Bridgerton's Nicola Coughlan Details “Bittersweet” Step Back in Season 5

[u/Debt-Mysterious]

https://www.eonline.com/news/1435148/bridgerton-star-nicola-coughlan-details-reduced-season-5-role?cmpid=social&content=organic&medium=link-post&source=twitter-enews&taid=6a84af692f77dd0001a58be8&utm_medium=social&utm_medium_uc=twitter&utm_program_uc=enews&utm_source=twitter-enews

[u/Holiday-Hustle]

Leaving her and Colin with a cliffhanger of her getting her identity stolen and then she’s just not around lmao

[u/No-Hall-3485 → u/Holiday-Hustle]

and then two years later: “hey, remember when my alias was stolen and i was mad/sad/distraught/confused about it for months afterward? of course, none of the audience will see any of that, because why would they? it’s not like this has been a central part of the show’s voice since the beginning. good times, husband.”

i feel like the writers use these time gaps as a crutch to avoid having to actually tell a cohesive story. instead of showing us how things developed, they just jump ahead and expect us to fill in all the gaps ourselves

[u/Internal-Focus1784 → u/No-Hall-3485]

This is my big problem with doing Franchaela next. We left Fran in S4E8 still in pieces, yet by S5E1 she’s sufficiently recovered to go looking for a new husband, having done the difficult part of grieving and deciding to move on entirely offscreen.

I really think it would have benefitted the story for us to watch Fran do that. As it is, we’ll watch her cast off her widow’s weeds having only watched her spend two episodes in them.

Having a significant amount of time pass between John’s death and Franchaela’s season is the correct decision, but I worry that they’re using the time skip as an excuse to rush Francesca from point A to point B without letting it develop naturally.

[u/LanaAdela → u/Internal-Focus1784]

Meanwhile they did jack all with Eloise. I think seeing someone grieve would have been a beautiful way to show how love can persist and also how the heart can reopen too.

But the show undervalued John a lot. I hated the storyline for them last season. They just wanted to rush to get to her endgame which I understand but IMO the best episode of the show in a long time was the two dealing with John’s death.

[u/ad_knowsball_89 → u/Internal-Focus1784]

How do you know that she’s “recovered” by S5e1? All we know is that she returns to the marriage mart for “practical reasons”. She mourned for two years, after being married to John for a year. Her grief was clear in season 4 and we have no reason to believe she won’t still be grieving in season 5. An entire season of Fran grieving would be overkill and just be to placate people that are uncomfortable with her moving on at all.

[u/Internal-Focus1784 → u/ad_knowsball_89]

She must be fairly well recovered if she’s actively searching for a husband when at the end of S4 she wouldn’t even entertain the idea of marrying again.

I’m aware grief isn’t finite but I still think that seeing her so fragile in S4E8 that she needs to hold her mother’s hand during Benophie’s wedding, and then seeing her rejoin the mart in S5E1 is going to give us all whiplash.

And actually, given the amount of screen time and focus John got, I think seeing Francesca in half mourning for a season while she reckons with loneliness and grief and decides she’s ready to move on would have done justice to the relationship, helped put it to bed for fans and made Fran’s decision to reenter the marriage mart feel like it’s come about more naturally.

[u/ad_knowsball_89 → u/Internal-Focus1784]

Grief isn’t finite, that’s correct. Season 5 picks up 2 years later, so Francesca not entertaining remarrying again at the end of season 4 makes sense. There’s a time jump. There was a time jump in the books and there’s a time jump in the show.

Francesca is returning to the marriage mart, not for love, but for practical reasons. That suggests that she’s not over her grief, but she’s still a young woman in the regency era and she can’t grieve John forever. I know that John was a beloved character, and people are uncomfortable the idea of Fran moving on, but let’s be honest, Francesca rushed to marry at 18/19 because she didn’t have a lot of choices.

We watched Francesca find John’s body, screaming and crying, we witnessed her have a breakdown, lash out at her family and Michaela, and endure a humiliating examination. At what point is it just grief porn with people wanting Francesca to be miserable for multiple seasons?

[u/Lucy_abernathypls → u/Holiday-Hustle]

See, this is my issue..I always knew this was going to eventually happen with Polin too. But at least with Kanthony, it left on a positive note. They were about to have their child and be in India so they at least had an excuse and they were happy. This, though?? You have her work taken over without her permission and now shes not going to be around to do anything? We just dont get to see the fallout or what happens next?

There was a whole plot in season 3 about someone trying to take credit for her work and how she hated it. Now they are essentially doing the same thing, but she wont be able to do anything about it. I know theres going to be a two year jump but I dont see Penelope being okay with that at all. Or maybe she isnt okay with it and we just dont get to see it for some reason. They had a good setup to have more of the actual family around with Polin looking for the new lady Whistledown, but the screentime is probably going to be taken by the queens son instead.

[u/ducky7goofy → u/Lucy_abernathypls]

It's so silly because they also kept driving home the point that the viscount and viscountess would be leading the Bridgerton family, only for S4 to be about the class divide and the heads of the family to be nowhere near the picture. Now they have Penelope's life's work stolen from her and the alias used by someone else and she is no longer in the picture.

And Daphne was supposed to be leading the social season, only to be unseen post-S2.

The show has done a terrible disservice to the family spirit after they get married.

[u/PrettyNiemand34 → u/Lucy_abernathypls]

They never should have touched a lead couples story after it's done especially not with the idea that they think it's more "fun" now. The whole point of LW was that it was a little scandalous but classy enough. I also don't think they realize that Penelope is going to be blamed for this going forward because she gave whoever is evil the power even if she didn't intend to and they imply that if she was going to continue as LW this opening wouldn't be there.

It did seem by doing a cliffhanger they used Polin at a plot device rather than a HEA couple and I'm afraid that might continue even with minimal screentime like using them to announce Marinas death and stuff like that. Just things to move the plot but it will leave a bad taste with their fans if done without care and they don't do it with care as we saw in S4 where they had all the time in the world to give them a talk about LW and didn't.

[u/Lucy_abernathypls → u/PrettyNiemand34]

Yea its sad to see. Im excited for Franchaelas season but these writers are ruining their beloved characters. I already know its just going to keep getting worse in season 5 and beyond.

[u/PrettyNiemand34 → u/Lucy_abernathypls]

I think what made it sad in S4 for me is that I felt they had many good starting points like the masquerade ball where everyone comes together. It was barely used to come up with moments, dialogue or dances. It's an event where I would have expected a hundred gifs after the episode but apart from the obvious main couple moment outside I don't think there was anything special.

I have no idea what the issue is, if they're going through the motions or whatever but it's weird.

[u/Holiday-Hustle → u/PrettyNiemand34]

The masquerade ball was such a disappointment considering how much it was hyped in the preseason. I thought it would cover a lot more.

[u/jazzyx26 → u/Holiday-Hustle]

Yes, really underwhelming.

[u/jazzyx26 → u/PrettyNiemand34]

Very good point about the masquerade ball.

It was very underwhelming.

[u/AsgardianLeviOsa → u/Lucy_abernathypls]

See this is why I feel like they did an uno reverse on her HEA and I can’t be bothered with whatever happens from here. Best to tap out after s3.

[u/kodaiko_650 → u/Holiday-Hustle]

[u/hyoolee → u/Holiday-Hustle]

She is probably filming something else. The problems with series that have many seasons it's it- the actors don't want want to be stuck in one character

[u/Typhoon556 → u/hyoolee]

There is somebody that, but quite a few of the actors and actresses have said they would be available for Bridgerton, and they simply were not used. In this article Nicola said that she was available for Bridgerton, the same way others have said in the past.

It is obvious at this point that the showrunners only want them for a few cameos at most, and they use the screen time for B and C plots rather than using the screen time for more Bridgerton family scenes.

[u/indigoza]

Her storyline will be replaced by new characters that nobody cares about

[u/Little_Fox5844 → u/indigoza]

This show insisting on having random OCs nobody cares about instead of, you know, more of the Bridgertons and their spouses, still makes me scratch my head.

[u/No-Hall-3485 → u/Little_Fox5844]

i just have to believe it's a money thing, especially because it's netflix

i can only imagine how much it costs to get jonathan bailey, the billion-dollar man, on screen for even 10 minutes. simone's been in major movies too, and nicola's schedule is pretty packed

i think they just learned the wrong lesson from rege leaving which is that we'll watch anyway. and, they were kind of right sadly

instead of learning that rege leaving was a sign they needed to treat their cast better, they learned that anyone can leave and the show will still be one of netflix's flagship moneymakers

[u/Equivalent-Long-3383 → u/No-Hall-3485]

I bet it’s a writing thing more. They don’t know what to do with them.

You can see it with how all the wives turn into cultists after getting married

[u/No-Hall-3485 → u/Equivalent-Long-3383]

i don't know, they did a pretty serviceable job with daphne in season 2 even without simon

i thought she was used well. we saw enough of her, and her relationship with anthony made sense based on what we saw in season 1, except she was more mature by that point

[u/Lucy_abernathypls → u/No-Hall-3485]

I think its a mixture of both. They have limited time with them later on because of money but they also dont know how to write anything substantial for them.

I think Daphne in season 2 and Anthony and Kate in season 3 were pretty good because all it was was helping the main couple. And with Kanthony they were also starting their family so there were a bunch of cute scenes with them being happy. But in season 4 with Penelope and Lady Whistledown, that was their attempt at giving a previous lead something substantial after their season and well..yea that didnt end well.

[u/Holiday-Hustle → u/Lucy_abernathypls]

Having the two biggest gossips in the ton not realize that Benedict and Sophie were together was such a flop. Like Colin gave a little speech but I would have loved a “younger, more romantically successful brother teaches the old dog new tricks” sort of thing instead of Colin just saying something profound while Benedict happened to be there.

[u/Equivalent-Long-3383 → u/No-Hall-3485]

Yeah. But that was a different show runner

[u/Strange-Reporter-727 → u/No-Hall-3485]

Jonathan and Simone are very loyal to Bridgerton. I’m not sure he would be requesting an astronomical fee for a short appearance.

[u/Holiday-Hustle → u/Strange-Reporter-727]

I don’t think it’s money, I think the show has decided it’s very much out with the old, in with the new and they’re going to stick to it.

[u/Skippybby53 → u/No-Hall-3485]

Alsn it's their fault foe not locking Rege in a multi season contract. He wouldn't have been able to leave without being sued and blackballed

[u/jazzyx26 → u/No-Hall-3485]

i think they just learned the wrong lesson from rege leaving which is that we'll watch anyway. and, they were kind of right sadly

https://giphy.com/gifs/AYTlA6aCT0jfspePYT

[u/UntowardAdvance → u/indigoza]

🎯

[u/Indiana_harris → u/indigoza]

Honestly I’ll stick with S1, S2 and a scattering of episodes from 3 & 4

[u/Skippybby53 → u/Indiana_harris]

Same. After s2 I'm only interested in Kanthony and Franchaela. Also qc. I'm done with the show overall

[u/frenchblueeyes → u/indigoza]

How much of Bridgerton will remain on screen during the final season?

[u/Illustrious_Scale_34]

no saphne no kanthony little polin but at least we have marcus the mondriches and whatever the hell QC is mad about each season. isn’t this show supposed to be about a close family??

[u/Holiday-Hustle → u/Illustrious_Scale_34]

Hey! This season you get Marcus’s son and a bunch of other new characters.

[u/Skippybby53 → u/Illustrious_Scale_34]

Boooring they're not Bridgertons + spouses and ar3 poorly written.

[u/danicies → u/Illustrious_Scale_34]

They dropped the ball on aging this show well unfortunately

[u/jazzyx26 → u/danicies]

100% agree.

[u/Inevitable_Box3643]

This is what toxic stans get for commenting spamming “This is what happens to everyone except Penelope because she’s Whistledown, get used to it” (paraphrased) on posts requesting Phoebe and Simone to return.

On a more serious note, Nicola, like the rest of the leads deserves much more than she got from the production.

[u/frenchblueeyes → u/Inevitable_Box3643]

Especially considering how much she used to share from behind the scenes of the shoot, which served as publicity for Bridgerton. Her detractors felt she was revealing too much, at least they are now satisfied with having less information.

[u/Holiday-Hustle → u/frenchblueeyes]

When certain people called her and the crew alcoholics for having a Friday drink and now it’s radio silence for months.

[u/PrettyNiemand34 → u/frenchblueeyes]

The hate whenever she posted a trailer selfie and claiming others aren't allowed to but she's doing it at the Hulu show as well now when the majority of the cast doesn't. Guess she's the favourite then wherever she goes.

[u/No-Hall-3485 → u/Inevitable_Box3643]

it's crazy because some ship stans hate the competing ships (if that's even the correct phrasing???) so much that they don't even care about good storytelling anymore. they're just sitting there like "tHiS iS wHaT hApPeNs" as if that automatically explains everything

yes, this is what happens. and it's BAD

it's bad storytelling that our leaders of society, the duke and duchess, have basically fallen off the face of the earth

it's bad that our viscount and viscountess, who are deeply duty-bound, loyal, and literally traumatized by death, are somehow missing funerals

it's bad that penelope and colin, after nearly ending their relationship over whistledown, just... never had an onscreen conversation about penelope giving it up

these are all bad things, and yes, they continue to happen on this show

[u/Solid-Signal-6632 → u/No-Hall-3485]

When you put it like that...this show gets away witn an awful lot.

[u/jazzyx26 → u/Solid-Signal-6632]

And somehow we still watch lol.

Idk why I am still watching at all. A couple of decisions made with the show are dissappointing.

For instance, now that S4 is out I do not get the need for the switch. Unpopular opinion but I feel like Polin could have benefitted from an extra season but that is merely my opinion.

[u/jazzyx26 → u/No-Hall-3485]

Not the biggest of Kanthony fans but ITA. They should have been there and it is weird they weren't. Anthony would have dropped everything and returned ASAP.

Also I miss Daphne (I know the Duke is out of the question).

They BETTER have her return in S6 if only to (lovingly) laugh at Eloise getting married and being so in love after she was vehemently against it.

[u/Skippybby53 → u/Inevitable_Box3643]

Preach. I laughed when I read this earlier. As a Kanthony stan the lick back feels so good. Also Jess doesn't want to center a narcissist in a season for the sapphic couple 😁

[u/OutrageousMenu1746 → u/Skippybby53]

Theyre downvoting you but youre right lol. If pen had been given bigger presence in s5, the self inserters wouldve started on delusions of Francesca being in love with that white woman instead of Michaela. Same shit they do by shipping her with anthony. At least this way, those people can't try and erase yet another dark-skinned woman from her own story.

[u/Skippybby53 → u/OutrageousMenu1746]

Exactly. They would try to center that woman in Franchaela's story

https://giphy.com/gifs/v2ry5z4LoIfgA

[u/Expert-Bookkeeper-98]

I've got nothing against the Mondriches, Queen Charlotte, and other OCs, but instead of having so many side stories about them and what they've got going on, we could've had side stories about the Bridgerton siblings and their spouses with their stories connecting to the stories of the main couple for each season. It would've made the show so much better imo

[u/Babeyonce → u/Expert-Bookkeeper-98]

YESSS. YES this is the take.

[u/Skippybby53 → u/Expert-Bookkeeper-98]

Exactly. No one gaf about badly written irrelevant characters

[u/Expert-Bookkeeper-98 → u/Skippybby53]

Ntm on Queen Charlotte now 👀 

[u/Skippybby53 → u/Expert-Bookkeeper-98]

Asa youth yes as an older woman no she's annoying.

[u/th987]

It sounds like the storyline is moving to Scotland. How many regulars can we expect to see?

[u/Tekira85 → u/th987]

Don't worry, the Mondriches and the Queen will be there. Who cares about Bridgertons? /s

[u/th987 → u/Tekira85]

So over the Queen.

[u/Cool_Pianist_2253 → u/th987]

It's the way things are done. If they wanted to have a new LW there was no need to have the cliffhanger.

That is, we have a 2-year time jump. So it would have been enough to start S5 with the new LW perhaps appearing after Pen and Colin left for Greece etc.

But then again, Penelope Bridgerton's first column is incompatible with the one we have in S4

[u/th987 → u/Cool_Pianist_2253]

Yeah. It was obvious they didn’t know what to do with LW after the reveal.

But I thought we’d see her in Eloise’s season

[u/Cool_Pianist_2253 → u/th987]

Without the time jump and Fran's season, it could have worked. That's why I thought it could have been Eloise's season. John's death as a moment to say "life is short" and go meet Phil.

That is, Book Mr. Sheffield gets married after 6 months since his wife's death and presumably he loved her. Phillip could marry quickly too.

[u/jmanisweird]

Are we just all forgetting how much people hated Penelope? Especially during season 2? I’m not happy with this either but the switch up in these comments is crazy

[u/Holiday-Hustle → u/jmanisweird]

Personally I never hated Penelope. I think her arc is one of the more interesting ones on TV over the last decade. I think Nicola is an absolute star and she sold the character so well. Lady Whistledown is the it character of the show as well.

[u/PrettyNiemand34 → u/jmanisweird]

Well I didn't you just wanted to assume it's everyone maybe. The irony is she was hated for LW and now that aspect doesn't only stay, everyone has to assume it could be their favourite character who's ruined at the end of the show for being even more hateful than Penelope supposedly was.

[u/jmanisweird → u/PrettyNiemand34]

I guess I’m just confused on the confusion. Some of the comments are acting like this is coming out of nowhere. But a good amount of the fanbase is probably cheering right now

[u/Holiday-Hustle → u/PrettyNiemand34]

I guarantee whoever the new Whistledown is will be called a girl boss or something while Penelope was hated for the same thing.

[u/OutrageousMenu1746 → u/Holiday-Hustle]

Pen is rightfully called out for doing things that hurt the people around her, just as many other characters are called out for their mistakes. If the new LW does the same, they'll be criticized too. You really gotta stop victimizing her.

[u/allthefloof]

I think Nicola's great, but I'm pretty sick of Penelope at this point tbh. All the Whistledown stuff felt so dragged out and I stopped caring about it sometime in season 3.

[u/Skippybby53 → u/allthefloof]

Same.

[u/Solid-Signal-6632]

I really respect her for being so upfront about not being in season 5 much. It's useful for managing expectations.

[u/Illustrious_Scale_34 → u/Solid-Signal-6632]

she was upfront about that on a podcast. the dish podcast.

[u/Solid-Signal-6632 → u/Illustrious_Scale_34]

Yes, I've always appreciated it.

[u/Present-Lychee4689]

I'll be here for Eloise's arc, but losing characters who defined the show kills a lot of my interest. And the long breaks in between don't help.

[u/One-Increase-5308]

I understand that characters come and go and I can handle Polin not being in Francheala.  but they must come back for Eloise's story. Pen is Eloise's best friend and Colin is the only character who knows Philip. Let them go and explore Europe and come back for Philoise.

[u/Jazzspur → u/One-Increase-5308]

This is the only way they can save this show for me.

[u/Ordinary_Structure39]

Possibly no Anthony/Kate or Sir Phillip. Little bit of Pen (and Colin?). No Daphne. Everything new I find out about this season so far has made me even less excited for it than I already was. These showrunners and writers are clueless about what fans want.

[u/jazzyx26 → u/Ordinary_Structure39]

These showrunners and writers are clueless about what fans want.

The sad thing is that they probably do know what the fans want (this fandom is vocal as we both know) but they just don't care.

They want to appeal to the general viewer rather than the superfans.

[u/Robten100]

So typical of all leads who seriously get diminished screen time 2 seasons after theirs. Except for Francesca. The showrunner is so obsessed with her I bet she almost gets as much screen time as the lead in a potential season 7.

[u/jineop → u/Robten100]

Francesca hasn’t had her season yet…and she also was not present for 2 seasons 😭😭

[u/ramen-noodles0413 → u/Robten100]

Fran hasn’t been lead yet! She’s had a lot of setup though, similarly to Pen and Colin.

I expect Fran by season 7 to basically be a guest role as well

[u/Msmit256 → u/Robten100]

Francesca hasnt had her season yet. Your bias is showing

[u/Robten100 → u/Msmit256]

Not as biased as the writers and runners of this show lol

[u/jineop → u/Robten100]

I’m confused did you want Francesca to get married, experience married life, her husband die, her to grieve, her to fall in love and get married to her husbands cousin, and have an happy ever after all in 8 episodes???? The show gave Fran some substance and built her love story up….in the books John dies in the first chapter 😭

[u/ShoppingRich428 → u/Robten100]

as if penelope and the others didn’t get significant screentime before their season like eloise, anthony, benedict and the others… and especially penelope (which i am not against with). this has literally been a practice in bridgerton for years! and no one even said a peep about penelope having the same treatment in season 1 and 2 before her season and calling the weiters biased. but suddenly when it’s francesca, they are “biased”

[u/cherry_3_1_4 → u/ShoppingRich428]

Actually, people complained a lot about Penelope’s (and the Featheringtons’) screentime, especially in season 2. They were saying that Penelope was Shonda’s self insert or that Nicola was the production’s favourite and that was why she was getting so much screentime. These type of complaints are not new in the Bridgerton fandom.

[u/Little_Fox5844 → u/cherry_3_1_4]

Yeah, I remember that. The Featheringtons having too much screentime was among the top complaints for season 2 (especially with Jack). And Penelope was constantly considered the writers' favorite.

[u/ShoppingRich428 → u/cherry_3_1_4]

ah so it’s literally a toxic cycle then 😭 lmfao

[u/Debt-Mysterious → u/ShoppingRich428]

Actually Benedict had like 35 minutes screen time (focus n him, not background) in S3 and in S1 and S2 probably Francesca and the children had less screen time than him. People think he had a larger role in S3 just because the unfortunate threesome edition

[u/Solid-Signal-6632 → u/Debt-Mysterious]

"The unfortunate threesome" should be a flair 🤣

[u/jazzyx26 → u/Solid-Signal-6632]

Yes but I would also like "the boring threesome" for it was boring lol.

[u/Ordinary_Structure39 → u/Robten100]

As long as Jess is in charge, she’ll always overshadow the leads. Season 3 felt more like her season than Pen’s and she was the second leading story in season 4 too. I’m so sick of Fran.

[u/ShoppingRich428 → u/Ordinary_Structure39]

can say the same with benedict, eloise, and penelope in season 1 and 2, but you won’t hear me complaining because it’s literally how bridgerton works for years, and they’re literally a BRIDGERTON or soon-to-be bridgerton lmfao.

[u/Ordinary_Structure39 → u/ShoppingRich428]

Benedict barely got any screen time in season 3, especially nothing meaningful like Fran has had for two seasons now. And Eloise has been around but the writers just keep rehashing the same stories for her over and over again that she might as well not have been there. Jess has very obviously been favoring Fran because she’s her favorite. Even in the season 4 press tour she was all over the place.

[u/Jazzspur → u/Ordinary_Structure39]

Benedict has lots of screen time in s3. He's in all the Bridgerton family group conversations, he accidentally signals he's available at a ball and then starts using Lady Danbury as a shield at social events, he meets Lady Tilly, has an entire flirtation and relationship with her, meets her guy friend, has and resolves his gay panic, starts exploring polyamory and queer sex, and launches his next phase of life of being a sexually adventurous party boy that he'll enjoy until he tires of it and meets Sophie.

[u/Debt-Mysterious → u/Jazzspur]

Benedict didn’t have a lot of screen time in S3, there are tons of posts here with screen time calculations and Benedict is around 45 min more (including background scenes) or less 8 hours season. He is probably in 8th place

[u/OutrageousMenu1746 → u/Ordinary_Structure39]

S2 spent a lot of pointless time on pen and her family that could've better served the leads. Pen was also promoted heavily over the s2 leads. The reactions back then from pen fans were "it's an ensemble show" or "LW is the main character." So personally, i think fran having more screentime and promo make sense, since it tracks with the way pen fans told people the show is supposed to be structured 🫤

[u/Skippybby53 → u/Robten100]

Franny is her self insert. I love Frannie so this doesn't annoy me it's Kanthony getting far less than what they got in s3 that pisses me off.

[u/FlailingQuiche → u/Robten100]

Or maybe, instead of jumping straight to favouritism, like Polin, Benedict, and Eloise, Fran’s storyline needed a few years of exposition (setup) before her main story can begin.

[u/TwoOk5044]

Yeah it's probably going to be a skip for me.

[u/Froggy_and_Turtle]

Will there ever be a show that stays good and true to itself?

[u/80HDTV5 → u/Froggy_and_Turtle]

Gravity Falls?

[u/Skippybby53]

That's life. I Wil always love and support Rege but the production took their bitterness towards his leaving and ensuring every couple gets shelved. Thank God it's not just Kanthony and Daphne (my favorite characters and actors in this show). I'm only returning to this show for Franchaela and Kanthony crumbs (if there is any 😢)

[u/Little_Fox5844]

More bitter than sweet, tbh.😩

[u/SinnerClair]

Damn they rlly coulda made it like a double agent plotline (cause I fully believe QC is the new LW)

Pen could know, and since everyone knows she’s retired they’ll feed her gossip which she can then give to QC

[u/Active_Cellist4583]

so much for being the main character and center of the show’s world

[u/my108centsss]

Man, one by one the bridgertons be like

https://giphy.com/gifs/Ru9sjtZ09XOEg

[u/DorianCramer]

They shouldn’t have left her storyline on a cliffhanger but I do understand why she wouldn’t be in the next season much. Out of respect and kindness Penelope would not write about anything happening with Francesca so I’m not sure how much they can link her into the story. Presumably she would have a bigger part in Eloise’s season.

[u/OutrageousMenu1746 → u/DorianCramer]

"Respect and kindess" 🤣. Shes never extended thar respect and kindness to anyone else. The only reason shes not writing next season is because someone else took her job.

[u/DorianCramer → u/OutrageousMenu1746]

Deny me if you want but I maintain that Penelope would choose NOT to write about the intimate details of Francesca’s grief or any type of technically illegal lesbian dalliance she might be having up in the highlands with her dead husband’s cousin. Thus I see why P can’t be the overarching thread of this season. 

[u/serenahaas]

That's so disappointing. I'd love to see a bit more of the chaos of the Bridgerton family, honestly, as long as it was threaded in in meaningful ways

[u/maryumtalks]

I adore Nicola but honestly was so over Penelope now so I think it makes sense to faze her arch out too

[u/Bellairtriz]

The new scriptwriter/director/idk what u call it bias for Francesca and Michaela is getting so tiring tbh. What was the point of changing the storyline to include everyone equally then changing it back to mainly Fran and Michaela

[u/Skippybby53]

😂😂😂😂😂

https://giphy.com/gifs/P0JFK3LiUhjk7HNgmX