Friends to Lovers: Polin

These past weeks were so good for the lovers of the "friends to lovers" trope. We finally get to experience one of our favorite TV couples Penelope Featherington and Colin Bridgerton -who were an example of good friends-to-lovers romance- as their Bridgerton season aired. Now I want to talk about how they were perfect and why you must also agree with me.

I would like to walk you through their timeline very quickly.

They have known each other since they were children. They met on accident when Penelope's bonnet flew up and crushed Colin's face. This happens while Colin is riding a horse. Because of the bonnet, he falls. While Penelope waits for an angry reaction from him, he instead finds it funny and laughs. At that moment Penelope's heart blossoms and falls for him. Then they formally meet and their families meet because they are neighbors. Then she becomes best friends with Eloise -Colin's younger sister-. Hence they become very good friends with Colin too.
In season one, we see their pure friendship. They always have cute conversations. Colin tries to never make Penelope feel left out at the balls. He always dances with her. But as a young lad, when he sees Miss Thompson (Pen's cousin), he fancies her. It doesn't work out, she is in love with someone else and is pregnant. When this is exposed by the town's gossip writer Lady Whistledown (Penelope), she leaves town. Heartbroken Colin goes abroad.

In season two, when he comes back we see him with a different style. Then we learn that he and Pen wrote each other letters throughout the travels. He is still heartbroken about Miss Thompson, he speaks with her. She says to him "You don't see what's right in front of you, you have Pen." These words spark some things in his heart. Their friendship continues. He realizes that Miss Thompson is right. Penelope is in fact very special and cares for him deeply. At the season finale, they dance at the ball. The other young boys try to make fun of Colin by saying "Are you courting that Featherington girl?" instead of saying "Why are you using that tone while you talk about my dear friend?" he says "I would never dream about courting Penelope Featherington." Penelope overhears this conversation and she becomes very heartbroken. In the end, Colin departs for his travels once again.

At the beginning of season three Penelope is still upset about the things Colin said in their last ball. Colin comes back from his travels but they don't interact. Penelope specifically ignores him. Then they talk it out a little bit. She says she wants to marry. She doesn't want to stay home and care for her mother. Colin offers to help her to find her a husband. He teaches her how to act around guys. Which is so out of character for her. She fails every trial and is so sad and afraid she is going to die alone. Then she asks her best friend Colin to kiss her, so she doesn't leave this world without even having a chance to share a kiss with someone. Then they kiss, two of them finally find clarity. Pen finally moves on from the idea of being more than friends with Colin. He on the other hand realizes that he loves her more than friends. After that, she finds an eligible match Lord Debling. They get along. He wants to court her. Colin gets jealous and finds the courage to declare his love for Penelope. They share very intimate moments in the carriage. He proposes to her and they announce it to Colin's family. After the engagement, Colin finds out that Penelope is Lady Whistledown who periodically sets the town on fire with her controversial writing. He gets angry at her but marries her anyway. How can he possibly let go of her, after all, she is his best friend and lover. There are so many honorable mentions after Colin finds out about the truth but I would like to cut to the chase. Queen Charlotte finally discovers that Penelope is LW and in her sister's ball, everyone learns about the truth. Queen gives her permission to continue publishing. After this confrontation, we hear the most beautiful declaration of love "Pen, ever since I found out you are Whistledown, I have done everything I can to try to separate you from her. But the other day I went back and read all of the letters you have sent me. Your letters have always been the ones I am most eager to read. And I realized you are her. You had always one voice. There is no separating you from Whistledown. And after seeing you speak today, I... Well I would not want to. Because forgive me, but that was bloody brillant. I think, in truth, I…

I have been envious of you. Of your success. Of your bravery. And now I simply cannot believe that a woman with such bravery loves me. How lucky I am to stand by your side and soak up even a little bit of your light. If my only purpose in life is to love a woman as great as you then I will be a very fulfilled man, indeed."

To finalise my case I will say couple of things and get of your backs, I promise. There are so many criticism about how their relathionship rushed but as you can see they have been builting this relationship for years. In this season we saw a relationship built on friendship is the most resilient kind of romantic relationship. Understanding each other just by looking at one another, giggles between intimate moments, knowing each other at their lowests and highests and still not giving up each other. Everything is so pure. I've giving too many spoilers but there are still very good moments I haven't mentioned. If you haven't seen the show please do. Pure romance is something rare even in movies and tv shows. Friends-to-lovers wins once again.