Though we at The A.V. Club are staunchly against the practice of splitting a season of television into parts, it must be said that there’s a lot of juiciness in the trailer for the second part of Bridgerton’s third season, which premieres June 13. (Spoilers ahead for part one!) When we last left our heroes, Colin (Luke Newton) and Penelope (Nicola Coughlan) had finally confessed their love for each other after years of friendship and pining. Colin nearly ravished Pen in a carriage and then made a proposal (more like a declaration) of marriage. But the secret of Penelope’s double life as Lady Whistledown looms over this couple’s happy union, as Colin has a long-standing hatred for the Ton’s gossip columnist. All of this sets stakes for part two perhaps higher than they’ve ever been for any other Bridgerton couple.
In previous seasons, Lady Whistledown’s identity and how Penelope managed to keep it under wraps was an intriguing subplot. But with Penelope coming into her own as the season’s romantic heroine, the conflict is coming to a head. The new trailer promises Penelope will be welcomed into the Bridgerton family with open arms—except by her former best friend Eloise (Claudia Jessie), who knows Lady Whistledown’s true identity. The protective younger sister issues a serious ultimatum: “Until he knows the real you, he cannot possibly love you,” Eloise asserts. “If it is too difficult for you to reveal the truth, I will reveal it to him myself.”
With the clock ticking for Pen to tell the truth, the stage is set for some of Bridgerton’s most dramatic scenes yet in the final four episodes of the season. The final face-off between the betrothed couple can’t come a moment too soon, as the first part of the third season lacked some of the compelling spark that propelled previous seasons. Still, fans of the Bridgerton books are sure to be satisfied. Part one ended with the long-anticipated “carriage scene” (a.k.a., a steamy moving-vehicle intimacy scene), and the trailer for part two teases the equally anticipated “mirror scene.” Say one thing about this series, loyal romance fans will always be rewarded!