As I posted a few days ago I am planning a series over the next few months looking at the promotion of the different seasons of Bridgerton. I initially intended to look at the difference of the first stills released after the first Season 3 stills were released, but whilst I was going through the images on the Official Instagram page for Bridgerton I came across the Season announcements for Season 2 and Season 3, and it is quite interesting how different they are.
As you can see above the announcement for Season 2 had very little focus on who the actual lead would be, and no mention of who the love interest would be.
The first paragraph begins confirming there will be a second season. The second paragraph begins with the first sentence stating that filming begins Spring 2021, then one sentence to say that the season will be about Lord Anthony Bridgerton. The rest of the announcement is about Lady Whistledown of sorts.
So, essentially the announcement for Season 2 had one sentence relating to one of the leads.
The Season 3 announcement was vastly different. The first paragraph sets up who the leads will be (without naming them) by stating that the third season will focus on a third son and third daughter. The second paragraph then confirms that it will be Colina dn Penelope. The final paragraph is centred on Penelope.
What do we infer from these different announcements? Well first thing to note is that Colin Bridgerton is mentioned once by name in the announcement for what is meant to be his season, whilst Penelope, as his love interest, is mentioned twice. This tells me that the focus of the season will not be on a Bridgerton, but rather on Penelope and instead of Penelope being the love interest - as the female leads before her were - she will be the lead and Colin will be the love interest and secondary in the story they will tell.
For many however, the most noticeable is that only one line in the announcement for Season 2 that mentions who the season will be about, whilst in comparison all three paragraphs of the Season 3 announcement have a focus in one way or another on the female lead, and to a lesser extent the male love interest.
It is understandable that for the Season 2 announcement, they did not immediately announce Kate's name due to her being a new character, however, some argue that more of the announcement could have been focused more on Anthony, not just the one sentence that mentioned him. The tone of the announcement was very much focused on Penelope/Lady Whistledown and not on the Bridgerton that was taking the lead in the season.
To add to my red post (in which I mostly explain that Colin’s burgeoning love is evidenced by how the color red goes from being in front of him to framing him and increasing in vibrancy), here’s a few more observations.
When Pen enters the ball where she’s wearing the emerald green dress, she’s enveloped by a bright red cloak, but once she has arrived, she casts it off. Perhaps the meaning here is that she has been enshrouding herself in her love for Colin and allowing it to hold her back from pursuing others, but now she is putting that love aside and not allowing it hold her back anymore.
I have to imagine that all of the love storylines will be mirroring each other’s and Polin’s storyline in certain ways, so pay attention to how they are framed by red as well.
Bonus: A note on emeralds. In 2x01, the queen said that emerald is her favorite gem. Penelope is in emerald. Penelope is Lady Whistledown. The Queen is obsessed with Lady Whistledown. I’m sure by the end of season 3, we’ll see the Queen show her admiration for Pen/Whistledown. Personally, I’m hoping the Queen employs Pen somehow. 🤞🤞