Summary
- The Featherington family is key to the Bridgerton narrative, with close ties to the Bridgerton family.
- Archibald Featherington's gambling problem causes chaos within the family, leading to his demise.
- Penelope Featherington, as Lady Whistledown, faces challenges with her secret identity and romantic pursuits.
The Featherington family is just as important to the Bridgerton story as the Bridgertons are. The Netflix series, inspired by a series of romance novels by Julia Quinn, primarily follows the Bridgerton family, specifically, the eight children, as they each find love over the course of several years. Set in the late stages of a fictional Regency Era England, each season of the series places the main focus on one of the Bridgerton children. ing characters in the series include the Featheringtons who are firmly connected to the Bridgerton family.
As neighbors and friends, the families are close-knit yet very different. Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) is a close friend to Eloise (Claudia Jesse) and Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) throughout the series, and it is primarily her connection that draws the families together. The Netflix series, however, has created B-plots following the Featheringtons which make them just as important to the overall narrative. While the family line isn't as deep as the Bridgertons, a family tree explaining the family line is helpful for fans keeping up with the large ensemble of Bridgerton characters throughout the seasons.
Bridgerton Season 4 Tease Makes 3 Characters Even More Important For Season 3
Knowing Bridgerton season 3's ending has clues about Bridgerton season 4's protagonists makes 3 characters more important & season 3 more exciting.
Archibald Featherington
The Baron
While many felt that Lady Featherington was the villain of season 1 of Bridgerton, the real villain was her husband, Archibald. As the patriarch of the family, Archibald's main job is to keep the women in his family safe, reserve their dowries, and marry them off into upstanding families. During his time on the show, however, none of that is accomplished by the Baron Featherington.
Instead, Archibald has a gambling problem and butchers the family's name (and bank ). Lady Featherington only discovers this after her husband denies one of the suitors of her daughters the chance to marry her and wants the girls to hold off on marrying until the following social season. After a bet goes wrong with a big boxing match, Archibald is found dead. This leaves Lady Featherington and their children nearly penniless and in a private scandal.
Portia Featherington
The Baroness
Portia Featherington is the matriarch of the family and is often seen as high-strung because of her family's private situation. Knowing how deeply in debt her family is, she does everything she can to keep those matters away from her children's (and the public's) ears. Portia's entire motivation in the series is to keep up the appearances of her family in society and to secure stable financial futures for her daughters.
Portia is often too hard on her daughters, forcing them into situations before they're ready. Especially when it comes to getting married. When her husband's distant cousin, Marina Thompson, comes to stay with the family in season 1, Portia's diabolical plotting is shown in full glory. She's seen as Bridgerton's most frustrating character because of her secretive ways to save her family.
Marina Thompson & Philip Crane
Distant Cousin Of The Featheringtons And Her Husband
Unlike the other characters on with rank and titles, Marina Thompson is a distant cousin of Lord Featherington's who has grown up on a farm and is not entirely familiar with the ways of the ton. She comes to stay with the family in season 1 to look for a suitor. However, Marina also has a secret. Not only is she in love with a soldier at war (who died without her knowing), but she is secretly pregnant with his child in season 1.
Marina does her best to keep the secret from the Featheringtons, but Portia soon finds out and thinks of a game plan to save the family's reputation and Marina's future. Marina sets her sights on Colin Bridgerton and gets him to propose, believing him to be the only good man she meets during the season. But as soon as Lady Whistledown outs Marina's pregnancy, she leaves London and marries the brother of her unborn child's father, Philip Crane.
Philip decides to honor his late brother's love for Marina and make sure she and his unborn child have a safe and secure future. In season 2, Marina is married with two children and in a better situation than in season 1. While her fate in the books is a grim one, it's unlikely the character will reappear in the Netflix series.
Jack Featherington
Archibald Featherington's Cousin
It's a rather unpopular opinion to like season 2's Jack Featherington, but he did add a major source of drama for the Featherington family storylines. As the late Archibald Featherington's cousin, Jack travels to London from North America to save the family's image. He claims he is wealthy and owns different mines in the Americas.
The Featherington women find him odd but trust him when he pays off Philipa's dowry, allowing her to marry the same man that Archibald refuses in the first season. Thinking it is best to keep the money within the family, Portia schemes to get Jack to marry her middle daughter, Prudence. But as time goes on, Portia discovers he is a con artist and is as broke as they are.
While Portia goes along with Jack's cons at first in an effort to preserve the family image, when Colin Bridgerton exposes Jack's lies to Penelope, she realizes Jack is actually putting the reputations of her daughters in danger. In the end, Portia threatens to expose Jack to the entire ton and sends him packing at the end of season 2.
Prudence Featherington
Eldest Daughter Of The Baron And Baroness
Prudence Featherington is the eldest daughter of the family. After spending two years on the "marriage mart" and not attracting the same attention as Marina, or even her younger sisters, Prudence has yet to be successful in securing a husband. In season 2, she had as few prospects as in season 1, which is why her mother sets her up with their second cousin, Jack.
Prudence isn't interested in Jack but wants to be married to put the family in good standing. In the end, she and Jack don't work out, and she is still single and tired of never finding her match when everyone else around her is. Promotional materials for season 3 have shown that she's annoyed after Penelope's makeover, giving more attention to her youngest sister. She is expected, however, to have a match of her own in the third season.
Philippa And Albian Finch
Middle Daughter Of The Baron And Baroness And Her Husband
Philippa Featherington is the middle child and the only one to get married after years of looking for a suitor. Like Prudence, Philippa's story hasn't been dissected in-depth as of yet, but fans are hoping to learn more about her if she remains connected to her sister's larger storyline moving forward in the show. Of course, since both of Penelope's older sisters continually bullied her in the Featherington household, she might not want anything to do with them.
While Philippa's family make some bad decisions in season 2, she makes one of the best ones in marrying someone she truly loves and loves her back, Albian Finch. Mr. Finch and Miss Featherington initially bond over their shared love of cheese in the first season, but when he attempts to ask her father's permission to marry her, he is dismissed. Thanks to cousin Jack, Philippa does get the chance to marry in season 2.
Penelope Featherington
Youngest Daughter Of The Baron And Baroness AKA Lady Whistledown
As the secret Lady Whistledown, youngest Featherington, best friend to Eloise Bridgerton, and irer of Colin Bridgerton, Penelope Featherington has a plethora of secrets that weigh her down. Ever the wallflower, Penelope didn't initially care to find a husband because she has had her eyes on her male best friend, Colin, for years. Despite her older sisters and her mother treating her poorly, Eloise and Colin always treat her as an equal - at least until the events of season 2.
Season 2 ends on a huge cliffhanger when Eloise finds out Penelope is actually Lady Whistledown, putting their friendship in a rocky place. While Penelope wants to make amends, Eloise wants to find a new friend, choosing to make Cressida Cowper, Penelope's bully on the social scene, her new partner at parties. Penelope also hears Colin say he isn't romantically interested in her at the end of season 2, which spurs a divide between her and the other Bridgerton as well.
Season 3 is set to be Colin and Penelope's season of Bridgerton as Penelope decides she must move out of the Featherington family house and secure a husband.
Season 3 is set to be Colin and Penelope's season of Bridgerton as Penelope decides she must move out of the Featherington family house and secure a husband. Colin tutors her in the ways of attracting a husband while she undergoes a style makeover with the help of her Lady Whistledown earnings, making her the center of attention for the season instead of the usual wallflower.
Bridgerton: Everyone Who Knew Penelope Is Lady Whistledown
Bridgerton's biggest scandals are reported by Lady Whistledown in her notorious scandal sheet but only a few characters know her true identity.
Bridgerton
- Release Date
- December 25, 2020
- Network
- Netflix
- Directors
- Tom Verica, Tricia Brock, Alex Pillai, Alrick Riley, Bille Woodruff, Cheryl Dunye, Sheree Folkson, Julie Anne Robinson
Cast
Ruth GemmellLady Violet Bridgerton-
Luke ThompsonBenedict Bridgerton
WHERE TO WATCH
Bridgerton, released on December 25, 2020, is set in Regency-era England and follows the lives of the influential Bridgerton family. The series explores themes of wealth, lust, and betrayal, portraying societal dynamics through a blend of romance and intrigue.
- Writers
- Abby McDonald, Sarah L. Thompson, Daniel Robinson, Oliver Goldstick, Leila Cohan-Miccio, Azia Squire, Sarah Dollard, Eli Wilson Pelton, Janet Lin
- Seasons
- 4
- Creator(s)
- Chris Van Dusen
Your comment has not been saved