How Bridgerton Season 3 Finale Will Affect Penelope’s Season 4 Storyline

Following the released of the Bridgerton Season 3 finale a week ago, showrunner Jess Brownell teased what fans can expect from Penelope Featherington’s storyline in the next installment. Since the first season of the hit Netflix drama, Penelope has been portrayed by Derry Girls star Nicola Coughlan.

What happened in the Bridgerton Season 3 finale?

The final episode of Bridgerton Season 3 ended with Penelope finally revealing her identity as Lady Whistledown to the entire ton, following Queen Charlotte’s unrelenting hunt to unmask her and Cressida’s blackmailing attempt. Convinced by her speech, the Queen gave her a chance to continue her writing on the condition of becoming more responsible with the words she’ll be publishing from now on. At the end, Penelope says goodbye to her Lady Whistledown persona by issuing her first column under the name of Penelope Bridgerton.

During a recent interview with TheWrap, Brownell gave fans an idea on how the Bridgerton Season 3 finale has affected Penelope’s storyline going forward. Now that she’s a public writer, Penelope must learn how to deal with people’s reactions towards her writing.

“As we talked about where we wanted to end Penelope in the writers’ room, it felt like, in a season where she’s discovering the importance of her power, for her to then give up the column felt like it might be a down note,” Brownell said. “I think there’s more to come with Lady Whistledown — I think now Pen will have to navigate what it’s like to be a public gossip columnist, not only dealing with the people she writes about, but also taking steps to be more accountable in what she writes. Accountability and authenticity are two things that she’s had to really face this season, and we’re gonna continue that thread going into Season 4.

Based on Julia Quinn’s bestselling novel series, Bridgerton is executive produced by Shonda Rhimes and showrunner Jess Brownell. It stars Nicola Coughlan, Luke Newton, Golda Rosheuvel, Jonathan Bailey, Claudia Jessie, Ruby Barker, Sabrina Bartlett, Ruth Gemmell, Adjoa Andoh, Polly Walker, Bessie Carter, Simone Ashley, and Harriet Cains, with Julie Andrews as the voice of Lady Whistledown.