r/PolinBridgerton

Posted by John Glaser, one of the costume designers!

If the casting call for a Polin baby is real, it looks like their second child will be a boy too. Ah, I really want to see Colin as a girl dad!! 😭Also, does the other baby have to be a redhead too? Can't we have one that looks like Colin? 😩 Don't get me wrong Elliot is sooo cute and i love him.

Still, if they’re really having a second baby in S5, that’s amazing! I’m begging, can we please see a pregnant Pen or the moment she breaks the news to Colin? (ok I know that's not gonna happen)

Btw I can totally see Colin having a daughter who is such a "daddy's girl" . She’d probably lose it the moment he leaves the room. 🥹

​If a fanfic like this exists, pls don't hesitate for a second, drop the link, I'm literally begging lol

TL;DW

• Retiring as Lady Whistledown is bittersweet, but “I’m still the OG”
• She doesn’t know who the next Lady Whistledown is
• Nicola described not being part of season 5 as much as “the best of both worlds.” She’s currently filming Only Murders in the Building, “but I still get to pop back to Bridgerton and see everybody, and it’s like coming home”
  • “I’ll always pop back to Bridgerton if they want me”
• She hopes everyone in America watches The Magic Faraway Tree so they can make sequels

A character arc is a character's inner journey and how they evolve over the duration of their story. Ideally, each main character should have a goal, a flaw, and a need.

From the beginning, Colin's goal was to find his place in the world, his purpose, and to be taken seriously. His greatest dream was to travel the world.

Colin's flaws were his low self-worth and insecurity. He also had a hero complex. The lie he believed about himself was that no one took him seriously.

The truth was that a handful of people did take him seriously. Colin also needed to open his eyes to what was right in front of him, Penelope, and to gain a healthy sense of self-worth. 

-------------

Season 2, Episode 1:

Colin wasn't in this episode, but through Penelope, we learned they'd been keeping up correspondence while Colin was traveling. By writing letters, their bond and friendship have deepened. 

Season 2, Episode 2:

Colin has arrived home early from his tour. If Colin didn't have feelings for Penelope before, they definitely grew some during his travels, helped by their correspondence, because the way he stared at Penelope wasn't how one looks at a friend they see only platonically. 

At the horse race, the moment Colin saw Penelope, he abandoned his conversation with some of the other gentlemen and went straight toward Penelope. His body language, the way he smiled, looked at her, and his speech patterns, especially during "Pen. (Long pause) How have you been?" He's falling for Pen, and he didn't even know it. But that's only in his subconscious for now; in his conscious mind, he knew that their friendship had deepened. He felt closer to Pen. He also missed Penelope, even with her letters. 

>Conversation between Colin and Penelope: "You are right. I was not exactly lonely on my travels. I did begin a real conversation with someone. Someone I had known for a long time. And yet, after everything that happened with Miss Thompson, I realized I never truly knew this person at all. Myself."

>"Yourself?"

>"I have you to thank. Your letters were so encouraging. I thought, if Penelope can see me this way, then surely I can too. I was just so distracted by Miss Thompson. So I cleared my head, swore off women and love, and... Well, I only wanted to fully understand myself before coming back into this world."

>"You've sworn off women, then?"

>"Well, for the time being."

>"I am a woman."

>"You are Pen. You do not count. You are my friend."

With everything that happened last season, Colin really lost himself. He made his tour into a self-discovery trip. He needed to get to know himself again. And he wanted to do that before stepping back into the marriage market. He has unknowingly hurt Pen with, "You are Pen. You do not count. You are my friend," but he meant it in a good way. Penelope is set apart from other women because she's special to him. She's Pen and his dearest friend; there's no way he would ever have sworn her off.

Season 2, Episode 3 & 4:

Some of Colin's lines and choices in these two episodes understandably irritated us Polin fans; on the surface, it didn't really make any sense or seem like bad writing. But we need to consider a few things: 

Colin's season will be next, so it makes sense that part of Colin's story arc in season 2 was about finding closure from last season. I think they were preparing for his season. 

His visit to Romney Hall was to show him, and us viewers, what his life would have been like if he had gotten married to Marina. They made Philip a lot like Colin for a reason. 

Also, to foreshadow Philoise. As 204 was heavy on Philoise foreshadowing and calling back to Eloise and Penelope in 202 ("Someone like [Colin came in] Colin.")

As I said before, last season destroyed Colin's self-perception and self-worth. He lost himself. He's also an empath; he wanted to make sure Marina was ok. He knew she was going through a rough time. 

He wanted to apologize (although there was really no reason for him to) and tell her he forgave her too. He was also hoping to get an apology as well. 

>Colin said to Benedict, 203: "Or perhaps it will allow you to escape the thoughts that've been plaguing your mind. The doubts, the questions that seem to linger, no matter how far you go to escape them."

He's doubting and questioning himself. That's also why he started using drugs to relieve himself of those thoughts. It's not about wanting to be with Marina or still having feelings for her. 

>Conversation between Colin and Eloise, 203: "If I must hear one more tale of your extraordinary adventures from Greece... Tell me, brother, if you loved it there so much, why did you ever return home?"

>"Well... Do you ever hear from her? Miss Thompson? Are you ladies not always writing letters?"

>"I'd have thought your travels banished Miss Thompson, Lady Crane, rather, from your mind completely."

>"Funny how distance is no match for memory, is it not?"

>"She lives not far from here, you know."

He couldn't stop ruminating about what happened during his travels, so he wanted closure. That's part of why he came back earlier than his family expected.  

>Conversation between Colin and Marina, 204: "Then... why did you come?"

>"I... I came to apologize. Throughout my travels, I kept pondering how I left things between us. All of those terrible things I said to you."

>"Colin, there is no need..."

>"I want you to know that I am sorry. And that I forgive you as well."

>"I do not need your apology anymore than I desire your forgiveness. All of this, you and I, is in the past."

>"So it seems. But do you not look at your life and wonder what may have been if we had conducted ourselves differently?"

Colin also wondered what better he could have done last season, even though we know there was literally nothing he could have done better. This is where his low self-worth comes into play. Empathy as well, since he is the definition of an Empath. He was a victim, and yet he feels the need to apologize, feel bad for what he said to her at the Hastings House, and still want to visit her to make sure she's ok, even though he would be within his rights not to want to see or speak to Marina ever again. Most people in that situation would, but not Colin. 

"So it seems. But do you not look at your life and wonder what may have been if we had conducted ourselves differently?" He wants her to be on the same level, on the same wavelength, and to apologize too. To give each other closure. He ruminated over it so much during his travels, and it seems Marina hasn't since last season. Colin was the only one who needed closure. 

>"That is a fool's form of torture. I have left the past behind. You should do the same."

>"Marina, he is truly amiable. But... well, you do not seem happy with him."

>"You have only been here a few short hours."

>"I do not mean to offend you."

>"I am not offended. Nor am I angry. You are a boy caught up in his own fantasies. In truth, I once thought that would be enough to save me from my reality. But what I learned is I do not need saving in that way. What I need is to face up to my life and make my own practical decisions."

>"So you choose to be unhappy?"

>"We are not all guaranteed a fairy-tale ending. I am perfectly content with my children. And Sir Philip cares for me. He is a good father. We have built a life together. I am not the same woman you once knew. And I refuse to be thrust back into such a world of fantasy. That dream has long since passed."

>"Marina..."

>"You need to wake up, Colin."

>"Perhaps I have been a fool. I thank you for your time, Lady Crane.

This shows just how mismatched Colin and Marina are. To call back to what he said in S1, "I know my mind and Marina's. We understand each other." He really didn't. Neither of them really understands the other. "Marina, he is truly amiable. But... well, you do not seem happy with him." "So you choose to be unhappy?" He was wondering why she didn't seem happy (earlier with Sir Philip, he'd noted that Marina wasn't happy) and why she chose to be unhappy. Asking her, don't you want some closure?

He really wanted them to talk it out and understand what really happened. Marina wasn’t willing to do that for him. 

>"If you would simply open your eyes to what is in front of you, then you might see there are those in your life you already make happy."

>"And who would that be?"

>"You have your family. You have... Penelope."

>"Penelope?"

>"You have many people who care for you. Seek them out, because your future will certainly not be found in the past with me."

>"Very well. Goodbye, Marina."

"If you would simply open your eyes to what is in front of you..." "You have... Penelope." Yes, thank you, Marina! And Marina knew about Penelope's feelings for Colin. I think this was her way to help Colin. To let the past go and hint that there is someone who could give him a future, a purpose. Who cared deeply about him, more than Marina herself ever could. She was also helping Penelope with this. Polin's relationship, really. 

That said, Colin still held onto his fantasies of being a romantic hero. He also wanted to find his purpose. There was almost a world where he could have a purpose as a husband and father. Or he wondered whether “what they had” could have turned into something real. Maybe that’s why some of the things he said seemed like he was wishing to be with Marina, or that he “still loves” Marina. We have to remember he hadn't realized his feelings for Penelope yet, or even considered them. His "Penelope?" hinted that he never really had considered it. It's his inner journey; he will get there. I think it's human for him to wonder about these things, too.

>Conversation between Colin and Penelope, 304: "Colin. We, uh, missed you at the ball last night."

>"Yes. I fear I was not feeling up to it."

>"After seeing Marina?"

>(Colin nods)

>"How is she, Colin?"

>"She is... content."

>(Penelope sighs) "Good. I am glad. Perhaps seeing her was what you needed. To leave the past behind. To no longer feel the need to forswear women."

>"Lady Crane said she was content, but I cannot help but feel like... Well, we were all so hard on her. Myself included. Perhaps if Lady Whistledown hadn't rushed to print her gossip, things may have turned out differently for her. For all of us, in fact. But I suppose, there is no use dwelling on the past. I am indeed, thinking of the future."

Colin did not get the closure he wanted. Penelope, as we all know, was Lady Whistledown; she felt guilty and genuinely wanted to know if Marina was doing okay. Because the truth is, she did care about Marina and didn't want to do it in the first place. Although she did push Colin a bit here, Colin needed her to be his friend and not think about any romantic possibilities. He's still not there yet. 

He wondered whether it would have been better for Marina if Lady Whistledown hadn't exposed her secret. "All of us." He's probably talking about his family, even though they're doing fine. If anything, it protected the Bridgertons. I wondered if he was also including the Featheringtons and Penelope. He's speaking of himself too, of course; if Whistledown didn't, I wouldn't have felt so lost and purposeless. It's mostly about himself, feeling just so aimless. And he felt Lady Whistledown was partly to blame for that.

Season 2, Episode 5:

>Conversation between Colin and Penelope, 205: "After all, everyone else is finding some purpose to their lives. Anthony is to be married. Benedict has his artistic pursuits. And, well, here I am... feeding the ducks."

>"I am sure the ducks are most grateful. You have a good deal of time and plentiful opportunities to make your mark."

Penelope realized her mistakes from their last conversation. She didn't push Colin. But Colin still didn't see Pen here. "And, well, here I am... feeding the ducks." I thought, well, you are talking with your dearest friend, Pen, too. And the way she gazed at him while he talked. She's so in love with him, and he didn't even notice. As Marina said, he needs to wake up!

Season 2, Episode 6:

This was the episode where we started to see Colin drinking a lot and always carrying his flask. 

>Purpose Scene, 206: "A celebratory drink? Have you succeeded already, Colin?"

>"Only if whatever I am looking for can be found at the bottom of this flask."

>"I am certain you will find your purpose one day. Everyone must eventually."

Oh, Colin. Look at the girl in yellow. She's right there.

>"Lady Crane was right about you."

>"Lady Crane? What did she say?"

>"That you cared for me. That you would never forsake me. I am beginning to believe that now."

Marina did not say that; she said, "You have... Penelope." That Pen cares for him; he got that part right. Also, that he makes her happy; Colin must have thought a lot about what she said, especially the part about Penelope, and begun to ruminate on what Penelope meant to him. 

Season 2, Episode 7:

In his search for his purpose, Colin invested in Jack Featherington's ruby mines in America.

>Colin and Penelope, 207: "I did not know you fancied yourself an investor."

>"No. Even I did not. Yet, I am beginning to think differently. I know it is a large sum to risk but I am sorely tempted. It is a chance to make a name for myself, as your cousin has done. And once our profits come, both our families will benefit, which is just what makes it so enticing."

>"You think highly of my family?"

>"I am not in the habit of consorting with those I hold in low esteem."

>"I never thought of it like that."

>"I understand. Our relationship has taken shape so naturally over the years, one could take it for granted. You have always been so constant and loyal, Pen."

And which Featherington, the only Featherington, is he close to? Who does he actually interact with and know? Penelope. g

"I understand. Our relationship has taken shape so naturally over the years; one could take it for granted. You have always been so constant and loyal, Pen." I don't know if he's aware of it, but Colin did take Pen for granted.

Season 2, Episode 8:

Colin believed Will Mondrich, or at least begun to be suspicious, when Will told him that Jack Featherington is a swindler. In the scene at Will's bar, Colin was talking about the mines with Jack, and Will came up to tell him. However, he pretended not to believe him.

>Colin to Will, 208: "Leave them out of it. The Featheringtons are a fine family whose reputation has been most unfairly traduced. I would be very careful of the accusations you make in the future, as it hardly seems you can afford to drive away any more patrons. Perhaps we might find another place to conduct our business, Featherington?"

This raised his protective instincts for the Featheringtons (Penelope), and he wanted to take it into his own hands. 

At the Featherington ball, Colin tricked Cressida into taking the ruby necklace she got from Jack, then took Penelope's hand, said, "Come with me," and gently dragged her to the Featheringtons' drawing room. 

>Featherington drawing room, 208: "Colin, it could be thought quite scandalous for the two of us..."

>"There are no gemstone mines in Georgia. Your cousin, Lord Featherington, I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this, Pen, but, well, I have looked into him. I believe he is nothing but a mere charlatan."

>"What? What are you saying?"

>"I am saying, if I am right, then this necklace..."

>(Jack Featherington and Portia Featherington enters)

>Jack: "Penelope? Mr. Bridgerton?"

>Portia: "What is the meaning of this?"

>Colin: "The meaning is..." (he broke Cressida's necklace with the handle of a knife) "that this necklace is a fraud, made of glass." (to Jack) "Just like you. How dare you take advantage of these poor ladies Featherington, without a father or a husband to protect them? It is out of concern for their reputation alone that I will only address this matter in private. But I expect you to return all of the funds you have collected, and leave town at once."

Colin had no reason to do any of this. Also, he's not particularly close to the Featherington family as a whole; he's not in the family in any way (for now). It's not his job, either. But he's close to Penelope. And cares deeply for her. He did all of this for Penelope.

>Afterwards while dancing with Penelope: "I had been rehearsing that speech in my mind for hours. If your cousin does not return the money and leave you alone, I will have another thing to say to him."

>"You were astonishing, Colin. I cannot thank you enough for looking after us."

>"I will always look after you, Penelope. You are special to me."

>"As are you... to me."

Colin, just marry her already. He was already acting like Penelope's husband. 

But unfortunately, later that evening he made a grave mistake; we all know what that was:

>(Laughter)

>Colin: "Penelope Featherington?"

>Fife: "The way you were dancing with her looked rather interesting. You courting the girl, Bridgerton?"

>Colin: "Ah. Are you mad? I would never dream of courting Penelope Featherington. Not in your wildest fantasies, Fife."

>(Laughter)

Unknown to him, Penelope was listening in and heard him say that.

Oh, Colin, one step forward and five steps backward.

-------------

This season was setting up Colin for his season. It also foreshadowed that Colin would one day play a big role in the Featherington family. 

Part 1

Hi there HLDs!

Now that we've recovered from the delicious angst of Poor Puzzled Moon. It's time to get fluffy with some sweet soulmatism.

Thank you to everyone who submitted fics for the theme, we really appreciate all of your wonderful suggestions.

And now without further ado, let's reveal the smut spinner's selection... Drum roll, please.

🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁

One Single Thread of Pink (Tied Me to You) by wasteddarlinglover

Penelope Featherington was given a gift. Well, most people would call it a gift. She, however, detested the spectrum of colours that her eyes perceived. The day she realised what had caused a slight ache in her head as she adjusted to the brightness in front of her, she knew that she had been cursed.

She knew all about The Strings, of course, the sacred bond of fate that the entire ton, and the queen herself, considered a blessing from the heavens, a match to be desired, but she never imagined how lively they actually were. Because, unlike the rest of them, she could see them.

Completed: 2022-06-23

Rating: Not Rated

Words: 25,976

Oooh this sounds great! and written all the way back in 2022!

----------------

Week 14

Instead of choosing a theme for week 14, we want to dedicate that week to your Hidden Gem fics. Let's fill the spinner with all of our unsung heroes, those stories that you love so dearly but that you think your fellow HLDs have missed.

Any length, any theme, any tags. (Though no AI generated fics or Archive warning fics please)

We'll open up the submission form early for this one so you all have plenty of time to get those recs in.

Submit your hidden gem recommendations here.

----------------

Now, let's all run off and get reading. I can't wait to get stuck in to One Single Thread of Pink (Tied Me to You)!

See you on Monday to discuss!

Vis

📖📖📖

Two brothers, one room – and many new insights. This post is dedicated to the study in Bridgerton House and explores how the set designers convey the contrasting phases of personal development of Colin in Season 3 and Gregory in Season 4 through art alone. I hope reading this post brings you as much joy as writing it brought me.

1 The ‘Bridgertonian Rotation Principle’: Passing rooms down among siblings
In the TV series, the members of the Bridgerton family have established a remarkable – though historically divergent from actual practice in Georgian England – principle of rotating or passing rooms down among the siblings. This allows the set designers, on the one hand, to reuse already constructed sets and, on the other, to visualise the personal development of the Bridgerton children through interior design.
Within the Bridgerton household, the rule seems to be: the older or higher-ranking one is within the family hierarchy, the larger the room assigned to them. When a child moves up in the hierarchy due to an older sibling leaving the house, they inherit that sibling’s former rooms. We already witnessed this in Season 2, when Eloise, now the eldest unmarried daughter of the house, moved into Daphne’s former bedchamber.
The same logic applies to the studies. While Anthony, as head of the family, conducts his business in the master’s study, he leaves the secondary study to whichever brother is currently the eldest still living at home. In Seasons 1 and 2, this secondary study was likely used primarily by Benedict, even though viewers never saw it. From Season 3 onwards, Benedict temporarily occupies Anthony’s desk in the master’s study while acting as Anthony’s stand-in (see image in the comments), and the secondary study passes to the third-born, Colin. After Colin’s move-out and Gregory’s move to Eton College, Gregory, as the youngest, finally gains the right to use the study in Season 4.
Accordingly, the furnishings and decorations of this study are adapted to its respective user.

2 Useful background on the study as a room
Unlike the ‘Bridgertonian Rotation Principle’, the fact that the study is indeed the same room throughout is historically accurate: in Georgian England, even very large London townhouses typically had only one study (‘the study’), in addition to the cabinet adjacent to the master’s bedchamber, the master’s study, a library, and a schoolroom next to the nursery.
While schoolrooms and libraries could also be used by girls and women, the right to use studies remained exclusively reserved for the male residents of the house.

3 Interpreting the successive art collections in the study
The aim of this post is to identify and compare all works of art used to decorate the study during Colin’s use of the room in Season 3 and Gregory’s use in Season 4.
In addition, I will first attempt to interpret the works of art selected for Colin in terms of their narrative significance for his phase of personal development at that particular moment in the story, and then to interpret those chosen for Gregory in terms of their narrative significance for his own current phase of personal development. This reveals some fascinating contrasts.

3.1 Colin
At the beginning of Season 3, Colin has already completed two Grand Tours, from which he has brought back numerous Grand Tour collectibles (see https://colinsgrandtourcollection.jimdofree.com/). Yet instead of decorating the study with them, he leaves his souvenirs unpacked for the time being. This reveals three things about Colin at this point in his personal development:
1​. By not immediately displaying his Grand Tour collectibles for all to see, Colin resists the socially expected practice of showing off the objects brought back by someone who has just returned from a Grand Tour. Despite his desire for recognition, he keeps those things that truly matter to him private at the start of Season 3.
2​. Colin does not yet feel at home.
3​. For his writing, he prefers a room that serves neither as a place of representation nor – despite the chessboard and card table – as a site of sociability, but rather as a refuge and space for introspection.
The works of art in the study in Season 3 symbolise nonconformity, existential homelessness, social withdrawal, and the confrontation with painful experiences.
Colin’s secretly nonconformist stance and his inner resistance to societal expectations are already evident on the mantelpiece: instead of placing exciting new Grand Tour collectibles there, he leaves two old staircase newel-post finials in the shape of lions (02) as ornaments – objects which, as known from other houses of the British aristocracy, likely stood there for a very long time. His preference for these purely functional relics over fashionable splendour underscores the private, unstaged nature of Colin’s refuge.
Colin’s sense of existential homelessness is reflected in the paintings (01, 03, and 05): none of them depict England. Instead, the landscapes shown are Alpine (01), continental European (03), and Italian (05). Despite his longing “for family, for the familiar”, Colin still seems to prefer geographical distance from his English homeland at the beginning of Season 3.
It is also noteworthy that landscapes 01 and 03 are almost devoid of people. Civilisation appears mainly in the distance, in the form of a solitary house or a small harbour town on the horizon. Even Claude Lorrain’s painting (05) is no real exception: although mythological figures are positioned in the foreground, they form part of a tragic scene set within a backdrop of sublime landscape and ancient ruins. These motifs clearly express a desire for social withdrawal combined with an awareness of one’s own insignificance in the world.
This existential gravity is likewise reflected in the narratives depicted in Lorrain’s painting and in the solitary bust of Antiphantes (04). Lorrain’s painting shows the nymph Egeria at the moment she receives news of the death of her mortal companion, Numa Pompilius, king of Rome – a loss that caused her to weep so incessantly that she eventually transformed into a spring of tears. The bust of Antiphantes shows the son of the Trojan priest Laocoön with his face contorted in pain at the moment of his agonising death.
Instead of pieces representing classical harmony or hedonism – both of which could easily have been found in Colin’s Grand Tour collection – we encounter in Season 3 these two visualisations of loss and suffering in the study.
From all this, we may conclude that Colin is in a phase of profound isolation and a painful inner identity crisis at the beginning of Season 3.

3.2 Gregory
In Season 4, we see that after Colin’s move-out the study is used by Gregory and has been redesigned for him. While Colin’s art collection revealed the painful alienation of the individual from his environment, Gregory’s collection celebrates the harmonious integration of the individual into an intact world. The works of art in the study in Season 4 testify to a search for belonging through orientation towards the familiar, attachment to home, alignment with familial role models, community, and light-heartedness.
Orientation towards the familiar is evident in every single piece. It is therefore unsurprising that the replicas of ancient sculptures, the neoclassical painting by Angelica Kauffman (09), and the landscape by Meindert Hobbema (11) reflect precisely the established taste of the period.
For Gregory, familiarity also seems to manifest as attachment to home. This is particularly expressed in the English landscapes by John Constable (08, 10). Although Constable achieved his breakthrough only several years later, two of his earlier paintings adorn the walls of the study, suggesting a particularly strong personal preference.
Orientation towards the familiar continues in the social sphere. Francis Wheatley’s conversation piece (12) offers a perfect visualisation of sociable togetherness and familial idyll.
That family and community play a major role for Gregory is evident not only on the canvases but also in his alignment with male role models among his relatives. It is surely no coincidence that replicas of the Medici lions (06, 07) stand on the mantelpiece of the study – just as they do on the mantelpiece of his older brother Colin’s drawing room in Featherington House (see https://www.reddit.com/r/PolinBridgerton/comments/1vaqht0/virtual_tour_every_work_of_art_in_colin_penelopes/). Furthermore, Hobbema’s woodland landscape (11) is a copy of the same painting found in the drawing room of his brother-in-law John. The fact that this is by no means a mere reuse of a prop is evidenced by the different framings of the two image variants. Moreover, it was common practice during the Regency for artists to produce copies of popular paintings at the British Institution for Promoting the Fine Arts in the United Kingdom. The Hobbema copy therefore – like the Medici lions – suggests that Gregory emulates those established men in his family whom he particularly admires.
Another indication of Gregory’s sense of community and general light-heartedness can be seen in the busts in the study. Through their gaze directions and mythological associations, these busts “communicate” with one another: in the Regency, Apollo (13), Antinous with a Bacchus wreath (14), and Clytie (15) formed a popular bust arrangement. All three were considered embodiments of classical beauty. Additionally, they represented harmony and moderation (the Apollonian ideal), exuberant joy (the Bacchic element), and devoted love (the water nymph Clytie fell so deeply in love with Apollo that she transformed into a flower to better absorb his divine light).
Why the busts shown in Bridgerton are, strictly speaking, neither Antinous nor Clytie is explained in sections 4.3 and 4.4.

3.3 Conclusion
Both Colin and Gregory long for recognition and belonging. In contrast to Colin, who in Season 3 – after deep disappointments – no longer seems convinced that he can find these through fulfilling the societal role assigned to him, we encounter Gregory in Season 4 at that early point in his maturation into manhood at which he still wholeheartedly embraces the expectations of his environment. The two art collections in the study make this contrast subtly visible to the viewer.

4 Bonus for nerds: Art-historical fun facts and trivia
After interpreting the art collections in the study, here is a small bonus for all who enjoy art-historical curiosities – not essential, but a “nice to have” that enriches one’s understanding of the study with a few charming discoveries.

4.1 Nunnington Hall Lion (02)
A tip for fans of special Bridgerton merchandise: anyone wishing to bring a piece of Colin’s study into their own home can currently find the original replicas of the Nunnington Hall lion on eBay: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/127429766978.

4.2 View Towards the Rectory, East Bergholt, by John Constable, 1813 (10)
The largest painting in the study is actually based on the smallest original. The original painting measures 4.25 x 5.625 inches (10.8 x 14.3 cm), barely larger than a postcard. I would dearly love to ask the set designers who came up with the idea of enlarging precisely this painting to such an extent.

4.3 Lotus Eater, by Emma Stebbins, 1863 (14)
The original of this bust was long considered lost. Moreover, it was only recognised in 2018 that it depicts the Lotus Eater by Emma Stebbins from 1863 (anyone wishing to delve deeply into this can find Melissa L. Gustin’s dissertation on the rediscovery here: https://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/id/eprint/20534/1/Melissa%20L%20Gustin%20Dissertation%20FINAL.pdf). Replicas of the bust were sold for decades under an incorrect attribution. Even today, several home décor shops mistakenly offer it as “Antinous, a bust, after the antique marble by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, 1640”, although Bernini never created such a sculpture. Given the bust arrangement in the TV series Bridgerton, it is highly likely that the set designers intended to include a bust of Antinous and that the anachronism slipped in unintentionally. For this reason, I have treated the bust as an Antinous bust in my interpretation.

4.4 A-n-t-o-n-i-a Minor / Clytie (15)
The identification of this bust as A-n-t-o-n-i-a Minor has only been proposed in recent years. At the time in which Bridgerton is set, it was still believed to depict the water nymph Clytie. It belonged to the well-known Grand Tour traveller Charles Townley and was the undisputed favourite piece in his Grand Tour collection. When Townley had to flee his house during the Gordon Riots in 1780, it is said that this was the only sculpture he personally carried to his carriage to protect it from vandalism.
Which piece from his own Grand Tour collection would Colin save in such a situation? What do you think? Feel free to share your guesses (and any other thoughts on this post) in the comments!

Image references
01 Landscape with Mountains and Waterfall. Farley, SP011720. Copyright: Classical and Contemporary Art Hire Ltd. Included as image quotation for reference purposes only; must not be (re)used outside this specific context. https://farley.co.uk/product/oil-painting-55-i-x-42-i-upright-landscape-with-mountains-and-waterfall-carved-gilt-reverse-frame-with-a-canvas-slip/
02 Nunnington Hall Lion, 19th century. National Trust Collections, Nunnington Hall, North Yorkshire, NT 980139. Copyright: National Trust / Robert Thrift. Included as image quotation for reference purposes only; must not be (re)used outside this specific context. https://www.nationaltrustcollections.org.uk/object/980139
03 Landscape with Distant Harbour Scene. Farley, SP011296. Copyright: Classical and Contemporary Art Hire Ltd. Included as image quotation for reference purposes only; must not be (re)used outside this specific context. https://farley.co.uk/product/oil-painting-30-i-x-39-i-landscape-with-distant-harbour-scene-in-a-gilt-carved-hollow-frame/
04 Bust of Antiphantes from the Laocoön Group, scanned from The Royal Cast Collection (KAS) of the National Gallery of Denmark (SMK). Remix: by Scan The World. Modified: background removed. CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. https://www.myminifactory.com/object/3d-print-bust-of-antiphates-52551
05 Paesaggio con la Ninfa Egeria, by Claude Lorrain, ca. 1669. Museo e Real Bosco di Capodimonte. Digital image: by MentNFG. CC BY-SA 4.0. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Paesaggio_con_la_ninfa_Egeria,_Claude_Lorrain_001.JPG
06 Medici Lions: Fancelli’s ancient lion. Digital image: by Sailko. Modified: background removed and converted to greyscale. CC BY 2.5. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lion_of_Loggia_de%27_Lanzi_right.JPG
07 Medici Lions: Vacca’s lion. Digital image: by Sailko. Modified: background removed and converted to greyscale. CC BY 2.5. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lion_of_Loggia_de%27_Lanzi_left.JPG
08 Osmington Village, by John Constable, 1816–1817. Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection (YCBA), B2001.2.156. Public Domain. https://collections.britishart.yale.edu/catalog/tms:38532
09 Rinaldo and Armida, by Angelica Kauffman, 1771. YCBA, B1981.25.383. Public Domain. https://collections.britishart.yale.edu/catalog/tms:870
10 View Towards the Rectory, East Bergholt, by John Constable, 1813. YCBA, B1981.25.143. Public Domain. https://collections.britishart.yale.edu/catalog/tms:654
11 A Wooded Landscape, by Meindert Hobbema, 1667. Getty Museum, 84.PB.43. Public Domain. https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/object/103RFV
12 The Browne Family, by Francis Wheatley, ca. 1778. YCBA, B1981.25.675. Public Domain. https://collections.britishart.yale.edu/catalog/tms:5035
13 Bust of the Apollo Belvedere, 19th century. Winckelmann-Gesellschaft mit Winckelmann-Museum Stendal, WM-VI-c-58. Modified: background removed and converted to greyscale. CC BY-NC-SA 3.0. https://st.museum-digital.de/object/42083
14 Bust of the Lotus Eater, by Emma Stebbins, 1863. Mary Stebbins Garland, Scrapbook relating to Emma Stebbins, 1858–1882, image 7. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 7824. Included as image quotation for reference purposes only; must not be (re)used outside this specific context. https://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/items/detail/scrapbook-relating-to-emma-stebbins-7824
15 Bust of A-n-t-o-n-i-a Minor / Clytie, ca. 40–50 CE. The British Museum, 1805,0703.79. Modified: background removed and converted to greyscale. CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/G_1805-0703-79
British Institution, by Thomas Rowlandson and Auguste Charles Pugin, 01 Apr 1808. William Henry Pyne, The Microcosm of London (ed. R. Ackermann, 1808), vol. 1, pl. 13. Public Domain. https://archive.org/details/microcosmoflondo01pyneuoft/page/98/mode/2up
BTS Screenshots Behind Bridgerton: The Gentleman and the Love Story (min. 7:22 and 8:13). Copyright: Netflix / Shondaland. Included as image quotations for reference purposes only; must not be (re)used outside this specific context. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxGr1WY5eNM
Screenshots Bridgerton (Episodes 3x02, 3x07, 4x04 and 4x06). Copyright: Netflix / Shondaland. Included as image quotations for reference purposes only; must not be (re)used outside this specific context.

Hottest. Kissers. Ever.

From John Glasser. Love seeing both the rings!

Hello there HLDs!

It's time to dive into our fab two week read...

--------------------

Poor Puzzled Moon by everlarktoast

A story of fear, loss, friendship, family, and love during the second World War.

------------

Here are some starter questions for you - but feel free to share any thoughts that you have!

1. WELL! What an ending! Did you see that coming? What do you think will happen after that final line?
2. There was a real family vibe between friends and family in this one? Which relationships did you enjoy?
3. There were some incredible rug-pulls and action packed twists, did you have a favourite scene?
4. What moments made you swoon?
5. Any favourite lines?
6. Anything else that you loved about this fic?

______________________________________________________________________________________

Before we get chatting, don't forget to submit your fic suggestions for next weeks theme.

💕Soulmates💕

The form for submitting your suggested fics is open now and will close in 18 hours.

We'll announce our randomly selected next read tomorrow.

______________________________________________________________________________________

Time to dive into this wartime wonder.

Vis

📖📖📖

Dive-in reminder: Here at the HLD RS we are loyal subjects to the King and Queen of kindness. We celebrate fanfic and we welcome positivity in all its forms . As Luke Newton once said (via Instagram) - In a world where you can be anything... be kind.

This caught my attention as I was shopping in Costco. She looks like, Penelope.

Gosh, look at how much they has grown since S1&S2! They looked like babies in comparison to S3.

I saw this post of melting at Colin calling Penelope "my love" and it just made me think how Polin is the definition of having it all.

They support each other. They have their little family. They are both published writers. You know that they consider each other equals in all ways. In the bedroom, or a in a carriage. In matters of the Featherington Estate.

Nothing is done without the other. It is both heartwarming and refreshing to see.

Luke and Nicola have both given life to the true partnership of Colin and Pen in a way I cannot remember ever seeing on screen. And from Regency England! It is absolutely incredible.

I ordered the Penelope plush.