Colin's horse vest is haunting me. It's like he's wondering what it will take for Penelope to see the man behind the tan, and fight for him.

"I will go down with this ship "

WARNING: may cause intense yearning, an inability to stop thinking about a certain woman, and waves of jealousy

People don't give Penelope enough props for the absolute BRAVERY it took in asking Colin for a kiss!!! I am tired of the rancid takes of 'oh, it makes her look pathetic-' no. Penelope asking for that kiss is VITAL in her growth, and pivotal to Polin's love story. Some flowers for Colin, first, for having put in years of work into their relationship so that Penelope trusts Colin to the point where she would even dare to ask it of him, but flowers to Penelope for asking. She trusts him and she's familiar with him and she KNOWS she's safe with him, and she took a leap of faith. So much of Penelope's arc is hiding what she wants and who she is, melding into the shadows, putting on a front. She doesn't confide in much of ANYONE. Not even Eloise knew about her love for Colin, or her existence as Lady Whistledown. Penelope keeps so much close to the chest.

Which makes it such an amazing moment when she opens up with Colin. When she reveals what she desires, and when he responds with 'If you want this, I'll give it to you'. So in that scene, when she's heartbroken and sad, after she has written of her own humiliation in Lady Whistledown to circulate amongst the ton, adding her own name to her list of bullies, when she thinks she is well and firmly on the shelf, and Colin comes to check on her, and he won't allow her to think badly of herself, and he even goes so far as to bribe her maid to have a moment with her, she opens her heart up enough to ask him for what she wants.

And that is beautiful. It deserves props and recognition. To ask for what we want as women is radical, and I'm frankly sick and tired of people thinking she's 'pathetic' for it. Penelope is brave in this scene. She is brave and vulnerable and Colin is there to tell her that is okay. That it should be rewarded. That he will catch her and he is there and she is right to trust him. He is the safety net as she tumbles and steps into the unknown.

Penelope Featherington looked the man that she loves in the eye, and she asked him to kiss her. How many of us would have the iron spine necessary for that? Sure, maybe she thinks she's hit rock bottom, but she could have swallowed her truth as she so often did. She chose not to. Penelope Featherington, who only ever voiced her opinions on a page, anonymously, stood before him with nothing to protect her heart, bare-faced, and told Colin Bridgerton she wanted him to kiss her. That she wanted to be loved.

And he did. He did and it was lovely. It was a fantastic kiss, and in that moment, you can tell that she *was* loved. Is loved. He held her like she was starlight, precious, delicately grasping her chin, brushing her cheek; he pecked her once and then went in for more. That kiss had desire and longing and tenderness in it. It was gentle and wholehearted. It was them learning each other, the both of them flaying away another layer for the other to keep. Penelope asked him for what she wanted and she got it. And it was ultimately the catalyst for all her desires to come to fruition.

I feel like we as women are told we must be passive so often: don't be too loud, don't ask them out, don't look 'desperate'. But fuck that: Penelope is an active participant in her love story. She asks Colin for what she wants and he provides it for her eagerly. That kiss made him realize that what he felt for her was far more than just friendship, and it started with 'Would you kiss me, Colin?' and ended with him outrunning HORSES to catch up with Penelope so he could, on his knees, profess how much he wants her and how he can't stop dreaming of their kiss. She toppled that first domino. May we all be so courageous. May we all be so bold. May we all be so loved.

Penelope put her own love story into motion with that kiss. We should fucking applaud her.

And so, on an otherwise unremarkable Friday afternoon…Colin Bridgerton kissed Penelope Featherington. And it was glorious.

His lips touched hers softly at first, not because he was trying to be gentle, although if he’d had the presence of mind to think about such thing, it probably would have occurred to him that this was her first kiss, and it ought to be reverent and beautiful and all the things a girl dreams about as she’s lying in bed at night.

But in all truth, none of that was on Colin’s mind. In fact, he was thinking of quite little. His kiss was soft and gentle because he was still so surprised that he was kissing her. He’d known her for years, had never even thought about touching his lips to hers. And now he couldn’t have let her go if the fires of hell were licking his toes. He could barely believe what he was doing-or that he wanted to do it so damned much.

It wasn’t the sort of kiss one initiates because one is overcome with passion or emotion or anger or desire. It was a slower thing, a learning experience-for Colin just as much as Penelope. And he was learning that everything he thought he’d known about kissing was rubbish. Everything else had been mere lips and tongue and softly murmured but meaningless words.

This was a kiss. - Romancing Mister Bridgerton

Nicola Coughlan for Stylist Magazine

I can't get over all of the Greek legend/mythology parallels with Penelope and Colin this season.

One that has already been pointed out in previous seasons is the parallel to the Odyssey: Odysseus wanders in his travels and eventually returns home to his wife Penelope who has been waiting for him all this time. Colin wanders around Europe, often to Greece, while Penelope eagerly awaits his return home to England.

Then there's the Eros/Psyche parallels this season. Eros was tasked with finding a husband for Psyche but ended up falling in love with her himself. Colin offered to help Penelope find a husband and, well, task failed successfully?

Psyche is often associated with/depicted with butterfly wings. The Featheringtons are associated with butterflies as much as the Bridgertons are associated with bees. You'll see them on their outfits and in their hair. And Penelope's transformation this season can be seen as her emerging from a cocoon.

Eros is known for his bow and arrow. And after Penelope tells Madam Delacroix that she wishes to find a husband, we cut to Gregory pointing his new bow (sans arrow) at Colin.

Also, there's a part of the Eros/Psyche myth where Eros feels betrayed by Psyche and that's definitely gonna happen in part 2.

Thank you, Bridgerton, for letting your male stars keep their chest hair. Much ... MUCH appreciated

Christine and Spock — Star Trek | The Serene Squall

She’s wearing rhinestones and glitter eyeshadow but y’all draw the line at acrylics, y’all bffr 😂

The queen’s wig had spinning swans for god sakes - we are no longer here for historical accuracy pls.

Four year anniversary of “Cooler” (29 January, 2013) → I meant something like that.

Thank the cupcake :)

bridgerton may not have historical fashion accuracy but it has sibling relationship accuracy and i think we can all agree that is much more important

Realizing that it's Penelope's situation I identify with but Colin's... erm, position... I want to be in 😏

The way Penelope thought Colin was asking her to come up to his room for a dick down and she was fully ready to accept but her only worry was that she wouldn’t be able to sneak in without being caught 😭