Dearest readers, “The Bridgertons” is a highlight of this season [LIST MI£OSNY]

From Thursday, the last four episodes of the third season of “” are available on the platform. Anyone who has watched the first four knows that the main character, Penelope, got involved with the love of her life at the very end, but now she has to face very serious consequences of her past actions. There is less here what “Bridgertons” readers have become accustomed to – love, discreet glances, conquest. This time, the focus was mainly on intrigue, with the frequency of romance significantly reduced.

“The Bridgertons”. Penelope reveals the cards

The third season of the series belongs to Penelope Featherington and Colin Bridgerton – a charming pair of friends trapped in an age-old pattern: she loves him, but he sees her as his best friend. The stalemate situation was resolved quite quickly, already halfway through the series. In the earlier seasons, the feeling between the main characters developed slowly, but now, bang, bang, one carriage ride and here we are, engaged. I was convinced that the missing episodes would not be able to maintain the tension – what could be more interesting than chasing a bunny that escapes? Dearest, gracious reader, how wrong I was!

Yes, the missing four episodes are no longer a love story. It’s a crash course in maturation not only for the main character, but also for Colin. It is an exciting story about bearing the consequences for what you have done in the past – and let us remind you that these were not always noble deeds on Penelope’s part. As Lady Whistledown, she destroyed people, crushed their reputations (and reputation is sometimes the only currency these days), discredited them and, although she claims that these were never lies, she did not act solely from noble motives. The moment of sobering comes when Penelope is one step away from fulfilling her dreams – and already in the first episode of the second part, her entire intricate puzzle begins to collapse like a house of cards.

Nicola Coughlan as Penelope Featherington in ‘The Bridgertons’. Photo Liam Daniel/Netflix

Unraveling this mess and observing the reactions of subsequent characters is fascinating fun. Once again, Penelope’s fantastically written mother shines the brightest among the entire cast. She is the only one who seems to know what game she is playing and how brutal the rules are. And when he finally sees his youngest daughter, we are dealing with perhaps the most touching scenes from all parts of the series. Yes, that’s right – lots of love affairs, updos, fleeting touches of hands or exchanged glances. The most important scenes in this season are the relationship between mother and daughter – how beautifully this thread was played deserves a special award and my “love letter” is mainly directed in this direction.

Penelope is, of course, not the only daughter who has problems this season. Cressida Cowper appeared on the horizon of the drama from the beginning of the episodes. A haughty, not particularly intelligent, but quite cruel girl in the first seasons had an annoying and frustrating function. The first part of the third season allowed us to look at Cressida as a person entangled in the ruthless conventions of society of those happily-gone times – with a tyrannical father and a mother completely subordinated to him. When the hunt for Lady Whistledown begins, Cressida sees it as her only chance to break out of the closed circle of parental violence. If this series can be criticized for anything, it is the lack of a positive solution to the Cressida issue – if Penelope ultimately finds redemption, why wasn’t the same given to Cressida, who, after all, caused much less damage than Lady Whistledown?

Cressida’s relationship with her parents is no less fascinating than that of Penelope and her loved ones. Cressida quite unexpectedly genuinely deserves sympathy. It’s an interesting change, but it’s a pity that Cressida, abused by her parents, didn’t receive her moment of redemption – after all, “Bridgertons” is mainly intended to raise spirits, and the punishment that this particular girl receives is simply cruel.

Nicola Coughlan as Penelope and Jessica Madsen as Cressida Cowper in the third season of ‘The Bridgertons’. Photo Laurence Cendrowicz / Netflix

It’s great, but of course not without flaws

Which is rare for me, I didn’t read the books before watching the film adaptation. And looking at the comments of the most loyal readers, I did the right thing, because Netflix, like with every film adaptation, likes to mix up the characters and plots. “Bridgertons” apparently also suffered in this respect – the men are women, some of the plots are not carried out in a bookish way. This fact may bother readers.

An additional bother – for me – is the sweet and tiring charm of the characters of the previous season. Kate and Anthony are so sweet, so covered in icing, so drinking out of each other’s mouths that it’s indigestible Yes, we know you love each other, even though not long ago you were ready to go at each other’s throats. We realized this in the first four episodes. There’s really no need to be reminded of this twice an hour. Of course, that’s the price to pay for not having Daphne and Simon from the first season – the concentration of cuteness would have been for two couples, not just one, if Phoebe Dynevor and Rege-Jean Page hadn’t left the franchise. However, what happened happened, and as a result, the role of madly in love and experienced bride and groom is played by Kate and Anthony (Simone Ashley and Jonathan Bailey).

It may not be frustrating, but it’s not particularly exciting either. The middle Bridgerton’s romance with Lord Kilmartin. This is not a complaint, because this plot takes place mainly in the background and is somewhat charming. But would “Bridgertons” lose if Francesca was moved forward one more season? Not particularly.

The plot jokes may make you wince slightly. Penelope’s sisters have been expecting a baby for a very long time, but it is not visible visually. This wouldn’t be a problem if it weren’t for the case of another pregnant woman who is getting bigger from episode to episode – unlike Prudence and Philippa.

The Bridgertons LIAM DANIEL/Netflix promotional materials

Summa summarum, these minor, after all, mishaps do not matter. The series as a whole, even divided into two chapters, is great to watch. Romance lovers will get romance, intrigue lovers will get intrigue. There is always a lot of dancing, great music and once again “Bridgertons” proves that it is a fantastic series to watch in one go – to get emotional and forget about all the evil in the world.

– and there aren’t many of these kinds of unambitious, costume romances where everything ends well on various streaming platforms. I’d rather not rush Netflix, because it’s better if they don’t rush the production and just absorb it slowly, but… Dearest readers, this author can’t wait!

Yours, Magda Walma