Colin Is So Down Bad For Penelope In Bridgerton Season 3, And Fans Hilariously Can't Get Enough Of It

Colin Bridgerton and Penelope Featherington standing in a sweet shop in Season 3, Episode 3
(Image credit: Netflix)

SPOILERS are ahead for Season 3 of Bridgerton, now streaming for those with a Netflix subscription

After a two-year hiatus from the main series, Bridgerton is back, and this time around Penelope and Colin’s love story has been adapted from Julia Quinn’s Romancing Mr. Bridgerton. As fans tune into the first four episodes of the season (the other four drop next month on the 2024 TV schedule), they can’t stop talking about one thing, and it’s Colin Bridgerton

If Colin Bridgerton could have a Taylor Swift song to sum up his experience falling for Penelope Featherington this season, it would have to be The Tortured Poets Department’s recent viral hit “Down Bad.”  Just check out this tweet: 

Fans of the sexually explicit Netflix show are having a field day as they watch Colin fall for Penelope after a single kiss. Following Penelope practically begging her longtime friend to smooch her, he has a very romantic dream about her, and he finds himself waking up in sexual frustration about it. Check out this post from Twitter next: 

The other song fans are quoting is Dua Lipa’s hit “One Kiss,” where the pop singer belts “One kiss is all it takes, falling in love with me. Possibilities. I look like all you need.” Here’s another one referencing the same song: 

While some romances are a slow burn, for Colin Bridgerton, all he needed to do was kiss the lips of Penelope once and he was done for. It’s particularly comforting for audiences because up until that point, Colin was on his high horse after traveling over the summer. With that new glow about him on the worldly front, the Bridgerton has been a hot commodity during marriage season, and he has been basking in all kinds of attention from women. 

And yet, it’s Penelope who is on his mind. A longtime friend of his who he once pronounced he would never court. The friend decided to take pity on her and give her some “lessons” to help her attain her own husband after three seasons on the market. Following the kiss, once Penelope does start to earn the attention of suitors, fans are having a blast seeing Colin shake in his boots in jealousy. Like so: 

There’s something about Colin’s journey this season that is really so much fun to bask in. Another fan pointed out this scene in particular where Bridgerton looks “ready to throw up and ugly cry.” Take a look:  

Along with all the talk about Colin being down bad, critics are rather enjoying the new season of Bridgerton, too. (While they do offer some notes about what’s wrong with it, such as not having “enough romantic tension-building.”) You can stream the first four episodes of Season 3 now, and get ready for the second batch of episodes to come out on June 13. 

Sarah El-Mahmoud
Staff Writer

Sarah El-Mahmoud has been with CinemaBlend since 2018 after graduating from Cal State Fullerton with a degree in Journalism. In college, she was the Managing Editor of the award-winning college paper, The Daily Titan, where she specialized in writing/editing long-form features, profiles and arts & entertainment coverage, including her first run-in with movie reporting, with a phone interview with Guillermo del Toro for Best Picture winner, The Shape of Water. Now she's into covering YA television and movies, and plenty of horror. Word webslinger. All her writing should be read in Sarah Connor’s Terminator 2 voice over.