doomed2repeat - Doomed to Repeat
Doomed to Repeat

Where Pop Culture and History Race to the Bottom 

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Emotionally Unavailable Bad Boy Archetypes Have Had Women In A Chokehold For So Long, I Think We Need

Emotionally unavailable bad boy archetypes have had women in a chokehold for so long, I think we need love stories of men like Colin to heal us at this point.

Penelope fell in love with a good, nice man because that’s what she needed, and she had good taste for herself. She needed a man like Colin who can be kind, affectionate, compassionate, empathetic, and vulnerable and FUN. It might take him a minute to sort out his feelings, but once he knows his thoughts he’s decisive and open and doesn’t withhold just to be stubborn or cold. His love and confidence in her helps build her up, and in turn, her ambition and talents inspire him to make something of himself.

That’s what I want to see. I’ve been sold the “fantasy” of having to fix a broken man or of taming a bad boy for so long. I just want something different. Colin is going to be the breath of fresh air in between rakes and bad boys.

Let me tell you this fandom does not deserve Colin Bridgerton.

I’m so tired of seeing him being compared to previous leads, and saying that he’s never gonna be better than them. Why are you so insecure about the characters that you like that you have to make it a competition?

I don’t want Colin to be anything like the previous leads because that isn’t true to who he is. He doesn’t need to be a rake or dark or broody to be interesting.

Penelope says herself the thing that attracts her to Colin in the first place is his kindness. He’s just a sweet charming guy who is a little oblivious. Why do y’all literally need to see the same archetype of guy every season?

I am so excited to see Colin and Luke Newton in this season, and I am not going to shut up about it ever

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More Posts from Doomed2repeat

1 year ago

if the reason you dislike colin bridgerton is cuz he's apparently embarrassed to be seen with pen then you fundamentally misunderstand their friendship. he is literally too blind to the ton's rules/perception to feel embarrassed. THAT is the problem. he has no concept of what life is like for people who aren't him. the incident with m****a opened his eyes to a world he never gave a second thought to. he still tries to be a good man, but he neglects, in his haste to be a good man, that his actions have consequences and most of those consequences he does not suffer.

this is his relationship with pen. she is so ingrained in his life that he takes her for granted. he speaks only of himself in his conversations with her. it is never about her. he takes her hands and leads her into an empty room, unchaperoned, because he doesn't realise the harm it could do to her reputation. that is the problem.

he is unable to stand up to the rakes of the ton when confronted with his familiar friendship with penelope. he is perfectly happy to be seen with her, to dance with her, to have meaningful conversations with her, to exchange letters during his travels, to save her family from a cousin who's scamming the ton - he's perfectly happy doing all of that in plain view of everyone. but he's too immature and oblivious to question how any of this would affect penelope and her standing in the ton/marriage mart. he sees the big picture, but he neglects the nuance of their interactions and what it means for her.

in s3 we will see him take her into consideration. that is the biggest change in him. him realising he cares for her, he wants her to be happy, he so badly wants to be the one to make her happy. we will see him thinking long and hard about the things he used to do unthinkingly - taking penelope's hand in his, standing too close to her, calling her by a nickname. and we will see her protect herself from his advances because she doesn't believe he loves her. not after everything he's done that proves otherwise. and he will be absolutely crushed that she doesn't believe him, and what will break him is that he has no one to blame for that but himself.

1 year ago

I think it's interesting to look at the 'Mr. Bridgerton' scene as a backdrop for the eventual mirror scene. Firstly, in the fact that I think we've kind of misinterpreted it.

So many people are of the mind that scene's purpose to 'drag' Colin, but really, that scene has 3 primary functions. The first is to inform Colin that Penelope is aware of what he said of her, thus opening the door to clearing the air between them and providing an avenue for which Colin can apologize. The second is to establish the ground that they are currently on: Penelope has given up on the dream of Colin Bridgerton, in particular the perfect prince that can do no wrong, and has made it clear to him. It also creates distance between them that they will bridge.

But the third, and to me the most wrapped up in the mirror and the inner workings of their relationship is that it reveals how Penelope feels about *herself*. It's not necessarily an echo of what the ton considers her as, after all, we have a lot of evidence indicating that, for all intents and purpose, people aren't *unkind* about her, but rather that they ignore her. Audience members recognize this as Penelope's own shyness being the cause, she is often sitting off on the sidelines or not really talking to much of anyone, in the books she's referred to as the 'one who doesn't speak', and her LW business takes her away from being a character in the action of the ton to a bystander, kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy of sorts that perpetuates itself. Pen felt unseen so she became LW to have some power, but then LW herself must remain unseen and Penelope continues to be by design of her own making.

No, I think what it really reveals is that Penelope has incredibly low personal self esteem. We as a fandom has lauded that scene as her dragging Colin, saying that he's cruel and calling him Mr. Bridgerton is absolutely meant to create distance between them, but I don't think she's dragging him.

Because the person she is *actually* dragging here. . .is herself. And it is a general theme in her life. In Whistledown. Aloud. Even with Marina, when she complimented her, she assumes that she's lying. When Edwina says she's wearing a pretty dress, Penelope puts herself down and doesn't believe her, even when the compliment is genuine. In truth, Portia is not seen as being particularly unkind to Penelope. At least, speaking as someone who's mum was *awful* about my size and weight and outfits, Portia is. . .overall rather mild. She's not KIND and loving, not by a long shot, but she's also not targeting Penelope only. She's plenty mean and critical to Prudence, too, even to the point where she foists her off to her own cousin as a pawn piece. Penelope has low self esteem because of a lot of reasons, she's bullied by Cressida (I think a lot of girls are, she was pretty mean even to Daphne in S1) and her family isn't very tender to her, and she's not being pursued at every turn, but part of it is also her own perpetuation.

Listen to what she says "Of course you would never court me" "I embarrass you" "I am the laughingstock of the the ton". She sees *herself* as an embarrassment. She puts *herself* down. Arguably, more so than the ton does. She's meaner to herself than anyone else is, aside from Cressida. And honestly? Looking at Colin's face there. . .he is HURT that she considers herself this way. That she's projecting that onto him. Yes, he's hurt that he hurt her, of course he is, he never wants to hurt her. And yes, he's ashamed that he said he wouldn't court her the way he did and that in doing so, he validated her fears that she is unloved and unwanted, but also because. . .she already feels that way about herself. She's felt that way for years. And it's painful to care about someone, to see them as wonderful, and realize. . .they don't feel the same about themselves at all. I don't think Colin is out here feeling so wounded over the fact that she called him cruel and won't refer to him by first name anymore, but that he's most hurt by what she says about herself.

Because he *doesn't* see her the way she accuses. She says she never expected him of all people to be so cruel, but he feels the same way. He never expected her to be so cruel to *herself*. He wants to go somewhere private, not because she is an embarrassment, but because he wants to have a private conversation with her. Maybe assure her. Maybe explain himself. Maybe hash it out. But god Luke Newton's acting. . .he is *aching* for her. And it feels like he's going to do those lessons not in atonement for what he said (thank god) but to genuinely help his friend who thinks badly of herself. To lift her up. It's not about him at all, not about earning forgiveness, but about elevating Penelope. And that's. . .fuck, I just find that's just so heart stoppingly beautiful.

You can see, in that scene, how much he cares about her. How deeply and genuinely he adores her as a person. And just how painful it is for him to know he has validated, whether on purpose or otherwise, how poorly she feels about herself. How low her self-confidence really is. She is giving him a glimpse into the cracks of her heart, and when he sees them, he wants to reach out with both hands and make it feel better. Make her feel better.

After she says 'even when I change my entire wardrobe', he looks so fucking crushed. So 'don't say that'. So 'you really believe that?'. So 'God, I hate that you think that way'.

Because regardless of it all, he does love her. It's not romantic yet. It's not sexual yet. But he genuinely, truly, from the bottom of his heart, thinks she's wonderful. That was evident even in the 'purpose' scene. Every time Penelope opens up and reveals a facet of herself, he likes it. He likes her barbs and her dreams, he likes talking to her. He likes her. And he feels awful that he hurt her. And he feels awful that she's hurting herself. He loves her. He wants her to love herself.

And that's where the mirror scene comes in. Because the mirror scene isn't about sex, not really. Not entirely, at least. The mirror scene is about *intimacy*. The mirror scene is about being seen. Not just her seeing him, or him seeing her, but for Penelope to see *herself*. In a way, through his eyes. Because hers are biased rather negatively toward herself, which is evidenced in the 'Goodnight Mr. Bridgerton' scene, and in so many little moments we've already gotten where she's literally looking down on herself, feeling down. She doesn't necessarily *like* what's in the mirror, but he does. Because he likes *her*. And he wants to show her that he does. Show her that he finds her beautiful and have her recognize that in herself.

The 'Goodnight Mr. Bridgerton' scene is about Penelope revealing how she sees herself. The mirror scene is about Colin showing her how *he* sees her. The Goodnight scene is about Penelope thinking she means nothing to him, that he thinks of her the way she thinks of herself, that this is how everyone thinks of her, and the mirror scene is a direct response to that: No, he doesn't. No, he doesn't think she's embarrassing. No, he doesn't think she's a laughingstock. No, he doesn't think she's unappealing. And he doesn't think she should, either.

And he's going to show her that. Not just tell her, but show her. The mirror scene is so often a focus on Penelope, so much of Polin is in Penelope's focus, but approaching it from Colin's perspective and his motivations is so fulfilling, too. It's a glimpse into them in conversation, and a demonstrate of how Colin loves her. How Colin loves in general, openly and earnestly and altruistically. How he encourages her to be braver and more confident in herself, bolstering her because he just likes her *that much*. How he finds the most fulfillment and satisfaction in caring aloud. The mirror scene is a demonstration of his heart in reflection.

When Luke Newton said the first word that came to mind with the word 'Mirror' was 'Exposed', he doesn't just mean physically. He means emotionally, too.

God this couple is so fucking good.

1 year ago

It’s ironic because it’s attitudes like that that make Penelope’s story so relatable that it’s bringing in a brand new audience for season 3 just to watch her fall in love and be treated as a sexual and desirable woman. Literally making the show’s point

Netflix: *drops emotionally and sexually charged short promoting Polin*

fatphobes: *crawl out of the woodwork* I do not approve!

Fucking hell, they're like roaches.


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1 year ago

Colin subtly leaning forward towards Penelope even though she’s very clearly irked with him and remembering to lean away is just SO unabashedly Colin like he’s a very act now and think about the consequences later kind of man

Colin Subtly Leaning Forward Towards Penelope Even Though Shes Very Clearly Irked With Him And Remembering
Colin Subtly Leaning Forward Towards Penelope Even Though Shes Very Clearly Irked With Him And Remembering
1 year ago
He Just Stared At Her, Obviously Surprised By Her Question.
He Just Stared At Her, Obviously Surprised By Her Question.

He just stared at her, obviously surprised by her question.