S03.E02: How Bright the Moon

[Atlanta]

These folks have farms and they have to know where baby animals come from. LOL Also, Pen is largely ignored so she hears a lot of things behind the scenes.

I thought that was Benedict in the threesome. Oops. 

Love that Eloise is becoming a version of Emma.

[Chicago Redshirt]

There's a point in S1 I believe where Pen asks a question of her mom that shows ignorance of how sex leads to pregnancy.  I think it related to Marina's pregnancy.

Now it could be that she was doing that as part of her cover as naive teen, not unlike that clumsy, klutzy Clark Kent always fumbling around or that gadabout Bruce Wayne drinking and manwhoring and joking. 

But I think it is possible that she only has a book-learning sense of what romance and sex are supposed to be.

Edited May 21 by Chicago Redshirt

[RachelKM]

On 5/21/2024 at 1:35 PM, Chicago Redshirt said:

There's a point in S1 I believe where Pen asks a question of her mom that shows ignorance of how sex leads to pregnancy.  I think it related to Marina's pregnancy.

I remembered Pen asking about Marina being pregnant and Portia shutting her down before she could get specific. But the only time I remember it being clear she and Eloise both were uncertain of how it happened was them walking down the street together and saying they needed to find out so it didn't happen to them.

That said, being uninformed about a thing that is expressly kept from you is not the same as being unaware or naive generally. The things Pen writes about are things regularly clucked about in drawing rooms and whispered about behind hands at balls. They are things she would have heard her entire life even before she was out, mostly because her mother is a gossip and would have been tittering over tea with her friends.

Even maids being with child would be gossiped about. But no one is going to discuss how precisely she became that way. What likely made a bigger impression on Pen was that the daughter of gentleman had become pregnant.  And knowing the mechanics or no, that was shocking.

 

Edited May 23 by RachelKM

[PRgal]

18 hours ago, RachelKM said:

 

Even maids being with child would be gossiped about. But no one is going to discuss how precisely she became that way. What likely made a bigger impression on Pen was that the daughter of gentleman had become pregnant.  And knowing the mechanics or no, that was shocking.

 

I think even NOW, some people will be shocked if a teenager from a "good family" gets pregnant.  I mean, we know that it could happen, especially if she's dating, but in the back of our heads, it's like "how can she not have used contraception?"  Or "why didn't he wear a condom?" Or something to that extent.  

[Roseanna]

18 hours ago, RachelKM said:

They are things she would have heard her entire life even before she was out, mostly because her mother is a gossip and would have been tittering over tea with her friends.

Except children were not present. Mothers met them only for an hour a day. 

[RachelKM]

5 hours ago, Roseanna said:

Except children were not present. Mothers met them only for an hour a day

Children were not present. But early teens were often present for home visits even while not formally "out." I exaggerated with "entire life" but she would have been exposed to gossip well before she was writing.

Edited May 23 by RachelKM

[Roseanna]

5 hours ago, RachelKM said:

Children were not present. But early teens were often present for home visits even while not formally "out."

Even being present in the same room doesn't mean that people could hear all that was spoken there. The funiture was arranged in the several groups, so that two people could speak privately (f.ex. Elinor and Lucy in Austen's Sense and Sensibility).   

Also, people did't speak out but used euphemisms and hints that adults understood but teens didn't. 

[RachelKM]

11 hours ago, Roseanna said:

Even being present in the same room doesn't mean that people could hear all that was spoken there. The funiture was arranged in the several groups, so that two people could speak privately (f.ex. Elinor and Lucy in Austen's Sense and Sensibility).   

Also, people did't speak out but used euphemisms and hints that adults understood but teens didn't. 

Sometimes, yes. But not always. People did not always split into private groups.  People sat in private conversations when they have someone to speak with and wished to do so in confidence. Unless Pen was friends with a daughter who accompanied her mother, she (and her sisters) would be more likely to sit quietly and speak if included (unlikely considering Portia's self-involved attitude).

Portia is neither attentive to her daughters nor circumspect in her gossiping. And euphemisms are intended to communicate. I don't imagine it would take long for the girls to suss out the basics... well, perhaps not Philippa.

But if it doesn't work for you, that's fine. This show is rife with inconsistencies and sloppy continuity (if it can even be called that). Even believing it possible, I thought the show was extremely ham-fisted with its portrayal of Pen and Eloise, particularly in the first season. 

Edited May 23 by RachelKM

[Kirsty]

Sweet ending to this episode.

But forget Pen and Colin for a minute... The most improved character so far this season is Lady Cressida Cowper! I'm glad the show decided to humanise her. (I would watch a Cressida season; she's not bland.)

Penelope slipped up when she told Colin that Lady Whistledown had to write about them because otherwise it would be suspicious. Yikes, Pen! That's going to come back and haunt you.

The Colin threesome scene was all a bit too... Littlefinger's brothel on Games of Thrones. I half expected a drunk Tyrion to appear.

Colin will never be my favourite Bridgerton, so I don't expect to enjoy this season as much as last season. But I'm ever hopeful that the show can surprise me and make a strong season of it. And so far, Pen/Colin is a nice, low-key, friends to lovers romance.

However. I do wonder if there's actually more passion and drama in the Pen/Eloise relationship and storyline? I like this whole bit where they're estranged but they still care about each other.

Edited May 24 by Kirsty

[Artsda]

I'm not really liking Penelope or Colin in what is to be their season. 

Penelope writing hit pieces because she's mad about Colin isn't making me like her after she attacked and did so much against her best friends family while being welcomed in their home like them. 

[Haleth]

All the talk about whether/how Pen knows about sex makes me wonder how she hasn't slipped up as LWD, writing something that gives away that she's very young and sheltered.  She would have to have a mature woman's knowledge (and Julie Andrew's voice) to not out herself as a teenager.

Also, Cressida's coiled hair makes me think of Medusa.

[shapeshifter]

On 5/23/2024 at 4:03 PM, Kirsty said:

Colin will never be my favourite Bridgerton, so I don't expect to enjoy this season as much as last season.

A lot of posts and comments echo this negative feeling about a Colin-centric season. But it could be refreshing to have the romance of the TV series season (not of Queen Charlotte's season) be centered on the character of a woman instead of a man, as it was almost entirely focused on the male half of the match in Season 1, and not much less so in Season 2.

[Roseanna]

13 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

A lot of posts and comments echo this negative feeling about a Colin-centric season. But it could be refreshing to have the romance of the TV series season (not of Queen Charlotte's season) be centered on the character of a woman instead of a man, as it was almost entirely focused on the male half of the match in Season 1, and not much less so in Season 2.

To me, seasons 1 and 2 were equally about both sexes, only the men's problems were greater. 

This season's problem is that so far the couple have had no outer or inner problems to prevent their love and marriage. Their romance could have told in the short story.

So I guess the revelation of Lay Whistleton's identity will be such - for a time, that is.

[violet and green]

Thank heavens they hosed off Colin's fake tan. The foundation he's wearing is still really thick, but I liked his manner and look overall much better this episode, and the kiss at the end helped also. Now I'm starting to like Pen a bit, too...

[Shermie]

On 5/19/2024 at 9:31 PM, Atlanta said:

These folks have farms and they have to know where baby animals come from.

I doubt these ladies spend much time watching farm animals mate or give birth. They sit inside fussing over clothes and gossiping.

On 5/19/2024 at 9:31 PM, Atlanta said:

Pen is largely ignored so she hears a lot of things behind the scenes.

Very true. She’s like most older women, who can move through the world and learn all kinds of shit because they’re invisible to most people.

On 5/21/2024 at 4:35 PM, Chicago Redshirt said:

There's a point in S1 I believe where Pen asks a question of her mom that shows ignorance of how sex leads to pregnancy.

It’s not uncommon for younger and/or naive people to know about sex and know about childbirth, but not know how the two are connected.

On 5/23/2024 at 2:57 AM, Roseanna said:

Even being present in the same room doesn't mean that people could hear all that was spoken there. The funiture was arranged in the several groups, so that two people could speak privately

As anyone with kids knows, they have ears like dogs and will pick up conversational tidbits that you swear were said in whispers. Penelope is naturally aware and curious, so I can see her constantly listening to those around her to pick up bits of gossip, both as part of her personality and as fodder for Whistledown.

I don’t mind Colin; he seems fine to me.

Speaking of the Featheringtons… It seems Portia chose alliterative names to match hers, but it bugs me that Phillipa is in the mix. Portia, Prudence, Penelope all have a P start, but Phillipa obviously has an F start. Surely she (the author, I guess) could have chosen another alliterative P name of the era, like Priscilla, Patricia or Patience. /nitpick

[MzLiz]

I really like this episode. Lots of cute fun moments plus the Polin kiss

Liked

• Pen and Colin's discussion/banter in the marketplace. Very cute/flirty especially during the discussion of their first meeting
• LOVED Rae's (Pen's maid) side eye look she gives Colin at the end of the market place discussion. Makes me laugh every time. 
• Colin's look after Pen's "your blue eyes" comment. He was not expecting that line.
• The entire kiss scene especially Colin's gobsmacked look afterwards. He clearly cares about her when he goes to check on her. This entire scene to me is the turning point where he realizes he actually sees her as more than a friend (especially after his intent of a simple kiss to going back for more). Not sure I believed the "I bribed her (Rae) to give us a moment alone" though. While Rae is Pen's lady's maid and "chaperone" I think she is quite fond of her mistress and goes out of her way to give Pen a little latitude with Colin because I'm sure she knows Pen is in love with him and is secretly rooting for her and him. 
• Lady Danbury definitely has some comedic moments. I loved how she says in an offhand way "by some other name" when telling Violet and the girls that the queen is still looking for her diamond.
• The scene between Lady F and Pen when Lady F was berating Pen after LWD wrote about her. It's just a great scene (though heartbreaking). I felt so bad for Pen. Lady F is shallow and too concerned with how things look, but underneath I think she loves Pen she just doesn't know how to show it and rarely says the right thing. She tried and failed with "a life unmarried is not all bad." 
• The costumes this season are FANTASTIC! Not just for Pen (which is extraordinary), but everyone's is beautiful.

Didn't like

• Colin's threesome in the brothel. Naively, I felt that was one leap too far for the character. Going to a brothel yes. He's a normal single young man after all with means and visiting a brothel is not unusual for the time. Though maybe this was the point of the scene. To show he's a sexually active/aware confident man (to set up the future Polin scenes that he knows what he's doing) and to drive home it really was just pleasure to him with no attachments. But a little disappointing to see nonetheless.

Edited May 27 by MzLiz
Spelling

[Camera One]

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.