3. *She's amazing and he doesn't bring much to the table* - No arguments on the first part of that sentence. Penelope is amazing! Managing to build a whole Whistledown empire as a teenager, complete with her own personal fortune is nothing short of incredible! But Colin is wonderful in his own, unique way. First of all, he's also really smart and well-read. He and Penelope are on a level intellectually- that's one of the cornerstones of their friendship. And he is also a gifted writer- he simply didn't have enough confidence in his own work to try to publish. And though people make fun of him for it, or even call him pretentious (which couldn't be further from the truth), Colin is a world traveler with lots of fascinating experiences and insights. But he has other, less flashy things to bring to their relationship, including an emotional maturity and thoughtfulness that Penelope lacks. We love her, but she's a teenage girl who uses Whistledown as a burn book to trash talk anyone she's mad at. And she's not great at accountability for it, either. Nearly a year after being confronted about what she wrote about Eloise, she's still making excuses to defend her actions rather than accepting responsibility. Even though I can see her point, and that her intentions were good, she still needs to own up to the very real damage she caused (just as we expected Colin to own up to the damage his comment caused, whether he meant for it to happen or not). Meanwhile, anytime Colin wrongs someone, however big or small the infraction, he immediately owns up to it, without excuses, and seeks to make amends. He's also much more mature in dealing with his own hurt and anger. When Penelope was angry at him, she simply cut him off with no explanation. She only finally confronted him because he continued to seek her out, and even then she simply launched accusations and then walked away, allowing no chance for dialogue, growth, or even an apology from Colin. And then she immediately took her grievances public, while hiding behind her alter-ego. When Colin was angry at her, he took it straight to her. He asked questions. He listened to her answers. And he refused to bring in any third parties. He wouldn't even talk to his mother or brothers about it because he wouldn't reveal Penelope's secret. He was protecting her even as he was angry with her. Penelope stewed over his comment for a nearly a year, and then lashed out in anger in the most public way possible. Colin had a _LOT_ more to process with her Whistledown reveal: 1) reconciling the fact that the woman he loves most and the woman he hated most are in fact the same person, 2) reckoning with all the damage she has caused, including nearly ruining the lives of two women he cares for, 3) questioning how well he actually knows her, since he was unaware of such a huge part of her life, 4) traumatic flashbacks to his situation with Marina, which, though it was different, had a few striking parallels- mainly his fiance keeping a huge secret from him that he really should have been told in order to know what he was choosing and committing to, and making him feel like a fool being taken advantage of again, 5) the betrayal of knowing that the woman he loves/trusts most in the world chose to expose all his insecurities to the entire ton rather than simply coming to him directly, which would be hurtful in any relationship, whether romantic or not, 6) embarrassment at having gone on about his writing, only to now feel like a joke, and that she must have just been humoring him or even laughing at him, 7) even more insecurity (on top of what he already had) because Penelope, who he already thought was out of his league, is now not only the amazing, clever, beautiful woman he knew, but also a renowned writer with her own personal fortune. What could he possibly do to deserve her now? 8) fear over what might happen to her if she's caught, which is becoming more and more likely as the queen is on the hunt, especially after she shows up at the wedding, 9) fear over what will happen to his family if she is caught, and 10) feeling absolutely powerless in the face of all this. And yet Colin took all of a week or two of self reflection to sort through *_ALL_* that, while still refusing to dishonor her by exposing her or calling off the wedding. Even in his anger, he is careful not to tear Penelope down. Consider the words he uses in this very scene- he says he knew something was wrong and assumed it was because of him, that he was "undeserving of [her] love." When he turns it around, you fully expect him to say that she's the one who is undeserving. But he doesn't. He simply says she was at fault for the situation (which she was). Even at the height of his anger and pain, and his first reaction to this news, he still won't tear her down. Even when he is objectively wrong, like talking over Penelope and taking over the conversation about Cressida's blackmail, he does what he does in service of others. He's trying to protect his wife, even though he goes about it in the worst possible way. And again, when things go wrong, he's quick to recognize it, own up to it, and make amends. As soon as he figures out that some of what he is feeling is envy, he goes straight to his wife to admit it and apologize. He is surprisingly emotionally mature and self aware, especially compared to other beloved characters. Penelope needs the maturity and stability he brings to the relationship. He's incredibly thoughtful. Consider the gifts he brought back for each of his family members- suited exactly to their tastes, not who they "should" be or what they "should" want. He brought Eloise a rare Bavarian text on the rights of women, despite the fact that those very views got her and the whole family in hot water just last season. He is constantly aware of the needs of those around him and taking steps to meet those needs (even those he's not close to, like noticing Edwina's distress in season 2 and encouraging Anthony to go after her). As his mother said in episode 4, he is always putting others first (though it's important to note that he does this in his own unique way, not the same way Anthony and Kate do as the eldest siblings). He's the one person who really saw and valued Penelope when no one else did, even if it wasn't in a romantic light until recently. I would argue that he saw her better than even Eloise ever did. It kind of seems like Penelope was more of a sounding board than a friend to Eloise sometimes, but Colin has always been genuinely interested in her thoughts, feelings, and insights. Whereas Eloise tends to ignore or bulldoze over anything that doesn't align with her views, Colin specifically says that one of the things he loves about Pen is her ability to make him see the world in ways he never imagined. Colin Bridgerton is about as good a man as you could hope to find. Penelope may be the more interesting, cooler person. But I would argue Colin is the better one, at least when it comes to maturity, kindness, and caring for others. But ultimately, it isn't a competition. They each bring their own unique gifts to the table, and encourage the other to grow in the areas where they aren't as strong. That's what a healthy relationship should be. If you have other reasons for thinking he doesn't deserve her, let me know. Maybe I've missed something crucial. But from all the commentary I've seen, it seems like a big case of main-character-energy. Penelope is our POV character, so we see all her actions (and mistakes) through a lens of her history, struggles, intentions, etc. But we only see Colin's through the lens of how they impact Penelope. In addition to that, Penelope's gifts are the more obvious (and traditionally masculine) ones, while the things Colin brings are more subtle and traditionally feminine (and generally overlooked). And so he ends up getting a raw deal. He is a good man, and he _absolutely_ deserves her, just as she deserves him. Thank you for coming to my TEDtalk 🤣 Sorry for the novel!

It's "The Buccaneers"