No Because I Need To Save My Boy From The Lord Debling Stans Already, Shonda You Will Pay For Your Crimes!!!

No because I need to save my boy from the Lord Debling stans already, Shonda you will pay for your crimes!!! Lol

I’m gatekeeping Colin Bridgerton from people who are obsessed with the idea of Penelope making him jealous with other suitors, even if that means I have to gatekeep him from Shonda Rhimes herself!!!

I keep seeing things where people are like "it was so nice to see Colin's satisfied little smirk fall when he realized she wasn't going to fall over herself for him anymore" because they seem to think he really only sees Penelope as an ego boost, but like...my guy just found out he hurt one of his best friends feelings? And thats why shes been ignoring him for months? Hes not upset because his ego isn't getting stroked, he's upset because he hurt someone he cares about. Why is it so hard for y'all to grasp

It does give me some satisfaction after seeing so many comments that no one in the fandom is interested in Polin and dismissing Luke Newton and Nicola Coughlin, that so many people are praising the chemistry and the sneak peeks are doing well in the views. ✌🏻

The Colin needs to be humbled discourse is wild, like did we not watch the same 2 seasons? That man nearly locked himself into one of the most toxic marriages in the series just because he thought she was the first person to ever take him seriously, had a flop Eat Pray Love trip around Greece where he just got high, stared at grass and avoided making eye contact with women, and then came back to England at 22 years old, with no money and no prospects, already a burden to his parents, and frightened. He’s HUMBLED.

Not to mention he cannot have a conversation with Penelope without revealing his biggest insecurities to her, like that he feels aimless and purposeless, that his self confidence was in the tank after Marina and it changed how he saw himself, that he had to practice the speech he made to cousin Jack because he was nervous, and even in the midst of Penelope being angry at him he couldn’t help but let it slip that his own family barely kept in contact with him when he was abroad. If anything Penelope being mad at him might be what breaks him completely. My guy is a walking cry for help (and I love him for it.)

I'll be honest, my biggest takeaway from the sneak peek wasn't, "Yes Pen, read him for filth!" It was, "Oh Pen is totally shame spiralling out of control." Because yes, Penelope has every right to be upset with Colin and tell him why she is upset, but most of the emphasis in this scene is on just how much Penelope hates herself. She doesn't believe Colin when he compliments her dress (a direct parallel to scenes Pen has had with Marina and Edwina in the past), she calls herself a spinster even though she's only 19 (I'm willing to bet Portia refers to Penelope as a spinster at some point before this scene), she assumes Colin sees her as an embarrassment, and again she points out that even though she managed to change her wardrobe, she is still a laughingstock.

This whole scene does way more to demonstrate Penelope's insecurities than it does to paint Colin as someone who needs to grovel for forgiveness. If anything, Colin is handling the situation maturely. He openly communicates his feelings, he doesn't deny what he said, and it's clear he wants to work through the issue.

Penelope is so unhappy with herself that she's taking it out on him more than she should. It's easier to blame him for the one thing he said rather than force herself to look inward. But I think once Colin comes to her again with his plan to help her find a husband, this is going to shift. Penelope will be put in a position where she will have to reflect on those insecurities and Colin will be the one with her on that journey.

Which brings us back to Nicola talking about Penelope putting Colin on a pedestal. He might be off of that pedestal after what he said last season, but she still doesn't view him as a fully flawed human being yet. Once Penelope forgives Colin at the end of 3x01, it's going to open up her eyes and allow her to see Colin as a full human being and as her equal (not as her idol). This is how we get "You're my mess," and "You're the imperfect man of my heart."

I seriously just saw someone say they can’t root for Polin because of what Colin said in 208 and I don’t know how to take these people seriously. That entire sequence is to force both Colin and Penelope out of this comfortable friendship they have where they ignore what’s really going on. In the sneak peek we got to see Penelope be more real with Colin than we’ve seen her be (with anyone) in the entire show and that directly comes from her no longer putting him on a pedestal, because of what she overheard. We don’t get the growth without that moment.