Why Are Polin Fans Freaking Out About Carriages in ‘Bridgerton’ Season 3?

Dearest Bridgerton fans immediately took note of a brief carriage scene in the season 3 trailer, salivating over what was to come in the upcoming episodes.

“OMG we have a carriage on the # 😭 [sic]. Carriage scene coming in the trailer confirmed,” one fan wrote via X on Thursday, April 11, referring to an image of a gilded carriage appearing next to the show’s official hashtag.

Another posited, “When I see even an inch of THAT carriage later in the trailer my god I’m already apologizing in advance, but I’m not gonna shut up about it.”

Bridgerton debuted its official trailer for season 3 on Thursday, in which there are two brief moments of Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) in a carriage. Within the first seven seconds, the back of Colin’s head can be seen through the vehicle’s back window. Moments later, he is seen changing his shirt while inside the carriage, riding with brothers Anthony (Jonathan Bailey) and Benedict (Luke Thompson).

“Brother, under what foreign sun did you apparently get so sturdy,” Benedict quips after getting a glimpse of his sibling’s abdominal muscles, a reference to Colin’s Romancing Mister Bridgerton glow-up.

Bridgerton season 3 takes inspiration from Romancing Mister Bridgerton, the fourth book in Julia Quinn’s best-selling regency romance series starring Colin and Penelope Featherington (played on screen by Nicola Coughlan). The book features a 10-year time jump from the previous stories starring Daphne, Anthony and Benedict’s respective love stories as Colin returns home to London following his travels abroad. In the first chapter, Lady Whistledown even proclaims that Colin is the “prime catch” of the season because of his “fortune, face, form and charm.”

Throughout Romancing Mister Bridgerton, Colin finally meets his match in longtime friend and admirer Penelope. Once he confesses his feelings, their romance heats up in several unexpected places. Chapter 12, for instance, is set in a carriage and documents Colin and Penelope’s first intimate encounter.

After following Penelope into the ton to drop off her latest Whistledown column — and thus discovering her secret career — Colin offers to escort her home and tells his chauffeur to “take the long way.” After trying to convince Penelope to stop writing the gossip leaflet, Colin denounces her revelation that she is an “ugly duckling” and passionately kisses her as proof.

One kiss turns into steamier antics that only get interrupted by the carriage arriving at the Featherington’s house — and propels Colin and Penelope to think about marriage.

So, suffice it to say, seeing a carriage in the trailer has gotten fans excited that the steamy moment and subsequent romantic reveal could be on the way via Netflix.

“I want you all to remember that the ‘Romancing Mr. Bridgerton’ is episode 6, by then the first kiss, carriage scene and god knows what else already happened, maybe even Colin’s love confession,” one X user wrote earlier this month, referring the episode title that corresponds with Quinn’s novel.

While Netflix and Shondaland have not confirmed further details about the story lines of Bridgerton season 3, both Coughlan, 37, and Newton, 31, have teased that they filmed steamy scenes together.

“It’s a spicy one. It’s a lot of the stuff from the books that the fans expect has made it into the show,” Coughlan told Entertainment Tonight at Netflix’s TUDUM festival in June 2023. “Oh my god, there was one day where we had to sort of do like a very romantic, beautifully written romantic scene. And we were just like peeing ourselves with laughter, ’cause you just have to, like, look into each other’s eyes and we were like, ‘Oh god.’”

The first half of Bridgerton season 3 premieres on Netflix on Thursday, May 16. The remaining episodes drop on Thursday, June 13.