#based on: bridgerton

[harmonizingsunsets]

Anthony before marrying Kate at any inconvenience

Anthony after marrying Kate at any inconvenience

[ohtendril]

colin & pen + text posts

[notholaenas]

kiss kiss fall in love !

[doomed2repeat]

Literally the only way they could get me excited for this after what they did to Persuasion is to cast Luke Newton.

[rainbow-sunshine-unicorn]

Anthony Bridgerton’s trajectory is the stuff of dreams memes

[itsall-delicate]

I absolutely ADORE the detail of Pen wearing her hair (almost) exclusively down after Colin says this to her! I think the only time she wore her hair up after this was during the church sequence

gif credit: @thatonekimgirl

[rottentiger-art]

Bunelope Fluffington Sticker concept

/)/) ( . .) ( づ♡ Kofi commission for @hexadecimal00

[dollypopup]

I think it's interesting to look at the 'Mr. Bridgerton' scene as a backdrop for the eventual mirror scene. Firstly, in the fact that I think we've kind of misinterpreted it.

So many people are of the mind that scene's purpose to 'drag' Colin, but really, that scene has 3 primary functions. The first is to inform Colin that Penelope is aware of what he said of her, thus opening the door to clearing the air between them and providing an avenue for which Colin can apologize. The second is to establish the ground that they are currently on: Penelope has given up on the dream of Colin Bridgerton, in particular the perfect prince that can do no wrong, and has made it clear to him. It also creates distance between them that they will bridge.

But the third, and to me the most wrapped up in the mirror and the inner workings of their relationship is that it reveals how Penelope feels about *herself*. It's not necessarily an echo of what the ton considers her as, after all, we have a lot of evidence indicating that, for all intents and purpose, people aren't *unkind* about her, but rather that they ignore her. Audience members recognize this as Penelope's own shyness being the cause, she is often sitting off on the sidelines or not really talking to much of anyone, in the books she's referred to as the 'one who doesn't speak', and her LW business takes her away from being a character in the action of the ton to a bystander, kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy of sorts that perpetuates itself. Pen felt unseen so she became LW to have some power, but then LW herself must remain unseen and Penelope continues to be by design of her own making.

No, I think what it really reveals is that Penelope has incredibly low personal self esteem. We as a fandom has lauded that scene as her dragging Colin, saying that he's cruel and calling him Mr. Bridgerton is absolutely meant to create distance between them, but I don't think she's dragging him.

Because the person she is *actually* dragging here. . .is herself. And it is a general theme in her life. In Whistledown. Aloud. Even with Marina, when she complimented her, she assumes that she's lying. When Edwina says she's wearing a pretty dress, Penelope puts herself down and doesn't believe her, even when the compliment is genuine. In truth, Portia is not seen as being particularly unkind to Penelope. At least, speaking as someone who's mum was *awful* about my size and weight and outfits, Portia is. . .overall rather mild. She's not KIND and loving, not by a long shot, but she's also not targeting Penelope only. She's plenty mean and critical to Prudence, too, even to the point where she foists her off to her own cousin as a pawn piece. Penelope has low self esteem because of a lot of reasons, she's bullied by Cressida (I think a lot of girls are, she was pretty mean even to Daphne in S1) and her family isn't very tender to her, and she's not being pursued at every turn, but part of it is also her own perpetuation.

Listen to what she says "Of course you would never court me" "I embarrass you" "I am the laughingstock of the the ton". She sees *herself* as an embarrassment. She puts *herself* down. Arguably, more so than the ton does. She's meaner to herself than anyone else is, aside from Cressida. And honestly? Looking at Colin's face there. . .he is HURT that she considers herself this way. That she's projecting that onto him. Yes, he's hurt that he hurt her, of course he is, he never wants to hurt her. And yes, he's ashamed that he said he wouldn't court her the way he did and that in doing so, he validated her fears that she is unloved and unwanted, but also because. . .she already feels that way about herself. She's felt that way for years. And it's painful to care about someone, to see them as wonderful, and realize. . .they don't feel the same about themselves at all. I don't think Colin is out here feeling so wounded over the fact that she called him cruel and won't refer to him by first name anymore, but that he's most hurt by what she says about herself.

Because he *doesn't* see her the way she accuses. She says she never expected him of all people to be so cruel, but he feels the same way. He never expected her to be so cruel to *herself*. He wants to go somewhere private, not because she is an embarrassment, but because he wants to have a private conversation with her. Maybe assure her. Maybe explain himself. Maybe hash it out. But god Luke Newton's acting. . .he is *aching* for her. And it feels like he's going to do those lessons not in atonement for what he said (thank god) but to genuinely help his friend who thinks badly of herself. To lift her up. It's not about him at all, not about earning forgiveness, but about elevating Penelope. And that's. . .fuck, I just find that's just so heart stoppingly beautiful.

You can see, in that scene, how much he cares about her. How deeply and genuinely he adores her as a person. And just how painful it is for him to know he has validated, whether on purpose or otherwise, how poorly she feels about herself. How low her self-confidence really is. She is giving him a glimpse into the cracks of her heart, and when he sees them, he wants to reach out with both hands and make it feel better. Make her feel better.

After she says 'even when I change my entire wardrobe', he looks so fucking crushed. So 'don't say that'. So 'you really believe that?'. So 'God, I hate that you think that way'.

Because regardless of it all, he does love her. It's not romantic yet. It's not sexual yet. But he genuinely, truly, from the bottom of his heart, thinks she's wonderful. That was evident even in the 'purpose' scene. Every time Penelope opens up and reveals a facet of herself, he likes it. He likes her barbs and her dreams, he likes talking to her. He likes her. And he feels awful that he hurt her. And he feels awful that she's hurting herself. He loves her. He wants her to love herself.

And that's where the mirror scene comes in. Because the mirror scene isn't about sex, not really. Not entirely, at least. The mirror scene is about *intimacy*. The mirror scene is about being seen. Not just her seeing him, or him seeing her, but for Penelope to see *herself*. In a way, through his eyes. Because hers are biased rather negatively toward herself, which is evidenced in the 'Goodnight Mr. Bridgerton' scene, and in so many little moments we've already gotten where she's literally looking down on herself, feeling down. She doesn't necessarily *like* what's in the mirror, but he does. Because he likes *her*. And he wants to show her that he does. Show her that he finds her beautiful and have her recognize that in herself.

The 'Goodnight Mr. Bridgerton' scene is about Penelope revealing how she sees herself. The mirror scene is about Colin showing her how *he* sees her. The Goodnight scene is about Penelope thinking she means nothing to him, that he thinks of her the way she thinks of herself, that this is how everyone thinks of her, and the mirror scene is a direct response to that: No, he doesn't. No, he doesn't think she's embarrassing. No, he doesn't think she's a laughingstock. No, he doesn't think she's unappealing. And he doesn't think she should, either.

And he's going to show her that. Not just tell her, but show her. The mirror scene is so often a focus on Penelope, so much of Polin is in Penelope's focus, but approaching it from Colin's perspective and his motivations is so fulfilling, too. It's a glimpse into them in conversation, and a demonstrate of how Colin loves her. How Colin loves in general, openly and earnestly and altruistically. How he encourages her to be braver and more confident in herself, bolstering her because he just likes her *that much*. How he finds the most fulfillment and satisfaction in caring aloud. The mirror scene is a demonstration of his heart in reflection.

When Luke Newton said the first word that came to mind with the word 'Mirror' was 'Exposed', he doesn't just mean physically. He means emotionally, too.

God this couple is so fucking good.

[soniclion92]

Jancy Week 2024 Day 1 - History

Bridgerton is very IN rn so heres regency era jancy

[hamletshoeratio]

In season 4, I demand more Benedict and Hyacinth interactions. Gregory's off to school, Anthony and Kate are off to India, Eloise and Francesca are off to Scotland, the other two have married and moved out, so these two are the last ones under Violet's roof, I love what we've gotten of them but I need more bonding scenes. They're both hilarious and completely unhinged at times, I need more of this chaotic sibling duo.

[catmelot]

A huge thank you to everyone who has kindly asked me for a commission, thank you for letting me be a part of your vision!!! 🤍

I have Ko-fi account where you can go donate a couple of bucks if you like my stuff⭐⭐⭐ You can also get a cute comission by yours truly, and let me remind you, I'm increasing my prices starting the new year❤️‍🔥

[lansangprincess]

am i the only one that thinks francesca bridgerton is giving high mask "u cant have autism ure so sexy aha"

like people clearly think she's kinda odd but she's pretty so they brush it off. she only participates in the season because she's expected to not because she's necessarily nerve-wracked or offended by it, gets really excited when someone lets her talk about her interests and enjoys most the company of the one person that will deliberately sit there and not talk to her

[himbo-buckley]

Eloise is absolutely right in telling Pen she needs to tell Colin everything and saying he can never truly love her unless he knows everything btw

Polin has always been about finding the person who let‘s you be your authentic self and gives you confidence and helps you love yourself and they cannot do that if one of them keeps half their life secret

[romanticatheartt]

Under every post related to Bridgerton posted by Netflix people are crying for Michael. Just stfu omg... Get over it, they won't change it and it's been decided for more than one year now. Whether they knew what they were getting themselves into or not, the chances of them changing this storyline is zero. So I suggest you to stop throwing tantrum like a toddler. Either you'll watch their season or you don't easy as that.

Specially don't go after the actors as well. They didn't write the script...

[i-d-e-g-a-f]

can eloise be narrow minded when someone’s goals don’t align with hers and generally unaware of the privileges she has? yes! however, i will always defend her because that behavior is in reaction to the society she has been raised in which has left her to feel constantly isolated and without agency! she doesn’t want to marry, and yes it is a privilege that she even has the ability to voice that to her family, but she is not wrong to be upset over the fact that she does have to be married in order to be accepted! to put it bluntly, that fucking sucks! she can be mean and crass about how she doesn’t understand why women would WANT to marry but when she says that she isn’t just trying to be mean, she’s trying to find someone who agrees with her and understands her and the tragedy of it all is that the audience doesn’t seem to grasp that along with no one in the series. her going off to see theo despite everyone’s warnings WAS reckless and stupid but i could never be mad at her for it. she finally found someone she felt understood her and didn’t see her rebellion as an act and i can’t blame her for wanting to see that person more. i know she’s fictional so people can talk about her however they want, but i just wish more of the discourse surrounding her involved a little more empathy. she is flawed, hypocritical, and self-centered, but she is not mean spirited, these traits are not unforgivable, and she is not incapable of growth. eloise bridgerton i understand you i love you get behind me.

[youremyonlyhope]

Wow, Eloise is so ahead of her time that she's reading Emma at least 6 months before it was even published.