Bridgerton Is Totally Ignoring 1 Of The Books' Best Relationships

From altered storylines to completely erased characters, Bridgerton Season 3 has made a ton of changes from its source novel Romancing Mister Bridgerton. But the one that’s proven most upsetting to diehard fans is a beloved relationship that’s being totally ignored. After Penelope Featherington had absolutely zero interactions with Lady Danbury in the first half of the season, book readers are questioning why the series is overlooking an alliance that was such a core part of the novels... and theorizing how it might change a key storyline.

In the Bridgerton books, Penelope forms a very close friendship with Lady Danbury. Their bond is particularly prevalent in Romancing Mister Bridgerton, as Danbury takes a special interest in Penelope’s love life and frequently encourages the wallflower to speak her mind more and go after what she wants. In the moments when Penelope feels misunderstood by everyone, it’s Danbury she turns to for an understanding pep talk. Basically, they serve as one another’s truest confidantes, which is why fans were puzzled that the two characters really haven’t interacted at all in the Netflix adaptation.

The absence of their friendly alliance was glaring in the first four episodes of Season 3, which would have featured a lot of fun plotting and scheming between Penelope and Danbury had it remained true to the book. However, because of the show’s added storylines, Danbury found herself too busy meddling in the Mondrich’s ascent to aristocracy (which isn’t in the books at all), keeping an eye on her estranged brother (another character not in the books), and match-making for Francesca Bridgerton (a love story that the show moved up in the timeline).

With all that going on, she didn’t have time to grow close to Penelope, it seemed. And fans of their dynamic were disappointed to see it missing from the screen.

The erased relationship also led fans to theorize about how the show may change the birth order of Penelope and Colin’s children. In the books, the couple has four children after getting married, with the eldest being their daughter Agatha, whom Penelope named after her close friend Lady Danbury. But since the series hasn’t shown Penelope and Danbury bonding at all, it would be hard to believe the TV version of Penelope would name her daughter after someone who’s a casual acquaintance at best.

That, paired with the Featheringtons’ current storyline of needing a male heir to maintain their residence, has led fans to guess Penelope may give birth to her son Thomas before Agatha.

Hopefully, the second half of Season 3 will include some Penelope/Danbury moments that fans have been craving. Part 2 of the season will drop on Netflix on June 13.