Bridgerton – Season 3 Episode 5 “Tick Tock” Recap & Review

Tick Tock

Episode 5 of Bridgerton Season 3 begins with Pen and Colin heading inside the Bridgerton manor. Penelope looks nervous but the family is overjoyed as Colin announces their engagement. Well, except Eloise who looks angry and storms off. Pen rushes to her but Eloise declares that Colin cannot love her until he truly knows the real her. Pen agrees and promises to tell Colin about her Whistledown secret at the right time.

The next day, Colin’s engagement is announced via Lady Whistledown which shocks the ton. Danbury’s brother, Marcus is amused by the public’s reaction to gossip. Meanwhile, a worried Charlotte is surprised to learn Whistledown has not made fun of her after Francesca rejected the Marquess for John Kilmartin.

Kate and Anthony finally return from their honeymoon and they have some big news. But before they can share that Kate is pregnant, they learn that Colin is engaged. Anthony and Benedict gang up on him to get all the deets and are touched to learn Colin declare his love for Pen. He realises that he needs to assure her that the carriage is not a spur-of-a-moment thing and rushes to reveal that he has always had feelings for her but only just realised it.

At that moment, Portia is fuming as she learns of the engagement from Whistledown. She believes Debling would have been a better match as the Bridgertons had been quick to abandon them when the Marina fiasco happened. She especially doesn’t believe someone like Penelope could ensnare Colin.

Colin, of course, hears this as he lands at the Featheringtons’ estate. He puts Portia in her place and declares that he and Pen love each other. He takes Pen away to a Bridgerton house that would be his after his marriage. Pen is touched as no one has stood up for her before. We then get a monologue of all the ways Colin cares for her, finds her beautiful and loves her. It ends with them making love to each other.

Meanwhile, Cressida rants to Eloise as she has been set up to marry the rich but old Lord Greer. But she looks at the bright side as she would have the money to shop and throw parties which bores Eloise.

Elsewhere, Anthony sulks as Kate suggests they should keep the pregnancy a secret since Violet has her hands full with Colin and Francesca. Well, at that moment, Violet is busy chaperoning Francesca and John who are promenading. Francesca talks about her family and how Anthony is nauseating in love. John asks if she is inclined to marriage and she says yes which puts a smile on his face.

While planning the engagement ball for Colin, Kate comes across Eloise sulking as well. She is hurt that Pen and Colin kept their feelings a secret and that she is left all alone. Kate tells her to be honest about her feelings with Colin and in return, Eloise helps her with the planning.

Meanwhile, Portia tries to explain her stance to Mrs. Varley, how she was only worried for Pen and that she didn’t know it was a love match. Varley reveals that the Bridgerton engagement just might be a good thing since the solicitor is back to asking about the legitimacy of the (fake) Featherington inheritance documents.

As for Queen Charlotte, she puts a bounty on Whistledown – a 5,000 reward for those who bring evidence of Whistledown’s identity. Pen tries to tell Colin about her secret but they get interrupted. At home, Eloise confronts Colin but he points out that she loved Pen once too. As a gift, he shows her Charlotte’s proclamation on catching Whistledown.

Meanwhile, Cressida meets Greer who is dull and sour. He has a lot of rules such as her wardrobe should have muted outfits, there should be no music, she can only attend one ball and must have 5 children. Elsewhere, Portia suddenly gets chummy and pushes her older daughters to make amends with Pen who doesn’t believe she is being sincere. As for Will Mondrich, his ledgers are empty but Alice tells him to spend more time with the family.

That night, the engagement ball at the Bridgertons’ kicks off. Little Kent, Hyacinth and Gregory become fast friends and Will is touched. Violet invites Marcus after running into him at the promenade but Danbury isn’t happy. Cressida looks worried but Eloise ignores her to send threats to Pen.

With Charlotte’s bounty making it worse, Eloise tells Pen that she has till midnight to tell Colin the truth or she will. Meanwhile, John tries to joke with the family but he gets nervous. Francesca urges him on and Violet is touched to find that they match each other’s energy. Violet does try to avoid Portia who is trying to get close to her. Meanwhile, Tilley is sharpspoken and fierce which has Kate taking a liking to her.

The guests decide to play charades and it turns into a match between Pen and Eloise while the others look on in surprise, till Will breaks the cycle. Eloise looks upset and brushes off Cressida who tries to come up with a plan to run away by using Whistledown’s reward money.

As the talks turn to Whistledown, Pen panics and hides as it is close to 12. Cressida is intrigued as the ton discusses if Whistledown would come forward and take the Queen’s reward for herself. She’d have power, money and the freedom not to marry.

At the same time, Kate doesn’t want to announce her pregnancy as she has doubts about having a child. But Anthony assures her that they will navigate life together. It is 12 and Eloise storms up to Colin who finally finds Pen. She looks unwell and at the same time, Anthony and Cressida call for an announcement. Cressida beats them to it by declaring she is Lady Whistledown. Everyone is shocked and Pen faints.

The Episode Review

Part 2 is finally here and it kicks off at full speed. Right from the get-go there is a lot of drama happening from the Polin engagement, Eloise’s threats, Cressida’s plan, Portia’s scheming and Kanthony’s secret. However, it is not overwhelming as they are all somehow connected and allow us to spend enough time with every character’s problem.

Polin’s sex scene is quite different from past steamy scenes of other characters. A pretty refreshing take in terms of body positivity, breaking the notion of the male gaze as well as the gentle approach they take since Pen is inexperienced. 

Oh, and we absolutely have to talk about Eloise in Bridgerton Season 3 Episode 5 as she has us conflicted. She hasn’t exactly been a good friend to either Pen or Cressida. But to be fair, it is worth remembering that she is a hot-headed teenager. How many of us have made a rash decision after being betrayed by someone we trusted? Sure, she is throwing her tantrums but it is most in line with her character if we must say so.