‘Bridgerton’ Season 3, Part One Ending Explained

(Spoilers ahead for Bridgerton Season 3, Part One).

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What Happens At The End Of Bridgerton Season 3, Part One?What Will Happen Between Colin And Penelope In Part Two?When Does Bridgerton Season 3, Part Two Come Out On Netflix?

The first part of Bridgerton Season 3 is now streaming on Netflix, and the beloved regal drama is off to an incredible (and steamy) start delving into Colin and Penelope’s romance. If you’ve finished the first four episodes, read on to dive into the romantic final scene and what it means for “Polin” going forward.

Season 3 begins with a heartbroken Penelope (Nicola Coughlan), who has just returned from the countryside after hearing Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) tell his friends last season that he would never court her. To make matters worse, she’s not speaking to her best friend, Eloise Bridgerton (Claudia Jessie), who discovered Penelope’s secret identity as Lady Whistledown last season.

While Eloise forms an unexpected new friendship with the snobbish Cressida Cowper (Jessica Madsen), Penelope decides she’s ready to find a husband. This is partly to gain independence from her overbearing mother, two idiotic sisters, and their lovey-dovey husbands, who are preoccupied with conceiving a male heir to inherit the Featherington estate. Most importantly, Pen seeks someone to enable her to continue her double life as Lady Whistledown.

Meanwhile, Colin has returned from his travels abroad looking more dapper and charismatic than ever. Penelope and the other debutantes notice his striking new appearance, but she avoids him, still hurt by his past comments about her.

Colin eventually confronts Pen about their friendship, and she reveals the reason for her distance. To make amends, Colin offers to help Penelope find a suitable husband this season, and she agrees. He discreetly gives her lessons, but the secret of him helping her spreads when Eloise finds out and tells Cressida. This forces Lady Whistledown (aka Penelope) to write about the scandal to avoid suspicion.

Penelope’s courting practice with Colin pays off when she catches the eye of the wealthy Lord Debling, a naturalist with a penchant for vegetables and animals. He is drawn to Pen’s genuine personality and honesty, and they both desire a secure and loyal relationship. However, despite their compatibility, it is not rooted in true love.

Colin’s mission to help Penelope find a husband backfires when he begins to develop feelings for her. These feelings become evident after he shares an innocent kiss with Penelope in the garden when she asks if he could be her first kiss. Colin starts dreaming about Penelope and watches from afar, jealous, as Debling courts her.

When Colin learns of Debling’s plans to propose, he heads to the ball and interrupts the couple while they’re dancing. He tells Penelope that she is making a mistake and that Debling is not the right man for her. Noticing their heated interaction, Debling suspects there is something more between Penelope and Colin. Cressida, who has taken an interest in Debling herself, confirms his suspicion.

What Happens At The End Of Bridgerton Season 3, Part One?

At the end of Bridgerton Season 3, Part One, Debling tells Penelope he cannot propose to her due to her unresolved romantic feelings toward Colin. Distraught that Colin ruined her proposal, she rushes to her carriage and leaves the ball. Colin runs after her, catches up to the carriage, and forces his way inside. That’s when everything heats up between the two.

Colin, unable to contain his emotions any longer, pours out his heart to Penelope in a passionate monologue. He confesses that he has been consumed by their first kiss, his feelings so intense they are like “torture.” Penelope, equally overwhelmed, admits that she too wants to be “so much more” than friends. The couple’s passionate kiss leads to more… as the carriage carries them towards their neighboring homes in Mayfair.

When the carriage arrives at the Bridgerton house, Colin suggests they go inside. He then holds out his hand and asks her, “For God’s sake, Penelope Featherington. Are you going to marry me or not?” Penelope smiles back at him — but the scene ends before she can give him an answer.

Coughlan and Newton told Netflix’s Tudum that they were delighted that was the moment to conclude Part One. “We literally looked back at the script and we went, ‘Oh, that’s so good,’” Coughlan explained. “That’s so good because there’s so much you know is still to come.”

What Will Happen Between Colin And Penelope In Part Two?

While the first part of the series focused on Colin and Penelope becoming more than friends, the end of the fourth episode marks a point where “everything’s about to shift,” showrunner Jess Brownell revealed to Today.com.

Brownell told the site that the second half of episodes, set to debut on June 13, is “much more tense, thrilling place.”

“Once Pen and Colin move into being a couple, the conflict comes more from the fact that Penelope is holding this giant secret in the form of Whistledown,” she continued. “And also you have Eloise’s reaction to these two getting together to come.”