Polin hive, it’s our time. Part 1 of Bridgerton Season 3 is finally here, and it’s definitely one to watch. If you quickly binge-watched the first four episodes as we did, then you’re still thinking about that carriage scene. You may also be wondering how the scene compares to what happens in the book. Don’t worry, dear reader. This writer is going to give you all the juicy details. Spoiler Warning: Spoilers for Bridgerton Season 3 follow.
If you’ve read Romancing Mister Bridgerton — the book about Penelope Featherington and Colin Bridgerton’s love story — then you know it’s quite different from the show. This is the fourth book in the series, and it’s not until about halfway through that the reader is made aware that Penelope is Lady Whistledown. Of course, viewers of the show learned this at the end of the first season.
While watching the show, the audience’s knowledge of Lady Whistledown’s identity already changed how the story was going to be told. Penelope has been hiding the secret that she’s Lady Whistedown in the book series for over a decade. Overall, the Polin timeline is much longer in print. It’s important to realize that this also shifts much of the story, which makes the lead-up to the carriage scene different in episode 4.
So, knowing all of that, let’s get to the breakdown. At the end of episode 4, Colin (Luke Newton) interrupts Penelope (Nicola Coughlan) and Lord Debling’s (played by Sam Philips) dance, leading the Lord to share his disinterest in continuing to court Penelope.
Colin finally sees she’s in love with Colin and doesn’t want someone who is interested in someone else. Upset, Penelope leaves the ball and takes off in her carriage, and, of course, Colin chases after her.
In the book, the carriage scene occurs after Colin follows Penelope and discovers her secret of being Lady Whistledown. He’s the first person to know her identity, along with the reader. Toward the end of chapter 13 in the book, Polin kisses for the second time, and Colin tells Penelope she’s beautiful. They continue to kiss, and he lays her down on the bench in the carriage while they continue to ride away. She touched his hair as they shared a sweet moment.
Then, it gets really hot and heavy. Begging him to touch her, he does just that. He nibbles on her ear, kisses her neck, and continues to slide off her gown and touch her chest. They get interrupted by finally reaching their destination, in front of Penelope’s house. They make themselves presentable, and then he pops the question, “Are you going to marry me or not?” as she struggles to comprehend why he tries to go inside with her.
In the show, Colin fully confessed his love in the carriage with a speech that lives up to the Bridgerton leading man standard. Penelope also admits she’d like to be more than just friends. They have a steamy makeout session in the carriage, which leads to her touching his hair (yes, similar to in the book, although she resists the urge to giggle). He also slides off her dress while kissing and caressing multiple areas, just like in the book. Penelope was just as lustful and eager in the book, but somehow, they made Colin even more thirsty, with him going all the way down south (IYKYK, dear reader).
They eventually end up in front of Colin’s house on the show, and he is the one who asks if the driver could keep on driving (in the book it’s Penelope). But unlike in the book, they’re able to laugh at their situation together before sharing another kiss. Then, Colin gets out of the carriage and pops the question with the same quote from the book.
Even though these Bridgerton scenes are set under wildly different circumstances, they have some similarities. Colin acts out of frustration and caring about Penelope in both the book and the show. In the show, he doesn’t want to lose her to Lord Debling, but in the book, he doesn’t want Penelope’s reputation to be ruined by anyone else finding out she’s Lady Whistledown.
Despite the carriage scene playing out a bit differently in the show compared to the book, Bridgerton fans still ate this moment up and have since taken to X (formerly known as Twitter) to share their reactions.
Colin’s proposal alone was enough to make us giggle while happily kicking our feet.
It will be interesting to see how Part 2 of the season plays out. Don’t worry, dear reader. We’ll be here to help you analyze every big moment. Until then, we’re hitting restart on Part 1.