There’s one ‘Bridgerton’ plot point that could make the season 3, part 1 cliffhanger too good to be true

If you need a refresher, season two left us with Eloise learning that her lifelong pal Penelope is Lady Whistledown. Not long after their confrontation, Penelope overheard her dear friend and crush Colin telling someone that he would never court her. Needless to say, tensions are high going into season three, and after spending an episode sorting out their differences, Colin agreed to help Penelope find a husband. Unfortunately for him, seeing her with someone else, combined with a kiss that the two unexpectedly shared, stirred up some romantic feelings that Colin didn’t realize he had.

In the culmination of episode four, Colin confessed his love for Penelope and they enjoyed a steamy, time-stopping moment in the back of a carriage. You could practically hear Polin stans everywhere squealing when Colin then offered Pen his arm and basically proposed to her. The scene will certainly go down in history as one of Bridgerton‘s most iconic confessions of love, with many fans online already admitting to watching it over and over again. It’s almost distracting enough to lead them to forget about a key cliffhanger that will likely drive Part 2 of this season forward.

Is Bridgerton season 3 going to end the way fans are hoping?

There’s a crucial moment in season 3, part 1 when Lady Whistledown reveals a few choice words about Colin that lead him to proclaim how much he hates her for ruining Eloise’s reputation as well as their family name. He takes a firm stance against Whistledown and proclaims that she is not only the lowest of the low, but that he’ll never forgive her for what she’s done. For all you gentle readers keeping score, Colin still has no idea that Lady Whistledown ⏤ who he has now declared public enemy #1 ⏤ is actually Penelope. And now he’s proposed to her. Yeah. Yikes.

Colin’s discovery that Pen is Lady W is bound to throw a wrench into the fairy tale ending we’re all praying for. There are a couple of ways that this could play out, of course, and fans have already begun theorizing. In the books, Colin is the first to know that Penelope is Lady Whistledown and eventually exposes it to the entire ton, even before the infamous carriage scene. While that’s not the case in the show, there’s a chance that he’ll find out and expose her to society, either before or after they marry. (He could also find out and, you know, not publicly shame her.)

Due to the show’s commitment to happy endings, we expect ⏤ and hope ⏤ that Colin and Pen will end up together as the steamy part 1 finale implies. Then again, Bridgerton has deviated from its source material before; who’s to say that part 2 won’t do just that, with Colin finding out on the eve of his wedding that his fiancée is actually the ton’s most scandalous scribbler? Bridgerton could feasibly throw us that curveball, especially given that Pen has been making things more difficult for the entire Bridgerton clan for almost a full three seasons now. However this shakes out, one thing’s for certain: Colin is going to find out, and it’s sure to start some drama in his and Pen’s finally-perfect relationship.

Could season 3 be the end of Lady Whistledown?

In the books, after Penelope’s secret has been exposed, she gives up Lady Whistledown and focuses on helping Colin get his travel journals published. Does that mean after season 3, we’ll be rid of Lady Whistledown once and for all? (Shonda, don’t you dare take away our Julie Andrews!) Will Pen come clean, either to Colin and/or the entire ton, or will Eloise keep her secret well into her marriage? Anything can happen, and the theories of what might happen are already running rampant.

Of course, the inevitable burst of the Polin love bubble isn’t the only thing fans are anticipating in part 2. The Featherington sister baby race has yet to be resolved, and Francesca must eventually pick a suitor, right? (First she’ll have to finally talk to one of them.) Even Violet Bridgerton seems to have a new love story of her own unfurling. We’ll also hopefully find out if Eloise and Penelope ever reconcile, with a one Cressida Cowper potentially inducted into their sisterhood if she starts being kinder to Pen. We’re also likely to continue to see the Mondrich family settle into their new life as newly-minted members of the ton.

Though the books are a solid guidepost for Bridgerton fans who are wondering what happens next, Shondaland has been known to make its own unique changes and will inevitably do so again. If you want an idea of where things are going, reading Romancing Mr. Bridgerton is be a good place to start. Otherwise, the best we can do is speculate until part 2 finally arrives on Netflix.