Bridgerton season 3 is confirmed, and there is already a perfect Penelope replacement for Eloise, now their friendship has reached a breaking point. At the end of season 2, Eloise realized Penelope is Lady Whistledown, the mysterious antagonist who had caused the Bridgertons to suffer multiple times because of her gossip. The revelation caused Eloise to split ties with Penelope and the end of season 2 saw them both visibly upset from losing their closest friend. While there’s every chance the pair could patch things up, they also don’t need to, as Bridgerton season 3 has a perfect candidate to replace Penelope as Eloise’s best friend.
Eloise Bridgerton, despite her status, is quite the outcast in her society due to her disregard for the debutant season and its restriction on women. Eloise and Penelope differ massively on this, and Penelope refrains from telling Eloise how much she wants to be part of this world despite its flaws. Eloise, who is arguably the best Bridgerton character, could be a big part of the debutant season if she chose it but Penelope, even though she wants it, is still overlooked and becomes a fly on the wall. Although they differed, Penelope and Eloise had a great friendship and supported each other, but now their friendship is broken, Kate Sharma is a perfect Penelope replacement for Eloise.
Why Eloise & Kate Would Make Great Friends In Bridgerton
Eloise needs a new companion in season 3, and Kate is the perfect candidate fo a Penelope Bridgerton replacement. Season 2 briefly showed moments between Kate and Eloise that highlighted their similar intellect and passions. They are both rebellious and immune to people’s opinions of them and want more for themselves than what the debutant season and their society offer them. Penelope and Eloise may have gotten along perfectly, but Kate and Eloise would have a friendship where neither of them would be held back from what they wanted.
Eloise is currently viewed as an outsider by society and even her family for wanting to have the same opportunities as men, it’s what makes Eloise’s friendship with Benedict tragic. Eloise needs friendship with Kate to show her as something other than the black sheep of the family. There is no one else in the Bridgerton high society who has similar interests and views to Eloise, so Kate replacing Penelope would be a way to provide Eloise with someone who is more like her. Eloise has found like-minded people of lower societal status, such as the women’s rights group and Theo, but she is still separated from them due to her class. Even Theo and Eloise couldn’t continue romantically due to the difference in status and what it would mean for them.
Also, Kate’s character has so many levels that could be shown if a friendship with Eloise is explored. In season 2, Kate was so focused on protecting her sister, Edwina, or hiding her feelings for Anthony Bridgerton, who instead “vexes” her, that the audience didn’t see much of her relaxed side or her intellect. It is only in the epilogue that she is truly herself without her guard up. Prior to this, her conversation with Eloise on the porch in season 2, episode 3, “A Bee in Your Bonnet” sees them bond over being single, independent women and Eloise asks about how Kate stays single in this society. Having their friendship developed would allow for Kate’s independence to be explored and develop her character on a deeper level.
Kate being Eloise’s Penelope replacement would be a refreshing side-plot. On a show focused on the trials and tribulations of love, a genuine friendship that helped both women would add a new level to Bridgerton. Plus, as Kate is now Eloise’s sister-in-law, it would be a way of Eloise having more in common with the rest of the Bridgerton family, therefore Kate is the perfect Penelope replacement for Eloise in season 3.
Bridgerton’s Season 3 Changes Make This Penelope Change More Important
Giving Eloise someone else to confide in and bond with is even more important since Bridgerton season 3 is making a big change to what fans expected from the series. The first two seasons of the show have been based on the first two books in the series of novels about the Bridgerton siblings by Julia Quinn. The third novel is focused on Benedict, but the change has been made to focus on Colin and his relationship with Penelope for the Netflix series, meaning that Eloise needs a replacement for Penelope in her life.
Because the show is shifting the focus to Colin and Penelope to put Benedict on the back burner for another season, it makes sense that Eloise will still be in their orbit during the social season. As a result, she needs an ally, even someone who can take her under her wing. Her older sister Daphne won’t be appearing in season 3, and won’t be there to offer Eloise advice during the social season. It makes sense that Daphne, who now lives on an estate with her husband and child, wouldn’t be a huge part of the social season with her siblings. Kate, on the other hand, has been welcomed into the Bridgerton family as Anthony’s wife and lives on one of the family properties.
With both of these changes happening in the series and in Eloise’s life, Kate makes the most sense as a person she can befriend and spend time with. Bridgerton’s Penelope replacement in Eloise’s life needs to be Kate.
