Bridgerton Season 3 Part 1 Is Finally Here, This Is What Critics & Fans Are Saying
Fans have been eagerly awaiting Bridgerton Season 3, and Part 1 is finally streaming on Netflix with the first four episodes of the season. Penelope, Lady Whistledown herself, finally has her time to shine. She has been crushing on Colin Bridgerton for years, but finally he is starting to notice her as well.
With Bridgerton Season 3 Part 1 now streaming, here is what fans and critics have to say about the steamy romance series.
Fans on X (formerly Twitter) cannot stop talking about the romance between Penelope and Colin. It is just getting started, however the book is one of the most popular, so viewers have been waiting a long time for this couple to finally get together. Many believe that Bridgerton season 2 lacked the chemistry and steam that season 1 delivers. Thankfully, season 3 is spicy, sending X users spiraling over it.
Colin and Penelope are not the only couple fans are fawning over this season, though.
When it comes to critic reviews, Bridgerton season 3 is currently sitting at 95% on Rotten Tomatoes with 20 reviews.
Carly Lane with Collider claims that the show has finally found its stride, saying “Bridgerton has previously struggled with balancing the many subplots of the show’s ensemble while prioritizing the main romance, but Season 3 seems to have finally cracked the formula for success.”
Observer’s Emily Zemler says that under the steamy romance, there is real heart. “Anyone who has written off the series as fluff or who considers romance to be a lesser genre should look again this season. Under the layers of lace and the enormous floral arrangement, there’s real heart.”
Kelly Lawler, who writers for USA Today, states “It’s funnier, the sex is more frequent (if not hotter), and it makes Coughlan a bona fide star.” And Rachel Aroesti admits it is not without its flaws, but that they are forgivable. “As we dive into season three, the show’s delights are still blindingly obvious, its flaws possible to overlook. Just like the besotted couples it follows, Bridgerton’s honeymoon phase is far from over.”
But Why Tho? A Geek Community’s Sarah Musnicky agrees that the two leads this season bring their A-game, “Penelope Featherington and Colin Bridgerton are at the heart and soul of everything. In the midst of all the chaos, they captivate. No one can deny that this season is where Nicola Coughlan and Luke Newton shine.”
The one rotten review so far comes from Slate’s Rebecca Onion, who says, “Three seasons in, what I miss in Netflix’s Bridgerton and its source material is texture: that sense of variety, in story, experience, and action. Without it, there’s a flatness to the world and all the glittering little figurines inhabiting it.”
About Bridgerton Season 3
From Shondaland and new showrunner, Jess Brownell, Bridgerton is back for its third season and finds Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) has finally given up on her long-held crush on Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) after hearing his disparaging words about her last season.
She has, however, decided it’s time to take a husband, preferably one who will provide her with enough independence to continue her double life as Lady Whistledown, far away from her mother and sisters. But lacking in confidence, Penelope’s attempts on the marriage mart fail spectacularly.
Meanwhile, Colin has returned from his summer travels with a new look and a serious sense of swagger. But he’s disheartened to realize that Penelope, the one person who always appreciated him as he was, is giving him the cold shoulder. Eager to win back her friendship, Colin offers to mentor Penelope in the ways of confidence to help her find a husband this season. But when his lessons start working a little too well, Colin must grapple with whether his feelings for Penelope are truly just friendly.
Complicating matters for Penelope is her rift with Eloise (Claudia Jessie), who has found a new friend in a very unlikely place, while Penelope’s growing presence in the ton makes it all the more difficult to keep her Lady Whistledown alter ego a secret.
Bridgerton season 3 part 1 is streaming on Netflix now. Part 2 streams June 13.
_
Tessa Smith is a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer-approved Film and TV Critic. She owns Mama’s Geeky, but also is a freelance writer. Tessa has been in the Entertainment writing business for more than ten years and is a member of several Critics Associations including the Critics Choice Association. Her passion for film, television, video games, and comic books started when she was a little girl and has only continued to grow.