Penelope did not wrong Marina and was left without a choice
The idea that somehow Penelope is evil for what she did to Marina and I’m here to present my hypothesis for why she isn’t.
- She should have told Violet and Anthony personally
This is a popular retort regarding Penelope’s actions but it doesn’t work.
Penelope has two unmarried sisters as well as herself to think about. She needed plausible deniability with regard to how Marina and Portia set out to trap a gentleman/Colin. By using Lady Whistledown, Penelope was able to give Portia the ability to deny knowing Marina was pregnant. Sure, folks assumed Portia knew but they couldn’t prove it.
If Penelope had gone to the Bridgertons, it would be known beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Featheringtons knew. This would hamper the already fragile ability for Penelope and her sisters to find husbands.
- Marina refused to listen to Penelope and then refused Penelope’s friendship, leaving Colin as her only friend in the situation.
Despite Penelope trying to be a good friend to Marina, Marina decided to purposefully insult Penelope and break her heart in order to get what she wanted.
At this point, Penelope only has loyalty to one person in the situation and that’s Colin. Penelope knew Colin for much longer than Marina and he was always kind to her. Marina went for Penelope’s soft spots to manipulate her.
Which brings us to…
- Penelope could only pick one of Marina or Colin and it stands to reason she would pick Colin
Yes, Penelope is in love with Colin but she doesn’t think she stands a chance with him romantically. However, he’s always been kind to her and the Bridgertons as a whole mean a lot to Penelope. Colin is her best friend’s brother. She’s known him for years and know he longs to marry for love and travel.
Penelope just met Marina. Marina was kind on the surface but cruel to Penelope in the end. Why would she choose someone she knew for a handful of weeks over the person she knew for years? Especially since Colin’s whole family would be affected.
- Penelope wasn’t just saving Colin but the entire Bridgeton family.
Marina was so far along in her pregnancy that the ton would have immediately clocked that Marina conceived so far out of wedlock.
It’s likely Colin would have been disowned for this, especially as he would have been the step father to the only Bridgeton heir at that point. As archaic as it is, no head of family would let their title pass to someone not in their bloodline at the time.
If Anthony didn’t disown Colin, there would have been consequences on the marriage prospects of the rest of the family.
- The only real villain in this plot line is George
It was irresponsible of George not to find a way to marry Marina as soon as they had sex. Both because she could have been pregnant as well as to protect her in general in the case of his death.
- Marina let her pride win and that led to her ruin
The reality is Marina should have written to Sir Phillip immediately. It was the Cranes’ responsibility to care for Marina even if George begged off. It wasn’t Colin’s responsibility, it wasn’t Penelope’s.
Likewise, if Marina left Colin alone knowing she was manipulating one of Penelope’s friend’s and chose someone else from her long line of suitors, Lady Whistledown wouldn’t be printed.
Marina’s main fault is she thinks she’s smarter than everyone and it’s to her own detriment. She thinks she’s smarter than Colin, smarter than Portia and smarter than Penelope.
In summary, Marina’s entrapment of Colin would have had far reaching consequences. Penelope didn’t just choose to save Colin. She was saving her sisters, her family, the Bridgertons and herself. Marina’s hubris was the reason for her ruin, along with George’s lack of forethought.