Reacting to the dazzling Bridgerton season 3 trailer: 5 exciting takeaways, plus new images to feast your eyes on

Dearest readers, gather around! We have some amazing news for you. The time has finally come for the Bridgerton season 3 trailer to make its debut! We've been waiting and waiting, and now it's here. Before we get into any of our reactions about it, you have to check it out below:

Isn't it absolutely amazing? As Penelope mentions, there may be a diamond this season but there's also other gems that are just as dazzling. And that's definitely going to be this Featherington gal! The music is so elegant and graceful, it truly puts you right into the romantic mood of the regal series. There's something so special about the Regency era with the costumes and the courting, we just can't get enough!

The third season has been split into two parts: the first four episodes will be streaming Thursday, May 16, 2024 on Netflix. The final four installments of the eight-episode season will be released on Thursday, June 13. Ready to get into our takeways from the trailer? Keep reading! Plus there's a bunch of new images to feast your eyes on, with the first one right below.

Penelope Featherington truly blossoms

As Netflix has been promoting season 3, the theme at the center of it has been: "even a wallflower can bloom." That's repeated once again in the trailer, both explicitly in words and visually as we see Penelope truly take charge of her destiny and begin to blossom. And I'm so here for it! Based on what we see, new character James Phoon as Harry Dankworth has either married or is courting Penelope's sister, Prudence. And you can tell how annoying the couple is just based off the glimpse we see of them. Penelope has had it, and wants out of that house. And we all know the Featherington home is not the easiest one to live in.

She's always looked beautiful, though now as she trades in the yellows and oranges her mother likes to put the Featherington girls in, she's absolutely stunning in the new blue color palette. And can we talk about that green and black dress? She is absolutely rocking it! All eyes are on Penelope, as they should be. She's starting to attract the attention she's always deserved, and I'm so here for it.

It's a glow up in her wardrobe, and it's working. As she says in her Lady Whistledown paper - "diamonds are not the only gems that sparkle." And I think that's going to be especially true this season! It's going to mainly come in the form of Lord Debling, played by new cast member Sam Phillips. And this guy is truly going to make Colin question his feelings for his friend.

Colin Bridgerton catches feelings

Penelope isn't the only one who is getting a glow up this season! Colin is handsomer than ever, and even his family is surprised by his updated good looks. Though we see that Penelope is mad at Colin when he first returns from his summer travels after hearing his hurtful words about her at the end of Bridgerton season 2, she seems to come around. So much so that she confides in him how "it seems as though that every Bridgerton is born to attract notice. For some of us, notice is very slight."

And that's true. Though Penelope likes the Bridgerton clan, especially as she and Eloise were best friends, that doesn't mean there isn't jealousy there. And that line gives us a good indication as to one of the reasons I think why Penelope has targeted the family as Lady Whistledown. It can be frustrating and disheartening to see, especially from across the street and with Eloise telling her friend everything. But perhaps once she's happy herself, she won't feel like she'll need to keep being the author?

Ok, back to Colin and Penelope. As she confides in him, she's talking about wanting to find a husband, but struggling to do so. And that's when Colin offers to help her out. First, he needs to see her skills. And... it's obvious this poor wallflower doesn't know what she's doing. It's kind of funny how she's trying to make small talk about the weather, displaying no skills at all. This is when he's going to mentor her in a way, and the courting lessons will succeed as Lord Debling takes a liking to Penelope. The trailer shows Penelope and her suitor meeting up and dancing with different outfits, indicating that this courtship is going very well and the two are getting closer and closer.

Penelope even gets praise from her mother, which we haven't really seen. But of course, this is going to lead Colin into realizing his feelings for his friend go beyond that. He even asks his lovely mother Violet about whether the best foundation for love is friendship first. It's not always the case, but it does work for many people! And she gives him some great advice - follow your heart. Honestly after all the pain and yearning Penelope has had to go through with Colin, I'm looking forward to seeing him sweat a little in being jealous, and earning Penelope's love.

The cliffhanger of the trailer comes with Colin looking distraught, perhaps his feelings are coming to a head? After all, he's going to be watching Pen all season being courted by another as her mentor. The two look like they're in a garden alone together - what is it with these Bridgertons and gardens? Is that the moment we're all waiting to see finally happen!? The voiceover of "what is the primary force that guides us along our paths? Is it our minds, or our hearts?" seems to hint at that! I bet you that's how the fourth episode is going to end, and we'll have to wait for the next half of Bridgerton season 3 to debut in June. Gah!

A new Bridgerton enters the season

It's time for a new Bridgerton sister to make her debut, and perhaps become the diamond of the season as bestowed upon by Queen Charlotte. And that would be Francesca Bridgerton! She is looking exceptionally beautiful, played by Hannah Dodd in a recast role. The character was previously played by Ruby Stokes who had to leave due to scheduling conflicts for her work on another Netflix show. I was wondering why the Regency-set series decided to recast the role as the younger siblings haven't been focused on much. I thought perhaps this next chapter in the story might be the same. But, I was wrong!

The trailer features Francesca quite a bit, and when she makes her debut to the queen she looks just like her sister Daphne. She's even wearing either a very similar dress, or the same one as her older sister's. Queen Charlotte certainly looks impressed, and it's like Penelope said. It looks like luck will be on this gal's side. I'm sure with Eloise likely still reluctant to be looking for a husband right now, Bridgerton matriarch Violet will be focused on Francesca instead.

Eloise's surprising new friend

Speaking of Eloise, I'm curious to see what she's going to be up to this season. Especially as she obviously has a very surprising and unlikely new friend - Cressida Cowper. She's been the "mean girl" of the ton every social season, and there really doesn't seem to be more to her character other than trying to secure the best match. Even if it's at the expense of someone else. With the way Eloise views the world and the idea of marriage versus. Cressida who's all about finding herself a husband, I'm very curious to see what on earth these two could have in common. It's very surprising that Eloise's new friend is Cressida. I mean, she couldn't have picked someone that's the complete opposite of Penelope.

Perhaps that's the point? Eloise is still reeling from the deception and trickery from her best friend. Maybe that's what leads her to befriending someone as ill-mannered as Cressida. But, still. Come on Eloise. Make better choices! She definitely has every right to be angry. Pen really messed up, exposing many family secrets and putting the Bridgertons at risk of scandals. But for Eloise's sake for herself, she needs to stay away from Cressida. I don't think this is going to go well and I have a bad feeling about it. Though, it looks like Eloise is going to keep Penelope's secret. As Colin tells his sister how he's helping her former friend, Elose wants to make sure he's not thinking of courting her.

He denies it, saying he's only helping her find a husband. She'll definitely want to protect her brother now that she knows Penelope is Lady Whistledown. But she isn't exposing her secret. Interesting. I wonder if when Penelope and Colin inevitably get closer to each other (because who is anyone kidding, that's going to happen), Eloise might put their relationship at risk in threatening to expose her secret. After all, Lady Whistledown really hurt Colin especially in the first season.

The Viscount and his Viscountess

Netflix is giving us sprinkles of Kanthony content and they aren't featured much in the trailer. But, the new heads of the household definitley look happy and madly in love. And really, that' all we've wanted to see! After an excruciatingly long wait to see that happen in season 2, it's finally time for Anthony and Kate to shine even if the season is about Colin and Penelope. They're kissing, they're dancing, and they've never looked more enamored with each other. The Viscount and Viscountess are ready for their responsibilities, and I'm all here for it all!

Questions we still have after the Bridgerton season 3 trailer

Is Lady Violet getting a new love interest?

Did anyone else catch that heated look between Violet and new character Marcus Anderson, played by Daniel Francis? In the Queen Charlotte prequel series, we saw how Lady Danbury helped Violet come to terms with it being alright to move on from her beloved Edmund and potentially find someone else to spend the rest of her life with. Perhaps this is a new storyline introduced this season, and she'll find that with Marcus. Hmm. Lady Danbury might even help facilitate the courtship, as you can see in one of the new photos we shared below.

How is Penelope going to balance courting and her Lady Whistledown duties?

Though the trailer features the typical Lady Whistledown narration by the wonderful Julie Andrews, we don't actually see Penelope hard at her writing work in the video. The focus is really on her new wardrobe, life at court, and of course Colin. But we know it's going to be harder for her to balance both worlds. Genevieve Delacroix is featured, so she might still be helping Penelope out. But it will be interesting to see how it all plays out.

Is Colin going to find out about Penelope being the author this season?

And that goes into our final question - is Colin going to figure out this big secret? Especially if he and Penelope do end up getting married, it wouldn't be a good look to have something so huge hidden from your spouse. How is he going to react? He's been hurtful towards Penelope, but we do have to admit that she's also made some mistakes. I think this just adds tension and an extra layer of intrigue to Bridgerton season 3, and it's one of the main reasons I'm so excited to see what's in store.

Check out the rest of the new images released today below!

Stay tuned to Netflix Life as we bring you news and updates about Bridgerton season 3 on Netflix!