Netflix’s Bridgerton, based on the romance novels by Julia Quinn, reveals Lady Whistledown’s identity much earlier than the books. Each of Quinn’s eight books focuses on a different Bridgerton sibling. While all eight alphabetically named Bridgerton siblings appear in season 1 of Bridgerton, the season is primarily based on the first book in the Bridgerton series, The Duke and I, which tells the story of Daphne Bridgerton and Simon, Duke of Hastings. The Netflix show, of course, diverges from The Duke and I in several ways, but one of the biggest moments in the season isn’t in the first book.

In the books, Lady Whistledown’s identity isn’t revealed until the fourth book, Romancing Mister Bridgerton. The plot revolves around Colin Bridgerton and his love interest, Penelope Featherington, who is revealed during Romancing Mr. Bridgerton to be none other than Lady Whistledown. Penelope’s alter ego briefly becomes a point of conflict in their relationship. Her identity had been a well-kept secret. However, the Netflix series chose to reveal Lady Whistledown much earlier at the end of season 1.

How Bridgerton Reveals Lady Whistledown

Near the end of Bridgerton’s season 1 finale, “After the Rain,” it’s revealed that Penelope Featherington has been Lady Whistledown all along, marking a significant departure from the books. Penelope is revealed to be the writer of the Lady Whistledown gossip sheets, but only to the audience at that point in season 1. Eloise tries to figure out who she is, but narrowly misses her.

In the second season, after much searching for the truth, Eloise does actually discover that her best friend is Lady Whistledown. Eloise and Genevieve De la Croix are the only characters in on Penelope’s secret going into the third season. Madame De la Croix and Penelope are both seen as businesswomen simply trying to gain their own financial freedom and independence by the audience. Eloise, however, sees things differently when she discovers that Penelope has been lying to her.

This is very different from the Bridgerton novels in which Penelope’s identity as Lady Whistledown is actually revealed to other characters and the reader at the same time.

Why Bridgerton’s Lady Whistledown Reveal Is Different From The Novels

The surprise reveal is a way to pay off the investment that viewers have made in the show by the end of the first season.

There are a few practical reasons that could explain why the change was made. First, it’s a great way to resolve the tension built by the first season’s biggest question: Who is Lady Whistledown? Since Lady Whistledown is voiced by Julie Andrews and features heavily in the Bridgerton trailers, the showrunners likely knew that the mysterious character would be one of the main hooks for audiences. The surprise reveal is a way to pay off the investment that viewers have made in the show by the end of the first season.

Second, it wasn’t yet official that the show would get another chance to reveal Lady Whistledown. At the time of filming and editing the first season, Bridgerton wasn’t guaranteed a second season. If Bridgerton had been canceled after only one season, it would have left a massive loose end forever untied and the season would no longer be a self-contained story. Though season 1 left many questions unanswered, the main plot with Simon and Daphne was wrapped up satisfactorily and the reveal of Lady Whistledown’s identity answered the season’s biggest question.

The show’s immense popularity after being made available to stream on Netflix got it a second season, and eventually a third, and a spin-off series. More spin-offs appear to be in development for the show. With the season 3 release of Bridgerton nearly doubling the streaming numbers of the second with only half the season available to stream, it’s almost guaranteed to get to the eight seasons required for each sibling.

The early reveal seems unusual, especially when compared with similar shows like Gossip Girl or How I Met Your Mother that waited until the last minute to reveal their big secrets – and the shocking scene was apparently tacked onto the Bridgerton finale in a last-minute addition. But since Penelope’s reveal asks as many questions as it answers, Bridgerton will keep many viewers interested in watching future seasons.

How The Lady Whistledown Reveal Will Impact Future Seasons

The reveal of Lady Whistledown to the audience has already had a great impact on the series three seasons into Bridgerton. With the knowledge that Penelope is actually writing as Lady Whistledown, the show has been able to make Penelope a more prominent recurring character in the second season, allowing her to be fully fleshed out in the third when she officially becomes the love interest of one of the Bridgerton siblings, Colin.

Because the audience already knows who Penelope really is and just how much of herself is hidden from those around her, she becomes an even more sympathetic character than she already was in the first season before the reveal. The audience understands why Lady Whistledown writes about who she does. While Lady Whistledown reports gossip, she also pushes for Eloise to stop putting herself into dangerous situations and attempts to protect Colin from being tricked into a marriage where he doesn’t know there’s already a baby on the way. These are people she cares for.

Of course, Penelope also uses Lady Whistledown as her own journal of sorts, taking her anger at Colin out on the page. The audience is able to understand that, and even empathize with Penelope when she immediately regrets her actions. They also can cheer for her when she uses the society sheet to talk up other women making their debut in society. She attempts to give everyone in her third season a confidence boost, even though they don’t care about her.

More than that, the reveal to Eloise that Penelope is Lady Whistledown in season 2 also serves to drive a wedge between the two best friends. Eloise becomes friendly with Cressida in season 3, and the audience begins to better understand just why Cressida has been so callous during society events. The reveal also serves to show just how important Penelope and Eloise have truly been to one another as they navigate a social season without each other’s company.

All of these smaller aspects of the storyline help develop the characters in a way the audience might not have seen without the early reveal of Lady Whistledown’s identity. It’s likely that Penelope’s secret will gradually be revealed to more people as the series goes on, and just how many, and when, will certainly impact future seasons. In the novel Romancing Mister Bridgerton, Penelope is publicly outed at an event, but Colin knows her secret ahead of the reveal. Lady Whistledown’s persona is then retired.

..the show would want to keep Lady Whistledown around…

It seems unlikely the show would want to publicly reveal their narrator when there are still five Bridgertons left to marry. If it does, it’s likely that the narration style of the show would have to change and the society papers wouldn’t be as much of a focal point for gossip every season. That could work if the season takes the main couple out of London and away from the other Bridgertons, but it wouldn’t work with the current setup of each season following the London social scene.

It seems that the show would want to keep Lady Whistledown around for as long as Julie Andrews is willing to provide narrations for the series and Nicola Coughlan is willing to play Penelope, even if only to bookend each season. If that’s the case, not everyone should know Lady Whistledown’s identity, but more characters discovering the secret each season could help keep Penelope and Colin embroiled in the Bridgerton storylines for years to come.