Bridgerton: Why Lady Whistledown Complicates Penelope & Colin's Romance

Bridgerton has been setting the stage for Colin & Penelope's romance. But before they can be a couple, there are some things they have to sort out.

Warning: This post contains spoilers for Bridgerton season 2.

Lady Whistledown complicates Penelope and Colin’s romance in Bridgerton. Lady Whistledown’s society papers sets the Ton’s tongues wagging by feeding them gossip and scandal. Knowing the identity of the highly sought-after scribe puts Penelope Featherington and Colin Bridgerton in a bit of a rough spot going forward.

Penelope was revealed as Lady Whistledown at the end of Bridgerton season 1. As the gossiping writer, Penelope outed Marina’s pregnancy to the Ton in a bid to avoid Colin getting married to Marina without knowing the truth of her circumstances. In Penelope’s eyes, she was doing a good thing because she had feelings for Colin. If he married Marina, he might have been surprised to learn Marina was pregnant, but Penelope was primarily protecting herself because Colin getting married would have ultimately made him unavailable to her. In Bridgerton season 2, Lady Whistledown wrote a scathing story about Eloise’s interests in radical politics and women’s rights. Penelope’s actions betray Eloise’s trust and cause a rift in their friendship. It also creates another scandal for the Bridgerton family to contend with.

Using her pen to throw both Marina and Eloise under the bus and giving them scandalous attention after they trusted Penelope with their secrets could put the scribe at odds with Colin in Bridgerton season 3. Considering Penelope and Colin are meant to end up together in Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton novels, Lady Whistledown writing about the people Colin cares deeply about is a hurdle they will have to overcome before they enter into a romantic relationship. Colin wouldn’t react kindly to the way Penelope treated Marina and Eloise as Lady Whistledown — regardless of the reasons — and the show has to do a lot of work to instill trust in their relationship should he learn of Penelope’s identity. Penelope’s Lady Whistledown persona and the gossip she writes about could be a source of major conflict between them.

It makes her relationship with Colin more layered than if Whistledown was not a part of the equation, potentially creating much tension between the longtime friends. To be sure, Penelope will have to explain her actions and reasoning, but that might not go over well at first. Bridgerton season 2 confirmed Penelope was not willing to give up being Lady Whistledown — she had power as the scribe in a way she didn’t in other aspects of her life. However, if Penelope and Colin are to have an open and honest relationship in future seasons, revealing she is Lady Whistledown is the first step.

Penelope’s words have brought the Bridgerton family and Marina a lot of unwanted attention from the Ton and Colin has shown how protective he is when it comes to those he loves. It’s why he told Penelope the truth about Lord Jack Featherington, not wanting her or her family to be tied up in any scandal and pain. So while Colin might eventually forgive Penelope for her actions and the words Lady Whistledown wrote, the road to reconciliation and love could be a lengthy one depending on how long it will take for Bridgerton to start the conflict and whether or not the tension between Penelope and Colin will be ongoing.