Camera One

The official trailer is out for the new Snow White live-action: https://youtu.be/iV46TJKL8cU?si=sjBciJQso8nowPKp Some trailer spoilers below... The visuals seemed more acceptable in this trailer than in the short teasers. However, in a few scenes, the faces of Snow White and the Evil Queen looked unreal (especially one particular shot of the Evil Queen... didn't even look like the actress, and it's not when she's an old hag, either). Sometimes, movies nowadays over-do CGI too much. Plot-wise, it reminded me a bit more of the "Once" angle, since Snow wants to "restore the kingdom". So she has some of her own political ideas, sort of like Jasmine in the live-action. There was almost nothing about the Prince in the trailer, so how he plays into the story will be a surprise, I guess. They seem to be keeping the "fairest of them all" aspect of the Queen's motivation? I can see why they disposed of it in "Once", because they will need to sell how the Queen would feel like she had to compete with looks with a teenager. Overall, I would still be interested to see it.

Overall, I mildly enjoyed this season. It was less intense than the first two, but in some ways, I think it was less frustrating to watch. The first two seasons revolved around the mysteriousness of non-Bridgerton characters like Simon or Kate, who acted in strange ways for reasons that we weren't privy to for awhile. This finale was fine, but didn't really pack much of a punch. I expected a more interesting climax than Penelope just announcing to everyone that she was Whistledown. The plan was entirely contingent on how the Queen would react, and she's as fickle as they come. I'm not convinced she would have acquiesced so easily. I expected Eloise would try to go to plead Cressida to back off. After all, they spent the entire season on their "friendship". Colin spilling his heart to Cressida was just awkward. Why would she even care about his sob story? I liked how Penelope and her mother became closer. Though Mrs. Featherington blaming her scheming to keep stolen money on the lack of options for women in society was a bit much. Benedict's conclusion for the lacklustre subplot was that he's not ready for anything serious yet? That's it? The thruple all looked like they were in their mid-40s. I still don't feel like I know Lord Kilmartin enough... I wanted more stuff like him running off to have the music written for Francesca. I wouldn't say their relationship was "different" because it happened slowly, as the dialogue suggested. It was more accurately just lacking in drama. Francesca was the one who rushed the marriage process. I haven't read the book, and I too thought Michaela was going to be a love interest for Eloise, so I was surprised to read otherwise in this thread. Frankly, I would have been fine with Francesca being offscreen in Scotland for the remainder of the show.

I have mixed feelings about the whole Colin/Penelope disagreement, where I can't say I totally back either of them. I agree the better scene between Colin and Penelope was the one at night in the street, but once again, it had to end with reaching under her dress. So is he still mad about what she wrote about him? He wants her to quit because it causes problems for his family? Or he wants her quit because he wants to protect her from the Queen? On Penelope's side, she doesn't want to lie low for awhile? She doesn't want to try publishing in a different medium? The Queen's deduction doesn't make much logical sense, either. The real Lady Whistledown had humiliated the Bridgertons on multiple occasions. Her new pamphlet came out at the exact same time as Cressida's fake Whistledown pamphlet, so it wasn't like she wrote something in response to Cressida's lies. And wouldn't Lady Whistledown naturally "come out of hiding" if someone is impersonating her? Of course she would be pissed off. As for the other subplots, it was disappointing Francesca was giving her mother the cold shoulder for not talking to the Queen for her. Lady Danbury's scenes were great. The Lord Marcus actor played Dr. Facilier on "Once Upon a Time" and I can't unsee that yet, which is affecting how I'm seeing him and Violet together. I can see Benedict agreeing to a threesome, but full on kissing that guy right away? They could have shown him showing a bit more curiosity first. Where did Anthony and Kate go off to, since they abruptly returned halfway through the episode. Why didn't they bring back Daphne for an episode, since it was an actual wedding. I wish they wrapped up all the drama before doing a wedding with Colin and Penelope. But then again, I'm assuming Penelope will be the rare leading love interest who will remain center stage on this show, as the narrator. Reading that list above with the plots with the last two seasons, I might enjoy this one more because the Featheringtons' screentime are fun instead of frustrating to watch. Why was Penelope's older sister giving her the death stare for two episodes, but then genuinely clapping and cheering for Penelope at the wedding itself? Is this all actually leading somewhere? I have to give Penelope kudos for being so "observant" with people's debts and such while she's going through so much turmoil. I guess she was eavesdropping in between crying and giving Colin tense looks from across the room.

I'm glad Colin at least has a goal now, writing a manuscript. It's interesting to read here that his character in the book had a personality. Colin and Penelope hardly had any scenes in Season 2... they sort of needed that if they were planning to have them be the main couple of Season 3. It was obvious Penelope was pining over Colin, but they needed to show Colin valuing her as a friend before suddenly falling for her this season. They are making the same mistake with Benedict, wasting his screentime this season yet again with whatever the heck is going on at Creepy Manor. I was a little annoyed at Francesca in this one, pushing her mom to talk to the Queen. What's the rush with getting married? I would like to see a bit more of Lord Kilmartin's own life, too. I liked his shyer personality previously, which seemed unique, but he seemed totally at ease at the club in this one. Speaking of the club, they need to tell us why he cares so much about it, for us to care about its closure. I vaguely remember the club was funded by underhanded means, but I don't remember the specifics anymore. Penelope's pity party at the beginning was a bit much, but I did like that conversation with her mom. Lady Danbury trying to smother her brother with those throngs of widows and eligible older women was funny. I'm glad the secret is finally out. Though they should have had a scene of Colin following Penelope near the end to increase the tension before she turned around and saw him.

Colin does know he might get her pregnant before the wedding, right? The focus on sex made it harder to buy that Colin is actually in love with Penelope, since his change of heart occurred so suddenly, and only after a kiss. In true soap opera fashion, Penelope was interrupted when she was about to tell Colin the truth. I hope Penelope tells Colin the truth sooner rather than later. Dragging it out could make this annoyingly frustrating to watch. I didn't expect Cressida to announce that she herself was Lady Whistledown. That was a nice twist. Good points above that she really didn't think things through, though. I do want her to get out of that old guy's clutches. I'm glad Anthony and Kate are still on the show, but they didn't do a great job of integrating them into the story very well and seemed to have lost the depth they had as main leads. I'm glad they are happy, though, so I have mixed feelings about this, since I know it's common to create new problems to keep characters occupied on long-running series. Yes, and in the previous episode, Lord Vegetarian even asked Penelope who he should ask for permission to marry her, since there is no male relative in the picture.

I liked how Colin finally revealed his feelings to Penelope but the stuff in the carriage was way too fast, not to mention ridiculous. Wasn't it a huge faux-pas for Colin to be alone in a carriage with her? Not to mention all the noise they were making. Colin needed more development, though. When he blew up at his "friends" about feeling lonely after a night at the brothel and how it was socially acceptable to be cavalier about relationships, it just felt hollow and unconvincing. It's not like he couldn't control his own choices and actions. They sort of overplayed his sexual desires to the point where it was unclear if he wanted to bed Penelope because he couldn't have her, or if he was truly in love with her. Though Colin's characterization was still miles above Benedict's. I thought the courtship with Lord Vegetarian ended appropriately, since his reasons made sense, but it was still sad to see Penelope dumped like that after such hope. I think her arc over the last few episodes have been good. The quiet suitor who got the sheet music was sweet and unique, and I look forward to seeing more of him, though now Francesca will be in the Queen's crosshairs for rejecting her pick. I felt badly for Cressida again. I don't think Lord Vegetarian is the one for her, but I do want to see her find someone to escape her monster of a father. Their house really did look like a mausoleum. Even though the idea of Eloise becoming friends with Cressida was hard to believe, this has been a nice subplot for both of them. Like others, I think I was enjoying Mrs. Featherington for the first time this season. She was actually (sort of) supporting Penelope, which was nice. Even the sisters have been entertaining. I think my favorite scenes in this episode were between Colin and his mother. With the main couples leaving the narrative each season, Lady Bridgerton has been an excellent constant. The character felt unremarkable when the series started, but I've grown to like her interactions with each of her children thus far.

I thought the Colin actor is stepping up quite well now that he has more screentime. His scenes with Penelope were amusing and I am starting to see their chemistry with one another. I liked his scene with his mother at the ball too. I did like Lord Debling, but so as many said above, I hope he isn't too heartbroken if Penny chooses Colin over him. Does he actually think Cressida is genuine? I did find it amusing to see Eloise awkwardly in the middle. I found this episode quite beautiful and atmospheric with the outdoor fair and the hot air balloon. I thought it was a little weird that Penelope would write about herself again as Lady Whistledown at the end. Isn't it a bit risky to declare herself as winning over Dr. Debling with a single dance? I'm not feeling the Benedict-widow connection. It felt a bit forced. I need more one-on-one scenes with Francesca and her various siblings since she still felt a little disconnected from the show. It seemed like she only had one-liners with Eloise and Colin. I understand why she didn't want to be the Queen's diamond, because now she will need to gracefully decline the I-want-8-children guy.

I thought this episode was engaging enough, no less than earlier seasons. If they are trying to make us root for Colin and Penelope, why would they show Colin having threesomes? I know they showed plenty of sexual adventures with Anthony, but that was mostly in Season 1 before his "true love" romantic story began. If Colin is so sexually satisfied all the time, it's harder to believe a simple kiss would make him change his feelings for Penelope. Nevertheless, I do like their rapport with one another. I know it's for the drama, I found it unbelievable that Eloise would casually spill what Colin told her about Penelope. Who knew Cressida now has morals (which is a total 180). Still neutral about the Francesca storyline, though I like watching the Bridgerton mom and Lady Danbury at work, so I'm glad it gives them something to do.

I had to look up what happened at the end of Season 2. It took me awhile to get into the episode, but I started to get more engaged in the last 20 minutes or so. Part of it was Francesca being basically a new character, so I'm still getting used to her and not sure what to think yet. I agree Colin hasn't had much of a personality so far, but he felt a bit more interesting after explaining to Penelope that he learned the art of charm during his travels. I vaguely remembered he went travelling after Season 1, but I don't remember him leaving again at the end of Season 2? Anthony and Kate felt like a cameo. I don't buy Eloise would have become friends with that mean girl. I also didn't think Penelope would be that bad at making conversation. I did like how she tried to update her look. The setup with her (as Lady Whistledown) writing something about Colin that she regretted was good dramatic fodder, so it does make me want to watch the next one, after not being too motivated to start this season.

I wanted to find this episode funny, since the setup was relatively solid, but the jokes didn't land for me. A few moments in the middle were mildly amusing, though. This is the first episode where they actually used Roz well, so that was good. I personally don't find David that bad, no better or worse than the other new reboot characters. I wanted more of that board game in this one.

I guess it takes a lot of skill to choreograph and direct a fight to the "death" that also highlights their latent primal attraction towards one another. Galadriel gave herself and the 9 rings up so those female elves she was leading through the tunnels would be saved/spared. I find it hard to believe the orcs would keep their word, and Galadriel would trust them to not just attack them after she's gone. We never see them again.

This was definitely one of the funnier episodes so far. The criticisms from "Niles" were funny and I too could sort of imagine Niles saying them. An older Bebe has lost some of her creepiness, but she was still used well. Much better than Roz. Bebe's daughter also had an energy and a connection with Frasier that few of the guest stars so far have had.

This episode was on par with the mediocre episodes of last season. Getting the file back into the filing cabinet was very mildly amusing, but the rest was forgettable. The acting is alright, but you can't elevate characters with no personality or depth. We've watched these characters for 7 hours now, which is the length of 2 movies, and there is still nothing interesting about them.

I was so excited to see Roz, but this episode was beyond unfunny. I know Roz guest starred last season, but I didn't buy she was so familiar with this new cast already. I didn't feel any chemistry between Roz and any of them. She was also rather unlikeable pushing babysitting on the guys when they already had plans that night. None of the jokes worked, and neither did the emotional component. Alan has no redeeming qualities as a character, so I couldn't care less about the story about his daughter being pregnant. Though I think the only line I laughed at was uttered by him.

Not sand, but when I first saw the opening credits, it reminded me a little of the opening credits for "The Crown", another animated close-up with a black background and you're not sure what you're looking at with the growing bands of metal making up the crown.