Another year of violin covers, fabulous regency ensembles, and smoking hot tension has come to an end. That’s right… season 3 of Bridgerton is officially over, concluding the story of Penelope Featherington and Colin Bridgerton with a neat bow… and a few babies, as is common for the show. With each new Bridgerton season comes some more division among the fandom. However, season 3 has quite a few errors and inconsistencies, which has undeniably drawn fans’ attention.
In the first half of the season, the editing issue of the hairpin Penelope wore in episode 1 was a popular complaint. But that’s not all. Besides the editing issues, some plot inconsistencies in the season had fans scratching their heads. Here are 5 things about Bridgerton season 3 that just didn’t make any sense.
Lady Danbury and Lord Anderson’s grudge
Season 3 introduced us to Lord Marcus Anderson, the younger brother of Lady Agatha Danbury. From the moment he was introduced, it was clear that there was a history of unspoken tension between the siblings that was just waiting to explode. This tension was stretched to its limit when Lord Anderson began to develop an interest in Violet Bridgerton.
However, in episode 6, it was revealed that the real reason for Agatha’s decade-long resentment of her brother was because he had told on her when she tried to escape on the night before her wedding. This reveal was made especially underwhelming when Marcus countered that he was just 10 years old. Come on Lady Danbury… way to hold a grudge!
Altogether, it seems unrealistic that the two had never had this conversation in the decades since the incident. And what’s up with Agatha never stopping to consider that Marcus didn’t even understand why she was trying to run away. It also makes her comment about his heart being in his breeches even more confusing.
Anthony and Kate’s frequent absences
Fans were happy to see the Viscount and Viscountess Bridgerton looking more in love than ever throughout season 3. However, having the head of the family absent so frequently started to look rather strange. The couple were present at the beginning of the season before deciding to extend their honeymoon. Following their return, Anthony suggests to Kate in episode 7 that the two take a trip to India to prepare for the birth of their baby. This led to the couple being absent for Francesca’s wedding, as well as the finale of the season.
While it is understandable that Jonathan Bailey and Simone Ashley couldn’t be on set for the entire season due to scheduling conflicts, it still felt wrong to not have Anthony and Kate present for his sister’s wedding.
THAT mirror scene (you know the one)
On the subject of editing errors, eagle-eyed fans spotted a mistake in what is arguably the most popular scene of season 3 part 2. The famous mirror scene happens right before Colin and Penelope spend the night together for the first time in episode 5. The beautiful scene features Colin telling Penelope how gorgeous he thinks she is, and we all can’t help but agree.
As he stands behind her in front of the mirror, Colin traces the parts of her body he loves the most from her eyes and lips to her hair. When he says, “And then there is the way your hair cascades down your shoulders,” he pulls a pin out of her hair, causing it to do just that. However, in the very next clip, her hair is back up in a bun. It’s only for a second, and the following clip has her hair down her shoulders again, but once you’ve seen it, it can’t be unseen. It’s just like the infamous hair clip in episode 1. How did everyone miss that in post?
Penelope’s lighting fast Whistledown publishing
The logistics of Penelope’s identity as Lady Whistledown have never really been questioned by the show. This is understandable as the only times we need to know anything about how publishing an issue works is when the drama and tension of the show necessitates it. However, season 3 had fans stretching their imaginations more than ever before when it came to just how quickly an issue of Whistledown could realistically be published in the 1800s.
We hear Whistledown talking about Polin’s engagement in an issue published the morning after the engagement. Considering that the engagement and Colin announcing it to his family happened at night, this would mean that Penelope would have had to have written that issue and taken it down to the publishers that very night. This also means that the publishers somehow mass-printed all those copies of it by the next morning.
“It would be suspicious”
Some fans believe that more people should have discovered that Penelope was Whistledown on their own, especially Eloise and Colin. While it’s debatable whether or not they had enough clues to piece it together, one scene in season 3 makes it harder to believe. After Whistledown publishes the story about Colin helping Penelope on the marriage market in episode 2.
She says, “It would have been suspicious if she had not,” when Colin disparages Whistledown for writing about their arrangement. While Penelope’s words were true, the fact that she said them was suspicious as well. No one knows who Whistledown is so it doesn’t make sense for Penelope to defend her by saying it would look suspicious if she didn’t write anything. At first, some fans thought that this line would come back and Colin would use it as a clue to figuring out Penelope’s identity. However, it is glossed over and never mentioned.
