The first season of Bridgerton ended with a bombshell revelation: With seconds left in the finale, the elusive Lady Whistledown lowered her hood to reveal that she’s none other than Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan). Season 2’s closing episode is just as momentous for the author of Lady Whistledown’s Society Papers. After operating undetected as the ton’s favorite purveyor of gossip for nearly two years, Penelope is finally unmasked by best friend Eloise Bridgerton (Claudia Jessie) during the Featherington Ball, causing a fight that might very well end their friendship. To make matters worse, Penelope then overhears crush Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) laughing about her with his friends, right after sharing what she believed was a romantic dance.
Distraught, and with nothing left to lose, Penelope ends the season back where she started: alone with her quill, writing Lady Whistledown’s latest edition. Still, there’s a lot left to unpack: Will she and Eloise ever make up? Can she forgive Colin for breaking her heart? And how long before word gets around that she’s Lady Whistledown? We caught up with Coughlan to answer your burning questions about Bridgerton’s high-stakes second season.
How would you say Penelope has evolved since Season 1?
I think in Season 1 she was this little girl almost, terrified to go out into society, a real wallflower. Starting up Whistledown, she had no concept of the power she was accumulating, and what it would mean if she misused that power. Also, the death of her father at the end of the season — all of that forced her to grow up. I don’t think she’s a woman now by any means, but you definitely see her starting to find her power and establish herself.
In the first season, audiences didn’t know that Penelope was Lady Whistledown until the very last moments. How did the reveal alter your performance this season?
Hugely. It was so much fun to get to play it more out there. The audience are the only ones that are in on the secret. You can watch her listen to the conversations, and all that stuff was so fun to get to do.
One of the highlights of Season 2 is that fans get to see how proud Penelope is of her work.
She’s living for it. She’s so so happy, and it was fun to play that, when she was super pleased with herself. Because also that would have an effect on you. If you were walking around a party and everyone was talking about how great you were and they didn’t know it was you, you’d be like, “Exciting, I am great.”
Do you identify with her at all?
The amount that Penelope lies would stress me out. I couldn’t deal with it. Every time I’d have to tell a lie to Eloise, I would feel so guilty. The truth will always come out.
Tell us about filming the big fight with Eloise. Was it as devastating behind the scenes as it was on screen?
It was completely devastating. Claudia and I didn’t have all the scripts at once, so we thought, “Shit are they going to do this? Is she going to find out? Is the friendship going to be destroyed? Is it fixable?” We talked a lot about it and took a lot of care that day because it’s upsetting. Those were real tears! It was a big day on set, but Claudia and I looked out for one another.
How do you think Eloise’s knowing her secret will affect Penelope next season?
I know little to nothing about Season 3, so everything I say is pure speculation, but I think it’s going to darken her a little bit. Because even her decision to pick the pen back up comes from having lost all the things she holds dear in her life in one fell swoop. She’s lost Eloise, she knows Colin isn’t interested in her, she’s stuck with her rubbish family. She goes, “Okay, Whistledown is amazing, I want to keep control.” But there’s a cost to that.
Speaking of Colin, this season definitely teases more of their relationship. What was it like filming that romantic dance in the finale?
It was fun because it was so different from our Season 1 dance, which was giddy and joyful. It’s the kind of dance where Penelope is like, “Oh my god, something’s going to happen,” which makes it all the more devastating when it’s totally the opposite.
And then there’s that horrible moment when she overhears Colin reject her publicly. How did you react when you first read it in the script?
It’s something I had been aware of for quite a long time because it’s taken from Penelope and Colin’s book. In that scenario, he says it to Anthony and Benedict, and Penelope overhears, and that’s the thing that makes her go, “Ok, he’s never going to love me. This is it.” [Showrunner] Chris Van Dusen had thought of putting it in, and then he took it out, and put it in, took it out. I have always felt that it is really important for it to be in there, because Penelope really idealizes Colin in a way that’s not helpful to her in the long run. If you’re ever going to have a relationship with someone, you can’t think they’re this god. You’ve got to believe that they’re human and that they have flaws.
The few people I know who have seen the show are like, “Why does he say it?” He’s a young guy; he’s just showing off. I don’t think he means it as insulting as it comes off, it’s just like, “Well, it’s my little sister’s friend. I’m looking out for her.” His mind isn’t tuned into her that way at all.
What do you think this means for their relationship going forward?
I feel like she needs to stop obsessing over him in that way. He’s lovely, but also, she’s got to respect herself more but also stop dissing people she loves. She’s got a whole bunch of things she needs to work on before that’s ever going to happen. It was never going to happen at this point. I think she convinced herself it was going to, but as an outsider, it’s like, “No.”
What about Penelope and Eloise? Do you think they can come back from this fight?
They better! I’ll be absolutely heartbroken. Also, I don’t want to miss out on filming with Claudia, because I really love her.
Is Penelope ever going to free herself from all the yellow dresses?
That’s the plan, I think, once we get to her season. In the books, it says she wants to dress in blue. Ultimately, she wants to be a Bridgerton; that’s her end goal. So, I think we’ll get her into blues at some point. They thought about it this season, but I’m glad in the end that they didn’t. I think it’s right to wait until it’s her time to do it, because then it’s really going to have an impact.
Looking to the future, what would you like to see happen for Penelope?
There’s a lot I want for her. I would like [for] honesty [to] set her free. I want her to find love, and I want her to have a business. I want her friendship repaired.
Tudum
Written by Anne Cohen
Published March 29, 2022
