Previously on Netflix’s original series Bridgerton, season 2 followed the eldest Bridgerton sibling, Anthony (Jonathan Bailey), as he navigates to find a suitable wife. He meets Edwina Sharma (Charithra Chandran), who starts as the number one prospect, but then he begins to form an interesting relationship with her older sister Kate (Simone Ashley). As time goes on, Anthony realizes that it’s Kate that he should marry. Then there’s Lady Whistledown, who is found to be Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan). She continues to spread gossip and rumors around town, which everyone is intrigued by. As Penelope started forming romantic feelings for her close friend, Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton), he made it known that he was uninterested. But, that seems to be a change in this new season. 

In the first episode of the new season, “Out of The Shadows,” viewers start with the arrival of Penelope and her mother, Lady Portia Featherington (Polly Walker), back home. New debutantes are ready to debut to Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel). 

Francesca Bridgerton (Hannah Dodd) has made it to her year to become a debutante. While her mother Violet (Ruth Gemmell) is nervous for her, Francesca seems to be handling it all very well. As the Bridgerton family all walks outside of their home, they notice a group of young ladies huddled around something or someone. Penelope stands across from them, watching as well. Colin comes out from the crowd and his siblings are shocked he’s returned home. 

Then, we see Queen Charlotte sitting on her throne as she watches the newest debutantes come forth. As four girls come out with their mothers, it’s now Francesca’s turn to walk out with her mother. She’s initially nervous but then becomes confident as she steps toward the queen. But, the queen doesn’t seem very interested in Francesca as she looks longingly at her. 

Afterward, Colin is seen speaking to the debutantes during the Queen’s gathering. As Penelope walks through the bushes to the event, she comes into contact with her old best friend Eloise (Claudia Jessie). The two of them stop walking as they look at each other, eye to eye. Before either of them can say anything, Cressida Cowper (Jessica Madsen) comes to them, making a sly remark to Penelope about her return. Penelope is visibly hurt as she sees her ex-friend and her enemy befriending each other. 

As Kate smells flowers, her now mother-in-law, Violet, comes over, expressing her worries for both Francesca and Eloise. They’re both stepping outside for the new season in hopes of finding their future husbands. As the two of them talk, Lady Agatha Danbury (Adjoa Andoh) approaches them. 

Colin begins to take his turn speaking to the young ladies, hoping to get an idea of who would be a good contestant for becoming his future wife. He finds Penelope standing alone, so he goes to speak to her. He tells her that he misses her and even though she does not say it back, it’s clear that she has in fact missed him. 

The next day, Penelope decides to change her closet. She feels as though it is time for her to find a future husband, as she’s ready to move away from home, away from her mother and her two older sisters, Prudence (Bessie Carter) and Philipia (Harriet Cains).

Violet takes Eloise and Francesca to the modiste to get some dresses. Eloise runs into Penelope again. Penelope tells her that she went away for the time being because she knew that Eloise wouldn’t want to see her. Eloise is still upset to know that her now ex-friend is Lady Whistledown. She bitterly walks away from Penelope. 

Anthony takes Colin and Benedict out for drinks and Will Mondrich (Martins Imhangbe) greets them, before going over to his wife Alice (Emma Naomi). Alice finds out that her Aunt Kent has passed away. Even though they did not have a relationship with each other, her aunt left the married couple’s son everything in her will. That means that their son Nicholas will be the next Baron of Kent, as he’s the only male in the family. 

Next, we see everyone begin to prepare for Lady Danbury’s ball. As Penelope gets ready, she decides to go with a different and new look for the night. As she steps into the ball, she takes off her cloaks and everyone’s eyes are on her. As she stands at an empty spot, men start to make their way toward her. She nervously speaks to them, making things awkward as she’s not used to making conversation with those who are interested in her. 

Confronted by three suitors, Francesca uses Anthony as an excuse to leave the potential discussion. She tells her brother that she needs a moment alone. Anthony obliges and goes to dance with his wife. As they are dancing, Francesca converses with Penelope. They share similarities as they both aren’t quite comfortable with the attention of others. Francesca gets asked to dance and before walking away, she tells Penelope that she should go on the dancefloor as well. 

Penelope walks away as Lord Debling (Sam Phillips) comes over to her. Suddenly, Cressida steps on her dress, ripping it. Lord Debling steps in to help find a maid to fix it. Once he walks away, Cressida smiles at the fact that Penelope’s dress is ripped. Eloise stands behind her, ashamed of what happened. Before she can say anything, Penelope quickly walks out of the ball, embarrassed and hurt. 

Colin notices and he follows her outside. The two of them talk and she tells him that she overheard what he said last season, that he’d never court her. After she walks away and goes home, she writes her next article as Lady Whistledown. 

The next day comes around and Eloise is with Cressida. Eloise tells her that what she did to Penelope was cruel. Cressida admits that she’s not always kind and that she’s right about what happened the night before, but she tells Eloise that she shouldn’t pay any attention to Penelope. 

Kate and Anthony agree to let Violet stay in the home for a little while longer, seeing as there’s no reason to rush her out of her own home. 

We then see Penelope and Colin, as he visits her at her home. He apologizes for his actions and his words from last year. He tells her that he’s always looking out for her at every social event because she makes him happy. He compliments her and says he’s proud that she’s his friend. She vocalizes her struggles in finding a husband and he suggests in helping her find a good candidate. Penelope decides to go forward with it. 

Eloise reads the latest news from Lady Whistledown as Colin comes back from his talk with Penelope. He reads what the author wrote about him, saying that his new personality could be genuine or an act to gain attention. He responds that he’ll never forgive Lady Whistledown as she’s nearly ruined Eloise’s confidence last year. He tells her that if he ever finds out who it is, he will ruin her life. What he says shocks Eloise, as she’s the only one who truly knows who the author is. 

This was a great way to start the new season, with tension running high between Eloise and Penelope and watching lovely moments between the couple Anthony and Kate. It’s intriguing to see what will happen as Penelope and Colin start this new pact and as Francesca and Eloise begin to look for their future husbands. 

Rating: 9/10