Bridgerton Fans Divided Over Eloise’s Reaction to Key Season 3 Moment

Bridgerton Season 3 has intensified the rift between Eloise and Penelope, causing fans to be divided over how Eloise responded to the announcement of Penelope and Colin’s marriage.

In a clip from Shondaland for Season 3, Eloise appears much less excited about her former best friend’s marriage to her older brother. While everyone is celebrating the happy couple, Eloise’s expression portrays shock and pain before she politely excuses herself.

The main reason for her distress is not solely due to her lack of knowledge about Penelope’s affection for Colin, but also because she has been keeping a secret. Penelope is actually Lady Whistledown, a person whom her brother strongly despises for spreading false rumors about their family.

Despite Penelope finally getting her chance at love, Eloise’s reaction has left fans divided.

“A fan on X/Twitter reminded those who disliked Eloise Bridgerton to consider how they would feel if their closest friend exposed their deepest secret to society, destroyed their most cherished romantic relationship, and then went on to become engaged to their sibling.”

if you hate eloise bridgerton think for a second how you would feel if your best friend told all of society about your deepest secret, ruined the closest thing you’d ever known to romantic love and then turned around and got engaged to your brother like pic.twitter.com/sRPERJmOnD

— cole (@shaunasadecki) June 11, 2024

The fan clarified that she does not view Penelope as a negative character, but rather understands Eloise’s point of view. In the second season of Bridgerton, Eloise became the main subject of Lady Whistledown’s column.

In order to protect Penelope from being mistaken for Lady Whistledown by the Queen, she disclosed that Eloise had been secretly attending political rallies and had developed a relationship with a man named Theo. This is how Eloise discovers Penelope’s hidden identity.

In addition, Eloise’s personal actions brought shame upon the Bridgerton name, which is one of the reasons why Colin holds a negative opinion of the Ton writer.

Some other fans believe that Eloise should not have given Penelope the cold shoulder.

“According to one fan, Theo was never a significant part of the endgame and Pen did not cause any harm in their relationship. The fan also acknowledged that Pen had made an effort to reason with Eloise about the situation. Although Pen could have revealed that she was the Lady Whistledown and offered assistance with the Queen’s predicament, the fan argued that it was not necessary.”

Some fans have suggested that Eloise’s failure to fully heed Penelope’s warnings is what caused their current estrangement.

According to one fan, Eloise has never truly listened to Pen in their friendship. Instead, Eloise has always been the one to share her own ideas and opinions, while Pen simply nods in agreement. If Eloise had truly respected Pen’s opinions, she would have taken her warnings seriously and been aware of Pen’s desire for marriage.

Eloise’s ultimatum to Penelope in Bridgerton Season 3 Part 2 threatens to either repair their friendship or incite even more turmoil. If Penelope does not confess the truth about Colin’s future wife, Eloise threatens to reveal it to him herself.

The second half of Bridgerton Season 3 will be available to watch on Netflix starting June 13.