‘Bridgerton’ Season 3 Finale Recap: The More Things Change…

Editor’s note: The below recap contains spoilers for the Bridgerton Season 3 finale.

The Big Picture

• Cressida threatens to expose Penelope’s identity, demanding £10,000.
• The Queen and Penelope collaborate to unmask her true identity as Lady Whistledown at a ball.
• Francesca experiences romantic feelings for John’s cousin, Michaela Stirling, setting up a queer relationship in
  Bridgerton
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They say three people can keep a secret if two of them are dead, and at the rate this Lady Whistledown (voiced by Julie Andrews) secret is traveling through the ton… let’s just be grateful Bridgerton is a romance series and not a horror one. With Season 3 Episode 7 ending on Cressida (Jessica Madsen) finally cluing into Penelope’s (Nicola Coughlan) secret, it feels things are about to blow wide open in the finale, “Into the Light,” though perhaps not in the way Cressida expected.

The episode opens not with the would-be-Whistledown, but instead with Penelope and Colin (Luke Newton) in their new home, though far from a state of married bliss. He’s sleeping on the couch and can barely bring himself to look at her. He leaves for Bridgerton House as soon as Penelope is awake, not wanting to spend more time with her than needed. No sooner does he leave than the housekeeper tells Penelope she has a visitor. It’s not Portia (Polly Walker), like she was expecting, but rather Cressida, who has come with a rather forceful proposition. She reveals that she knows Penelope’s secret identity, and threatens to reveal it if Penelope doesn’t pay her twice what the Queen is offering — a total of £10,000.

The Queen Is on Everyone’s Minds in the ‘Bridgerton’ Season 3 Finale

Penelope replies that no one would believe Cressida anyway, but she gets to put that assertion to the test immediately, as Portia arrives and Cressida spells it all out for her, then reiterates her threat and leaves. Portia begs Penelope to tell her it’s not true, though she’s already put all the pieces together anyway. Portia cannot believe that Penelope put them in such a position of ruin time and again, especially when she was trying so hard to keep them from it, but in a shocking bit of clarity, she doesn’t linger long on the awful things Penelope wrote about her. I would have expected Portia to take it far more personally, and she does insofar as it affects her whole family. But the comments Penelope made about her mother personally are forgotten, which I find surprising, yet sweet. Portia is a lot, she says the wrong thing, but I do have the sense that she means well where her girls are concerned. Portia doesn’t want Penelope to tell Colin about this latest development with Cressida, but Pen isn’t interested in lying anymore.

Meanwhile, Lady Danbury (Adjoa Andoh) visits Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel) to talk over the latest development in the Whistledown saga: her wholesale accusation of the entire Bridgerton family. Lady Danbury wonders what comes next after Lady Whistledown is named. The Queen will have won, but then what? She goes on to add that maybe Lady Whistledown isn’t trying to beat the Queen at her own game but merely remain a player, something Lady Danbury says reminds her of Charlotte when she was younger.

While Penelope languishes in newlywed turmoil, her sisters Prudence (Bessie Carter) and Phillipa (Harriet Cains), as well as their husbands Mr. Dankworth (James Phoon) and Mr. Finch (Lorn Macdonald) wonder what comes next for them. With both sisters expecting, it’s only a matter of time before they have to retreat from society once they start showing, and Prudence is still resentful that Penelope’s wedding was such a lavish affair, and they’ll have to retreat with no fanfare. She decides then that she and Phillipa will host an elaborate ball with gold, and crystal — and bugs, at Phillipa’s request — such that the ton has never seen. Their husbands are on board until they realize that the budget for this party is “yes.”

In an effort to play off the Queen’s accusation, Violet (Ruth Gemmell) heads out to an ice cream shop with Francesca (Hannah Dodd) and John (Victor Alli) to hammer out the details of their wedding. Francesca tells her they want to seek a special license to marry sooner rather than later, in order to travel up to John’s estate in the Scottish Highlands. Violet is horrified that the two of them are traveling so far away — I guess she forgot Anthony (Jonathan Bailey) and Kate (Simone Ashley) are currently en route to India — but she does her best to not freak out about it, at least publicly. It’s always the kid you didn’t think you had to worry about that stresses you out the most, isn’t it?

Colin and Penelope Try to Stop Cressida in the ‘Bridgerton’ Season 3 Finale

Back at the house, Colin is brooding alone in the drawing room when he is joined by Eloise (Claudia Jessie). She tells him not to worry about the potential scandal this might cause, saying the family will weather it just fine. The two of them are quickly joined by Portia and Penelope, who tells Colin about Cressida’s threat. Colin immediately flies into damage control mode, even as Penelope says she can just pay her what she’s asking. I don’t appreciate Colin cutting Penelope out of the solution entirely, but I do agree that it’s not helpful for them to pay Cressida off since there’s no guarantee she’ll stop at £10,000.

Colin instead goes to the Cowpers’ home to talk to Cressida alone. He notices she seems lonely in the plan she’s concocted for herself, and says he felt the same while away traveling. If he thought telling a girl currently locked in the house about his gap year abroad was going to help matters, he was sorely mistaken. She rebuffs his efforts for sympathy or mercy, so he tries a different approach, telling her that Penelope’s column came from a place of loneliness, a place Cressida must know all too well. He suggests that if she just lets this go, once it blows over, her family will surely welcome her back. Oh, Colin, you are even less observant than Cressida is, to think all families are as loving as yours. Cressida tells Colin that they have until the Dankworth-Finch ball to pay her off.

Back at Featherington House, Portia fields attempts from Prudence and Phillipa to get money out of her to throw their ball while she, Eloise, and Penelope wait for Colin to return. When he does, he tells them that Cressida wants double her initial asking amount, and has also demanded that Pen use the column to restore her reputation. Colin says he can come up with the money as long as Benedict (Luke Thompson) signs off on it, though he’ll have to lie about what it’s for. Benedict, however, is a tad busy with Tilley (Hannah New) and Paul (Lucas Aurelio), enjoying his no-longer-repressed bisexuality.

Violet heads to Lady Danbury’s for a visit and a celebratory drink, marking Francesca’s engagement. Lady Danbury tells her that she will be there for her once Francesca leaves, as will Lord Anderson (Daniel Francis). Violet hints that she’d like to get to know Marcus better, with Lady Danbury’s permission, to which Lady Danbury replies that they’re both adults and it’s not her place. She then adds that it’s not as though she got Violet’s permission before having an affair with her dad, and I frankly cannot believe it took this long for it to come up. Then again, the rules of proper society and all. They talk about it without really talking about it, and come to the unspoken conclusion that they never need to bring this up ever again, as long as they agree Marcus will never come between them.

Though Colin and Penelope have reached a truce of sorts where Cressida is concerned, he’s still determined to keep his distance in the house, still sleeping on the couch no matter how tempting the bed — and specifically his wife — appear to be. The next morning, Pen leaves early to have tea with her mother before Francesca’s wedding, and Colin instead decides to spend his time basking in the nostalgia of their friendship, rereading all the letters she used to send him. Before Penelope makes it to Featherington House, however, Portia has another visitor in the form of Walter Dundas (Edward Bennett), who reveals he’s looked into her inheritance claims and has found them to be fraudulent.

He tells her he will be filing a report that will see the Featherington estate given to the next eligible heir, and so it appears all her encouragement to have babies as soon as possible was for naught. He leaves just as Penelope arrives, but not before she overhears that the money her mother had was stolen. They furiously fling accusations at each other — Pen for the theft, Portia for the column — until Portia admits that the two of them are not all that different, doing the best with what society has afforded them, and even admits that she respects what Penelope has built for herself without a man’s help.

Francesca and John Tie the Knot in the ‘Bridgerton’ Season 3 Finale

At Bridgerton House, Francesca prepares for her wedding, and Violet arrives to see the finishing touches done. She laments again that Francesca is going so far away, especially since she spent so long in Bath, and tends to keep to herself otherwise. Francesca tells her that she barely knows herself in the chaos of the house, but she feels more herself when she is with John, and is looking forward to continuing that self-discovery while they’re away. Violet finally acknowledges that while her experience of love was a sudden, tongue-tied version of it, she’s come to realize that the softer, gentler love Francesca and John have is no less valid — I’ve been saying! — and the two reach a truce at last. What a great day for mothers and daughters all around.

Francesca and John are married in the drawing room at Bridgerton House, and have a much smaller reception than Colin and Penelope, but one much more suited to the couple. Benedict, Colin, Eloise and Francesca notice their mother and Lord Anderson are growing close, and Francesca points out this is a good thing for Eloise, since if their mother is distracted, she won’t be trying her hand at matchmaker for a while. Lord Anderson asks Violet to save him a dance at the next ball, and it’s so cute to see the unflappable matriarch suddenly flustered over someone flirting overtly with her.

Pen pulls Colin aside at the wedding and tells him she doesn’t want him to speak to Benedict about releasing the money since she doesn’t want to lie to his family anymore. She tells him the only way he can truly help her is to love her, and that that’s enough without him having to do anything more. He says he wants to be with her but is struggling to with Cressida still hanging over their heads. He doesn’t see how they can move on, but Penelope has a plan. She writes cryptic letters to the Queen and to Violet and also provides Varley (Lorraine Ashbourne) with enough funds to give her sisters the ball of their dreams. While their plan is underway, Cressida’s plans for freedom are going very poorly. Her Aunt Joanna has arrived to take her to Wales and if you thought Lord Cowper (Dominic Coleman) was bad, his sister is worse. Even Lady Cowper (Joanna Bobin) is out of ideas.

At Tilley’s, Benedict arrives for a little rendezvous, and finds the lady of the house alone. Paul, she explains, is with someone else that night, and Benedict is keen to possibly invite someone else to join them instead. Tilley says that she’d rather have Benedict for herself for the evening, since her relationship with Paul is casual, and she’s beginning to fall for Benedict. She suggests they take things in a more serious direction, but Benedict doesn’t want anything serious. At first, Tilley thinks it’s because of Paul, but Benedict says it’s not, it’s merely the fact that he finally feels free for the first time in a long time. He assumed Tilley felt the same, and she thought she did too until she had to share him. And just as quickly as this situationship started, it has now reached its end.

Benedict heads home and finds Eloise alone on the swings outside, and the two commiserate over their directionless lives. Eloise is frustrated that she’s seen so little of the world, and wants to get out beyond their little circle. Benedict tells her that he can feel a change for himself on the horizon, and if that’s not a hint that Season 4 is going to be Benedict-focused, then I don’t know what is. I’ve missed these conversations of theirs on the swings, if only because theirs is one of the most accurate sibling dynamics I have seen on TV. For all that I have been frustrated with their seeming directionlessness this season, at least the show is properly acknowledging it, placing the pair at a crossroads as we look ahead to next season (or possibly seasons).

The Truth Comes Out at the Last Ball of ‘Bridgerton’ Season 3

The day of the Dankworth-Finch ball arrives, and Prudence and Phillipa are overcome by how beautiful and elaborate the decor is. They assume that Portia paid for everything, and Penelope encourages that train of thought, even as Portia realizes what Pen has done for her sisters. The ball is off to a rousing start, but things take a turn for the dramatic when Queen Charlotte arrives and reveals that Lady Whistledown sent her a letter asking that she be allowed to address the ton directly. With that said, she calls Penelope out — and gives her the floor.

The ton is shocked at the revelation that Pen is the mysterious gossip columnist. Pen apologizes to everyone, saying she felt powerless and voiceless, and was envious of the lives everyone seemed to live so comfortably and openly. She tells them that writing her column felt like a form of power, especially for someone who society forgot, and especially as someone who is part of a group that is expected to remain ignorant. Penelope credits Charlotte with forcing her out of the shadows — giving the Queen the victory she craved — and the Queen gives her permission to continue the column. This is all well and good, but it’s not as if Penelope can pass through ballrooms unnoticed anymore, so I’m not sure how that’s going to work.

Queen Charlotte takes her leave, and the mood in the room is awkward and subdued until Phillipa declares it’s time for Varley to release the “bugs.” It’s not as chaotic as it sounds, as Varley merely releases butterflies into the room — which are still bugs, and I personally would have started screaming regardless — which charms the crowd enough that the party can resume right away. Once the dancing resumes, Lady Danbury approaches Penelope and tells her that she suspected it was her all along, a lovely little nod to the women’s friendship in the novels, and tells her she’s looking forward to the next edition. Portia tells Penelope she’s proud of her, and Pen tells her mother that since the information is now public, she can tell Mr. Dundas that the inheritance was actually Penelope’s writing income, ensuring they can keep their home.

Colin finds Penelope in the crowd, and Penelope tells him that if he wants an annulment, she won’t protest. The Queen might have given her blessing, but that doesn’t mean the ton will take it easy on them. Colin tells her that as much as he wants to separate Penelope from her Whistledown identity, he can’t. She is as much a part of Penelope as anything is, and he admires her for the way she spoke to the crowd. He admits he’s jealous of her bravery, and counts himself lucky that she loves him. The speech is just romantic enough that I can forgive the episode for keeping them apart for so much of it.

As the rest of their family takes to the dance floor, Eloise and Francesca find each other in the crowd. Francesca asks Eloise what she plans to do next, and Eloise asks her sister if she wouldn’t mind her tagging along to Scotland since she wants to get away and widen her social circle. Francesca is fine with the proposition, as is John, especially as his cousin is set to join them as well. He introduces the sisters to the cousin in question, one Michaela Stirling (Masali Baduza), and Francesca is immediately tongue-tied in the same way her mother described the feeling of falling in love.

Of everything Bridgerton has done this season — or really, ever — this is the most surprising, and I mean that in the best way. I truly didn’t think they had it in them. In Francesca’s novel, When He Was Wicked, she loses John very suddenly to an aneurysm, and his cousin Michael arrives to take over the estate. A cousin who has also been in love with Francesca since the day they met. As he takes over the estate and the two of them grow closer, Francesca falls for him too and is caught up in the cycle of loss, uncertainty, and grief that comes with losing someone she loves while also falling in love with someone else.

There’s no reason, at least in my mind, that she cannot experience the same cycle of emotions with a woman as her love interest. Not to mention it was high time the series incorporated a queer relationship rather than keeping them on the tragic sidelines — looking at you, Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story. Francesca experiencing sudden feelings for Michaela also doesn’t negate those she has for John now, and I will personally fight anyone suggesting otherwise. Even in the novel, Francesca admits that the love she felt for John and what she feels for Michael are very different, though both equally important. I’m confident the show won’t lose sight of that as it moves in this very exciting new direction for future seasons. Between bisexual Francesca and bisexual Benedict, I am starting to see why they dropped the back half of the season during Pride month.

The season wraps up with a neat little bow while also setting the stage for next season — or next seasons, perhaps? Cressida heads to Wales with her aunt, and I would be very surprised if she did not return next season. Eloise heads out with Francesca, John, and Michaela, promising Benedict that she will be back next year for their mother’s masquerade ball — which as book fans know, is where Benedict meets the love of his life, and Netflix, you cannot possibly make us wait two years for more. The finale then jumps ahead, oh, 10 months or so, to the reveal that Penelope and her sisters have all had babies, with Pen being the only one to have a boy, now the tiny heir to the Featherington estate. She writes her final column as Lady Whistledown, signing off as Penelope Bridgerton by the end — with the narration switching to Coughlan’s voice instead of Andrews’.

With all of this so neatly wrapped up, and the siblings scattered to the winds, it’s hard not to feel like future seasons will be almost a soft reboot. There’s no more Whistledown, hardly any unresolved threads left hanging, just the potential for future threads. Unlike the end of Season 2, where I was more skeptical than anything heading into the future of Bridgerton, now I can confidently say that, at least for me, the future is looking bright. Let the speculation begin!

Season 3 of Bridgerton is available to stream on Netflix in the U.S.

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