For season three of the grand and effervescent “Bridgerton” on Netflix, launching this Thursday, Shonda Rhimes, the architect behind the show, characterises it as “a charming homage to the oft-ignored wallflowers of society.” The wallflower of note is Lady Penelope, a court rumourmonger portrayed with intelligence, charm, and self-awareness by Nicola Coughlan, an actress hailing from Galway.
In earlier seasons, Coughlan played a character that hid her mischievous nature beneath a sweet and naïve facade. As the enigmatic Lady Whistledown, she was the venomous author of a broadsheet that enlightened the public on the myriad scandalous affairs within the early 19th Century Regency Court in London.
Lady Whistledown was a peculiar invention, with Julie Andrews providing the voice for her written revelations while Coughlan represented her alternative persona. There was a continual sense of disconnection – as it was challenging to correlate the harsh inner monologue heard in Whistledown’s writings with the gentle Lady Penelope.
This primarily came from the charisma that Coughlan infused into her character. She radiated too much kindness to seem mean. Now she is finally getting her time to shine – an experience fondly referred to as the Bridgerton “makeover”.
This transition implies an updated wardrobe and more prominent make-up. Her character development and promotion to the main protagonist is deserved, and to be honest, she is the highlight of Bridgerton, a show that sometimes seems oblivious to its own peculiarities.
Despite being set in the Regency era, the series wouldn’t be complete without a romantic storyline. This season’s romantic question mark is the friendship crossing over to potential love interest between Lady Penelope and Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton), who shares Penelope’s nerdy quirks.
But is anyone really watching Bridgerton for the plot? Yes, there is a narrative, but it tends to take a backseat. The show’s success is more due to its visual appeal – akin to the satisfaction of beholding a beautifully designed cupcake rather than actually consuming it.
The initial four episodes of the third series, which Netflix has split into two parts, give plenty to savour. The premiere commences with a garden gathering that outlasts even the initial wedding in The Godfather, though with fewer implied threats of reprisal.
The dialogue is vivacious, reminiscent of Downton Abbey’s, with which Bridgerton shares a passing resemblance, but without the classicism. As sweet and frothy as a Frappuccino, it’s packed with equal amounts of sugar, too. Overindulging may leave one feeling under the weather, but when consumed in moderate doses, Bridgerton makes for an enjoyable watch, with Coughlan particularly standing out.