‘Bridgerton’ Season 3 Review, Episodes 1-4: A Fun Summer Watch

The social season is upon us once more, this time with a long-awaited love story at its center. Netflix released Bridgerton Season 3, Part 1 on May 16. Still, before diving into the newly released Part 2, I’m unpacking the promises of the first four episodes, which welcomed back Nicola Coughlan and Luke Newton as Penelope Featherington and Colin Bridgerton amidst a whirlwind of new styles, suitors, gossip and relationships. 

Season 3 promises to cash in on the mounting tension and intrigue of Penelope and Colin’s complicated relationship foreshadowed since the early stages of the series. Penelope, a frequently overlooked wallflower leading a secret life as high society’s most relished gossip columnist, has shaped the show’s atmosphere as her pen persona, Lady Whistledown. This season, can she make a splash in society as herself and finally secure a match that will bring her as much happiness as the love stories she reads by her window?

The answer so far: Perhaps. 

The anticipated love story has been diluted in the early episodes by a parade of supporting storylines. Alongside the central romance, Season 3 must confront the aftermath of Penelope’s fallout with her friend Eloise Bridgerton (Claudia Jessie) and Queen Charlotte’s (Golda Rosheuvel) continued to quarrel with Lady Whistledown. We’re also faced with the annual coming out of another Bridgerton girl, with this year’s debutante, Francesca (Hannah Dodd), approaching the courting season with a unique outlook. 

Unexpectedly, though, the season is consumed with a potential romantic storyline for Lady Violet Bridgerton (Ruth Gemmell), the new marriages of Penelope’s sisters and the welcoming of a new member of the ton as a known side character comes into fortune. Though the quality of dialogue and performance remains consistently satisfying even where the plot slips from relevance, some fans are wondering if Penelope and Colin deserved more in the early season. Because the main couple spends as much time apart as they do together in episodes one through four, we’re left following a lot of perspectives, a few of which have yet to so much as hint at their payoff. 

Even in the fog of side plots, Penelope’s growing confidence and bold reinvention of her style shine through. Coughan’s performance remains loyal to the character as she adapts her hair and wardrobe to attract the attention of suitors. As a fan of Penelope from day one, I was delighted to see her appreciated for the parts of her personality that we already know and love. 

The Season 3, Part 2 trailer foreshadows plenty to look forward to in the next four episodes. The season, though a bit halfhearted in its attempts to do so thus far, could hold the potential to comment on female solidarity. So far, Eloise, paired with an unlikely new friend, has addressed how women are systematically pitted against each other in 19th-century English high society. 

Even so, the newest trailer warns that the show is in danger of falling into the trap of exploiting harmful gender dynamics for entertainment through the justification of the time period. The show’s past depiction of female relationships leaves me hopeful that the season as a whole will come out on the right side of history.

Though a bit overcrowded and slow-paced, the first four episodes of Season 3 certainly got me excited for the season finale. The compelling main couple partnered with the lovely floral aesthetic thus far makes the latest installment of Bridgerton a fun summer watch.