine Big Finish Main Range stories (most notably “The Peterloo Massacre”), three Companion Chronicles, and two Eighth Doctor Adventures, including the exceptional “The Zygon Who Fell To Earth”, as well as a huge number of spin-off adventures.

It’s in print where Magrs really flourishes, though. It’s quite hard to get across just how influential Paul Magrs has been. Firstly, his three books in the Eighth Doctor Adventures range - The Scarlet Empress, The Blue Angel, and Mad Dogs and Englishmen - are hugely ambitious metatextual delights. These stories introduce Iris Wildthyme and the Smudgelings to the Whoniverse, and have each inspired their own spin-off series, collectively called the “Magrsverse”. Iris’s parody of the Doctor is a rip-roaring delight whenever she appears - and as you know, she’s famous for it - and will prove a lasting legacy for Mr Magrs.

I suppose, at this junction, I should mention Lawrence Miles, who has had a similar influence, but I just don’t find to be quite as good a storyteller as Magrs.

8. Rob Shearman

You probably know Rob Shearman for “Dalek”, the first good New Who story. What if I told you that “Dalek” is Shearman’s worst DW story?

The titles of Shearman’s audio plays are enough to send shivers up the spines of those who have heard them. There’s “Jubilee”, the loose inspiration for “Dalek”, which explores the Daleks as fascist iconography. There’s “The Holy Terror”, where the Doctor and Frobisher the Penguin Shape-Shifter have a similarly horrifying experience with a religious cult. There’s “The Chimes of Midnight”, possibly the definitive Eighth Doctor story, and “Scherzo”, itself perhaps the most experimental story in Doctor Who history, and “Deadline”, in which the villain is Doctor Who itself.

Like many of the writers on this list, Shearman has an eclectic back catalogue full of obscure oddities. But few people have quite his capacity for knocking it out of the park.

7. Chris Chibnall

It’s true that Chris Chibnall’s work before becoming showrunner is inconsistent at best. “42″ is bad and “The Hungry Earth” is uninspired. “Dinosaurs on a Spaceship” is a fun romp, while “The Power of Three” is a great story that is let down by the ending which had to be re-written hastily due to unforeseen production issues. And Chibnall’s contributions to Series 11 range from “fine” (”The Woman Who Fell To Earth”) to “bad” (”The Battle of Ranskor Av Kolos”). But in “Pond Life” and “P.S.”, Chibnall shows that he knows how to write affecting character beats.

It’s in Series 12 that Chibnall really takes things up a step. His stories become sprawling and ambitious: globe-trotting thrillers crammed full of ideas. He’s still occasionally guilty of trying to throw too many ideas in, but his love for the story really shines through. There’s barely a weak moment in Series 12, and that’s largely because Chibnall himself steps up to write or co-write hit after hit after hit. It all culminates in the epic three-part finale, “The Haunting of Villa Diodati”/”Ascension of the Cybermen”/”The Timeless Children”, a hugely ambitious story that crosses space and time and pulls together disparate elements from the history of Who. It’s a million miles from “The Battle of Ranskor Av Kolos”: a fan-pleasing story that is truly epic.

6. Vinay Patel

Why is Vinay so high? Good question. Thinking about it, I can’t really justify this placement. Patel reliably produces great stories - “Demons of the Punjab” alone marks Patel out as a great, and to follow it up with “Fugitive of the Judoon” shows that it wasn’t a fluke. But Mr Patel has only got four stories to his name - the aforementioned TV stories plus “Letters from the Front” and “The Tourist” - so for similar reasons to Mr Gaiman, a high position is difficult to justify.

So instead, let’s give this position to Terrance Dicks. Mr Dicks has a bit of a reputation as more of a “jobbing” writer than someone like Chibnall or Shearman, Terrance Dicks was, first and foremost, a script editor. Yes, he co-wrote “The War Games” and was the sole writer for “Horror of Fang Rock”, but he’s best remembered for script editing the Third Doctor era (and part of the Second Doctor era), as well as producing an absolute mass of Target novelisations. But that’s not all - Mr Dicks has written original novels (VNAs, EDAs, and PDAs alike), Quick Reads, audio stories, two stage plays, and even the Destiny of the Doctor video game.

Sure, Mr Dicks didn’t burn as bright as Mr Patel. But his contribution to the Whoniverse is unparalleled.

5. Nev Fountain

Comedy writer Nev Fountain has written several of the very best Doctor Who stories. For some reason, these stories tend to centre around Peri (Fountain is married to Nicola Bryant). “Peri and the Piscon Paradox” is the best Companion Chronicle by far, due to a combination of great acting by Bryant and Colin Baker and Fountain’s sizzling script. “The Kingmaker” is an outrageously funny historical with incredible dialogue and multiple ideas clever enough to carry a whole story.

Frankly, those two alone should be enough to convince anyone of Fountain’s brilliance. But there is so much more - “The Widow’s Assassin”, “The Curious Incident of the Doctor In the Night-time”, “The Blood on Santa’s Claw”, “Omega“... if you like Doctor Who, make yourself familiar with Nev Fountain.

4. Robert Holmes

More than anyone else, Robert Holmes is responsible for the esteem which the Fourth Doctor is held in.

Holmes first wrote for the show all the way back in Series 6, with “The Krotons”. He wrote the very first Third Doctor story, “Spearhead From Space”, in which he also introduced the Autons. They reappeared a year later in “Terror of the Autons”, which introduced Jo Grant and the Master. In “The Time Warrior”, Holmes introduced the Sontarans, a pastiche of imperialism.

It was in the Fourth Doctor era that Mr Holmes really made his mark. He took over from Mr Dicks as script editor. In his own right, he wrote “The Deadly Assassin” and “Talons of Weng-Chiang”, but he also turned “The Ark In Space”, “Pyramids of Mars”, and “The Brain of Morbius” into usable stories, even appearing in “The Brain of Morbius” as the Doctor.

After stepping back from script editing, Holmes returned as a hack to write stories like “The Caves of Androzani” (probably the most popular story in Classic Who) and “The Two Doctors”, before dying shortly after his 60th birthday.

3. Jamie Mathieson

Putting Mr Mathieson above Mr Holmes really shows my bias towards New Who, but honestly, I’d rather re-watch “Mummy on the Orient Express”, “Flatline”, or “Oxygen” than any of Holmes’ stories. Mathieson is very inventive and extremely good at maintaining pace and tension. I’m sure we’ll get more stories from him in the future, but the ones we have so far should be used as inspiration by anyone wanting to writing exciting Who.

2. John Dorney

It is hard to exaggerate Mr Dorney’s contributions to audio Who. He may lack the external fanbase of Mr Gaiman, the influence of Mr Magrs, or the legendary status of Messrs Dicks, Chibnall, and Holmes, but make no mistake, Dorney is exceptional. In almost every range he tries his hand at - Lost Stories, Novel Adaptations, Third Doctor Adventures, Fourth Doctor Adventures, Fifth Doctor Adventures, Dark Eyes, Doom Coalition, Ravenous, Time War, Companion Chronicles, Short Trips, Jago and Litefoot, Missy, UNIT, Diary of River Song... Dorney reliably writes the best story in the set.

In particular, Dorney’s stories are notable for the way they focus on character drama. Look at stories like “A Life In A Day” or “Absent Friends” for particular examples of stories that use sci-fi concepts to draw emotion out of characters, particularly the stoic Liv Chenka. Other highlights of Dorney’s include “The Red Lady” and the “Better Watch Out”/”Fairytale of Salzburg” two-parter.

1. Steven Moffat

What more is there to say? Moffat is truly exceptional, reliably writing the best stories in TV Who for several consecutive years. The classics are too numerous to list, but the stand outs amongst the stand outs are “Blink” and “Heaven Sent”/”Hell Bent”.

Some of Moffat’s best work comes away from TV. The minisodes “The Inforarium” and “Night of the Doctor”, the novelisation of “Day of the Doctor”, the short stories “Continuity Errors” and “the Corner of the Eye”, and lockdown stories like “Terror of the Umpty Ums” are Moffat deep cuts which deserve to be held in the same regard as his great TV stories.

Moffat’s imagination lead to him creating multiple iconic monsters - foremost amongst them, the Weeping Angels and the Silence. Moffat emphasised the use of time travel within the stories themselves; other themes in his work include memory, perception, paradoxes, identity, sexuality, and responsibility. He is, without a doubt, the greatest Doctor Who writer, and I am so lucky to have lived through the period where he was active.