#penelope and colin's story

[msfangirlgonewild]

Romance tropes in bridgerton🐝

credits: @artemis_eureka on Twitter/X

[kickdrumheart68]

Broke down and purchased this.... I am not an avid reader by any means but especially not period pieces. However, since I love the netflix series so much and this season especially, I'm going to try it!

[glitterfairy-21225]

Violet Ledger growing up with an emotionally abusive mother and a father who did little to stop her (I know Lord Ledger loved Violet a lot, but he was not doing enough and I will stand by that). Violet Bridgerton marrying a man who loves her fervently and unquestionably, and creating a safe, loving home for all their children. Violet Bridgerton knowing her daughter’s best friend is not treated well at home and treating her like another child. Violet Bridgerton watching her son marry Penelope Featherington and give her the loving home she was deprived of but always deserved.

Isn’t it funny how history repeats?

[lostinthemazewiththehallows]

cannot even begin to describe how much i love the historical inaccuracy in bridgerton this season- they’ve just fully leaned into it. the hair, the outfits, philippa featheringtons lush tan, i can’t get enough thank you!

i LOVE a silly romance - i don’t CARE about historical accuracy, i like pretty colours and happy couples

so WHAT the napoleonic war was supposed to be going on- NOBODY CARES! :D

[polinated]

bridgerton couples + dancing like nobody's watching

[letsplayeternity]

No but you don't understand this is his face when Penelope tells him she's the laughingstock of the entire ton and of course she never expected him to court her. This boy just got this heart broken because THAT'S HIS FRIEND. That's his FRIEND, more than anything else, and he does not see her in the way that she sees herself (he's not fully ready to truly see her yet) but he is CERTAIN she is miles above the rest of the entire bloody ton and that she does not see it herself BREAKS HIS HEART.

AND she is clearly in pain now and THERE IS NOTHING HE CAN DO BECAUSE HE WAS A PART OF IT. He had promised to take care of her, to "always look after her" and HE DIDN'T. He loves her (just how much he loves her he is not ready to realise yet) and he has let HER down. She was the only person who truly saw him as a separate person from his million siblings and he was never "another bridgerton" to her, and like we talk about Compass!Colin and how he ALWAYS sees Penelope, but he DIDN'T SEE HER, not when it mattered and HE BROKE HER HEART. That's the face of a man who knows he has become no better than the Fifes or Cressidas of the Ton and the BOY IS DISTRAUGHT.

Now excuse me while I go throw myself off of a cliff.

[cmmorilllonbridgertonlovers]

Polin Bridgerton "The Mirror scene" complete part 1 🩵💛🦋 Hi Everyone,

Find the most beautiful cinematic love scene of the decade.

The full video part 1 contains the "mirror scene" (explicit), and part 2 includes a bonus, the "sofa discussion scene." For technical reasons, I had to add additional sounds (rustling clothes, door opening, etc).

I blurred the intimate parts (out of respect for the actors).

Enjoy watching.🩵💛🦋

Yours truly Chris

[soleil-read]

I know we were robbed of the aftermath of Colin accepting ALL of Penelope (seems to be the trend for every season though) but this is how Colin looked at Penelope after they got engaged. Like imagine how besotted he will now be for the rest of their fictional lives now they are fully accepting of each other? He is so down bad for his wife! Completely head over heels. There's no more wondering or uncertainty, just pure love.

[livelovecaliforniadreams]

[early-twentysomething]

Lady Agatha “I fucked your dad” Danbury

🤝🏼

Mrs. Penelope “oh gosh look at the time, I’ve got to go home and have sex with your brother” Bridgerton

[admjralbenbow]

me all the season:

[pensbridge]

Well well well how the turntables 🪞

On the sixth of April, Penelope Featherington fell in love. His love hadn't been a thunderbolt from the sky. It had started with a smile, a word, a teasing glance. Every second he had spent in her presence it had grown, until he'd reached this moment, and he suddenly knew. He loved her.

[myimaginarymary]

Just leaving this here…

[devastatinglygreen]

the plot thread of colin and missing penelope on his tour hits a lot harder when you watch 1-8 without a month long break. him having feelings for her but not knowing what they are yet are handed to us right away at the start of episode 1 until he says it himself in episode 5 then goes into a deeper thread of him understanding that his yearning for home also meant a yearning for penelope herself because home is where penelope is🥺

[navarice]

actually afraid for my life and mental state after the show comes out because nicola coughlan herself said that this season is incredibly romantic and sexy but if I'm breaking down walls and running up and down the street simply because polin TOUCHED HANDS???? i fear i may not survive to see the rest of the season dearest readers.

[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.