They better not blow it with Phillip; their season has so much potential
I’m already kinda annoyed that the last 2 seasons focused so much more on the female leads, especially S3. Pen was already super developed after S1-2, while Colin still desperately needed more screen time and character work. I really hope they don’t repeat that with Philoise. It’s the season I’m looking forward to the most so I have high hopes.
At this point we know Eloise pretty well, even if her side plots lately haven’t been the strongest. But we know basically NOTHING about show Phillip, and considering how divisive he is in the book, they really need to spend time fleshing him out.
I recently reread To Sir Phillip, With Love and honestly I still don’t love book Phillip, even though I understand his trauma and why he is the way he is. For most of the book it feels like he mainly wants a caretaker for his kids and someone to fill the role of “wife,” and the romance itself doesn’t fully land for me. The last-minute “oh I didn’t expect to actually fall in love with her” didn’t completely sell me.
BUT I absolutely love what we’ve seen from show Phillip so far. He already feels way gentler and more emotionally appealing than book Phillip, while still having the potential for the same emotional depth and trauma. If they actually lean into his backstory and complexity, he could genuinely end up being the most compelling male lead on the show so far (imo). The potential is 100% there and Chris Fulton is perfect and I’m in love with his version of Phillip so far.
I’m hoping S4 develops Eloise a bit more, and then S5 really focuses on Phillip so we fully understand BOTH of them before throwing them into the romance.