do some polin's even LIKE colin bridgerton?

Leading up to S3, all I heard was, “Colin better grovel and beg for forgiveness!”—even though every male lead has messed up, and none of them were expected to grovel. Meanwhile, no one expected Penelope to beg for forgiveness for agreeing to marry him after lying and endangering his family. Instead, people were mad at him for having a rational reaction to this massive betrayal. He processed his feelings for a week, while Pen ignored him all summer for far less (and Eloise ditched her for even longer). But how dare Colin exist outside the role of Penelope’s Love Interest, right?

Then there’s the “entrapment” line—an understandable reaction from someone with trauma around being manipulated into marriage—yet people crucified him for it. Penelope can write hurtful stuff about him when in her feelings, but Colin can’t say something hurtful?

I had to stop reading Polin fanfiction because so much of it is “let’s make Colin suffer because Pen is an iconic queen, and he’s a stupid idiot who doesn’t deserve her!” God forbid Penelope be lucky to have him too. Yet the comment sections are still full of “he needs to grovel more” or “I hope he doesn’t get her easily!” Please. Many Penelope stans don’t even see Colin as an autonomous character. He’s just her accessory. They’ll ship her with Anthony, Benedict, or anyone else, but Colin having brothel scenes was “too much” because “he’s just for Pen!” Newsflash: he’s not her property. He’s entitled to complex emotions without being dismissed as an “egotistical crybaby” or “undeserving of her.”

When S3 aired, I complained that Colin was sidelined for the LW arc and other side plots. Yet I was dismissed constantly with, “Well, LW is Bridgerton,” or “His arc was still satisfying!” His screentime outside Penelope was abysmal, but no one cared because some fans only want him to be an obsessive wife guy who grovels at her feet.

This behavior even spills over to Luke and Nicola. After the S3 Pt 2 premiere, Luke was harassed, stalked, called a pedo/PR nightmare, and blamed for “ruining” Nicola’s premiere night—like his wasn’t ruined by paps too. It’s the same logic as “Pen’s wedding night was ruined, and she deserved better!”—as if a man can’t be too hurt for sex after a betrayal. Some fans want Luke to exist as Nicola’s romantic option, and when he doesn’t fit that fantasy, they hate him. Just like Colin, Luke isn’t allowed to exist for himself.

Colin is written as whatever fans want Penelope to have, not as a real character. And ideals don’t mess up—or, if they do, they must suffer endlessly for it.

(Edit: the Pen solo stans found this post rip)