Deepanjana Pal
Gentle reader, forget Cinderella and her glass slipper because Penelope Featherington is here. In the very first episode of the third season of Bridgerton, Penelope takes charge of her own wardrobe and opts for cleavage-kissing necklines and glittery heels.
Earlier this week, while wondering if mainstream Indian cinema is running low on young heroes, we doffed our hat at Bridgerton for being one of those rare properties that has created new stars rather than relying on famous names to grab eyeballs.
Bridgerton has been respectful of the unspoken rule of romantic comedies on screen — the leads must be tall, slim and subscribe to prevailing concepts of beauty. With Coughlan, for the first time we get a heroine who is proudly chubby.
Bridgerton doesn’t saddle Penelope with body image issues and instead uses her glow-up to hint that clothes do not change how society views you if you’re already on its wrong side.
Had Bridgerton just focused on Polin’s romance and their individual stories of being writers in secret, there probably would be just enough plot to fill four episodes. The first part of season three ends on a cliffhanger and the point at which the story breaks offers a masterclass in story structure.
The storytelling may not always hit the mark and sometimes, like in the ‘resolution’ of Daphne and Simon’s story, the treatment is messy. However, to quote one of Colin’s best lines from the book, “But you’re my mess.”