Netflix’s Bridgerton not including one key character from Romancing Mr. Bridgerton makes one part of Colin & Penelope’s story much more difficult.

Netflix’s updates about Bridgerton season 3 already ensured there will be plenty of drama in Colin and Penelope’s story, but one character missing from the show can greatly lessen one key book story. Considering the way Bridgerton season 2’s finale left things between Colin and Penelope and how one of the first Bridgerton season 3 clips showed Penelope calling out Colin’s hurtful comments head-on, they will surely face various challenges. Original characters Lord Debling and Lady Tilley Arnold can also contribute to the chaos of unexpressed feelings, with the first being Penelope’s suitor and the second potentially catching Colin’s eye.

However, besides addressing Penelope and Colin’s romance, Bridgerton season 3 should also focus on their individual journeys, as the Bridgerton seasons before theirs did with Anthony, Daphne and their love interests, and based on the book it is due to adapt. Fourth in the Bridgerton book series, Romancing Mr. Bridgerton detailed how dismissive the Featherington often were of Penelope. While that proved an advantage as it let Penelope easily sneak away to write as Lady Whistledown, it also saddened her as she rarely disputed their remarks, and it was particularly evident when compared to one character absent from Bridgerton.

Felicity’s Absence Means Bridgerton Season 3 Will Lose A Major Part Of Colin & Penelope’s Book Romance

The younger Featherington was the only one her family believed could win over a Bridgerton

Netflix’s Bridgerton only ever showed three Featherington sisters, but the books also included a younger Featherington about the same age as Hyacinth Bridgerton, Felicity Featherington. As close to Hyacinth as Penelope was to Eloise, Felicity was widely believed “the only Featherington sister blessed with both natural beauty and charm” in Romancing Mr. Bridgerton, and she was the only one Portia Featherington believed capable of marrying a Bridgerton. With the time jump between Bridgerton seasons 2 and 3 not being as big as the books’, Felicity’s nonexistence makes sense, but it nonetheless greatly impacts all of Colin’s interactions with the Featheringtons.

Portia believing only Felicity could have interested a Bridgerton resulted in multiple absurd moments where she tried to pressure an indifferent Felicity to chase after Colin, and hilariously did so even as Colin attempted to ask for Penelope’s hand. From excuses to kick Penelope outside despite Colin arriving at the Featherington house with her to obvious ploys to push Felicity to show her watercolors to Colin, Portia Featherington entirely misread the situation, prompting Colin to almost shout that he wished to ask for Penelope’s hand in marriage, not Felicity’s. Felicity’s absence from Bridgerton season 3 will entirely erase such interactions.

The Featheringtons Lacking Respect For Penelope Is A Huge Factor In Her Bridgerton Book Story

Colin can’t believe they’re so dismissive of Penelope & she lets them

Bridgerton seasons 1 and 2 already showed how the Featheringtons disparaged Penelope, and Prudence and Portia were often even more guilty of that. However, Romancing Mr. Bridgerton made their dismissive behavior glaringly obvious, and Penelope’s POV in the book highlighted how she suffered because of it, even as she got used to that treatment. From not being considered as a possible option for Colin by her mother to Portia believing Colin was asking for Felicity’s hand in marriage despite Colin being in the room with just Penelope and Portia, Penelope was treated as an afterthought various times in the book.

Penelope’s habit of accepting her family’s subpar behavior toward her without fighting it eventually became less frequent because she shared her life with Colin, who was amazed by her, cared for Penelope and even initially defended her against her family’s comments. Being with Colin gave Penelope the strength to answer back in the book, to both Prudence and Philippa, but also Cressida when she tried to blackmail Penelope with the Lady Whistledown secret. With Penelope overcoming the Featheringtons’ dismissive behavior having such importance, Bridgerton season 3 will have to find a way to include Penelope’s development, even without Felicity.