Bridgerton Season 3, Episode 5, “Tick Tock,” ends with Cressida Cowper (Jessica Madsen) once again taking the wind out of poor Penelope Featherington’s (Nicola Coughlan) sails. However, for once, Cressida was not acting out of cruelty, but rather out of pure self-preservation. The Netflix adaptation of Julia Quinn’s beloved Bridgerton novels imagines a more nuanced reason for Cressida’s grand Lady Whistledown gambit, and in doing so makes Cressida even more fascinating…
**Spoilers for Bridgerton Season 3 Part 2, now streaming on Netflix**
Bridgerton Season 3, Part 2 begins with Penelope Featherington basking in the bliss of her sudden engagement to her longtime love, Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton). However, there is a slight problem with her happily ever after. As Eloise (Claudia Jessie) points out, Colin has no idea that Pen is Lady Whistledown.
Penelope’s problem becomes even more serious when Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel) announces that she is offering a reward to anyone who identifies Lady Whistledown. Cressida Cowper, facing a bleak future as the wife of an old conservative friend of her father’s, decides to claim the reward for herself.
“Would you like to know who Lady Whistledown is?” Cressida announces at Penelope and Colin’s engagement party. “I am her.”
With that shocking statement at the end of Bridgerton Season 3 Episode 5 “Tick Tock” on Netflix, Cressida Cowper not only puts a stop to the happy news from Pen, her long-time rival, but inadvertently steals her life’s work. At Julia Quinn’s House Mr. Bridgerton RomanceCressida does this as she does everything, for cruel and mercenary reasons. However, on Netflix BridgertonCressida’s actions are those of a scared girl.
“I think it’s very desperate, you know?” Bridgerton Star Jessica Madsen told Jugo Mobile via Zoom. “She has no options. She has this idea of what life could be if she could get out and escape and say, ‘This is my ticket out.’ Oh Lord!'”
In the lead-up to Cressida’s impulsive declaration, we watch as she eagerly listens to members of high society describe the wealth and freedom the infamous Lady Whistledown must have.
“You know, she’s sitting there and she hears everyone say all these things and she’s like, ‘That’s exactly what I want!’” Madsen said. “And I love her confidence because of that, you know? I love the confidence that she has of her and she tries and then we see it in the moment where she says, ‘Oh, God, what have I done?’
Bridgerton Season 3 showrunner Jess Brownell explained to Jugo Mobile that one of the reasons she wanted to bring Cressida to the “front line” this season had to do with the fact that “she’s always been a part of the story.” of Penelope.” Not only have we seen her positioned as Pen’s main bully, but she also plays a key role in Penelope’s book. Brownell saw the opportunity to say more about the Regency world with Cressida on the show.
“I love delving into a villain’s character and understanding why villains are the way they are,” Brownell said. “I think in general, especially in the Regency world, where women are granted so little agency and power, I think it doesn’t make sense to one-dimensionalize any woman and classify her as a villain.”
“Being a villain as a woman in that time period? “They were all victims and vulnerable in that period in so many ways that it seems unfair to make Cressida a villain in that way.”
As Bridgerton Fans soon learn that Cressida’s tactic has serious consequences. The Queen doubts that Cressida has the wit to be Lady Whistledown and demands a new issue to prove that she is the author. Naturally, Cressida fights. Her mother (Joanna Bobin) finds her daughter in daycare because, as Cressida explains, there is no desk in her room! -and we see Cressida, in a panic, tell her mother that she is afraid.
“It was really great to be able to see their relationship develop,” Madsen said, noting that the Cowpers are “pretty rigid” and have “English energy” that has so far prevented them from being close. “You can’t imagine them giving each other a big hug.”
Cressida’s mother comes to her rescue and helps her write a passable “Lady Whistledown” note.
“We see them connecting in the best way possible, I think, with each other,” Madsen said. “And she helps her, you know? She comes and saves her with that.”
Brownell emphasized that it was “really important” to give Cressida this additional context, “to understand that her ‘bad girl’ vibe comes from a deeper place.”
Madsen agreed. “I hope people take hold of what we’ve seen in the first half and understand that she didn’t have many options left to navigate it. You know, she tries to trick the queen, she had to do all these things and she doesn’t really understand the weight of what she’s doing or the reality of what she’s doing. She has so much naivety.”
Cressida Cowper: secret good girl?
