Nicola Coughlan has officially addressed the criticism from Bridgerton fans about her character Penelope Featherington's darker side in season two of the Netflix drama.
New episodes of the beloved series dropped last week, and after binge-watching the entire second season in a matter of days, viewers are less than impressed with Penelope, who is still operating as the anonymous columnist Lady Whistledown.
Fans were particularly disappointed in Penelope when her actions as Lady Whistledown caused a major rift between her and Eloise (Claudia Jessie) in the season two finale. Watch the fallout here:
After watching the drama unfold, fans made it clear that they were disappointed in Penelope this season.
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One viewer tweeted: "I love how Penelope has no problem ruining people's lives by writing gossip but the moment somebody utters anything remotely harsh about her she turns into this weeping widow. Don’t dish it if you can’t take it."
Another wrote: "The way Penelope spent a whole season gaslighting Eloise is CRAZY".
Nicola Coughlan has since spoken out about her character's dark turn and her fallout with Eloise. Speaking to Digital Spy, she said: "That scene was really difficult to film.
"I think Claudia and I always felt like, you know, that Penelope is deceiving a lot of people but the worst deception is really to her best friend, because she is lying to her face all the time."
She continued: "She's gathering information from her all the time. So it's a terrible betrayal. And then, instead of just really owning up to her wrong, she bites back. But I think you know, it makes sense if you think about the family she was raised in. That's how she's seen people talk to one another.
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"It's interesting, because I think it's part of the reason I like being on a Shondaland show is they're not afraid to have women do unlikable things. They don't always have to be perfect angels who never get anything wrong. They're allowed to make mistakes and be flawed.
"But yeah, I feel like people are gonna be really angry with her at the end of this series."
It's a shame that things went so downhill for Nicola's character as the series concluded - especially when she started out so strong in the beginning of season two.
Fans were thrilled with Penelope Featherington when she spoke in an Irish accent in the opening moments of season two in order to disguise herself while printing Lady Whistledown's column.
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Youngest of the Featherington family, Penelope tends to speak in a posh London accent, but to keep her alias of Lady Whistledown a secret, she opted for a cloak and an Irish accent.
Fans of Nicola Coughlan will know that the actress was born and raised in Ireland, so she likely didn't have to try very hard to perfect the Penelope's 'fake' accent.
Season two of Bridgerton is available to watch now on Netflix.
Featured Image Credit: NetflixTopics: TV And Film, Netflix, Bridgerton