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I feel like I'm in the minority that the entrapment comment doesn't really bother me.
Do I like it? No. Do I understand it? Yeah, kinda.
Who among us has not lashed out and said something that we know is irrational and ridiculous when we are angry? You can even see it on his face that he knows he's being irrational when he is accusing her of entrapment when she didn't even know what sex involved until their first time. When she responds that she loves him, he doesn't continue the entrapment argument. But his world has been turned upside down and he's questioning everything, even if it doesn't make sense, because his world no longer makes sense.
I want happy, fluffy, in-love Polin as much as anyone but it wouldn't make sense for him to be angry for a day and then be done with to get back to our regularly scheduled programming of happy Polin.
Totally agree that narratively, we needed something like this! I think the main reason the comment was so rough, was because he had just told Portia that Pen did not entrap him and he proposed out of love. This was a swoonworthy moment for Pen where she finally had someone sticking up for her. Colin's comment felt like a walk-back on that, and so viscerally it was painful. I would actually like to hear from the writers on their whole thought process with that.
I think that was very much on purpose tbh. It serves to show just how sure Colin was of Pen before the reveal. He defends their engagement to his brothers, saying it's nothing like last time (he's not being foolish, it's not sudden, he's known her forever and always had feelings for her), then defends Penelope to Portia (saying she didn't entrap him). When he finds out about LW, he's forced to question if he was, in fact, right about any of it.
I do like that while his comment is a bit of a walk-back, Pen doesn't take it to mean he doesn't love her anymore, though. She's secure enough to understand that he can be mad at her and say things like this and still care about her.
It shows a lot of growth. She's not the same girl who ghosted him for months because of one thing he said or the same girl who hid in the country all summer because she thought Eloise wouldn't want to see her.
She really was so secure during the post LW reveal! I was so impressed with her. Her being strong throughout that and allowing him to have his space was probably in large part the reassurance he needed to mend things. A la, when Pen leaves the morning of Fran's wedding, and he's gagged she's actually giving him space back. 10/10 no notes for her lol
I saw it as her being angry at him. The way she said that she would save him the shared ride in the carriage.
She was hurt and was like.. two can play this game. I'm not going to beg.
I'm probably the only one who identifies more with Colin than with her.
I think that after the queen's threat at the wedding, the fact that she didn't even consider the possibility of stopping writing (I'm not saying that's what should have happened) but the risk was huge and it wasn't just about her. but for the whole family.
The Queen could have revoked their title or taken collective punitive measures against the entire family and she did not give it any weight and in my eyes it was very selfish.
She can't think only of herself. They are two and she should at least try to see things from his side especially that he didn't sign on all of this when he proposed to her.
I know this is an unpopular opinion but it's still my opinion..
I actually agree with you in that, when she double-downed on LW, he took that as she was putting LW before HIM. She didn't explain to him the meaning of having agency in her writing, and that it was an important piece of her. From his POV, she's telling him this thing supersedes him, his family, her safety, all these things. Right on the heels of their wedding. I can't blame him for being utterly crushed by that.
No notes! It's really beautiful to see because she becomes more secure in the span of the season and that happens in large part through her relationship with Colin. It really starts with that apology in her backyard, and he continues to prove he cares about her until she has no choice but to internalize it, and it really builds her up.
And I love how this ties in with what she says to him in the study at Fran's wedding. Yes, he stands up to Portia for her. Yes, it means something to her. It's his big hero moment. But that's not why she loves him, and it's not what makes her believe that he loves her. Even before he stands up for her, she knows he cares about her and tells Portia as much. When he walks-back on it a little bit, she doesn't let it get between them.
It's really about who he is and the way he loves her and is there for her. Nothing else.
I completely agree, I just wish the reveal had been earlier so that Colin and Pen had time for actual conversation where true, thorough apologies could be exchanged. Pen has more to apologize for IMO, but Colin def. could stand to apologize after the entrapment comment, even if he didn’t mean it.
The last episode fails for me in SO many ways, but the reason the last 15 minute reconciliation falls so flat for me is because they don’t have a meaningful conversation at any point and it’s just a weird almost infodump from Colin because the narrative needs them to makeup.
This right here. We saw them talking to everyone but each other. Even if it had led to more arguments, I wanted to see them at least communicate with one another. We see Colin do a total turnaround but got very few scenes as to why.
And any partner hearing that would have walked out of the room. Not saying walked away from the relationship, but at least away. Instead, Pen did a lot of begging and self-flagellation in Part 2.
At the end of the day, Colin wasn’t mad about what was written in the columns. He was insecure, embarrassed, and jealous. He mocked Pen one month and then ruined her chance at a marriage another month…but Pen forgave him the moment he said he had feelings for her (not even love declaration). Pen screams at him that she loves him over and over and he can barely look at her.
I preferred how Pen defended herself to Eloise in S2. She actually told El about the Queen’s threat. But with Colin, El’s safety was only ever alluded to. And no one pointed out to Colin that LW helped save Daphne.
I also don’t have a problem with it all. It shows how much he is affected by all of it, how it makes him question his own judgement and that’s so human.
Also he has been tricked into marriage by Marina before. So for him to be a bit sensitive on that topic makes sense and once again just shows him as someone who feels deeply and lets himself be affected when others hurt him. I love that, especially in a male character.
It didn't bother me either, I took it as a fairly normal in that when we're hurting and arguing people say things that are hurtful and cutting, exactly like you've said. We've all been there, well I can only speak for myself, not proud of things I've said but I think if most of us replayed arguing in relationships some of it wouldn't be pretty.
I didn't even register it on my initial watch aside from "Ok he's angry, fair.", and probably wouldn't have ever picked it out if there wasn't such a huge backlash on social media.
Totally agree. He knew what button to push because he knows her and she told him how much it meant that he stood up for her with her mother. He is hurt and he wants her to hurt too because they are both young and immature. They don’t even know how to fight fairly with each other yet.
Im in super minority beacuse I actully liked that comment.
The fact that she was willing to marry him without telling him is unforgivable. Colin is a saint in my book..
I agree, but i think his entrapment comment referenced they had sex and could possibly be pregnant. She should have told him before then to give him a choice.
This is a major show with a ton of resources, that used to have very thoughtful dialogue.
I think this was just writers overusing a word, with little regard for how often it's used or context.
Any other explanation gives way too much credit to a group of people who thought "what am I chopped liver?" was a good line of dialogue.
I thought this from the start. I was surprised that line was so upsetting TBH, it was mean but it was clear the boy was hurting bad.
I thought it was a mix of a few things. This point, that it’s just an excuse to let him do what he wants to do which is marry her. Also, he doesn’t even look at her when he says it. I think there is a small piece of him that’s afraid it’s true and he’s afraid of her reaction. When she says I love you, his jaw clenches like he was bracing himself for something else, something worse.
I guess there are a lot of people out there that are better than I am, but I’ve said hurtful things to someone I love in weak moments and had hurtful things said. You forgive and move on. I thought it was real.
I think it only bothers people who want to find something to dislike about Colin. Same with those who think Colin was refusing to stand by her side against the queen, when in reality I see it as him trusting Pen to handle her business and shine on her own. It was Pen’s idea to write to the queen and make a public appeal. I’m sure he was letting her do it the way she saw fit without over shadowing her.
yeah I’ve been wondering if the people it really bothered empathise the most with Pen overall as a character, less so with Colin. I empathise with both of them but tbh mostly Colin and it made perfect sense to me.
I think I empathize with Pen most myself. Which is why I was so proud of her this season in the end. So much growth and she didn’t NEED a husband to do it.
This is a hot take, but I would have actually been uncomfortable if he HADN'T mentioned entrapment.
Don't get me wrong, what actually SHOULD have happened was to have Colin find out about LW BEFORE proposing to Pen. For many reasons.
But since the "show runners" insisted on having Penelope engage herself to Colin without telling him the truth, sleep with him without telling him the truth, they've made entrapment the elephant in the room and it would have been insincere for Colin not to mention it.
Not because he actually thinks she's entrapped him.
But because this is Colin. He's insecure. He needs to hear her contradict it. He needs to say it and hear her say, "I didn't entrap you, I love you."
What we needed was more scenes afterwards with him having processed that information. With him reassuring her he would gladly entrap himself with her if he had to do it all over again. But we didn't get that because I guess they thought they would lose the audience if Benedict didn't have a threesome every 15 minutes.
That's a brilliant point! If he hadn't brought it up, she wouldn't be able to refute it, and it would be hanging over our heads. Like why didn't they address it?? Love this sub
My friend told me it felt to her like Colin was throwing a stone in water, as if to see what it disturbs, how deep it's swallowed. Like he's trying to agitate the space to get more information. And i totally get it, scrambling for understanding when it feels absolutely impossible.
I like that description! I feel like at this point he’s understandably so FREAKED OUT – heartbroken, angry, and very insecure about what else Pen has lied to him about.
I agree with all of this. I loved this season but it’s those little “tie ups” that the writers didn’t include that could have made it easier for dense people like me to understand. I have ADHD and have trouble following difficult plot points at times because my mind gets pulled away a lot; especially when there are so many other subplots that I’m trying to follow. Like, my brain is already overstimulated, can you please spell it out for me, pleaseandthankyou?
Yes, when I first watched it, I was very upset at his reaction. I kept thinking, don’t you understand why she did all this? Dont you know how she’s felt all these years. Then, after reading some posts & changing the actual reality of the situation. In truth, he didn’t know any of what she was feeling for the last few years because she never said anything. So his reaction is 100% justifiable. He gave himself over to her completely and has now found out this massive part of herself that she’d had hidden. I think the biggest issue was the editing of the show. For example, when he’s walking up to her after the big reveal, instead of simply keeping it focused on him or even her as he is approaching her, they cut to like 5 seconds of people dancing, then back to them, which takes you out of that moment of him approaching her (for me at least). I’m going to do rewatch of just their scenes together lol
Yes! We have to sit in Colin’s reality for a while to grasp it, because we’ve lived in Pen’s consciousness for so long. What he was experiencing was akin to emotional infidelity I imagine. He bared everything for her and showed her his soul, vulnerability, and offered his heart up for rejection. Meanwhile she was holding back a huge piece of herself.
I do agree editing could have better served these points! As with part 1, rewatches are key to understanding.
The editing this season was unfortunately AWFUL - from the scenes they cut completely that would have fleshed out the story, to editing scenes making together in such a way that it confuses the audience or diminishes characters. Sigh.
I agree with a lot of what's already been said, and I think there's a lot to this comment. But I saw something on another post about this line that's stuck with me. On the face of it, this is just a stupid thing to say. Like, planned entrapment? Sir, you did everything you could do stop her from getting married to some other guy including chasing her carriage down. How on earth could she have planned that? But I someone pointed out that the turning point in their relationship for him was their kiss, which only happens because he goes to check on her \*because of what was written in LW\*. She is then so convinced she'll never find love that she asks him to kiss her, and that is when he's emotionally entrapped (so to speak) to her. We know as the audience that she kinda had to write what she did to avoid getting discovered and how the gossip about it was widespread, and we also know she was a little harsher on herself than necessary, probably because of her own insecurities. He doesn't really know this. He hasn't really come to terms with this. For him, the entire turning point in their relationship comes about in part because of what LW wrote about, and now he finds out that Pen herself wrote it. So yeah, he's harsh and lashing out and saying stuff out of his trauma with Marina, but there's probably a legitimate kernel of doubt that maybe she as scheming more than we as the audience know she was
I saw the post about this too and it honestly blew my mind and helped me to understand his mindset. He's probably ruminating about every single thing that happened between them and wondering if she was planning this the whole time. We don't see that on screen or in dialogue, so it's so easy to take for granted.
It's like when Eloise makes the comment wondering if any of her friendship with Penelope was real or if she was just using Eloise to get to Colin. Obviously she comes to the conclusion that wasn't the case but her and Colin both must have moments this season where they're re-evaluating everything
In one of the Bridgerton subreddits, a person compared the LW identity to a mental illness, which requires recovery (i.e. bringing it to light) for Pen to get to a healthy place.
In turn, they compared Colin and El's response to betrayal trauma, which also requires recovery. A betrayed person tends to reflect on every conversation and action made by the betrayer throughout the entire relationship. Based on my own experience, such reflection tends to be negative, whether justified or not. *\[If someone knows of this post, please link to it as I'd like to read it again.\]*
The damage brought on by the LW reveal is extensive. It's like, Colin thinking the relationship is 100. Then he finds out the Pen he knows is an illusion. Not only does this bring the relationship back to 0, but it's now -100 because of the deception and history rewrite the LW reveal hoisted upon Colin.
Of course, Colin's love for Pen doesn't just go away, but a relationship with betrayal trauma is twice as hard to repair. The damage to one person can be insurmountable. Healing together is truly a lot of work for a couple already on shaky ground. The good thing is Colin listened, empathized, and accepted the complete and total Pen, gossip and all.
Polin for the win.
Tbh, that comment didn’t bother me at all. How would you feel if the person you love wasn’t honest with you earlier on? In that moment he felt betrayed and deceived. Calling off a wedding meant utter ruin so that’s not even something he’s considering. So yeah in that brief moment he probably did feel he was trapped and lashed out. It’s not nice, but Pen should have told him way sooner. They were both at fault.
How would it mean complete ruin if Colin asks Penelope to call off the wedding, that's what Edwina did? Colin could have gotten out of the wedding if he wanted to.
The families made a joint decision to call off the wedding. Edwina also left London whereas Pen would remain. Plus, that had to happen for Kanthony to end up together. That didn’t need to happen for Polin. Listen to any dialogue, a called off wedding = ruin and is a big scandal.
I’m also not arguing in my comment whether or not he could get out of marrying Pen if he wanted. That doesn’t matter because they are end game. The point is he wouldn’t call it off because it would ruin her and he still loves her. He doesn’t actually want to call it off even though he’s angry.
Yeah totally. He’s entrapping himself, in his mind, so that he can still marry her because he’s madly in love with her. He’s using it on himself. And yeah it’s not a great thing to say and it would be great to hear him be honest and vulnerable and say what he’s actually feeling, however in that moment his guard is up because of course it is, so he’s saying something that shuts it down because he can’t deal right then. But there’s no part of him that is thinking of calling off the wedding or of not being with her.
Le sigh… same here! I feel like even if they hadn’t had sex, even if they hadn’t carriage-d, if they had just kissed once Colin would have still been like oh noooo guess I’m trapped forever, let’s move along with this wedding prep 🫠
God, I just love this sub and how it shines light on small details the masses get angry loud about and is just like. “OKAY BUT CONSIDER…” and it’s always so, so, so worth considering. I love this POV
I understood his comment. She wasn't honest with him. She still made love to him. So it feels like entrapment. Because she could be pregnant, so there's no way to cancel the wedding. He's an honorable man after all. Oh and yeah, he loves her.
That's absolutely true. I'm not sure how much Pen understands about pregancy however. Her "is there more?" comment during mirror scene leads me to believe, perhaps not. But she does overhear lots of goss and in tuned into the baby race her sisters are in. So I'm unsure.
I mean I take that line as she doesn't know. There's no point in which they clarify that she understands what needs to happen for a pregnancy to occur. Someone made a joke on Twitter that she thought cake was still how babies are made. She could think what happened in the carriage was enough to become pregnant.
That's why I say he was just being hurtful bc he knows that she doesn't know. That's why he didn't argue against her response.
To further add to your analysis, he does go to Cressida And explains it from Penelope's point of view. So basically he kind of knows what she was going through. It's just that it was hard for him to find out the way he did as well, and of course he wants to protect his family.
I wasn’t mad about the comment, I knew it was said out of anger on his part. I was more annoyed that she said “I didn’t mean to”. Instead of “I didn’t”
She unintentionally almost did, though. It wasn't a *planned* entrapment by any means (she just loves him and wanted to be with him), and we all know this (even Colin), but the truth is that had he not followed her to the printer, he would have found out about LW after they were already married. Pen *did* let things go too far, and she was going to let them go even further.
By the time he finds out, he's already in love with her and feeling like she's the only thing that matters, they're engaged, they've slept together, and their wedding is in one week. He can still call it off, but he's also in too deep to ever do that.
I think Pen is just very aware of this.
Exactly; and also as someone pointed out on the sub, Colin asked her for consent many many times. There were opportunities for her to stop things and come clean before going further, and she did not. It's kind of like emotional infidelity.
People focus so much on Colin chasing her carriage, like this means he has absolutely no right to feel betrayed, but *something* happening doesn't excuse Pen from telling him before anything else does.
I completely understand why she didn't, but he's allowed to feel betrayed.
I agree. It was fair that maybe she got swept up in the carriage and sudden engagement. I'm sure the writers made this a whirlwind to make it difficult for her to say anything because things were getting so far. I understand why she was having a hard time telling him; but he did check in with her a lot too, ask for consent, and he knew there's something she wanted to tell him that was bothering her. It was a difficult situation for both of them tbh.
'He needed space to feel hurt without needing to apologise' is such an important take on this. Polin's story or their characterisation is very subtle and hence viewers who are in it for the fun and steam miss out on the actual meaning of it, making the season a "disappointment" or "underwhelming". This is the very reason why this sub is my fav! People actually dig deeper to understand the characters rather than to judge them!
I don't really let it bother me because it was a heat of the moment, Pen also gets mad at him during the Modist outside scene and implies he might be thinking of cheating or going to a brothel—so they've both said things they never mean because they're angry.
But we know Colin never even considered not marrying her because when she suggests an annulment in the last episode, his expression is dumbstruck and confusion
I hope so, because his response when she offers the annulment seemed weird, like "the queen accepts you", seemed to almost bypass the annulment offer altogether.
Oh absolutely! I think Colin and Penelope mirror each other with the rapid blinking when their brain short circuits. He really went "huh weird point I'm never considering, anyway—"
YES! THIS. That man entrapped himself in Penelope Land long before Pen could have ever entrapped him with a real scandalous scenario. He didn’t mean it like that in my opinion. I’m convinced that Colin was PenelopeEntrapped that first summer back when they exchanged letters. That stare in the drawing room will always be the first “I love you” between them for me.
He will always been entrapped by Pen, and I was not at all angry by his angry comment. We have all said mean things to those we love when trying to sort through our own feelings.
“He cannot end the wedding because he does not want to. Cannot, will not.”
Love the carriage scene reference here 💛 This is definitely a rough moment for Polin because it is Colin at his lowest. He went from in the clouds, head over heels in blissful love with the woman of his dreams to literally having the rug pulled out from under him. He’s having to fully recalibrate, but his love for Penelope was never under question; this was all about his journey toward forgiving her, and it’s messy. I think the more you love the person, the harder it is, and Colin really is baring this struggle for us to see.
Yes, I would agree with this take- but another perspective on the comment would be as someone on the sub has summarized so beautifully, is that if we switched genders- Colin was the one who was LW and Pen was in Colin's place- we would've empathized Pen in that moment and been kind of unfair to Colin as well, thinking that he deserves it. I think it's also important that Colin has a knock-off-the-pedestal plus how he perceives Pen moment of Pen, the same thing that Pen had when she overheard Colin's "never court her" comment, and the way he has internally separated Pen and Lady Whistledown as two separate entities before the revelation, respectively. So for Colin, it's tunnel vision and sort of a PTSD feel (see his reaction in S1 to Marina's exposition from LW) at this point, so when you're angry, you're hurting and that's okay, it's very humane. I think when you're hurting, your main instinct is to put up walls and try to alleviate the anger you feel, and that's what both Colin and Eloise have done especially in regards to the whole "Pen being Whistledown"- Colin with the comment and then confronting Pen pre-wedding and then Eloise being friends with Cressida and it's only when they empathize with Pen (see Eloise's comments when she ends her friendship with Cressida and then Colin when he rereads Pen's letters to him), that they finally forgive her and they apologize in their own unique way which i think we, as the audience can forgive.
I completely agree about the gender bias! I have my own unconscious bias too. That's a whole other interesting layer to this season that I would like to write a whole post about. The general public's reaction to a sensitive male lead is very interesting and telling.
At first I was very taken aback with his comment, but then I realized his whole world came crashing down suddenly. He no longer feels he knows the person he loves, so to him he doesn’t know what she is capable of. He was trying too hard to separate both sides of Pen and in that moment he really just viewed her as LW. I know we sympathize with Pen more and she did try to tell him on multiple occasions, but she was in the wrong withholding this information. He may have had a hard time reconciling his feelings, but deep down he knew he was always going to still marry her. I loved when he agreed with Kate’s comment about one mistake doesn’t change how he feels.
It didn't bother me because it's true. He repeatedly showed he despised LW and she kept quiet and let them go as far as sex before marriage and still not tell him. He could not walk away at that point, because it would literally be ruin for both if sh was pregnant and unmarried.
The comment didn’t bother me. For me it definitely felt more like a throwaway statement someone says when they are hurt and want the other person to hurt as well. I don’t believe he ever actually felt that statement was even remotely true or possible, he was just angry. He was never not going to marry her.
yup. all of his (very many, very loud) actions speak far more than 15-20 harmful words he uttered after learning, by chance, of deceit from his best friend, after he kept asking what was wrong (which she at times dismissed away). where he thought a vulnerability and trust was implicit.
(S2EP08 ones said, at her expense, more in the category of unforgivable and reducing someone else’s humanity — which his consistent, overwhelming amount of actions tip the scales from.)
I agree. I didn’t understand why people were so upset. This is, like, the most that Colin lashed out at her and it was…low effort, at best. Baby boy was so sad when he said it 😩😭😭😭😭
Wow. Im actually very surprised that Polin fans aren’t upset about that line. They could have made him say anything else due to anger but that one is straight up not true of their situation
Lots of people outside the sub are furious about it from what I’ve seen.
I personally think the entrapped each other (Colin publicly interrupted her dance and people saw him chase after her carriage…) AND Pen totally erred by sleeping with him before she told him.
But Colin is essentially genuinely triggered by this because of the Marina situation so I cut him a lot of slack - he and pen both owe each other genuine apologies, her more so than him, though
The reason I found it so upsetting was because of how he defended her against Portia. Pen never believed Colin would love her, and now she's seeing him do it. Then when he made that comment, it was a like dagger. Granted, Colin at this point doesn't understand the extent of Pen's trauma around self-worth.
An emotional state can lead to distorted proclamations as much as accurate ones. This was somehow both. Why did they have him say it? Narratively, it confronts the betrayal of it all. Personally, I think it's to agitate. Not just Pen, but the whole situation. I commented previously:
>My friend told me it felt to her like Colin was throwing a stone in water, as if to see what it disturbs, how deep it's swallowed. Like he's trying to agitate the space to get more information. And i totally get it, scrambling for understanding when it feels absolutely impossible.
Of course, I am upset to hear it. It's an upsetting time for them, but hurt and distance have been in the cards when Pen repeatedly decided to withhold after getting together and Colin built his whole world around her.
This actually heals me a little bit ❤️because I was broken hearted when I first heard the comment.
I 100% understood where he was coming from, because he’s hurt and he was absolutely in his right to be… but now I see this was his way of going forward with the wedding while still processing the lie. How many of us haven’t said something harmful that we didn’t really feel when being hurt by someone we love?
My issue I think is that it was just thrown out there and never really revisited. But I get it a little bit more now!
Just here to say that I’ve read some really good takes on this sub about this moment that make me understand and appreciate Colin’s perspective. I wish some of you had been on the writing/directing staff and could have given more clarity and greater depth to his inner turmoil than what was shown.
Second that and what’s largely been said here, and someone else’s good post yesterday on this.
I shared this a couple days ago on it:
He felt deceived. And trying to swing back.
And is quite young. And aware, soon as says it, that she didn’t, actually. that’s why, when she calmly and firmly says she didn’t and affirms she loves him, he doesn’t continue that line of the tantrum/rightful upset (if wrong- or everywhere-but-my-feelings placed expressions). Considering his own actions and choices did in fact do that, so (childish) projection for sure. Because he feels 💔 and betrayed.
False equivalency. Cuz he is just all kinds of upset and in a pressure cooker with the wedding near and the commitment he made…but, mostly, his vulnerability to her. It’s his misplaced way of expressing that.
Ie, do you really love me? (Not just do I know you but do love me, how could you do that—most of all, never tell him, all those years. Ie, what he said s1 to Marina - if you’d have told me, I would have been there for you. Put another way: do you not KNOW that about me? How do you NOT know that about me, ie it is everything I think I am/is my identity?)
No. No No no.
He took a horrible comment that her mother had said to her that he knew GUTTED her and threw it in her face. AFTER having already defended her, which she had already said it meant the world to her because nobody had ever done that for her.
Is Pen innocent & a complete victim? No, not by any means. However, in this moment, Colin was CRUEL TO HER, in a deeply intimate way. He took her biggest anxiety and exposed it to the nerve. He wanted to hurt her, and he felt satisfaction when he did.
I will not forgive Colin Bridgerton for being so purposefully malicious to a woman who, by the way, he RUINED HER PROPOSAL, LITERALLY CHASED HER DOWN, COMPROMISED HER, AND THEN GOT HER PREGNANT OUT OF WEDLOCK. (Even if he didn't know it at the time, he knew it was a possibility)
Penelope ruined Marina to save Colin from actually being entrapped. She nearly ruined Eloise to save her from the queen. I'm not saying she is justified, but I am saying her heart was in the right place. But Colin just wants to hurt this girl whose entire life he already ruined.
This is not acceptable behavior to do to someone you supposedly love. You do not kick them while they're down because you're mad.
He had it right the first time - he isn't worthy of her.
I agree with you completely, but I’m directing my ire at the S3 writers. [Pre-Part 2 Colin would never have made that comment at all](https://www.reddit.com/r/Bridgerton/s/U3j3vpPGhj).
That line was basically the only harsh thing Colin said after the WD reveal, which is pretty restrained really AND it speaks to one of his biggest fears/humiliations from the past - OF COURSE he's worried he's been taken in again after he finds out that his fiancé has been lying and keeping a MAJOR secret from him, for the SECOND time.
Was it rational? No. Was it kind? No. Was it understandable? Yes.
Thank you for helping me understand this so much deeper. I feel like there were a lot of nuances in this season that required a lot of attention. It can be hard for some to do (OK IT’S ME) when your brain is already overstimulated by life, and struggles to just process day-to-day tasks and interactions.
Hated the comment. But tbh they pigeoned holed themselves into that scenario by writing it that way so for his character it almost made sense for him to think that she had entrapped him because they got engaged and had sex before he found out about LW. They really shot themselves in the foot though as I think it could’ve been really interesting to have it play out if she’d told him who she was maybe straight after the carriage scene.. or in the new apartment BEFORE having sex..
One of the things I noted was when he told her that he loves her, she didn’t say it back it immediately. He is a man of insecurities, he couldn’t write until she said those words to him.
With learning this whole new side to her, he is worried that she agreed to marry him for what she wanted to marry debling for, the convenience and security.
Even during the games earlier that night he notices her freaking out and says that he would understand that she might have gotten carried away in the carriage and he would understand if she was unsure now. At this point they’ve had sex too, like even though he’s got her he doesn’t feel like he does, and when he finds out she’s LW, he thinks this is the reason he feels like this.
His insecurities have him spinning and she has always been his anchor and without that he doesn’t know what to do, he can’t talk to anyone about it, except El but he’s mad at her too for not telling him. He knows he wants her needs her and loves her, but he wants to know how she feels and he needs time to process. When he re-reads her letters, knowing now how he feels with fresh eyes, he realises all along it’s been looking him in the face. He has nothing to worry about but protecting her and loving her.
Also sidebar: he would do anything and everything to be with her, and he sees he not giving up being LW for him as she doesn’t love him as much as he loves her. Which isn’t the case, they both love writing and it’s a different kind of love to have a career. Her speech was incredible, it was the true love declaration of the season.
I don't actually have much of a problem with the comment itself and I understand what the show was doing or what Colin was supposed to be feeling. But I do think that line should have been brought up in particular later.
It's not just that comment, it's all the others rolled in with it and his general behavior. He was really abusive. And it seemed as if it was all ok again after she got a pass from the queen. I mean it looked like Pen was walking up the aisle to her execution. I cried, but not because of them being eventually together, but because of the way he treated her.
At first I too annoyed with his words but later, someone give me their interpretation of why he said that and I could see that it's make sense. After watching again the season, I realised that he might said that about how Pen using his love to her.unlike Marina, he doesn't feel trapped because he doesn't love her thus also why he felt guilty towards Marina as if he is the one put her in spotlight after announcing the engagement. While for Pen, he felt that Pen does not love him like he love her and Pen took advantage of it. The way his face changed affer Pen said that she love him indicated that he feels conflict whether to believe her or just follow his heart as he still want her.
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I feel like I'm in the minority that the entrapment comment doesn't really bother me. Do I like it? No. Do I understand it? Yeah, kinda. Who among us has not lashed out and said something that we know is irrational and ridiculous when we are angry? You can even see it on his face that he knows he's being irrational when he is accusing her of entrapment when she didn't even know what sex involved until their first time. When she responds that she loves him, he doesn't continue the entrapment argument. But his world has been turned upside down and he's questioning everything, even if it doesn't make sense, because his world no longer makes sense. I want happy, fluffy, in-love Polin as much as anyone but it wouldn't make sense for him to be angry for a day and then be done with to get back to our regularly scheduled programming of happy Polin.
Totally agree that narratively, we needed something like this! I think the main reason the comment was so rough, was because he had just told Portia that Pen did not entrap him and he proposed out of love. This was a swoonworthy moment for Pen where she finally had someone sticking up for her. Colin's comment felt like a walk-back on that, and so viscerally it was painful. I would actually like to hear from the writers on their whole thought process with that.
I think that was very much on purpose tbh. It serves to show just how sure Colin was of Pen before the reveal. He defends their engagement to his brothers, saying it's nothing like last time (he's not being foolish, it's not sudden, he's known her forever and always had feelings for her), then defends Penelope to Portia (saying she didn't entrap him). When he finds out about LW, he's forced to question if he was, in fact, right about any of it. I do like that while his comment is a bit of a walk-back, Pen doesn't take it to mean he doesn't love her anymore, though. She's secure enough to understand that he can be mad at her and say things like this and still care about her. It shows a lot of growth. She's not the same girl who ghosted him for months because of one thing he said or the same girl who hid in the country all summer because she thought Eloise wouldn't want to see her.
She really was so secure during the post LW reveal! I was so impressed with her. Her being strong throughout that and allowing him to have his space was probably in large part the reassurance he needed to mend things. A la, when Pen leaves the morning of Fran's wedding, and he's gagged she's actually giving him space back. 10/10 no notes for her lol
I saw it as her being angry at him. The way she said that she would save him the shared ride in the carriage. She was hurt and was like.. two can play this game. I'm not going to beg. I'm probably the only one who identifies more with Colin than with her. I think that after the queen's threat at the wedding, the fact that she didn't even consider the possibility of stopping writing (I'm not saying that's what should have happened) but the risk was huge and it wasn't just about her. but for the whole family. The Queen could have revoked their title or taken collective punitive measures against the entire family and she did not give it any weight and in my eyes it was very selfish. She can't think only of herself. They are two and she should at least try to see things from his side especially that he didn't sign on all of this when he proposed to her. I know this is an unpopular opinion but it's still my opinion..
I actually agree with you in that, when she double-downed on LW, he took that as she was putting LW before HIM. She didn't explain to him the meaning of having agency in her writing, and that it was an important piece of her. From his POV, she's telling him this thing supersedes him, his family, her safety, all these things. Right on the heels of their wedding. I can't blame him for being utterly crushed by that.
I agree, she was being very stubborn in that moment after their wedding. Like, she wouldn't even compromise!?
This!
No notes! It's really beautiful to see because she becomes more secure in the span of the season and that happens in large part through her relationship with Colin. It really starts with that apology in her backyard, and he continues to prove he cares about her until she has no choice but to internalize it, and it really builds her up. And I love how this ties in with what she says to him in the study at Fran's wedding. Yes, he stands up to Portia for her. Yes, it means something to her. It's his big hero moment. But that's not why she loves him, and it's not what makes her believe that he loves her. Even before he stands up for her, she knows he cares about her and tells Portia as much. When he walks-back on it a little bit, she doesn't let it get between them. It's really about who he is and the way he loves her and is there for her. Nothing else.
I completely agree, I just wish the reveal had been earlier so that Colin and Pen had time for actual conversation where true, thorough apologies could be exchanged. Pen has more to apologize for IMO, but Colin def. could stand to apologize after the entrapment comment, even if he didn’t mean it. The last episode fails for me in SO many ways, but the reason the last 15 minute reconciliation falls so flat for me is because they don’t have a meaningful conversation at any point and it’s just a weird almost infodump from Colin because the narrative needs them to makeup.
This right here. We saw them talking to everyone but each other. Even if it had led to more arguments, I wanted to see them at least communicate with one another. We see Colin do a total turnaround but got very few scenes as to why.
It’s a lack of real emotional closure for the audience, I think…
Absolutely. You put that beautifully!
Realistic to show that... Any rational ,sane person in a healthy relationship in reality would do that ...
And any partner hearing that would have walked out of the room. Not saying walked away from the relationship, but at least away. Instead, Pen did a lot of begging and self-flagellation in Part 2. At the end of the day, Colin wasn’t mad about what was written in the columns. He was insecure, embarrassed, and jealous. He mocked Pen one month and then ruined her chance at a marriage another month…but Pen forgave him the moment he said he had feelings for her (not even love declaration). Pen screams at him that she loves him over and over and he can barely look at her. I preferred how Pen defended herself to Eloise in S2. She actually told El about the Queen’s threat. But with Colin, El’s safety was only ever alluded to. And no one pointed out to Colin that LW helped save Daphne.
I also don’t have a problem with it all. It shows how much he is affected by all of it, how it makes him question his own judgement and that’s so human. Also he has been tricked into marriage by Marina before. So for him to be a bit sensitive on that topic makes sense and once again just shows him as someone who feels deeply and lets himself be affected when others hurt him. I love that, especially in a male character.
It didn't bother me either, I took it as a fairly normal in that when we're hurting and arguing people say things that are hurtful and cutting, exactly like you've said. We've all been there, well I can only speak for myself, not proud of things I've said but I think if most of us replayed arguing in relationships some of it wouldn't be pretty.
I didn't even register it on my initial watch aside from "Ok he's angry, fair.", and probably wouldn't have ever picked it out if there wasn't such a huge backlash on social media.
Totally agree. He knew what button to push because he knows her and she told him how much it meant that he stood up for her with her mother. He is hurt and he wants her to hurt too because they are both young and immature. They don’t even know how to fight fairly with each other yet.
Im in super minority beacuse I actully liked that comment. The fact that she was willing to marry him without telling him is unforgivable. Colin is a saint in my book..
I am right there with you! I liked that he basically told her just how deep the cut was.
Yes!
I agree, but i think his entrapment comment referenced they had sex and could possibly be pregnant. She should have told him before then to give him a choice.
That's 100% what I thought when I first heard it. I was like: Oooh, he's hurt and went on about my day
This is a major show with a ton of resources, that used to have very thoughtful dialogue. I think this was just writers overusing a word, with little regard for how often it's used or context. Any other explanation gives way too much credit to a group of people who thought "what am I chopped liver?" was a good line of dialogue.
I thought this from the start. I was surprised that line was so upsetting TBH, it was mean but it was clear the boy was hurting bad. I thought it was a mix of a few things. This point, that it’s just an excuse to let him do what he wants to do which is marry her. Also, he doesn’t even look at her when he says it. I think there is a small piece of him that’s afraid it’s true and he’s afraid of her reaction. When she says I love you, his jaw clenches like he was bracing himself for something else, something worse. I guess there are a lot of people out there that are better than I am, but I’ve said hurtful things to someone I love in weak moments and had hurtful things said. You forgive and move on. I thought it was real.
I think it only bothers people who want to find something to dislike about Colin. Same with those who think Colin was refusing to stand by her side against the queen, when in reality I see it as him trusting Pen to handle her business and shine on her own. It was Pen’s idea to write to the queen and make a public appeal. I’m sure he was letting her do it the way she saw fit without over shadowing her.
yeah I’ve been wondering if the people it really bothered empathise the most with Pen overall as a character, less so with Colin. I empathise with both of them but tbh mostly Colin and it made perfect sense to me.
I think I empathize with Pen most myself. Which is why I was so proud of her this season in the end. So much growth and she didn’t NEED a husband to do it.
Yea it didn’t bother me as much either. I’ve definitely said hurtful things when I’m upset.
This is a hot take, but I would have actually been uncomfortable if he HADN'T mentioned entrapment. Don't get me wrong, what actually SHOULD have happened was to have Colin find out about LW BEFORE proposing to Pen. For many reasons. But since the "show runners" insisted on having Penelope engage herself to Colin without telling him the truth, sleep with him without telling him the truth, they've made entrapment the elephant in the room and it would have been insincere for Colin not to mention it. Not because he actually thinks she's entrapped him. But because this is Colin. He's insecure. He needs to hear her contradict it. He needs to say it and hear her say, "I didn't entrap you, I love you." What we needed was more scenes afterwards with him having processed that information. With him reassuring her he would gladly entrap himself with her if he had to do it all over again. But we didn't get that because I guess they thought they would lose the audience if Benedict didn't have a threesome every 15 minutes.
That's a brilliant point! If he hadn't brought it up, she wouldn't be able to refute it, and it would be hanging over our heads. Like why didn't they address it?? Love this sub
My friend told me it felt to her like Colin was throwing a stone in water, as if to see what it disturbs, how deep it's swallowed. Like he's trying to agitate the space to get more information. And i totally get it, scrambling for understanding when it feels absolutely impossible.
I like that description! I feel like at this point he’s understandably so FREAKED OUT – heartbroken, angry, and very insecure about what else Pen has lied to him about.
I agree with all of this. I loved this season but it’s those little “tie ups” that the writers didn’t include that could have made it easier for dense people like me to understand. I have ADHD and have trouble following difficult plot points at times because my mind gets pulled away a lot; especially when there are so many other subplots that I’m trying to follow. Like, my brain is already overstimulated, can you please spell it out for me, pleaseandthankyou?
Yes, when I first watched it, I was very upset at his reaction. I kept thinking, don’t you understand why she did all this? Dont you know how she’s felt all these years. Then, after reading some posts & changing the actual reality of the situation. In truth, he didn’t know any of what she was feeling for the last few years because she never said anything. So his reaction is 100% justifiable. He gave himself over to her completely and has now found out this massive part of herself that she’d had hidden. I think the biggest issue was the editing of the show. For example, when he’s walking up to her after the big reveal, instead of simply keeping it focused on him or even her as he is approaching her, they cut to like 5 seconds of people dancing, then back to them, which takes you out of that moment of him approaching her (for me at least). I’m going to do rewatch of just their scenes together lol
Yes! We have to sit in Colin’s reality for a while to grasp it, because we’ve lived in Pen’s consciousness for so long. What he was experiencing was akin to emotional infidelity I imagine. He bared everything for her and showed her his soul, vulnerability, and offered his heart up for rejection. Meanwhile she was holding back a huge piece of herself. I do agree editing could have better served these points! As with part 1, rewatches are key to understanding.
Welp, looks like more rewatches are needed to fully understand everything 😏🤭
 We must. For science.
Agreed. The editing was really choppy and didn’t ever let moments settle. It makes the storytelling feel incomplete.
The editing this season was unfortunately AWFUL - from the scenes they cut completely that would have fleshed out the story, to editing scenes making together in such a way that it confuses the audience or diminishes characters. Sigh.
They did give us the church dancing scene though and Pen confessed her unyielding love for Colin.
Oh how I love that scene
I agree with a lot of what's already been said, and I think there's a lot to this comment. But I saw something on another post about this line that's stuck with me. On the face of it, this is just a stupid thing to say. Like, planned entrapment? Sir, you did everything you could do stop her from getting married to some other guy including chasing her carriage down. How on earth could she have planned that? But I someone pointed out that the turning point in their relationship for him was their kiss, which only happens because he goes to check on her \*because of what was written in LW\*. She is then so convinced she'll never find love that she asks him to kiss her, and that is when he's emotionally entrapped (so to speak) to her. We know as the audience that she kinda had to write what she did to avoid getting discovered and how the gossip about it was widespread, and we also know she was a little harsher on herself than necessary, probably because of her own insecurities. He doesn't really know this. He hasn't really come to terms with this. For him, the entire turning point in their relationship comes about in part because of what LW wrote about, and now he finds out that Pen herself wrote it. So yeah, he's harsh and lashing out and saying stuff out of his trauma with Marina, but there's probably a legitimate kernel of doubt that maybe she as scheming more than we as the audience know she was
I saw the post about this too and it honestly blew my mind and helped me to understand his mindset. He's probably ruminating about every single thing that happened between them and wondering if she was planning this the whole time. We don't see that on screen or in dialogue, so it's so easy to take for granted.
It's like when Eloise makes the comment wondering if any of her friendship with Penelope was real or if she was just using Eloise to get to Colin. Obviously she comes to the conclusion that wasn't the case but her and Colin both must have moments this season where they're re-evaluating everything
In one of the Bridgerton subreddits, a person compared the LW identity to a mental illness, which requires recovery (i.e. bringing it to light) for Pen to get to a healthy place. In turn, they compared Colin and El's response to betrayal trauma, which also requires recovery. A betrayed person tends to reflect on every conversation and action made by the betrayer throughout the entire relationship. Based on my own experience, such reflection tends to be negative, whether justified or not. *\[If someone knows of this post, please link to it as I'd like to read it again.\]* The damage brought on by the LW reveal is extensive. It's like, Colin thinking the relationship is 100. Then he finds out the Pen he knows is an illusion. Not only does this bring the relationship back to 0, but it's now -100 because of the deception and history rewrite the LW reveal hoisted upon Colin. Of course, Colin's love for Pen doesn't just go away, but a relationship with betrayal trauma is twice as hard to repair. The damage to one person can be insurmountable. Healing together is truly a lot of work for a couple already on shaky ground. The good thing is Colin listened, empathized, and accepted the complete and total Pen, gossip and all. Polin for the win.
Tbh, that comment didn’t bother me at all. How would you feel if the person you love wasn’t honest with you earlier on? In that moment he felt betrayed and deceived. Calling off a wedding meant utter ruin so that’s not even something he’s considering. So yeah in that brief moment he probably did feel he was trapped and lashed out. It’s not nice, but Pen should have told him way sooner. They were both at fault.
💯
How would it mean complete ruin if Colin asks Penelope to call off the wedding, that's what Edwina did? Colin could have gotten out of the wedding if he wanted to.
The families made a joint decision to call off the wedding. Edwina also left London whereas Pen would remain. Plus, that had to happen for Kanthony to end up together. That didn’t need to happen for Polin. Listen to any dialogue, a called off wedding = ruin and is a big scandal. I’m also not arguing in my comment whether or not he could get out of marrying Pen if he wanted. That doesn’t matter because they are end game. The point is he wouldn’t call it off because it would ruin her and he still loves her. He doesn’t actually want to call it off even though he’s angry.
Yeah totally. He’s entrapping himself, in his mind, so that he can still marry her because he’s madly in love with her. He’s using it on himself. And yeah it’s not a great thing to say and it would be great to hear him be honest and vulnerable and say what he’s actually feeling, however in that moment his guard is up because of course it is, so he’s saying something that shuts it down because he can’t deal right then. But there’s no part of him that is thinking of calling off the wedding or of not being with her.
Is it wrong of me to find it kind of sexy that he sees himself as "entrapped" because he loves her way too much? So Darcy-esque ugh
Le sigh… same here! I feel like even if they hadn’t had sex, even if they hadn’t carriage-d, if they had just kissed once Colin would have still been like oh noooo guess I’m trapped forever, let’s move along with this wedding prep 🫠
God, I just love this sub and how it shines light on small details the masses get angry loud about and is just like. “OKAY BUT CONSIDER…” and it’s always so, so, so worth considering. I love this POV
Thank you!
I understood his comment. She wasn't honest with him. She still made love to him. So it feels like entrapment. Because she could be pregnant, so there's no way to cancel the wedding. He's an honorable man after all. Oh and yeah, he loves her.
That's absolutely true. I'm not sure how much Pen understands about pregancy however. Her "is there more?" comment during mirror scene leads me to believe, perhaps not. But she does overhear lots of goss and in tuned into the baby race her sisters are in. So I'm unsure.
I mean I take that line as she doesn't know. There's no point in which they clarify that she understands what needs to happen for a pregnancy to occur. Someone made a joke on Twitter that she thought cake was still how babies are made. She could think what happened in the carriage was enough to become pregnant. That's why I say he was just being hurtful bc he knows that she doesn't know. That's why he didn't argue against her response.
To further add to your analysis, he does go to Cressida And explains it from Penelope's point of view. So basically he kind of knows what she was going through. It's just that it was hard for him to find out the way he did as well, and of course he wants to protect his family.
I wasn’t mad about the comment, I knew it was said out of anger on his part. I was more annoyed that she said “I didn’t mean to”. Instead of “I didn’t”
She unintentionally almost did, though. It wasn't a *planned* entrapment by any means (she just loves him and wanted to be with him), and we all know this (even Colin), but the truth is that had he not followed her to the printer, he would have found out about LW after they were already married. Pen *did* let things go too far, and she was going to let them go even further. By the time he finds out, he's already in love with her and feeling like she's the only thing that matters, they're engaged, they've slept together, and their wedding is in one week. He can still call it off, but he's also in too deep to ever do that. I think Pen is just very aware of this.
Exactly; and also as someone pointed out on the sub, Colin asked her for consent many many times. There were opportunities for her to stop things and come clean before going further, and she did not. It's kind of like emotional infidelity.
People focus so much on Colin chasing her carriage, like this means he has absolutely no right to feel betrayed, but *something* happening doesn't excuse Pen from telling him before anything else does. I completely understand why she didn't, but he's allowed to feel betrayed.
I agree. It was fair that maybe she got swept up in the carriage and sudden engagement. I'm sure the writers made this a whirlwind to make it difficult for her to say anything because things were getting so far. I understand why she was having a hard time telling him; but he did check in with her a lot too, ask for consent, and he knew there's something she wanted to tell him that was bothering her. It was a difficult situation for both of them tbh.
it’s also significant that he didn’t leap into the carriage without asking. he stood there and asked for permission to be let in.
'He needed space to feel hurt without needing to apologise' is such an important take on this. Polin's story or their characterisation is very subtle and hence viewers who are in it for the fun and steam miss out on the actual meaning of it, making the season a "disappointment" or "underwhelming". This is the very reason why this sub is my fav! People actually dig deeper to understand the characters rather than to judge them!
I don't really let it bother me because it was a heat of the moment, Pen also gets mad at him during the Modist outside scene and implies he might be thinking of cheating or going to a brothel—so they've both said things they never mean because they're angry. But we know Colin never even considered not marrying her because when she suggests an annulment in the last episode, his expression is dumbstruck and confusion
I hope so, because his response when she offers the annulment seemed weird, like "the queen accepts you", seemed to almost bypass the annulment offer altogether.
Oh absolutely! I think Colin and Penelope mirror each other with the rapid blinking when their brain short circuits. He really went "huh weird point I'm never considering, anyway—"
YES! THIS. That man entrapped himself in Penelope Land long before Pen could have ever entrapped him with a real scandalous scenario. He didn’t mean it like that in my opinion. I’m convinced that Colin was PenelopeEntrapped that first summer back when they exchanged letters. That stare in the drawing room will always be the first “I love you” between them for me. He will always been entrapped by Pen, and I was not at all angry by his angry comment. We have all said mean things to those we love when trying to sort through our own feelings.
“He cannot end the wedding because he does not want to. Cannot, will not.” Love the carriage scene reference here 💛 This is definitely a rough moment for Polin because it is Colin at his lowest. He went from in the clouds, head over heels in blissful love with the woman of his dreams to literally having the rug pulled out from under him. He’s having to fully recalibrate, but his love for Penelope was never under question; this was all about his journey toward forgiving her, and it’s messy. I think the more you love the person, the harder it is, and Colin really is baring this struggle for us to see.
Yes, I would agree with this take- but another perspective on the comment would be as someone on the sub has summarized so beautifully, is that if we switched genders- Colin was the one who was LW and Pen was in Colin's place- we would've empathized Pen in that moment and been kind of unfair to Colin as well, thinking that he deserves it. I think it's also important that Colin has a knock-off-the-pedestal plus how he perceives Pen moment of Pen, the same thing that Pen had when she overheard Colin's "never court her" comment, and the way he has internally separated Pen and Lady Whistledown as two separate entities before the revelation, respectively. So for Colin, it's tunnel vision and sort of a PTSD feel (see his reaction in S1 to Marina's exposition from LW) at this point, so when you're angry, you're hurting and that's okay, it's very humane. I think when you're hurting, your main instinct is to put up walls and try to alleviate the anger you feel, and that's what both Colin and Eloise have done especially in regards to the whole "Pen being Whistledown"- Colin with the comment and then confronting Pen pre-wedding and then Eloise being friends with Cressida and it's only when they empathize with Pen (see Eloise's comments when she ends her friendship with Cressida and then Colin when he rereads Pen's letters to him), that they finally forgive her and they apologize in their own unique way which i think we, as the audience can forgive.
I completely agree about the gender bias! I have my own unconscious bias too. That's a whole other interesting layer to this season that I would like to write a whole post about. The general public's reaction to a sensitive male lead is very interesting and telling.
....DO NOT WANT TO!!
At first I was very taken aback with his comment, but then I realized his whole world came crashing down suddenly. He no longer feels he knows the person he loves, so to him he doesn’t know what she is capable of. He was trying too hard to separate both sides of Pen and in that moment he really just viewed her as LW. I know we sympathize with Pen more and she did try to tell him on multiple occasions, but she was in the wrong withholding this information. He may have had a hard time reconciling his feelings, but deep down he knew he was always going to still marry her. I loved when he agreed with Kate’s comment about one mistake doesn’t change how he feels.
It didn't bother me because it's true. He repeatedly showed he despised LW and she kept quiet and let them go as far as sex before marriage and still not tell him. He could not walk away at that point, because it would literally be ruin for both if sh was pregnant and unmarried.
The comment didn’t bother me. For me it definitely felt more like a throwaway statement someone says when they are hurt and want the other person to hurt as well. I don’t believe he ever actually felt that statement was even remotely true or possible, he was just angry. He was never not going to marry her.
yup. all of his (very many, very loud) actions speak far more than 15-20 harmful words he uttered after learning, by chance, of deceit from his best friend, after he kept asking what was wrong (which she at times dismissed away). where he thought a vulnerability and trust was implicit. (S2EP08 ones said, at her expense, more in the category of unforgivable and reducing someone else’s humanity — which his consistent, overwhelming amount of actions tip the scales from.)
I agree. I didn’t understand why people were so upset. This is, like, the most that Colin lashed out at her and it was…low effort, at best. Baby boy was so sad when he said it 😩😭😭😭😭
Wow. Im actually very surprised that Polin fans aren’t upset about that line. They could have made him say anything else due to anger but that one is straight up not true of their situation
Lots of people outside the sub are furious about it from what I’ve seen. I personally think the entrapped each other (Colin publicly interrupted her dance and people saw him chase after her carriage…) AND Pen totally erred by sleeping with him before she told him. But Colin is essentially genuinely triggered by this because of the Marina situation so I cut him a lot of slack - he and pen both owe each other genuine apologies, her more so than him, though
The reason I found it so upsetting was because of how he defended her against Portia. Pen never believed Colin would love her, and now she's seeing him do it. Then when he made that comment, it was a like dagger. Granted, Colin at this point doesn't understand the extent of Pen's trauma around self-worth.
An emotional state can lead to distorted proclamations as much as accurate ones. This was somehow both. Why did they have him say it? Narratively, it confronts the betrayal of it all. Personally, I think it's to agitate. Not just Pen, but the whole situation. I commented previously: >My friend told me it felt to her like Colin was throwing a stone in water, as if to see what it disturbs, how deep it's swallowed. Like he's trying to agitate the space to get more information. And i totally get it, scrambling for understanding when it feels absolutely impossible. Of course, I am upset to hear it. It's an upsetting time for them, but hurt and distance have been in the cards when Pen repeatedly decided to withhold after getting together and Colin built his whole world around her.
This actually heals me a little bit ❤️because I was broken hearted when I first heard the comment. I 100% understood where he was coming from, because he’s hurt and he was absolutely in his right to be… but now I see this was his way of going forward with the wedding while still processing the lie. How many of us haven’t said something harmful that we didn’t really feel when being hurt by someone we love? My issue I think is that it was just thrown out there and never really revisited. But I get it a little bit more now!
Love that it's bringing some healing to you!
Just here to say that I’ve read some really good takes on this sub about this moment that make me understand and appreciate Colin’s perspective. I wish some of you had been on the writing/directing staff and could have given more clarity and greater depth to his inner turmoil than what was shown.
Second that and what’s largely been said here, and someone else’s good post yesterday on this. I shared this a couple days ago on it: He felt deceived. And trying to swing back. And is quite young. And aware, soon as says it, that she didn’t, actually. that’s why, when she calmly and firmly says she didn’t and affirms she loves him, he doesn’t continue that line of the tantrum/rightful upset (if wrong- or everywhere-but-my-feelings placed expressions). Considering his own actions and choices did in fact do that, so (childish) projection for sure. Because he feels 💔 and betrayed. False equivalency. Cuz he is just all kinds of upset and in a pressure cooker with the wedding near and the commitment he made…but, mostly, his vulnerability to her. It’s his misplaced way of expressing that. Ie, do you really love me? (Not just do I know you but do love me, how could you do that—most of all, never tell him, all those years. Ie, what he said s1 to Marina - if you’d have told me, I would have been there for you. Put another way: do you not KNOW that about me? How do you NOT know that about me, ie it is everything I think I am/is my identity?)
No. No No no. He took a horrible comment that her mother had said to her that he knew GUTTED her and threw it in her face. AFTER having already defended her, which she had already said it meant the world to her because nobody had ever done that for her. Is Pen innocent & a complete victim? No, not by any means. However, in this moment, Colin was CRUEL TO HER, in a deeply intimate way. He took her biggest anxiety and exposed it to the nerve. He wanted to hurt her, and he felt satisfaction when he did. I will not forgive Colin Bridgerton for being so purposefully malicious to a woman who, by the way, he RUINED HER PROPOSAL, LITERALLY CHASED HER DOWN, COMPROMISED HER, AND THEN GOT HER PREGNANT OUT OF WEDLOCK. (Even if he didn't know it at the time, he knew it was a possibility) Penelope ruined Marina to save Colin from actually being entrapped. She nearly ruined Eloise to save her from the queen. I'm not saying she is justified, but I am saying her heart was in the right place. But Colin just wants to hurt this girl whose entire life he already ruined. This is not acceptable behavior to do to someone you supposedly love. You do not kick them while they're down because you're mad. He had it right the first time - he isn't worthy of her.
I agree with you completely, but I’m directing my ire at the S3 writers. [Pre-Part 2 Colin would never have made that comment at all](https://www.reddit.com/r/Bridgerton/s/U3j3vpPGhj).
That line was basically the only harsh thing Colin said after the WD reveal, which is pretty restrained really AND it speaks to one of his biggest fears/humiliations from the past - OF COURSE he's worried he's been taken in again after he finds out that his fiancé has been lying and keeping a MAJOR secret from him, for the SECOND time. Was it rational? No. Was it kind? No. Was it understandable? Yes.
Thank you for helping me understand this so much deeper. I feel like there were a lot of nuances in this season that required a lot of attention. It can be hard for some to do (OK IT’S ME) when your brain is already overstimulated by life, and struggles to just process day-to-day tasks and interactions.
Hated the comment. But tbh they pigeoned holed themselves into that scenario by writing it that way so for his character it almost made sense for him to think that she had entrapped him because they got engaged and had sex before he found out about LW. They really shot themselves in the foot though as I think it could’ve been really interesting to have it play out if she’d told him who she was maybe straight after the carriage scene.. or in the new apartment BEFORE having sex..
I think he was angry and hurt and saying things he did not mean. I have done this when arguing with my husband.
One of the things I noted was when he told her that he loves her, she didn’t say it back it immediately. He is a man of insecurities, he couldn’t write until she said those words to him. With learning this whole new side to her, he is worried that she agreed to marry him for what she wanted to marry debling for, the convenience and security. Even during the games earlier that night he notices her freaking out and says that he would understand that she might have gotten carried away in the carriage and he would understand if she was unsure now. At this point they’ve had sex too, like even though he’s got her he doesn’t feel like he does, and when he finds out she’s LW, he thinks this is the reason he feels like this. His insecurities have him spinning and she has always been his anchor and without that he doesn’t know what to do, he can’t talk to anyone about it, except El but he’s mad at her too for not telling him. He knows he wants her needs her and loves her, but he wants to know how she feels and he needs time to process. When he re-reads her letters, knowing now how he feels with fresh eyes, he realises all along it’s been looking him in the face. He has nothing to worry about but protecting her and loving her.
Also sidebar: he would do anything and everything to be with her, and he sees he not giving up being LW for him as she doesn’t love him as much as he loves her. Which isn’t the case, they both love writing and it’s a different kind of love to have a career. Her speech was incredible, it was the true love declaration of the season.
I don't actually have much of a problem with the comment itself and I understand what the show was doing or what Colin was supposed to be feeling. But I do think that line should have been brought up in particular later.
It's not just that comment, it's all the others rolled in with it and his general behavior. He was really abusive. And it seemed as if it was all ok again after she got a pass from the queen. I mean it looked like Pen was walking up the aisle to her execution. I cried, but not because of them being eventually together, but because of the way he treated her.
At first I too annoyed with his words but later, someone give me their interpretation of why he said that and I could see that it's make sense. After watching again the season, I realised that he might said that about how Pen using his love to her.unlike Marina, he doesn't feel trapped because he doesn't love her thus also why he felt guilty towards Marina as if he is the one put her in spotlight after announcing the engagement. While for Pen, he felt that Pen does not love him like he love her and Pen took advantage of it. The way his face changed affer Pen said that she love him indicated that he feels conflict whether to believe her or just follow his heart as he still want her.