[PREVIEW] 'Bridgerton' Is In Its Gossip Girlboss Era

Dearest gentle readers, the end of Polin season is upon us at last, bringing with it relief from weepy eyes and gasping breaths. Colin and Penelope’s love story climaxes in several senses during these final four episodes: with a declaration of love, with a long-awaited sex scene featuring a mirror, with his discovery of Penelope’s nom de plume, and with his eventual acceptance of her full self. Oh, and they get married. (Details, details.) But alongside the story of their friendship and love growing deeper and more complete, this season is telling another story: the story of how an intrepid gossip girlboss gaslights and gatekeeps her way to the top. This season — rarely with subtlety — has been paying special attention to how the relatively powerless women of the ton can wield power and find a voice, and Penelope is their grande dame, the woman who has most transcended her circumstances. An overlooked wallflower from an unimportant family, she has built a fortune by wrapping the ton around her gossipy little finger. Other women in her orbit — Cressida, Lady Featherington, Eloise, even Francesca — can only dream of amassing such clout, and this season also explores how these other women, often in unsympathetic ways, struggle against the strictures of their positions. Penelope, like her mother and Cressida, has not always used her power kindly. Still, female empowerment: we love it!We discuss all this, plus how the queen coopts the subversive power of gossip and turns Lady Whistledown into an arm of the state media, the show’s welcome explorations of queerness in Benedict and Francesca, and the inimitable Featherington ladies. Hope you enjoy! xoShare Rich TextIf you liked reading this, click the ❤️ button on this post so more people can discover it on Patreon!Give us feedback or suggest a topic for the pod • Subscribe • Request a free subscription