#i would have rather they never wrote colin at all than gave us the crumbs they did

[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.