Colin Bridgerton and Penelope Featherington have a sweeping friends-to-lovers romance in Bridgerton season 3 — identical to they do within the ebook.

This publish has spoilers for Bridgerton season 3, half 1.

Colin and Penelope’s onscreen journey was tailored from Julia Quinn’s Romancing Mister Bridgerton, the fourth ebook in her Regency romance collection concerning the eight Bridgerton siblings. (The duo have been affectionately nicknamed Polin by followers.)

“Penelope Featherington has secretly adored her finest pal’s brother for … nicely, it appears like without end,” a ebook abstract reads. “After half a lifetime of watching Colin Bridgerton from afar, she thinks she is aware of all the pieces about him till she stumbles throughout his deepest secret … and fears she doesn’t know him in any respect.”

The abstract provides, “Colin Bridgerton is bored with being thought nothing however an empty-headed charmer, bored with the neverending sameness of his life, and, most of all, bored with everybody’s preoccupation with the infamous gossip columnist Girl Whistledown, who can’t appear to publish an version with out mentioning him within the first paragraph. However when Colin returns to London from a visit overseas, he discovers nothing in his life is kind of the identical — particularly Penelope Featherington! The woman who was all the time merely … there’s out of the blue the woman haunting his goals.”

Bridgerton season 3 premiered Thursday, Might 16, on Netflix — with a number of similarities and variations to Quinn’s novel.

“I do imagine there are numerous actually particular moments for the hardcore followers. I hope they really feel seen and glad,” Nicola Coughlan, who performs Penelope, advised City & Nation earlier this month, noting it was a “difficult balancing act” to characteristic lots of the ebook’s iconic moments with new additions befitting the characters.

Hold scrolling for a complete breakdown of how Bridgerton season 3 compares to its literary inspiration:

The Time Body

First off, Romancing Mister Bridgerton takes place 10 years after Benedict’s ebook, An Provide From a Gentleman. In ebook canon, Benedict falls in love with eventual spouse Sophie Beckett shortly after siblings Daphne and Anthony’s respective marriages to Simon Basset and Kate Sheffield (Sharma on the present). When Romancing Mister Bridgerton picks up, each Colin and Penelope are a decade older. Penelope, nonetheless secretly authoring Girl Whistledown columns, has additionally come to phrases with the concept of being a spinster.

The present takes place shortly after season 2, which means Penelope isn’t fairly on the age of spinsterhood after simply three seasons on the wedding mart. Moreover, she is actively looking for a husband in season 3, which proves that this Pen shouldn’t be OK with being a lifelong bachelorette.

Meet the [Extended] Featheringtons

With Penelope taking the lead this season, meaning we get to see extra of her household. Identical to the ebook, the present has confirmed that her sisters Phillipa (Harriet Cains) and Prudence (Bessie Carter) are each married however nonetheless return house for frequent household conferences. One Featherington sister, nevertheless, is notably absent: Felicity. As talked about within the ebook, Felicity is the youngest of the bunch and is meant to be across the similar age as Hyacinth Bridgerton. She has not, and nonetheless doesn’t, seem within the present in any respect.

All Eyes Are on Cressida

Cressida Cowper (Jessica Madsen) has a extra central position in season 3 as she turns into buddy-buddy with Eloise Bridgerton (Claudia Jessie), additionally a brand new improvement. Amid her friendship with Eloise, Cressida takes concern with Penelope. The bullying is constant throughout the ebook and present, however the backstory for it’s new.

In Romancing Mister Bridgerton, the heightened rivalry is primarily over Girl Whistledown. On the present, it’s over new suitor Lord Debling (Sam Phillips), as each Pen and Cressida are husband-hunting among the many ton. Within the ebook, Cressida shouldn’t be single and is as an alternative married to Lord Twombley.

Penelope’s Glow-Up

That is so correct! Pen determined to shed the inexperienced and yellow frocks for materials of her personal selecting, which is how Romancing Mister Bridgerton described her within the early chapters. Penelope particularly selecting blue tones can be proper on the cash.

A Love Triangle

The idea of Penelope having a suitor (hiya and welcome to the ton, Lord Debling) is totally new to the present. In Romancing Mister Bridgerton, Colin didn’t need to compete for Pen’s consideration, nor did she need to for Debling’s towards the opposite single girls in London. Plus, within the ebook, Colin (Luke Newton) didn’t tutor Penelope in allure to assist her land a husband, primarily as a result of she wasn’t on the lookout for one.

Colin’s Time to Shine

A lot of Colin’s journey in Romancing Mister Bridgerton — from his rakish habits to his writing ambitions and first kiss with Penelope — is spot-on in season 3.

Let’s Discuss About Benedict

For all of the Benophie stans on the market, no, there’s no sweeping love story simply but onscreen. Actually, Benedict (Luke Thompson) point-blank says that he’s not able to courtroom a girl within the new episodes. After all, by Romancing Mister Bridgerton, Benedict is already a profitable artist and lives within the countryside with spouse Sophie to lift their sons. None of that has come to move in season 3.

We Have an Earl

With season 3 serving because the society debut for Francesca (Hannah Dodd), meaning we get to satisfy her eventual first husband, John Stirling (Victor Alli). John continues to be the Earl of Kilmartin as he’s in her ebook, When He Was Depraved. Nevertheless, he doesn’t have a Scottish accent, which is perplexing to Us since Kilmartin is in Scotland. After the marriage, per When He Was Depraved, Francesca will dwell with him in his ancestral house.

It’s Getting Steamy within the Ton

Most of Colin and Penelope’s intimate scenes are ripped from the web page, however their carriage makeout comes amidst a barely completely different circumstance. Within the ebook, they’re in Colin’s car after he finds out that she is Girl Whistledown. Onscreen, it’s within the Featheringtons’ carriage on the best way house from a ball when he’s nonetheless in the dead of night about her writing pursuits. The integrity (and particular actions) of the scene stays, so don’t fret, light readers.

After the carriage scene, Colin nonetheless proposes. Within the ebook, their engagement comes after the Whistledown reveal — not earlier than it.

The primary half of Bridgerton season 3 is presently streaming on Netflix. The remaining episodes drop on June 13.