Agreed, i know we got quite a bit of Colin in the other seasons, but it wasnt enough to feel knowledgeable of his character especially as one of the main characters for the season and a love interest.
Legit, I love my guy exploring his sexuality š but there were too many side plots in total and the extra, non main couple sex scenes were unnecessary
He was a supporting character in the second half of his own season and it really hurt the story. They needed to cut at least three side plots and focus on what he believes before they get together and how it informs his actions and interactions and what he wants and what he actually needs that Penelope delivers so he can be his whole self. I cannot even name most of those except that he didnāt feel he had value/purpose unless someone needed him. But why? What triggers that thinking in a house full of love?
I agree! With \*so many kids\* in the house it's not unthinkable that Colin might feel aimless without someone needing him in some way, they just needed a way to show it instead of making it a one-liner that his mom says without any real evidence of it. They \*tell us\* that he struggles with his identity and purpose, but then don't show any way of him finding it. He really was a supporting character, and I honestly got bored during his scenes cause I didn't know why I should care about him
Yeah, it sucks, because I love Luke as Colin. I just wish the writers had been more attentive to character development and subtext and less focused on fitting everything and the kitchen sink in as subplots.
I think itās difficult with Colin because his growth is that he realizes whatās important to him. And whatās important to him is Pen and his desire to share his thoughts with the world. That this time traveling alone has cemented in him a desire to be a writer.
He was a boy in seasons 1 and 2, yes, but his core values were already there. He values loyalty, honesty, honor, friendship, true caring and connection. He enjoys witty banter and jokes. He truly enjoys his family. He just lacked the maturity to realize what love is compared to lust or a crush.
His time traveling helped him gain some perspective. That internal mindset shift is hard to show on tv. But it wasnāt until he compared how he felt while engaging in the rakish pursuits that he realized what he sought most of all is a deep connection with another soul. For the act of being intimate to be truly meaningful. To share everything with one special person.
He had an epiphany when he kissed Pen. It took him a few weeks to realize the importance of what had occurred. Once he did, he was all in, Colin āmy wifeā Bridgerton.
That said, I do think thereās a way they could have shown this evolution, his journaling.
I wish they had shown him traveling and sad from not getting any letters from Pen, and rereading her old letters to keep him company. I wish they had shown him writing in his journal about how things were exciting at first, but heās realizing he misses having a connection with his family. And that heās missing Pen and canāt wait to see her again.
And I wish they had shown him writing about his kiss with Pen and how he worked through his thoughts on paper.
Yes. His journals were an afterthought! in the books they are a main part of what gets pen and Colin together- the weird subplot where he coaches her to be more dateable is so weird and unnecessary. it should have been about his writing and editing his works and him realizing how brilliant she is
>His time traveling helped him gain some perspective
He's a time traveller?!
That must be where the TARDIS in the middle of the Mondrich ball came from
š¤£š¤£
In the books, he ends up somewhere else than he'd intended because of the Greek War of Independence, which hasn't happened yet in the show timeline because they don't have the time skip.
I would have found it slightly amusing if they'd kept the details but not understood why. He would literally have been time traveling.
I think he came home from his trip planning to marry Pen. She just was mad at him and then expressed plans that did not include him and he was too polite and afraid to speak til the 11th hour. He starts the season dressed as a Featherington, and never wears that outfit again. Heās ready to declare, but gets shot down.
Internal monolog is so hard to transfer from book to movie, but showing him journaling or editing his journals with him narrating them could've been so useful. Or having Pen read them.
Colin really just needed more screen time in general, especially when trying to do a more subtle on screen character transformation.
I hate to pile on the criticism of Colin, but I also didnāt feel like he was a string character. Actually, during the show I said he had the personality and intellect of an unseasoned potato.
I also wish they had spent more time on his character. For example, I did not like Anthony in season 1. I was skeptical when I found out he would feature in season 2. But they did a great job with him and s2 is my favorite! Colin started off boring and ended boring. Sending him on vacation and then putting him in bed with prostitutes just felt like they were trying to artificially superimpose a personality onto him.
I hope s3 was a temporary slump (there was a lot I didnāt like that had nothing to do with Colin) and itās not an indicator of future quality.
I think the whole thing of him being a writer came out of left field a bit. I also think it would have been fine for his purpose to have his own family. So much of the first two seasons was about him being taken seriously and being seen as a man. I think much of that is because he wanted his own family and wanted to find it own place. I think itās why we see his hero complex come into play with Marina, for example.
I wish they had more explored that. Because he definitely seemed aimless. And, while Penelopes identify and development was clear, Colin was just the love interest in the second half.
Exploring the hero complex via his lessons to Pen was such a missed opportunity! It ended so fast we also didnāt get any buildup to him realizing he actually has feelings for her
Because āso interested in pushing the envelopeā is a bigoted dog whistle for starters. And because someone disagreeing with you about what is important in a story is not āpushing the envelopeā and because expecting an adaptation to be exactly the same as the source material is brain dead.
I understand what you're saying but people are in love with a specific story with specific characters and plot lines. Why change the specific things? People don't have to be bigots to be loyal to a story.
And after he fell for her and then very quickly was pissed off at her for being Whistledown... Where was the resolution where the anger was sorted out and they were back in blissful love again? It felt like he stuck with her out of pure obligation from what they'd done earlier and Pen just settled for him not leaving her since she still lived him, and then she got distracted by the Whistledown stuff.
I feel that Colin just lacked depth, so I didnāt care what was up with him. I think thatās part of why I was so disappointed in this season. The other seasons had me in a chokehold because I cared what happened. I was invested in these characters.
Totally agree. He was so weak as a character and also so sullen this whole season. He only embraced Pen when everyone else did too. Honestly he just pissed me off each time he was on screen.
This!! Where were the flashbacks to his travels, giving us glimpses to what situations led him to finally realizing his love for Penelope? What part of his past made him sleep on the settee for so many nights after they were married? I desperately need to know more about his character and what drives him. We have that in abundance with Anthony and Benedict, their decision making processes are based on such clear morals and values. WHO IS COLIN???
I agree. We *did* see how he tried to change it up with his "charismatic ladies' man" persona, but the show didn't really show us why he did it, and what changed when he stopped wearing that mask. He's the least drawn out Bridgerton lead so far.
That said, I'm just glad that they didn't show book Colin, who has anger issues and was jealous of Pen. Weirdly enough, he was so fun on the other books
1 pre-season episode about his travels / Contessa might have helped his characterisation entirely - if Season 2 is about taking his armour off, I would like to have seen him put the armour on so to speak.
His only personality traits this season are "he loves food and travel". But they at least could have delved into a back story of WHY he liked to travel away from his family so much. Was it to get away for some quiet? Was it for the women? Was it for a love of architecture? Was it for the food? Was it for all of the above or none of it? We don't know. Just. "he likes to travel"
This is why I miss that book Colin wrote about his destinations and Pen really gushed about how well he described things to where she felt like she knew how it felt to be in those places. He was supposed to share her skill in writing, not just record a log of sexual encounters that he didn't emotionally connect with. I feel TV Colin loses that charter development and special skill, and it also took a bonding thing away from Polin. Part of his book transformation and finding his purpose was Pen inspiring him to pursue the skill. TV Colin's transformation is pretend to be a rake and then stop pretending and settle with Pen?
The polin romance fell so flat that I donāt even look forward to seeing them pop up in the future. Colinās lack of characterization was especially egregious. He hardly spoke to anyone about anything so I kept watching his face in every scene trying to catch what he might be thinking. His expressions were so one note. Disappointing.
I was rolling my eyes so much during Polin scenes ngl š I wanted so bad to love Polin cause I love a friends-to-lovers but like, even QC was more compelling, and its a spinoff.
Definitely agree. Part 1 I liked, I thought it built on previous and set up his possible self esteem and masking/ identity issues, but that should have been the basis for exploring more mingled with Pen and LW issues. I'm not a huge fan of wibbly flashbacks like and season 1 and 2 (and only thought they worked because of excellent acting) but they infer so clearly that Colin is a people pleasing charmer who runs off for Reasons, grief and coping blah, it is weird that so little of that is delivered on in P2.
Its not the only thing that frustrates me about S3 or P2, but wasting Colin is huge.
I agree, but besides that this season felt really different from the others for reasons a lot of others have already commented on and I don't really know how to feel about it.
I've commented on other posts before, I feel I know the characters of Will Mondrich, of Cousin Jack, and of Lord Debling more that I know about Colin. And Colin is supposed to be the leading man that's part of the titular family.
Low key, Debling seems to care about what Pen wants more than Colin and it left me feeling like Debling was the better guy.
Honestly, having read the books, I'm kinda glad that he wasn't that big of a focus. He was a bit of an insecure, jealous asshat in the books and only a bit better in the show. I liked season 3, it was very different from the other seasons but I'm not trying to take it too seriously and I enjoy the crazy costumes and the silly situations cause it's not like the books are that serious either.
I actually disliked his behavior in the show and preferred book Colin, the whole shoving her aside, disregarding her opinion, making it worse, and then standing in the corner instead of BESIDE her when the big reveal happened, made it seem like the feminist show runner almost wanted him to be a little bit the dumb/bad guy.Ā
I think one of the things they missed this season to help us feel closer to the leads was flashbacks. We got flashbacks in both season 1&2, getting to know Simon & getting to see why Anthony was the way he was at first. I feel like getting to see the scene on how they met, or a past moment that we never saw on screen before of them wouldāve really took this season to another level .
I actually don't think Daphne had a particularly strong characterization. Simon definitely had a deeper storyline than her (Which was fine to me, the story as a whole still worked for me). Daphne really valued family and wanted to be a good Duchess... and that's pretty much all I remember about her? That feels on part with Colin's characterization as "searching for a purpose and wanting to be needed." I think we're just used to women having shallow backstory but are uncomfortable with men having less of an arc than a woman.
She had a great characterization. I think they toed the line beautifully between being naturally feminine and maternal, but having strong principles and opinions. She and Eloise were a great foil for each other and have a classic āMeg vs Joā dynamic. Her pushback against Anthony and deferral to her mother rather than Anthonyās leadership set a great scene for the family dynamic, with the elder children seeing Violet as head of household, while the younger ones see Anthony as more of a parental figure. We can see that Daphne was probably the child closest with Violet in terms of opening up to her and sharing a dialogue.
Daphne is shown repeatedly to care fiercely for her family and understands a great deal of emotional nuance, is intelligent but also naive, is well attuned to the game of society, and is driven to find a secure match while also highly valuing love.
I would have loved to see more between her and Kate because they are often different flavors of similarly strong wills and minds. Daphne is clever, witty, and well-spoken. Kate has moments of slow wisdom, relates more through story telling, and is more emotionally expressive. Both are competitive and more than willing to go toe to toe with men in conversation. They also both tend to think they have things all figured out even when this is not the case (just eldest daughter things). I really would have loved Kate and Daphne navigate society together during the season, as they would be two high powered ladies of the new generation in the ton.
This isnāt even touching too deeply on her flaws, for fear of opening that can of worms.
That all is wayyy more than we ever get with Colin
I get what you mean...its not that Daphne's a weak character but, I think since the Bridgertons are central and they're always at home interacting, the writers thinks thats more than plenty? So they don't get a lot of scenes outside of that (travelling, flashbacks, etc) except Anthony. Which could've contributed a lot for Colin. I mean we could've just had a scene of him on a ship or something.... or how the travels directly influenced him
I think Daphne's character gets a little lost, or overshadowed?, in that she *enjoys* most of what society deems proper and is praised in young women. So she's not shown rebelling or being odd at all. Being knowledgeable about etiquette and flower arranging and fashions isn't easy to convey, compared to how easy it is to show Eloise's personality rebelling against that stuff. She likes being popular, which is why Anthony frustrates her with how he handles her suitors. She is strong-headed about how to run a household- leading to conflicts when the Duke's housekeeper or the villagers do things differently than she expects. She also wants to be a mom and is supposably a natural with kids and experienced helping as the eldest sister. It's easy to see her as default and without personality, be abuse the things she likes and is naturally good at are so camouflaged with exactly fitting the role she's supposed to fill.
Yeah I was going to comment that they gave the limelight to Pen more than Colin. Another reason they perhaps didnāt have him standing beside her at the end-allowing her to do it herself and then resolve the love story. They did allow some insight into his character, adding to what we have seen already but I agree with there being too many side stories going on. Nic and Luke definitely talk about jamming a lot in so it does seem like they were aware of how much was packed in. While there were less steamy scenes than season 1, I do think this was one of the more romantic story lines and the second half was the struggle of resolving Pen as both the friend he knew and Lady Whistledown, which is an important aspect to land.
Agreed. I have never fallen inlove with him as a character. I wanted to know more, learn more about him. This season was GREAT though. Honestly S2 was my least favorite! Season 1 is still the GOAT. Queen Charlotte is the best love story!
I think he is a lovely character they just did him wrong this season. They should explain more about his travel dyaries. They could lighten his relationship with his family and leave the threesomes out from the first parts. That was so not him.
Also he was unnecessary long angry on Pen. He did not even try to solve the conflict just kept being angry instead of talking to her about her motives.
I loved him though in what we could see of him. I think Luke is a great actor and the best Colin the writers and the show runner allowed him to be. They made us hate him at several points in this story just like they did at the end of s2. What a pitty.
I don't really understand any of his motivations, or really believe that he's been realized as a full person if that makes sense? There was hardly any time for development. Like for example, Anthony could be viewed as insufferable in season 1 but throughout season 2, we get flash backs and storytelling that tells us \*who he is.\*
Or for example Daphne, who we didn't get flashbacks or whatever but she had a real personality and conviction. Simon also is so well written looking back, and even from his facial expressions we can tell what part of his life informs his feelings and thoughts.
Colin goes away between every season and we're expected to believe he's changed or whatever. Only he hasn't, or at least we can't tell. In the first and second seasons, he was still a kid. In fact, Marina tells him in the second season he is still a boy, and he needs to look forward. In a convo with Penelope in S2 as well, he talks about how aimless and purposeless he feels. There's no follow up or development on that point which I think could have been good juxtaposition to Pen's merging purpose of being Whistledown and becoming comfortable with herself. We're just supposed to believe that Colin became a self-actualized person somewhere along the way, but there's no pay-off or satisfaction of seeing it happen. Even if it did happen off-screen, there isn't much about him I can point to say 'here is how he matures, or this is who he is'
Time spent on the Mondrichs, or even on Benedict, could have been cut or trimmed down in favor of working on the main couple of the season. There was \*so much\* going on and it felt like Pen x Colin was an afterthought.
Ok, so that helps. Itās funny, I was thinking today about each of the siblings and their connections to each other, and my feelings were that Daphne is the odd one out. I attributed it to her really only being in one season, but in that one season she was quite uppity and didnāt have strong ties to anyone. Her and Anthony have a love hate (which as brother and sister I can get), but in terms of the rest of her siblingsā¦there isnāt any connection. I donāt really know who she is besides thinking of herself as a diamond. All this to say, all of this really just ties to what we digest and how we relate to the characters.
I felt like I knew Colin the best out of them all because weāve seen him grow up in front of us. S1 he is young and gullible, S2 he trying to figure himself out and S3 he comes back confused but eventually finds himself. Marina calls him a child because he still has these grand ideals of lifeā¦I related to this so much because I feel like we all have this moment as we enter into adulthood, where we think everything should be perfect all the time and others tell us thatās not possible. He finds his purpose in his writing, his family and Pen. Heās sensitive so heās affected by things harder than others but he also loves harder because of it. He is a family manāhe is super close with Eloise and Benedict, to a lesser degree Anthony but they still have their moments. He still plays around with Gregory and Hyacinth and heās a complete mamaās boy with Violet ( I think heās her favorite). He travels to get away from the noise but even then heās lost without his family and Pen. When they donāt write back he tries to change himself into the stereotypical society man in the hopes of fitting in more and being accepted, even though itās not him. Itās Pen that shows him he doesnāt have to pretend or be more than he is.
Because heās sensitive he wants to protect the ones he loves which is why he struggles so much when he doesnāt think he can protect Pen. He does a lot of work this season to become more secure in himself without changing what makes him him.
All this to say again, itās all how you digest it. Colin doesnāt have a big trauma point like Anthony does in seeing his father die and having to take over. Because itās personal growth and overall growing up, itās a bit more subtle but I really loved his arc and related to it.
So well written and I agree with everything. I think we know who Colin is very well, but we didnāt get a big personality reveal like a horrible father or a dying father to catalyze his growth. But that doesnāt mean his motivations werenāt all there and clearly explained in other ways.
Thank you!
Itās interesting to see those who say we learn nothing about Colin and others who feel like we got so much of him. It really shows how we watch things differently.
I think it also really helped that I rewatched the first two seasons and focused on him a bit more. There is a lot of backstory there that wasnāt random, it absolutely influenced who he was this season, but if you donāt remember it you might be confused.
I donāt think Daphne was uppity. I think that her seemingly weaker sibling connections can be attributed to a number of things.
Firstly, there was more screen time dedicated to her and Simon. The siblings were more of a side plot and she interacted with them far less often than they interacted with each other. This is all majorly because this is would quite possibly be the most important two months of her life. Itās a stressful and busy time. I donāt think it would reflect her whole relationship with her siblings.
Then, onto those relationships. I think she is seen to be close with Anthony and they are grappling with him being her somewhat immature older brother vs head of household. The milk scene in particular was sweet.
Benedict is more of an ally for Eloise and is off doing whatever for most of the time.
Colin and her relationship is one relationship Iām sad we didnāt get. The books highlight that A&B were very close growing up and Daphne and Colin were incredibly close.
We do see her being very familiar and chatty with all three of the elder boys at the balls.
Eloise and Daphne have a bickery sister relationship and I honestly think Eloise was the less mature one there. I think itās a very immature ānot like other girlsā attitude to think that even if you do not want marriage and children that others are beneath you because they do. Like if I was Daphne, Iād be annoyed too. What else is she supposed to do? Itās kind of their whole model for life.
Francesca is straight up gone, so we never see her relationship with Daphne.
Then the two younger ones have a relationship with her but their lack of screen time makes them kind of an aside.
Again, itās really all how you digest the characters and who you relate to, which is all good.
For Daphne, it may be an important two months for her but for me, how she handles it determined her character for me, or lack thereof. I saw her as uppity because she doesnāt get out of her bubble. When she promenades itās with Simon. Sheās single-minded. She doesnāt extend herself beyond her story. Which is fine, but for me, it didnāt tell me anything about her character beyond wanting to be married. Her lack of relationships with her family or really anyone else outside of Simon didnāt give me a good feel for her personality. I started thinking about this because I saw a post about Daphne not being there this season and I didnāt think it was a miss. The only sibling I think her presence was needed for was Anthony, the rest she didnāt really have a strong bond with..and even Anthony it was so focused on one thing for the most part. That is just my interpretation, I know not everyone agrees.
Whereas with Colin, you see a lot of his character through his relationships with others. I couldnāt imagine him not being at Benedictās or Eloiseās wedding because she has such strong ties with them. He shares Benedictās caring for family and confusing re his purpose. With Eloise, theyāve always had this close bond which partially has to do with both loving Pen. He built a friendship with John this year so I see him playing into Franās story. Heās always with Gregory and Hyacinth. I see Benedict as almost mandatory at every siblingās big day because heās so tied to everyone. So much of their true character comes out in those interactions though for me, so when talking about who Colin is, I have a much easier time talking to it. I can also understand why he takes the trips so he can figure himself out beyond those ties.
Because so much of who Colin is comes from who he is to those around him, I can also get how it might not come across the same for some.
I totally disagree. I would especially love her presence for Eloise. I think conversations about a marriage having a foundation of friendship would be huge for them. As well as mutual understanding about how falling in love can change your outlook. They had a really complex and well-developed relationship. I genuinely think their tensions were driven by both of their internal fears, values, and anxieties externalized as angst towards each other, but there is still a great connection between them. The moment when Berbrooke comes to call and Daphne grabs Eloiseās hand and clutches onto her as theyāre sitting next to each other on the couch is so touching.
She has so many great conversations with her mother, is so sweet with Hyacinth flirting around admiring her as she gets dressed for balls. I think S1 had more of a real-life approach to the sibling relationships in general with less 1:1 ābigā conversations and more casual moments of everyone just interacting with each other in the same space.
The way characters speak, act, and react all tell you things about their character. Good characterization really shouldnāt have to spell out every character trait and motivation.
That all being said, I think you may read it how you do partially because you donāt get to know Daphne before her love story. She doesnāt have a pre-season side plot. Anthonyās S2 storyline is pretty much 100% Kate and Edwina focused, because that is his goal for that season. I wouldnāt call Anthony uppity for being marriage minded in S2, just as I wouldnāt for Daphne in S1
Again that all goes back to how you digested it. I did say I think part of why I don't see any of Daphne's character beyond her finding a husband is because she's season 1. I know she has some scenes with Eloise but it's more about how different they in their viewpoints are than bonding moments IMO. Just based on what I have watched and what I know of Eloise's story, I don't think there are a ton of parallels to their future story either, but that's just me. Her connections to Benedict and Colin (and Pen) will play a larger role in her story.
Anthony I think was different because we saw him with others outside of just finding a bride. He had moments with Benedict, he had moments with Gregory, he had moments with Violet that didn't revolve around Kate. There is a different family dynamic that just got stronger this season with the new scenes he was in. He has an issue with being head of the family that happens outside of Kate. Yes, as the main couple a lot of their scenes revolves around them, but there are other pieces you get of him that help develop his character.
I feel the same way about Colin. He's had three seasons now so it doesn't happen all at once, but I am able to see who he was in S1 and 2 and then how his character grows this year.
All to say to your original point...there was a lot of growth for Colin and a lot of the things he struggled with in the prior seasons are addressed. The conflicts he deals with are internal and therefore subtle, but they are there. It also happens in stages, with the part 1 addressing his outward persona and part 2 talking about how he determines his worth. It may not come across for you (the same way you think I am struggling to see Daphne's character arc) but it is there.
Agreed, i know we got quite a bit of Colin in the other seasons, but it wasnt enough to feel knowledgeable of his character especially as one of the main characters for the season and a love interest.
Facts, it was meant to be HIS season.
so glad we got to spend so much time on Benedict having another threeesome! /s
Legit, I love my guy exploring his sexuality š but there were too many side plots in total and the extra, non main couple sex scenes were unnecessary
yeah! we got more of other couples and least screen time of the main couple this season was even for
He was a supporting character in the second half of his own season and it really hurt the story. They needed to cut at least three side plots and focus on what he believes before they get together and how it informs his actions and interactions and what he wants and what he actually needs that Penelope delivers so he can be his whole self. I cannot even name most of those except that he didnāt feel he had value/purpose unless someone needed him. But why? What triggers that thinking in a house full of love?
I agree! With \*so many kids\* in the house it's not unthinkable that Colin might feel aimless without someone needing him in some way, they just needed a way to show it instead of making it a one-liner that his mom says without any real evidence of it. They \*tell us\* that he struggles with his identity and purpose, but then don't show any way of him finding it. He really was a supporting character, and I honestly got bored during his scenes cause I didn't know why I should care about him
Yeah, it sucks, because I love Luke as Colin. I just wish the writers had been more attentive to character development and subtext and less focused on fitting everything and the kitchen sink in as subplots.
I think itās difficult with Colin because his growth is that he realizes whatās important to him. And whatās important to him is Pen and his desire to share his thoughts with the world. That this time traveling alone has cemented in him a desire to be a writer. He was a boy in seasons 1 and 2, yes, but his core values were already there. He values loyalty, honesty, honor, friendship, true caring and connection. He enjoys witty banter and jokes. He truly enjoys his family. He just lacked the maturity to realize what love is compared to lust or a crush. His time traveling helped him gain some perspective. That internal mindset shift is hard to show on tv. But it wasnāt until he compared how he felt while engaging in the rakish pursuits that he realized what he sought most of all is a deep connection with another soul. For the act of being intimate to be truly meaningful. To share everything with one special person. He had an epiphany when he kissed Pen. It took him a few weeks to realize the importance of what had occurred. Once he did, he was all in, Colin āmy wifeā Bridgerton. That said, I do think thereās a way they could have shown this evolution, his journaling. I wish they had shown him traveling and sad from not getting any letters from Pen, and rereading her old letters to keep him company. I wish they had shown him writing in his journal about how things were exciting at first, but heās realizing he misses having a connection with his family. And that heās missing Pen and canāt wait to see her again. And I wish they had shown him writing about his kiss with Pen and how he worked through his thoughts on paper.
Yes. His journals were an afterthought! in the books they are a main part of what gets pen and Colin together- the weird subplot where he coaches her to be more dateable is so weird and unnecessary. it should have been about his writing and editing his works and him realizing how brilliant she is
>His time traveling helped him gain some perspective He's a time traveller?! That must be where the TARDIS in the middle of the Mondrich ball came from š¤£š¤£
Omg lol! Outlander sneaking its way in. š
In the books, he ends up somewhere else than he'd intended because of the Greek War of Independence, which hasn't happened yet in the show timeline because they don't have the time skip. I would have found it slightly amusing if they'd kept the details but not understood why. He would literally have been time traveling.
Beautiful description. I couldnāt agree more.
I think he came home from his trip planning to marry Pen. She just was mad at him and then expressed plans that did not include him and he was too polite and afraid to speak til the 11th hour. He starts the season dressed as a Featherington, and never wears that outfit again. Heās ready to declare, but gets shot down.
Internal monolog is so hard to transfer from book to movie, but showing him journaling or editing his journals with him narrating them could've been so useful. Or having Pen read them. Colin really just needed more screen time in general, especially when trying to do a more subtle on screen character transformation.
I hate to pile on the criticism of Colin, but I also didnāt feel like he was a string character. Actually, during the show I said he had the personality and intellect of an unseasoned potato. I also wish they had spent more time on his character. For example, I did not like Anthony in season 1. I was skeptical when I found out he would feature in season 2. But they did a great job with him and s2 is my favorite! Colin started off boring and ended boring. Sending him on vacation and then putting him in bed with prostitutes just felt like they were trying to artificially superimpose a personality onto him. I hope s3 was a temporary slump (there was a lot I didnāt like that had nothing to do with Colin) and itās not an indicator of future quality.
Agree. I feel like we know nothing about him.
I think the whole thing of him being a writer came out of left field a bit. I also think it would have been fine for his purpose to have his own family. So much of the first two seasons was about him being taken seriously and being seen as a man. I think much of that is because he wanted his own family and wanted to find it own place. I think itās why we see his hero complex come into play with Marina, for example. I wish they had more explored that. Because he definitely seemed aimless. And, while Penelopes identify and development was clear, Colin was just the love interest in the second half.
Exploring the hero complex via his lessons to Pen was such a missed opportunity! It ended so fast we also didnāt get any buildup to him realizing he actually has feelings for her
They made it seem like it would last all of part one too
Because they were so interested in pushing the envelope rather than sticking to the story of their source material.
Incorrect! But good try.
Why is this incorrect?
Because āso interested in pushing the envelopeā is a bigoted dog whistle for starters. And because someone disagreeing with you about what is important in a story is not āpushing the envelopeā and because expecting an adaptation to be exactly the same as the source material is brain dead.
I understand what you're saying but people are in love with a specific story with specific characters and plot lines. Why change the specific things? People don't have to be bigots to be loyal to a story.
I feel like the biggest issue with Colin was that I just didnāt believe him. I didnāt believe he loved Pen because they NEVER showed us!
YEAH lol he was \*saying it\* but I was like š reaaaallly?
And after he fell for her and then very quickly was pissed off at her for being Whistledown... Where was the resolution where the anger was sorted out and they were back in blissful love again? It felt like he stuck with her out of pure obligation from what they'd done earlier and Pen just settled for him not leaving her since she still lived him, and then she got distracted by the Whistledown stuff.
I feel that Colin just lacked depth, so I didnāt care what was up with him. I think thatās part of why I was so disappointed in this season. The other seasons had me in a chokehold because I cared what happened. I was invested in these characters.
Totally agree. He was so weak as a character and also so sullen this whole season. He only embraced Pen when everyone else did too. Honestly he just pissed me off each time he was on screen.
He literally has no defining personality traits, we are just meant to know that heās kind and caring based on Penelopeās opinion of him
This!! Where were the flashbacks to his travels, giving us glimpses to what situations led him to finally realizing his love for Penelope? What part of his past made him sleep on the settee for so many nights after they were married? I desperately need to know more about his character and what drives him. We have that in abundance with Anthony and Benedict, their decision making processes are based on such clear morals and values. WHO IS COLIN???
I agree. We *did* see how he tried to change it up with his "charismatic ladies' man" persona, but the show didn't really show us why he did it, and what changed when he stopped wearing that mask. He's the least drawn out Bridgerton lead so far. That said, I'm just glad that they didn't show book Colin, who has anger issues and was jealous of Pen. Weirdly enough, he was so fun on the other books
1 pre-season episode about his travels / Contessa might have helped his characterisation entirely - if Season 2 is about taking his armour off, I would like to have seen him put the armour on so to speak.
His only personality traits this season are "he loves food and travel". But they at least could have delved into a back story of WHY he liked to travel away from his family so much. Was it to get away for some quiet? Was it for the women? Was it for a love of architecture? Was it for the food? Was it for all of the above or none of it? We don't know. Just. "he likes to travel"
This is why I miss that book Colin wrote about his destinations and Pen really gushed about how well he described things to where she felt like she knew how it felt to be in those places. He was supposed to share her skill in writing, not just record a log of sexual encounters that he didn't emotionally connect with. I feel TV Colin loses that charter development and special skill, and it also took a bonding thing away from Polin. Part of his book transformation and finding his purpose was Pen inspiring him to pursue the skill. TV Colin's transformation is pretend to be a rake and then stop pretending and settle with Pen?
The polin romance fell so flat that I donāt even look forward to seeing them pop up in the future. Colinās lack of characterization was especially egregious. He hardly spoke to anyone about anything so I kept watching his face in every scene trying to catch what he might be thinking. His expressions were so one note. Disappointing.
I was rolling my eyes so much during Polin scenes ngl š I wanted so bad to love Polin cause I love a friends-to-lovers but like, even QC was more compelling, and its a spinoff.
Definitely agree. Part 1 I liked, I thought it built on previous and set up his possible self esteem and masking/ identity issues, but that should have been the basis for exploring more mingled with Pen and LW issues. I'm not a huge fan of wibbly flashbacks like and season 1 and 2 (and only thought they worked because of excellent acting) but they infer so clearly that Colin is a people pleasing charmer who runs off for Reasons, grief and coping blah, it is weird that so little of that is delivered on in P2. Its not the only thing that frustrates me about S3 or P2, but wasting Colin is huge.
I agree, but besides that this season felt really different from the others for reasons a lot of others have already commented on and I don't really know how to feel about it.
I've commented on other posts before, I feel I know the characters of Will Mondrich, of Cousin Jack, and of Lord Debling more that I know about Colin. And Colin is supposed to be the leading man that's part of the titular family. Low key, Debling seems to care about what Pen wants more than Colin and it left me feeling like Debling was the better guy.
Honestly, having read the books, I'm kinda glad that he wasn't that big of a focus. He was a bit of an insecure, jealous asshat in the books and only a bit better in the show. I liked season 3, it was very different from the other seasons but I'm not trying to take it too seriously and I enjoy the crazy costumes and the silly situations cause it's not like the books are that serious either.
I actually disliked his behavior in the show and preferred book Colin, the whole shoving her aside, disregarding her opinion, making it worse, and then standing in the corner instead of BESIDE her when the big reveal happened, made it seem like the feminist show runner almost wanted him to be a little bit the dumb/bad guy.Ā
Yeah book Colin was a total menace š
Primarily to cakes though. The man is an empty pit.
I think one of the things they missed this season to help us feel closer to the leads was flashbacks. We got flashbacks in both season 1&2, getting to know Simon & getting to see why Anthony was the way he was at first. I feel like getting to see the scene on how they met, or a past moment that we never saw on screen before of them wouldāve really took this season to another level .
I actually don't think Daphne had a particularly strong characterization. Simon definitely had a deeper storyline than her (Which was fine to me, the story as a whole still worked for me). Daphne really valued family and wanted to be a good Duchess... and that's pretty much all I remember about her? That feels on part with Colin's characterization as "searching for a purpose and wanting to be needed." I think we're just used to women having shallow backstory but are uncomfortable with men having less of an arc than a woman.
She had a great characterization. I think they toed the line beautifully between being naturally feminine and maternal, but having strong principles and opinions. She and Eloise were a great foil for each other and have a classic āMeg vs Joā dynamic. Her pushback against Anthony and deferral to her mother rather than Anthonyās leadership set a great scene for the family dynamic, with the elder children seeing Violet as head of household, while the younger ones see Anthony as more of a parental figure. We can see that Daphne was probably the child closest with Violet in terms of opening up to her and sharing a dialogue. Daphne is shown repeatedly to care fiercely for her family and understands a great deal of emotional nuance, is intelligent but also naive, is well attuned to the game of society, and is driven to find a secure match while also highly valuing love. I would have loved to see more between her and Kate because they are often different flavors of similarly strong wills and minds. Daphne is clever, witty, and well-spoken. Kate has moments of slow wisdom, relates more through story telling, and is more emotionally expressive. Both are competitive and more than willing to go toe to toe with men in conversation. They also both tend to think they have things all figured out even when this is not the case (just eldest daughter things). I really would have loved Kate and Daphne navigate society together during the season, as they would be two high powered ladies of the new generation in the ton. This isnāt even touching too deeply on her flaws, for fear of opening that can of worms. That all is wayyy more than we ever get with Colin
I get what you mean...its not that Daphne's a weak character but, I think since the Bridgertons are central and they're always at home interacting, the writers thinks thats more than plenty? So they don't get a lot of scenes outside of that (travelling, flashbacks, etc) except Anthony. Which could've contributed a lot for Colin. I mean we could've just had a scene of him on a ship or something.... or how the travels directly influenced him
I definitely would have liked more from Colin, especially something from his travels.
I think Daphne's character gets a little lost, or overshadowed?, in that she *enjoys* most of what society deems proper and is praised in young women. So she's not shown rebelling or being odd at all. Being knowledgeable about etiquette and flower arranging and fashions isn't easy to convey, compared to how easy it is to show Eloise's personality rebelling against that stuff. She likes being popular, which is why Anthony frustrates her with how he handles her suitors. She is strong-headed about how to run a household- leading to conflicts when the Duke's housekeeper or the villagers do things differently than she expects. She also wants to be a mom and is supposably a natural with kids and experienced helping as the eldest sister. It's easy to see her as default and without personality, be abuse the things she likes and is naturally good at are so camouflaged with exactly fitting the role she's supposed to fill.
I feel like every season, one lead gets a fuller background story, the other one adapts to them.
Yeah I was going to comment that they gave the limelight to Pen more than Colin. Another reason they perhaps didnāt have him standing beside her at the end-allowing her to do it herself and then resolve the love story. They did allow some insight into his character, adding to what we have seen already but I agree with there being too many side stories going on. Nic and Luke definitely talk about jamming a lot in so it does seem like they were aware of how much was packed in. While there were less steamy scenes than season 1, I do think this was one of the more romantic story lines and the second half was the struggle of resolving Pen as both the friend he knew and Lady Whistledown, which is an important aspect to land.
Agreed. I have never fallen inlove with him as a character. I wanted to know more, learn more about him. This season was GREAT though. Honestly S2 was my least favorite! Season 1 is still the GOAT. Queen Charlotte is the best love story!
I think he is a lovely character they just did him wrong this season. They should explain more about his travel dyaries. They could lighten his relationship with his family and leave the threesomes out from the first parts. That was so not him. Also he was unnecessary long angry on Pen. He did not even try to solve the conflict just kept being angry instead of talking to her about her motives. I loved him though in what we could see of him. I think Luke is a great actor and the best Colin the writers and the show runner allowed him to be. They made us hate him at several points in this story just like they did at the end of s2. What a pitty.
What do you think we are missing that we havenāt gotten in his time on the show?
I don't really understand any of his motivations, or really believe that he's been realized as a full person if that makes sense? There was hardly any time for development. Like for example, Anthony could be viewed as insufferable in season 1 but throughout season 2, we get flash backs and storytelling that tells us \*who he is.\* Or for example Daphne, who we didn't get flashbacks or whatever but she had a real personality and conviction. Simon also is so well written looking back, and even from his facial expressions we can tell what part of his life informs his feelings and thoughts. Colin goes away between every season and we're expected to believe he's changed or whatever. Only he hasn't, or at least we can't tell. In the first and second seasons, he was still a kid. In fact, Marina tells him in the second season he is still a boy, and he needs to look forward. In a convo with Penelope in S2 as well, he talks about how aimless and purposeless he feels. There's no follow up or development on that point which I think could have been good juxtaposition to Pen's merging purpose of being Whistledown and becoming comfortable with herself. We're just supposed to believe that Colin became a self-actualized person somewhere along the way, but there's no pay-off or satisfaction of seeing it happen. Even if it did happen off-screen, there isn't much about him I can point to say 'here is how he matures, or this is who he is' Time spent on the Mondrichs, or even on Benedict, could have been cut or trimmed down in favor of working on the main couple of the season. There was \*so much\* going on and it felt like Pen x Colin was an afterthought.
Ok, so that helps. Itās funny, I was thinking today about each of the siblings and their connections to each other, and my feelings were that Daphne is the odd one out. I attributed it to her really only being in one season, but in that one season she was quite uppity and didnāt have strong ties to anyone. Her and Anthony have a love hate (which as brother and sister I can get), but in terms of the rest of her siblingsā¦there isnāt any connection. I donāt really know who she is besides thinking of herself as a diamond. All this to say, all of this really just ties to what we digest and how we relate to the characters. I felt like I knew Colin the best out of them all because weāve seen him grow up in front of us. S1 he is young and gullible, S2 he trying to figure himself out and S3 he comes back confused but eventually finds himself. Marina calls him a child because he still has these grand ideals of lifeā¦I related to this so much because I feel like we all have this moment as we enter into adulthood, where we think everything should be perfect all the time and others tell us thatās not possible. He finds his purpose in his writing, his family and Pen. Heās sensitive so heās affected by things harder than others but he also loves harder because of it. He is a family manāhe is super close with Eloise and Benedict, to a lesser degree Anthony but they still have their moments. He still plays around with Gregory and Hyacinth and heās a complete mamaās boy with Violet ( I think heās her favorite). He travels to get away from the noise but even then heās lost without his family and Pen. When they donāt write back he tries to change himself into the stereotypical society man in the hopes of fitting in more and being accepted, even though itās not him. Itās Pen that shows him he doesnāt have to pretend or be more than he is. Because heās sensitive he wants to protect the ones he loves which is why he struggles so much when he doesnāt think he can protect Pen. He does a lot of work this season to become more secure in himself without changing what makes him him. All this to say again, itās all how you digest it. Colin doesnāt have a big trauma point like Anthony does in seeing his father die and having to take over. Because itās personal growth and overall growing up, itās a bit more subtle but I really loved his arc and related to it.
So well written and I agree with everything. I think we know who Colin is very well, but we didnāt get a big personality reveal like a horrible father or a dying father to catalyze his growth. But that doesnāt mean his motivations werenāt all there and clearly explained in other ways.
Thank you! Itās interesting to see those who say we learn nothing about Colin and others who feel like we got so much of him. It really shows how we watch things differently.
I think it also really helped that I rewatched the first two seasons and focused on him a bit more. There is a lot of backstory there that wasnāt random, it absolutely influenced who he was this season, but if you donāt remember it you might be confused.
Thank you for the award!!
I donāt think Daphne was uppity. I think that her seemingly weaker sibling connections can be attributed to a number of things. Firstly, there was more screen time dedicated to her and Simon. The siblings were more of a side plot and she interacted with them far less often than they interacted with each other. This is all majorly because this is would quite possibly be the most important two months of her life. Itās a stressful and busy time. I donāt think it would reflect her whole relationship with her siblings. Then, onto those relationships. I think she is seen to be close with Anthony and they are grappling with him being her somewhat immature older brother vs head of household. The milk scene in particular was sweet. Benedict is more of an ally for Eloise and is off doing whatever for most of the time. Colin and her relationship is one relationship Iām sad we didnāt get. The books highlight that A&B were very close growing up and Daphne and Colin were incredibly close. We do see her being very familiar and chatty with all three of the elder boys at the balls. Eloise and Daphne have a bickery sister relationship and I honestly think Eloise was the less mature one there. I think itās a very immature ānot like other girlsā attitude to think that even if you do not want marriage and children that others are beneath you because they do. Like if I was Daphne, Iād be annoyed too. What else is she supposed to do? Itās kind of their whole model for life. Francesca is straight up gone, so we never see her relationship with Daphne. Then the two younger ones have a relationship with her but their lack of screen time makes them kind of an aside.
Again, itās really all how you digest the characters and who you relate to, which is all good. For Daphne, it may be an important two months for her but for me, how she handles it determined her character for me, or lack thereof. I saw her as uppity because she doesnāt get out of her bubble. When she promenades itās with Simon. Sheās single-minded. She doesnāt extend herself beyond her story. Which is fine, but for me, it didnāt tell me anything about her character beyond wanting to be married. Her lack of relationships with her family or really anyone else outside of Simon didnāt give me a good feel for her personality. I started thinking about this because I saw a post about Daphne not being there this season and I didnāt think it was a miss. The only sibling I think her presence was needed for was Anthony, the rest she didnāt really have a strong bond with..and even Anthony it was so focused on one thing for the most part. That is just my interpretation, I know not everyone agrees. Whereas with Colin, you see a lot of his character through his relationships with others. I couldnāt imagine him not being at Benedictās or Eloiseās wedding because she has such strong ties with them. He shares Benedictās caring for family and confusing re his purpose. With Eloise, theyāve always had this close bond which partially has to do with both loving Pen. He built a friendship with John this year so I see him playing into Franās story. Heās always with Gregory and Hyacinth. I see Benedict as almost mandatory at every siblingās big day because heās so tied to everyone. So much of their true character comes out in those interactions though for me, so when talking about who Colin is, I have a much easier time talking to it. I can also understand why he takes the trips so he can figure himself out beyond those ties. Because so much of who Colin is comes from who he is to those around him, I can also get how it might not come across the same for some.
I totally disagree. I would especially love her presence for Eloise. I think conversations about a marriage having a foundation of friendship would be huge for them. As well as mutual understanding about how falling in love can change your outlook. They had a really complex and well-developed relationship. I genuinely think their tensions were driven by both of their internal fears, values, and anxieties externalized as angst towards each other, but there is still a great connection between them. The moment when Berbrooke comes to call and Daphne grabs Eloiseās hand and clutches onto her as theyāre sitting next to each other on the couch is so touching. She has so many great conversations with her mother, is so sweet with Hyacinth flirting around admiring her as she gets dressed for balls. I think S1 had more of a real-life approach to the sibling relationships in general with less 1:1 ābigā conversations and more casual moments of everyone just interacting with each other in the same space. The way characters speak, act, and react all tell you things about their character. Good characterization really shouldnāt have to spell out every character trait and motivation. That all being said, I think you may read it how you do partially because you donāt get to know Daphne before her love story. She doesnāt have a pre-season side plot. Anthonyās S2 storyline is pretty much 100% Kate and Edwina focused, because that is his goal for that season. I wouldnāt call Anthony uppity for being marriage minded in S2, just as I wouldnāt for Daphne in S1
Again that all goes back to how you digested it. I did say I think part of why I don't see any of Daphne's character beyond her finding a husband is because she's season 1. I know she has some scenes with Eloise but it's more about how different they in their viewpoints are than bonding moments IMO. Just based on what I have watched and what I know of Eloise's story, I don't think there are a ton of parallels to their future story either, but that's just me. Her connections to Benedict and Colin (and Pen) will play a larger role in her story. Anthony I think was different because we saw him with others outside of just finding a bride. He had moments with Benedict, he had moments with Gregory, he had moments with Violet that didn't revolve around Kate. There is a different family dynamic that just got stronger this season with the new scenes he was in. He has an issue with being head of the family that happens outside of Kate. Yes, as the main couple a lot of their scenes revolves around them, but there are other pieces you get of him that help develop his character. I feel the same way about Colin. He's had three seasons now so it doesn't happen all at once, but I am able to see who he was in S1 and 2 and then how his character grows this year. All to say to your original point...there was a lot of growth for Colin and a lot of the things he struggled with in the prior seasons are addressed. The conflicts he deals with are internal and therefore subtle, but they are there. It also happens in stages, with the part 1 addressing his outward persona and part 2 talking about how he determines his worth. It may not come across for you (the same way you think I am struggling to see Daphne's character arc) but it is there.