Romancing Mister Bridgerton spoilers: What should happen in Bridgerton season 3 part 2 based on the book

Bridgerton season 3 has arrived on Netflix – well, at least part of the season has – and the show absolutely gives Polin shippers everything they’ve been waiting for and then some. However, if you’ve read the book the season is based on, Romancing Mister Bridgerton, you’re going to quickly pick up on more than a few changes that the show takes in telling Penelope and Colin’s story. And we’re not just talking about a few little tweaks like changing someone’s last name or cutting scenes from the book. 

Because of how many changes the show takes in telling the story, it’s going to be interesting to see where the show goes in the final four episodes of the season. The book gives us a roadmap for what should happen when the show returns on June 13 with the final episodes of the season. Before we dive into how the season should end based on the book, let’s start by talking about the major changes that the show makes in Part 1 to help provide some clarity on where things could go as the season ends. 

Needless to say, there are spoilers ahead both connected to the book and the new season, so read ahead at your own risk! 

Romancing Mister Bridgerton is very different from Bridgerton season 3

Before we get into what is going to happen in the final episodes of the season, let’s start by exploring just how different the show’s storylines are from those in Romancing Mister Bridgerton. 

The biggest difference in the book is that Lord Debling is not a part of the storyline in any way and Penelope never asks Colin to help her find a husband. The whole storyline that is told in the first part of season 3 does not occur in the book as Penelope is not looking for a suitor. In the book, Penelope has basically accepted her spinster status and doesn’t have any prospects due to her age. 

Most of the book is actually about the ton trying to figure out who Lady Whistledown is and Lady Danbury offering up a reward to whoever is able to figure out her identity as a way to spice up the boring season. This sets the stage for most of the season to be about the ton trying to figure out who Lady Whistledown is and it's during this time that Colin begins to see Penelope as more than just a friend. 

Colin does still propose to Penelope, but it’s not after she almost ends up engaged to another man. Instead, Colin’s proposal comes after he learns Penelope’s deepest secret: That she’s Lady Whistledown. 

If Netflix follows the book, Colin should find out Penelope is Lady Whistledown

In Romancing Mister Bridgerton, Colin begins to develop feelings for Penelope and he finally acts upon them in the infinite carriage scene that we see in the part 1 finale; however, the events that lead up to that moment are incredibly different in the book. 

It begins when Colin sees Penelope enter an unmarked carriage that does not belong to the Featheringtons. Curiosity gets the best of him and he follows Penelope to a part of town that is far away from the ton. He then witnesses her entering a church and leaving behind an envelope in a pew. Colin enters the church and Penelope is shocked, understandably so. She tries to cover her tracks but Colin eventually makes his way to the pew where she tucked the letter away and is shocked when he opens it to discover that it’s a letter from Lady Whistledown. 

After discovering the truth, Penelope races outside only to find her carriage has left which is when Colin exits the church and tells her to get into his carriage. Things get a bit heated as he confronts Penelope for hiding this secret and scolds her for the harm the truth could cause her, which is when she basically puts him in his place saying he has no right to question her. 

Tensions quickly turn to that of the, ahem, sexual kind as Colin confesses his feelings for Penelope and things get steamy in the carriage as they do in the part 1 finale. When they arrive at the Bridgerton home, Colin asks her to marry him. 

Cressida tells the ton she’s Lady Whistledown

In Romancing Mister Bridgerton, Lady Danbury offers up a reward to the person who can reveal the identity of Lady Whistledown which stirs up a lot of talk. With money on the line, Cressida sees this as an opportunity to make some cash and make herself the talk of the town by telling everyone she is Lady Whistledown. 

Needless to say, this does not sit well with Penelope as Cressida has long been responsible for making fun of Penelope and making her feel small. It’s her outrage at Cressida trying to steal what is so special to her that prompts Penelope to come out of retirement as Lady Whistledown and write the entry that ultimately leads to Colin discovering her secret. 

After Colin proposes to Penelope, he asks her to please not publish the entry in which she calls Cressida out as a fraud and it seems like Penelope decides to put Lady Whistledown behind her. That is until the night of their engagement ball when the newest edition of the Lady Whistledown Society Papers is published and features the entry Colin had discovered in which Penelope called Cressida a fraud. 

That entry ends up being the downfall of Penelope as the wording of the entry happens to be an exact phrasing of something Penelope once said to Cressida. This tips Cressida off to the fact that Penelope is the real Lady Whistledown, and she attempts to blackmail Penelope for money as she threatens to expose her. 

Colin outs Penelope as Lady Whistledown 

When Penelope tells Colin about Cressida’s threat, he assures Penelope that he will help take care of things and urges her not to give into Cressida’s blackmail ploy. He keeps Penelope in the dark as he crafts a plan to deal with the issue, a plan that comes together at a ball thrown at Hasting House by Daphne and Simon. 

The event brings out all of the biggest names in the ton as it’s not often that Simon and Daphne throw a ball, and we later find out that the ball was all part of Colin’s plan. 

At the ball, Colin escorts Penelope to the balcony and gives a toast celebrating his beautiful and talented wife. It's in this speech that he reveals to the entire ton that Penelope is so brilliant that she is actually the mastermind behind Lady Whistledown. Lady Danbury is the first to erupt in applause and she’s shortly followed by Anthony, Simon, and the Bridgerton women before everyone at the ball begins cheering for Penelope. 

And that is how the book comes to a close… well, almost. 

Penelope convinces Colin to become an author

While Penelope’s identity as Lady Whistledown is the key storyline in Romancing Mister Bridgerton, there is another key plot line in the book connected to Colin. 

After Penelope reads an entry in Colin’s journal about his travels and she ultimately ends up convincing him that she should share his stories with the world. With Penelope’s help, Colin fine-tunes his writing and realizes the dream he didn’t even know he had until Penelope helped me to see how talented of a writer he truly is. 

In the final chapter of the book, Colin’s book, An Englishman in Italy, is published and he and Penelope truly get their happy ending. 

What will happen in Bridgerton season 3 part 2? 

Given how many changes the show has made, it’s going to be interesting to see what exactly will happen in the second half of the season. One thing that should happen with certainty is that Penelope will accept Colin’s proposal and the two will get married. It’s also highly likely that Penelope will still help Colin publish his journals as a book. 

What is going to be interesting is to see if the show follows through with the events of the book that see Colin discovering the truth about Penelope being Lady Whistledown. This is such a huge part of the Romancing Mister Bridgerton storyline it would be shocking if the show did not incorporate it into the final episodes of the season. To do so, though, they’re going to likely take some major creative liberties. 

It’ll be interesting to see if the show has Cressida attempting to steal Penelope’s thunder or if they’ll skip that part of the story. It’s also going to be interesting to see how Colin might find out Penelope’s secret. Unless Cressida tries to present herself as being behind Lady Whistledown, there would be no need for Penelope to publish the edition of her Society Papers that led Colin to catch her and they’d also have to change up the whole blackmail story that ultimately prompts Colin to revealing Penelope’s secret to the whole ton. 

Speaking of which, if that storyline is incorporated, it’ll have to happen at a different ball given the fact that Simon and Daphne are not expected to appear in the season. 

All we know is that we’d be shocked if Netflix did not have Colin find out the truth this season before his wedding to Penelope as changing that storyline would be such a pivotal moment from Romancing Mister Bridgerton to ignore. 

We’ll know soon enough just what Netflix has planned when Bridgerton season 3 part 2 arrives on June 13.