Missing: Colin “My Wife” Bridgerton
Let me start with I do not blame Colin for being mad. He totally deserves to be mad. He needs to be mad and take time to process. Totally understand that and I get it.
But the behavior in episodes in 7 and 8 completely ruins Colin and Polin for me. Let’s discuss
Accusing Pen of entrapping him. My brother in Christ, have you lost your mind. You publicly ruined her engagement, ran after her carriage unchaperoned, took her to an unchaperoned home, and had sex with her. She didn’t even know what sex was (“there’s more?”). How on Earth could she be trying to entrap you when she clearly doesn’t even know how to entrap a man
When Pen asks if they’re still going to get married he says “I’m a man of honor and we were intimate”. So, you’re going to still marry her because you have to. Not because you still want to, even though you’re pissed. Ok, Colin, at this point just tell her you want out because clearly you do. She loves you enough to let you go.
When he finds her leaving the modiste he doesn’t even care about her safety being out at night by herself. He’s literally about to walk away after being disgusted by even seeing her until she yelled at him asking him why he’s out at night. I guess then he takes her to the carriage but he was literally going to leave her. Alone. At night. By herself.
He spends their wedding night on the settee, ignoring her. Again, why did he even agree to marry her at this point? I’m not even sure he likes Penelope anymore, I definitely don’t think he loves her.
She’s supposed to be your best friend. Can you not even just talk to her? Listen to her? I wanted so bad for one person to be on her side, to not leave her. To stand by her. Portia did a better job of that than Colin.
Colin literally gives more grace to Marina for ACTUALLY trying to trap him in season 1 than he gives his wife/best friend when he goes to talk to Marina in season 1. I mean he actually goes to talk to her and is begging people to let him go to her, something he is unwilling to do with Penelope.
When Pen comes in with Portia and they’re talking about what to do with Cressidas blackmail they all completely steamroll over Pen. I just wanted to yell at Pen to use her voice. Colin literally says “it’s not up to you what we do”. Excuse fucking me. Did you not tear Portia a new one for not respecting Penelope and then you say THAT to your WIFE. What the fuck.
Going to see Cressida unchaperoned. Seriously? Do I even need to say more.
But while we’re on that subject, Colin tells Cressida more about what he’s feeling THAN HE TELLS HIS OWN WIFE. He also is way more empathetic to Cressida than Penelope! He’s talking to her all soft and kind. Like ??
After Pen makes her speech Colin just leaves her up there by herself. Her sister, who has ridiculed Pen her whole life, is the one who goes to essentially save her from the talk of the ton. All she wanted was for Colin to stand by her and he didn’t do that for her. And even then it takes Colin MORE time to go to her as clearly Portia and Lady Danbury have time to have conversations with her first
His “Love” confession was awful. It was. I felt numb during it. That’s all you say to her after abandoning her for 2 episodes? It was not even close to enough. “Oh the Queen forgave you so I guess I do too”. He didn’t even balk at the suggestion of an annulment.
I say this all as a Polin stan. I LOVE polin but the writers did them so dirty I was promised Polin vs the world and what I got was Colin vs Penelope except for 10 minutes at the end, which didn’t make up for the abandonment and vitriol he spit at her for 2 episodes. I’m honestly not sure that marriage was salvageable at that point. There was not even friendship any more.
We needed to see them work through Whistledown together, fight it out TOGETHER. And then give 5 more minutes to the episode and show them in LOVE IN THEIR MARRIAGE. Colin taking her hands and leading her into their bedroom. Penelope telling Colin she’s pregnant. Penelope editing his journals while they lay in bed together. ANYTHING.
So if anyone finds Colin “My Wife” Bridgerton, I’m sure Penelope is looking for him