Bridgerton Opinion: Penelope Doesn't Need Redemption Arc In Season 3

Summary

• While many Bridgerton fans believe that Penelope Featherington needs to go through a powerful redemption arc before she can settle down with Colin Bridgerton, there is a second opinion.
• If you take a closer look at Pen's life, you'll see that writing a column is not just a hobby, but a coping mechanism for her.
• Besides, her writing hasn't really destroyed anyone, so there's nothing to cry about.

Though not the title character, Penelope 'Pen' Featherington is probably the most developed and complicated persona in Netflix's Bridgerton.

The arc of the invisible wallflower was given an additional, much more intriguing layer when Pen was revealed to be Lady Whistledown, the notorious gossip writer of the London ton.

Since then, Penelope's two personalities have begun to merge, and we have seen her personal experiences greatly influence the Whistledown's column.

She made Marina leave Colin alone and disappear, she promoted Madame Delacroix's dress shop because Genevieve helped her print the column, and she caused a big scandal involving her best friend Eloise so that the Queen no longer suspected her of being the anonymous writer.

All these questionable decisions made viewers think that Pen needs a strong redemption arc in Bridgerton Season 3, which premieres in the spring of 2024, before she can find happiness with Colin.

Feel the same way? Let's try to change that. If you look at the whole situation from Pen's perspective, you might see that she doesn't really need to redeem herself. Her whole life has made sure that she is already redeemed.

Horrible background

Penelope is basically a teenager living in a world that treats her extremely unfairly, which makes her the best candidate to be Lady Whistledown.

In her family, Pen is always looked down upon and belittled. She has been controlled by her scheming mother since childhood. Just look at how the woman keeps picking horrible, disfiguring outfits for her daughter, and Pen can't even utter a word in protest.

Penelope's mother and sisters are constantly rude to her and completely disregard the idea that anyone would want to marry her. She is expected to become a spinster.

In addition, the Featheringtons themselves are on the fringes of high London society. They are broke because the patriarch has gambled away their money. The ton rejects them, disrespects them, and literally laughs at the sisters during their debut.

Unlike her friend Eloise, Pen can't just say what she thinks because she doesn't have a powerful family to fall back on. So she always has to take the safest option and keep quiet.

Add to this the general Regency attitude towards women as mere possessions of men, and you can see that Lady Whisteldown is the only way for Pen to cope with her terrible psychological and financial situation.

No one was really hurt

Let's be honest, did Penelope really destroy anyone with her column?

The situation with Marina was problematic, but Pen was forced to take action when nothing else worked to stop her cousin from trapping Colin in a loveless marriage based on lies. Marina was just as much in the wrong here as Penelope, and Season 2 showed that she had forgiven Lady Whistledown.

Moreover, Eloise's scandal didn't really affect the Bridgertons that much. Unlike the Featheringtons, they are powerful and cannot be bothered to miss a few parties.

Anyway, what was Pen's option here? Tell the Queen the truth and destroy her entire family, or write negatively about Eloise and cause a survivable scandal. The choice is clear.

As for the other members of the ton, Penelope doesn't really owe them anything. Besides, she never lies in her column. When she writes about someone, they are either in the wrong, or she is simply telling the truth.

All of this leads us to believe that Pen's whole life is her redemption arc, and if she has found a way to deal with the pressures of family and society while earning some money, good for her.

We are certainly not in a position to cast the first stone here. Are you?