Season 3 of Bridgerton dropped at exactly midnight pacific time and three a.m. Eastern time today (don’t ask how I know these exact numbers) and fans rushed to get a glimpse of part one of Colin and Penelope’s friends-turned-lovers romance. The show has done a fantastic job of showcasing the obsessive limerence of “yearning” and the themes of limerence when it comes to romance – a feeling of deep attachment, always and continuously desiring more from a relationship, but never quite getting it without much ordeal and anguish occurring first throughout its previous seasons. Now that the show has released the first part of its third season, it’s about time we take the all-knowing position of Lady Whistledown and look collectively at the most “scandalously” romantic and well-loved scenes of Bridgerton so far that capture obsessive yearning throughout all of the show’s seasons, including the new infamous carriage scene in Season 3.
The “bane of my existence” and the “object of my desires” speech between Kate and Anthony in Season 2.
No one could forget the unparalleled chemistry between Anthony Bridgerton and Kate Sharma, the older sister of his bride-to-be. In Season 3, we also get amazingly adorable cameos by the besotted couple that remind us why it’s such a healthy match – even after the honeymoon, it’s made clear they still long for each other. What made this connection so steamy and scandalous in previous seasons was not just the difficult circumstances regarding Anthony’s upcoming marriage to the sister of the woman he loved, but the absolutely mind-boggling feral nature of Anthony’s yearning for Kate. With their witty banter, the forbidden nature of their romance and Anthony’s desire to do anything just to get a whiff of Kate’s scent, it certainly made women raise their collective standards of what it means to be truly yearned for. Not only was Anthony basically making love to Kate through his prominently longing gazes throughout Season 2, he had some of the best romantic speeches in Bridgerton show history. Every Bridgerton lover is well-acquainted with the anguish of the following: “And it is not far enough! Do you think that there is a corner of this Earth that you could travel to far away enough to free me from this torment? I am a gentleman. My father raised me to act with honor, but that honor is hanging by a thread that grows more precarious with every moment I spend in your presence. You are the bane of my existence. And the object of all my desires.” Talk about the enemies to lovers trope executed perfectly. While you’re still waiting for that text back, don’t forget that in contrast, Anthony felt he needed to put a whole world between himself and the woman he loved just so he wouldn’t fall prey to temptation, and did everything possible just to capture just a whiff of her scent. Now that’s true devotion and worship.
The infamously salacious carriage scene between Penelope and Colin in Season 3.
In Season 3, Colin returns as a more “sophisticated” and dashing version of himself, having explored 17 different cities and acquainting himself with all sorts of women abroad. Yet his enhanced charm seems to turn into a nervous longing whenever he is around his childhood friend, Penelope Featherington, who seems to be the only woman who’s truly captured his focus lately with her own glow-up. Viewers this season were most looking forward to the highly anticipated and long-awaited carriage scene which also occurred in the books. It did not disappoint, and while steamy, was likely not as explicit as viewers may have been expecting, creating a perfectly delicate balance between sultry and romantic. You’ll have to see it for yourself, but Penelope and Colin perfectly encapsulate the yearning of two friends who desire to be more, and Colin simply can’t help himself from adoring Penelope from afar throughout the four episodes provided, engaging in the same kind of infamous laser-focused “gazing” that Anthony did in Season 2 as he seemingly helps her gain the attention of other suitors. As Colin says to Penelope, “I have spent so long trying to be the man society expects me to be…but these past few weeks have been filled with confounding feelings. Feelings like a total inability to stop thinking about you. About that kiss. Feelings like dreaming of you when I am asleep. And in fact, preferring sleep because that is where I might find you.” Swoon! Talk about a confession that is basically a love letter in a speech.
Simon’s honest admission of what it means to truly love.
No one can forget Simon and Daphne’s infamous “I burn for you,” scene not too long after their irresistibly ravenous rendezvous at the garden, where he tells Daphne, “I cannot stop thinking of you. From the mornings you ease, to the evenings you quiet, to the dreams you inhabit, my thoughts of you never end. I am yours, Daphne. I have always been yours.” This is after he is honest about how in the beginning, there was attraction, but it only blossomed into love later on even after both recognized each other’s flaws. It seems all the men of Bridgerton are aways constantly and obsessively thinking of the women they love, and honestly, we’re all here for it. He also tells her, “To meet a beautiful woman is one thing, but to meet your best friend in the most beautiful of women is something entirely apart.” Chef’s kiss. Someone needs to send these Bridgerton speeches to the men in modern romance, because it’s clear Bridgerton has raised all of our standards of what it means to yearn and be yearned for.
