Bridgerton season 3 has come and gone, and it was certainly filled with lots of drama, gossip, tension, and a little side of spiciness. Could there have been one more sex scene between Colin and Penelope instead of another Benedict threesome? Absolutely! But overall, the season was very good. But were Colin and Penelope the best relationship in season 3? In my opinion, no.
So, who was the best relationship? And yes, I am using relationship and not couple, because the best relationship with interesting dynamics and tension was not a romantic one. It was a friendship. Eloise and Penelope had the most fascinating and interesting story of the season. Going from best friends to ex-friends and still having to be near each other...that is where the tension came from. That is where you could cut the yearning with a knife.
The scenes between Penelope and Eloise were like art. The fighting about when Colin was going to be told about Lady Whistledown, the ultimatum, and then their reluctant rivalry once Cressida got thrown into the mix...it was acted absolutely perfectly. It was their relationship where the audience wasn't sure if it was going to be a happy ending or not
I did wonder how Colin was going to deal with Penelope being Lady Whistledown, and it was something that needed to be handled with care (and was), but once the show started airing, knowing how or if Penelope and Eloise were ever going to have what they once did was much more interesting.
Eloise and Penelope were the standouts of Bridgerton season 3
Anyone who reads romance on the regular (even without reading the Bridgerton books) knew Colin and Penelope were going to be a thing from the first season. The boy next door and the girl next door. It writes itself. But with the betrayal of a friendship and the picking up of the pieces afterward: no one could have guessed how they were going to patch things up.
Nicola Coughlan and Claudia Jessie acted the scenes with Penelope and Eloise so, so well. While Colin had his share of yearning, desperate looks, there was more coming from Eloise and Penelope when looking at each other than anything else. Without each other, they were stuck with the likes of Cressida or, in Penelope's case...her mother (and Colin). Yikes! Going from a forever friendship to having almost no one is not for the weak, especially in a world that is so focused on connections.
While I enjoyed Penelope and Colin's relationship and struggles, they pale in comparison to the deep connection between Penelope and Eloise. They are by far the best relationship in season 3.