#but from what i remember that is literally what penelope does as lady whistledown | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

ladyofglencairn · 2 years

Note

Hi! I saw the 2nd season of Bridgerton after watching the trailer and decided that I would die for Anthony and Kate since they are literally perfect and meant to be! I have not read the books and a newbie to the series so this may be a dumb question. But I wanted to ask about Penelope and how by being Lady Whistledown a 'good thing'?. From what I've seen of Penelope and her character she seems like a good person and I hate how her family treats her so horribly! I know that she is a wallflower in society so she is used to being looked down upon and rejected. I agree that society's rules were unjust and it needed to be put in its place, but how can Penelope trash the Bridgerton family and Marina and the people that were her real friends? She wrote terrible things and broadcasted everything to society that involved the Bridgerton family. Eloise is her BEST FRIEND and she used her as a gossip piece. I was quite confused about how Penelope could be so cold to Eloise at the very end of season 2 when Eloise then found out and Penelope decided to write Lady Whistledown again. So I was wondering if I was missing something that explained why Penelope did that and why Penelope is seen as a good person when she is just as bad as her family? Sorry, I hope this makes sense. Thanks!

Hi Anon!

A key point to remember is that the Netflix show uses the source material ie. the books, as inspiration and is not a completely faithful adaptation. This means they take considerable creative license in the way in which they tell the Bridgerton family's story and in some instances it differs significantly from the actual books.

I read the series many years ago and from what I can recall, Penelope, as she's written, is sweet, kind, witty and intelligent. But she's treated abominably by her family and by society. She's bullied, ridiculed, side-lined and excluded from nearly everything. She's pitied because she's "ugly" and "fat", made worse by her mother's attempts at making her appear more fashionable. She's underestimated and overlooked. This is the reason she picks up her pen as LW. She wants to bring the people who treated her so poorly down a notch or two. As a reader, you sympathise with her and you understand her motivations completely.

Many of the events involving Pen as LW in the TV show doesn't actually happen in the books.

Eg. Marina is not a central character in the book series, but a deceased side character in book 5. So Pen's actions towards her never actually occurs in the canon storyline. In fact, Marina is a distant Bridgerton cousin, she's not related to the Featherington's, as per the show. Also, Eloise doesn't find out who LW is until much later in the book series and it does not happen the way the show portrays it either. It's all been done for dramatics and unfortunately since I'm not a part of the creative team for the TV series, I don't know where they're taking these altered plot points or why they've chosen to take such a different storytelling route. We'll have to wait and see!

Ultimately, unless you take the time to read the books, which isn't necessary for anyone's enjoyment of the show, take what you see on screen with a pinch of salt. The book characters and show characters may have the same names, connections (mostly) and general mannerisms, but they're not 100% the same. They are being altered and their canon storylines changed to suit the whims of the creatives adapating the novels for Netflix.

#bridgerton #penelope featherington #lady whistledown #nicola coughlan #ask #bridgerton spoilers

7 notes · View notes

penelopefeatherington · 3 years

Text

BRIDGERTON EPISODE TWO SPOILERS : to quote critical role’s brian w. foster BABY GOT BACKSTORIES in Shock and Delight.

This episode starts with ... not surprisingly a flashback. It’s a Simon Episode Folks. Unfortunately it’s the same one that we read in the prologue TD&I. Simon’s poor mother, desperate to have a son, gives her life to give her husband an heir. I am in LOVE with the way they weaved Lady Danbury into Simon’s childhood / connect with his mother. I think it was such a good way to tell this particular story and how Lady D took such an interest in Simon. I’ve said before that romance novels especially JQ’s can be very insular to the main characters, and I think it was such a good idea for the showrunners to expand on the people around them as they weave this love story. Every single flashback gave me the exact same feeling I had reading the prologue, learning about Simon’s stutter and his father reacting to it, telling everyone he was dead, Lady Danbury sticking up for him against his father. & yes, I cried in both versions. It’s so important for first time viewers to know WHY Simon makes the decisions he does that lead to the things that it does and they did it in such a compelling way.

THE HASTINGS LINE ENDS WITH ME, is probably the mic drop of the season ( but we still have 6 eps ).

THE ELOISE PROBLEM. it’s not a problem, she just steals literally every scene she’s in. Asking the whole fam basically about sex. Telling Penelope they have accomplishments to acquire. I’m loving that we’re getting to see Eloise want more because it’s in every single book including her own that Eloise is afraid of settling for less than what she knows she can accomplish, is smart enough to accomplish. She’s afraid of loving someone and losing them like her parents, and the inherent tragedy that came with too many births in her time. She’s afraid of watching the people around her settle because she wants better lives for them. She & Jo March & Elizabeth Bennet would be best friends & co-presidents of the ‘queer coded middle sister’s club ‘ ( they’re all the Main Character ). Two of my favorite scenes were 1) Benny & Eloise, two overlooked Bridgerton’s who want to rail against the expectations set before them because of who they are, sharing a sneaky bad kid cigarette together, sharing the knowledge that they both want more , 2) Eloise telling Daphne she remembers her mother giving birth to Hyacinth and almost dying ( more proof that A & D took on a ton of responsibility after their dad died ) despite Daphne’s efforts to keep her from it, and telling Daphne that she feels bad about ‘ the game of pretend she feels she has to maintain. ‘

Nigel can suck it & I don’t even feel bad that he got his ass beat. I feel, & i think i’ve said it before, so much of the issues between Simon/Daphne/Anthony & now Violet are that they don’t communicate in any kind of healthy way. Which doesn’t make for compelling television most of the time but it’s so frustrating to watch like simple things being able to be resolved if someone had just .... told the other person this info.

One thing I love about this show is how much more aware of themselves and their station women are in the show & how they know how to use that station to get SHIT DONE ( Violet using gossip/the truth to get out of the engagement to Nigel ). They’re not ever going to be out from under what the ton thinks or how the men that control their calendars and their engagements and their proposals ( this is a vague @ show!Anthony Bridgerton ), but what they do control & how they use that to their advantage is so great to see.

WAS LADY WHISTLEDOWN REVEALED? no. SOME NOTES I TOOK DOWN : eloise: are you? benedict: are you? eloise: are you gay? benedict: yeah i’m gay are you gay? eloise: YES! / beat his ass simon x 2 ( abt anthony & nigel ) / WOMEN GET SHIT DONE / colin & benedict vaudville act coming soon BEST SCENE OF THE EPISODE : simon beating the shit out of nigel berbrooke & eloise asking about sex were contenders but honestly ? it was the quiet conversation between eloise & benny.

Overall : 9/10

#bridgerton #netflix bridgerton #shock and delight #bridgerton lb /#bridgerton spoilers /#episode review.

20 notes · View notes