Bridgerton just premiered, but fans are already dying to see what's next for Daphne and Simon in Season 2. The show has yet to officially be picked up for a new season, but if and when it is, I'm more curious to find out what's in store for another pairing. With another debutante season (hopefully) around the corner, what's next for Eloise and Penelope in Bridgerton Season 2? And how will that Lady Whistledown reveal affect their friendship?
Eloise and Penelope have the strongest friendship in the world of Bridgerton. Unlike the Duke and Anthony, these young women tell each other everything. (Or, at least, they think they do.) And, really, when you think about it, they have the most pure and honest relationship in the show. According to star Nicola Coughlan, who plays Penelope, this was all by design. As Coughlan told Seventeen, author Julia Quinn told her and Claudia Jessie (Eloise) as much during a visit to set. "She sat with us and said, 'These books are about romantic love, but they're also about love within female friendships,'" Coughlan recalled. "'And this is the friendship that underpins the whole series.'"
It stands to reason, then, that should Bridgerton get a Season 2, Penelope and Eloise's relationship will continue to play a major role, even if the main romantic pairing changes focus from Daphne and Simon to another Bridgerton. Speaking with Seventeen, Jessie revealed that she hopes Season 2 will find Pen and Eloise navigating Eloise's coming out season together. "They're now entering this like mad, rich, absolutely bizarre set up to dance for your husband, basically. It's completely bonkers. But they're doing it together," she said. "And that's really exciting to do, especially with their brains because they're brilliant." (As for Coughlan, she's equally excited for Pen and Eloise's friendship to develop in Season 2, telling Variety, "I'm all up for more Peneloise."
Of course, it won't be all dancing and making fun of society. There's still the matter of Lady Whistledown, and Eloise's mission to unmask her, to deal with. Warning: spoilers for Bridgerton Season 1 to follow. At the end of Season 1, Pen and Eloise seemed to finally be on the same page again after a brief fight about Lady Whistledown. Convinced that the gossip columnist was Madame Delacroix, Eloise saw herself on Pen's side, hoping to convince Lady Whistledown to write something positive about the Featheringtons to save their reputation. But, fans now know that it was Penelope who was writing Lady Whistledown's scandal sheets all along.
Eloise might not know who Lady Whistledown is yet, but she's about to get a front row seat to society events, meaning more time to scope out possible suspects. Now that she knows it's not Madame Delacroix, she'll be paying extra attention to society event attendees to narrow down her search. And when she does finally unmask Lady Whistledown, what happens then? "She's going to be fuming," Jessie told Entertainment Tonight. In the same interview, Coughlan ominously added, "It won't be good."
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