The saddest moment of the season may have just flown right under our noses.

Warning: Spoilers for Bridgerton season 3, part 2 to follow.

Queen Charlotte might have the crown in Bridgerton, but Bridgerton itself might have just claimed the queen bee status among Netflix’s original programming. Indeed, after signing off on the Polin saga so kinetically, empathetically, and intelligently, what hope do its competitors have?

Once we’re all finished watching and rewatching the drama of the ton’s most fascinating event yet, our sights will inevitably turn ahead to season 4, where we can likely count on the love stories to take a more revolutionary turn, in a manner of speaking. Without a doubt, such narratives will be a tremendous gain for the Regency drama.

But with gains come losses, and while we really couldn’t have asked for a better conclusion to season 3, there is one beloved aspect of Bridgerton that we’ll probably have to bid farewell to next season. Again, heavy spoilers to follow.

About what happened with Penelope’s secret…

Image via Netflix

With Nicola Coughlan’s protagonist having publicly revealed herself as the infamous scribe of the ton, there is sadly little need for Julie Andrews’ narration to hide her in any capacity. This is brought into startling focus in the season 3 finale’s closing moments, during which Penelope’s voice takes over the Whistledown narration from that of the legendary actress.

It may be a small detail insofar as any contribution from Andrews is capable of being called “small,” but her vocal contributions to Bridgerton have become a special mainstay that we’ll all miss should Whistledown’s voice forevermore match that of her true identity. For all we know, though, season 4 won’t feature much of Whistledown at all (hell, it might not even take place in London). Penelope Bridgerton is a columnist now, not a secret gossip writer, and we have to see if the ton is even interested in Penelope’s writing vs. Lady Whistledown’s. As of this writing, Andrews and the Bridgerton camp have neither confirmed nor denied that season 3 will be her last, but hopes are high that she’ll return, even with Pen writing as herself from here on out.

In any case, while we will struggle to take this advice ourselves, we shouldn’t be so restless in our thoughts about the future of Bridgerton ⏤ not when a perfectly fine past and present is available in the form of three whole seasons available exclusively on Netflix. That said, it’s only natural that we can’t wait to see what happens next.