u/Unique-Blueberry1464

Penelope’s first scene in the entire show was of her being concerned for her oldest sister, “Mama, is she to breathe!?” As she watches her mother and a maid tighten Prudence’s corset, Prudence is in pain. Penelope’s face was all sympathy for her oldest sister, who, by the way, bullied her. She’s not faking it either; we will later see her “faking it” body language, and that was not it. Penelope was truly worried about her oldest sister’s health.

When the Featherington ladies first met Marina and saw that she was beautiful, Penelope was the only one in awe. Portia, Prudence, and Philippa were all visibly upset. But Penelope didn’t have a care in the world that she was, “Oh, she’s beautiful.” Penelope did genuinely like Marina and was the only one in the house who had treated Marina with kindness.

The “Lord Byron, he is not” scene. Penelope didn’t seem jealous or upset that Colin was there during courting hours for Marina. She was just happy to see him. Giggling with him and Eloise about the horrid poetry. To be honest, she was probably too focused on the hilariously awful poetry than the fact that Colin was there for Marina. It was a distraction to her for sure.

“It has reached my ears that Mr. Colin Bridgerton shall be awarded the year’s grand prize when he sweeps Miss Thompson off her pretty little slippered feet.” Penelope, as Lady Whistledown, wrote this. Let me repeat that. Penelope wrote this. Sure, it was in a sarcastic tone, but if she was evil and only cared about herself, why would she write this? Wouldn’t she instead write something to divert Colin’s attention from Marina, and write something horrible about Marina? And even suggesting Colin to be with Penelope Featherington instead? But she didn’t. And we know this must have been painful for her to write. If anything, it made it seem like she hates herself.

In season one, we also never see her trying to get Colin for herself. She never even tried to divert Colin’s attention from Marina to herself instead. Like at the Vauxhall Ball when Colin asks her where Marina is, she just swallowed down her pain and told him the truth, the truth that she was told, that she’s ill at home. Again, we don’t see her trying to get him interested in her. She just dealt with it because she believed Colin would never love her back. She genuinely believed that at this point.

I suppose one could argue that there was an ulterior motive for Penelope being Marina’s biggest supporter and cheerleader in her getting her happy ending with George, because that means she would get Colin for herself. But first of all, Penelope completely believed that Colin Bridgerton would never love her back, and she seemed to just painfully and reluctantly accept it. Secondly, we saw that she genuinely likes Marina and wants her to be happy. She’s also a hopeless romantic and loves love. She was living vivaciously through Marina. She was sad when there was no letter from George, excited when there was, and then sad again when they thought George had disowned Marina and their child. We saw that Penelope deeply empathized with her. She also empathized with the dire circumstances she was in. If Penelope were a narcissistic villain, as some people seem to think, she wouldn’t even care about Marina’s happiness; if she were a sociopath, she would have been in glee about Marina’s pain and her situation. Thirdly, at that point, Colin’s interest in Marina seemed to flicker away just like everyone else. Sure, it was because Marina was hidden away, but I would think that if Colin truly loved Marina, especially after seeing lover boy Colin with Penelope, he wouldn't have let that stop him. To Penelope, all she knew was that Colin had moved on from Marina, at that point, so why would there be an ulterior motive?

It is true that sociopaths, or narcissists, do tend to hide in plain sight. Hiding their true selves from the public. Lying and pretending are their trademark. But I don’t think that’s the case here. Like, for example, later in episode 7, when she found Marina passed out in her room, she immediately cried out for her, ran over, held her, and tried to wake her up. She was distraught, screaming for her mama to come… and nobody else was around. She was ALONE with an unconscious Marina. If she were a sociopath and hated Marina… she could have put a pillow over her head long enough, and there would be a funeral in episode 8. And nobody could know the wiser, and Penelope would be pretending to be in grief and fake crying. But that didn’t happen. In episode 8, the first time we see Penelope is when she goes back into Marina's room to check if she's okay. So, no, Penelope is definitely not an evil sociopath. And I imagine she did feel guilty as well.

Colin’s interest in Marina seems to fade out from episode TWO until the end of episode 4 (more than two episodes later). It's important to note that in episode 1, Penelope didn't know Marina was pregnant, but by episode 4, she did. She knew Marina had a big secret that could destroy Marina's reputation and also that of anyone associated with Marina. She also knew that Colin didn't know. Penelope is also protective of Colin. It's going to color any action or reaction Penelope made forward on from this point. While it doesn't mean she wasn't also jealous, Colin is still her friend that she has known since she was a child. Colin is important to her, even just as a friend. I think being jealous and being protective can both be true at the same time. As the subplot's arc progressed, it became more about her protective instinct than her jealousy.

"Marina hates tomatoes!" She was 50% jealousy and 50% protective in this scene. While she was diverting Colin's attention to herself, Penelope also didn't try to divert Colin's interest to her. She tried to divert Colin's attention to his lifelong dream of traveling, reminding him of his dream. Basically suggesting to him to go far away from Marina and, inadvertently, even herself. Half jealousy/half protective was the same for suggesting to her mother that Colin's too young to marry, years from thinking of marriage.

After eavesdropping on Marina and her mother, hearing Marina’s plans to seduce and babytrap Colin, Pen was more in protective mode than jealous.

At Daphne’s wedding reception, Penelope pointed out several eligible suitors, who weren’t old, creepy guys, for Marina to pick instead of Colin, but Marina turned down everyone that Penelope had suggested. She claims that she doesn’t have time for any of these men. Then Pen responds with: "You can choose anyone but him. He is my friend, Marina. I have known him forever. But I do not want him to be tricked and deceived into a lifelong commitment. You must not do this to a good man." 75% protective, 25% jealousy. Would Pen have let Marina deceive and trick a random suitor with whom she has no emotional ties? I don’t know. It’s possible. It’s also possible she wouldn’t have. But I don’t think that’s the point here. The point is that Pen deeply cares for Colin and is secretly in love with him, and Marina has chosen him to entrap him into a long-term commitment. Generally, people are more protective of their loved ones than of strangers or people they just know in passing/in name. That was Penelope’s first attempt to stop Marina from entrapping Colin.

When Colin announced that he and Marina are engaged, it’s became 30% protective mode, 30% fear, 30% anger/frustration, and 10% jealousy.

For almost the entire episode 6, Penelope was not in a good mood. She was frustrated at the whole situation and hated that Colin was in the middle of it. And yes, also in torturous agony. Like Colin watching Penelope and Debling kind of torture.

When Philippa and Prudence laughed at Colin, Penelope shouted at them: "Do not laugh at him! She makes a fool of him already."

During the engagement dinner/gathering, Penelope made her second attempt. She told Colin that Marina is in love with another. Yes, it's not the full truth. But Penelope is an unwed young lady in a time when talking about intimate intercourse is taboo, especially with an unmarried man. So she told him in a way that she knew how and safe if overheard. But again, it didn't work. Colin dismissed it, basically saying, "Don't worry, Pen! I am a flirt too. That's all in the past. Marina is marrying me now." Second attempt failed.

Now it's 32% fear, 32% anger/frustration, and 4% jealousy. Penelope sneaked into Marina's room to search for George's letters. In a desperate effort to find any clues to what she could do to stop the entrapment. She found something. George's last letter was forged by her mother, and she rightly assumed Varley helped as well. She waited until Marina came into her room and excitedly told her that George hadn't broken her heart, hadn't disowned her, or their child. Explaining about the forged letter. Hoping that Marina would gently call off the engagement (especially since in this era, only the women could call off an engagement without both parties being ruined). So Colin won't be trapped in a lie; they'll try to find George, and Marina could have her chance of a happy ending with George. But to Penelope's surprise and horror, it didn't work. She was completely defeated at this point. 

Going back in time a little, while searching for the letters, she also saw that Marina's bag was packed. She rightly suspected that Colin and Marina were planning to go to Gretna Green. When Marina basically confirmed it:  

Pen: "Marina! what would you do when Colin realizes the child is not his? That day will come. He is not simple." 

Marina: "What I will do is life safe in the knowledge that my husband is a good and kind man. He would never turn me out on the street. He will care for us both, come what may." 

Pen: "But what of him? What of Colin?" 

This is the moment Marina realized that Penelope is in love with Colin. 

Marina: "You love him." 

Pen: "What?"

Marina: "No, it makes sense now. Your objections, your meddling. You love Colin Bridgerton."

Pen: "You know not of what you speak." 

Marina: "I believe I know so much more than you, Pen... of Colin, of the world. If I am to be the executioner of this childish infatuation, then so be it. Your love is an unrequited fantasy. Colin sees you as you are and regards you no differently than he does Eloise, or even little Hyacinth. He sees me as a wife, a woman. And as a woman I must make these difficult choices for myself and for my child... Even if they hurt your feelings."

Marina didn't seem to understand, or at least refused to acknowledged it, that this would hurt Colin. And that he would be trapped in a lie forever. Colin believed he is in love, he's not even actually in love with her! And he thinks Marina love him too, because she told him she does. It was a lie. And Pen was trying to protect him. Marina dismissed Penelope as if she's a mere child, who doesn't understand grown up things, like Hyacinth. Marina didn't know any better than Penelope does. 

It was a kiss of death for Marina because you could see the exact moment Penelope decided that this was it. The only thing she could do at this point is to reveal Marina's secret in Lady Whistledown. 50% protection mode and 50% fear/desperation.

"All is fair in love and war, but some battles leave no victor, only a trail of broken hearts that makes us wonder if the price we pay is ever worth the fight... The ones we love have the power to inflict the greatest scars. For what thing is more fragile than the human heart?" 

We see Penelope, in tears, coming into the Bridgertons' garden to find Eloise. It's implied that this is right after she wrote Marina's secret and sent it to the printers. Eloise and Penelope weren't on the best of terms at the moment, but she needed her best friend. Because she knows it will hurt and humiliate Colin. That it will ruin Marina. She didn't want to do this in the first place. She's not faking it, because why would she? What's the point of it? Eloise didn't know she was Lady Whistledown. It wouldn't make a difference. 

"The bond between man and bride is private, scared. But I must tell you, I have learned that a grave fraud is afoot. As if the Featheringtons did not have enough to be dealing with, Miss Marina Thompson is with child... and she has been from the very first day she arrived in our fair city." Penelope wrote it in a way that wouldn't ruined Colin or his family. 

Desperate times may call for desperate measures, but I would wager many will think her actions beyond the pale. Perhaps she thought it her only option, or perhaps she knows no shame. But I ask you, can the ends ever justify such wretched means?" Penelope was writing about Marina's actions and her own actions here (also unknowingly paralleling Daphne). Penelope knew revealing it in Lady Whistledown wasn't the most morally right thing to do, but she felt it was the only way, and she was right. She also seemed to understand that Marina was trying to protect herself and her child. She just chose to protect Colin over Marina. Someone that she knew and loved for years, in love with, over someone she had just met mere months ago. 

Also important to note here is that she’s young. Generally, people’s prefrontal cortex (the part of our brain that manages decision-making, emotions, and impulses) doesn’t fully develop until we are around our mid-20s. Penelope was 17 in season one. Colin, Eloise, and Marina are also prime examples of this. S1 Colin was 19/20. Eloise and Marina are the same age as Penelope.

Another thing: Her parents. Her family of origin. Penelope, as she has canonically said, felt invisible, voiceless, powerless in her own home and in the ton as a whole. Nobody took her seriously, either. She was forced to go out a year early; also, the dresses she wore and the hairstyles were mostly her mother’s choices. Those were the reasons she started Lady Whistledown. So she can feel like she has a voice and some control over her own life, even when she feels she has none. Even if it’s just as her alter ego. It’s still something. To be honest, it made sense.

To sum it all up, Penelope made a messy decision to save the man she loves from a messy situation that started before she met Marina. The person who's mostly to blame here was George. None of this would have happened if he, after being intimate, had proposed or married Marina before jetting off to war.