Bridgerton Season 3 (Cass’s Version) Episode Two

Episode Two, How Bright the Moon

This is where I start amping up the pace of some of the subplots in particular. I think part of the reason why the pace feels off and the subplots occasionally feel like they’re taking up so much oxygen in the story is that they’re lagging. They need to do more with their minutes, and then probably add a few more minutes into each episode. With that in mind, here is what I would do with episode two.

The Queen and Lady Danbury have a conversation about diamonds and jewels, and about Lady Whistledown’s assertion that not just diamond’s sparkle, sparking an idea in the Queen.

Pen leaves the Featherington House to go meet Colin on Rotten Row. He wants to see her skills, or lack thereof, and it’s funny and ridiculous as she tries to flirt.

Lady Danbury visits the Bridgertons, puts forth suitor ideas for Francesca, Hyacinth is thrilled at the idea of all of this while Francesca is more resigned.

Lady Featherington has her conversation with the young ladies about baby making where they are pretty obtuse.

Eloise goes to Lady Tilley’s house where there is a group of people giving speeches about rights and freedoms, including sexual liberation. Eloise is intrigued by it all, that this little pocket of subversion exists in Mayfair, starts reflecting on how people can be subversive from inside society.

Lady Tilley invites Eloise to stay that night and have even more fun and explore some of the intellectual topics in a hands-on way, but Eloise bows out, declaring it not her scene.

Lady Danbury gets a letter that she will be having a guest.

Will and Alice stare at the empty sides of their beds.

Benedict brings Colin to a party that Mr. Virgil invited him to, and it turns out it’s Lady Tilley’s party. She and Alexander Virgil are quite intimate, and don’t mind showing it. Benedict feels a little strange about this. Cheap Thrills plays as things heat up.

Colin tries to explore a bit, but he’s in over his head with his persona there. He tries to find Benedict, but can’t. That’s because Benedict is behind locked doors with Tilley and Alex. Tilley is the center of attention for a bit until Tilley encourages the men to look after each other as well, and things get all the more heated when they do.

Colin gets home and starts journaling, glancing out his window across the square. This parallels Penelope in her room, writing Lady Whistledown, staring out the window toward Bridgerton house as well.

Alice goes to the modsite and is hesitant about changing Lady Kent’s wardrobe.

Eloise and Francesca go to the modiste, Eloise lets the other debutantes know that the Queen is still looking for her gem.

Penelope comes over the next day for flirting lessons, and Colin takes her up to the drawing room. The eyes comment, and they are feeling intense about each other until El comes home and Pen has to hide.

Penelope goes into the study and sees Colin’s journal, thinking it will be more about how to be charming, so she reads it. Instead, she finds beautiful descriptions of his travels and people and food, and she is so impressed. Colin discovers her and is upset, ends up breaking the glass.

He cuts his hand and Penelope mends it, apologizing for violating his privacy and saying she didn’t mean to.

Penelope leaves and runs into Eloise.

Alice gets the jewels for the ball.

Violet is readying the children to go and sees that Benedict is not there. She tells El and Colin to go on ahead in the first carriage, and she and Francesca will follow with Benedict in the next. Violet finds Benedict working over papers in the study. She tells him he’s getting as bad as Anthony was, and Benedict remarks that he is glad to pick up the slack while Anthony is enjoying himself for once.

Violet promises Benedict that when his time comes to find love, they will all be as supportive as he has been for his siblings.

Colin and Eloise have the conversation about Penelope on the way to the ball.

As they go into the ball, Violet drops her glove and it is picked up by a tall, dark, and dashing man. Violet is aflutter. 

Inside the ball, Francesca makes an excuse not to talk to the Queen by talking to the lords Lady D suggested, and Eloise goes off with some of the other debutantes. Benedict makes his “hunt in packs” comment as Colin pushes him to dance with Miss Stowell again.

Pen is nervous about stepping out, so Colin promises her that she can read his journal if she talks to some lords. Pen agrees and talks to Lord Basilo, whose horse has just died, and she and Colin laugh. Colin tells her he’s impressed, and that others just need to see how becoming she is, so he asks her to dance. She says yes.

Dynamite plays as they dance, Eloise sees them and comments to Cressida about Pen being at Bridgerton House. Eloise ends up talking with the other ladies and they find her delightful.

Benedict talks to the Mondriches about the expectations of the Ton, reflects on his own dislike of the marriage mart but his desire to find someone who speaks to his soul. Will remarks that he hopes Benedict can find that without having to go through the dance of the season.

Francesca has a conversation with Lord Petri where he tries to flirt but she just wants to talk about music and feels awkward.

Violet and Marcus see each other again and have a flirty conversation that Lady D interrupts and introduces them. Violet is shocked and a little awkward. Lady D notices the energy between them.

Things go better for Penelope when she talks to Lord Remington at the refreshments table, and she enjoys herself immensely. Then she talks to Debling, and she learns his interest in a wife comes from him wanting a companion and a sense of stability and home when he gets back from his expeditions. Pen finds that an attractive bargain.

Colin feels a bit odd about things, first about Penelope and her talking to suitors, but then he notices that there’s clearly gossip going around.

Lady Featherington has a conversation about baby making with her daughters and realizes that they haven’t been doing it right.

Colin goes up to congratulate Penelope on her popularity, but the whispers get more intense and people giggle about them. Colin confronts the gossipers, they know about his lessons, and Pen is devastated and runs out.

Colin follows her out of the ball and when Eloise follows him, he gets mad at her for obviously being the one to share the secret.

Eloise in turn confronts Cressida, who says that she didn’t say anything and that El wasn’t discreet. She leaves El feeling bad about her assumptions.

Lady D leads the Queen to Fran and the Queen is impressed with her playing, she notes that Francesca stands out. Fran shocks herself by talking a lot but a little awkwardly about how she has realized that all the young ladies have special talents and perspectives. The Queen nods at this and leaves, and Francesca has a little anxiety spiral about it, so she dashes out of the ball. 

Outside the ball, Fran takes a minute to herself, and that is when a handsome and unknown man comes out to share the silence with her. It makes her feel better, and she goes back inside after a few moments.

Lady D and Marcus leave, and she warns him away from Violet, but he laughs it off, not taking her seriously.

Pen has to write about the scandal about herself in LW and is miserable about it.

Colin rushes to Penelope after the ball, and he goes into the garden. He throws rocks at her window, and he asks her to come down when she comes to the window.

She goes down, he asks if she is okay, then she asks to be kissed with a scene very similar to the show.

They kiss, soft at first but then it’s intense until they finally break away. Penelope says thank you, and Colin is left absolutely reeling.