johnny my favorite aquarius

there is a reason why penelope as a character has the fandom so split and its because she is not a villain that is easily lovable.

look at characters such as daemon targaryean, klaus mikaelson, or blair waldorf, these are characters that are written to be the antagonist. they are written for us to not root from them. they don’t hide behind their actions, they stand ten toes down in it. if either of them were in penelope’s situation, there wouldn’t be any back and forth or plot holes to justify their actions.

klaus deadass told tyler what method he recommends in order to k*ll him by retelling tyler how is OWN MOTHER died by klaus’s own hands…and people (me included) STILL rooted for this man. that man was so in love with caroline he made it his mission to be tyler and mystic falls public enemy #1 just so he could be around her.

blair was not a perfect friend. she was the typical mean, rich , white privileged girl who could not understand other peoples wants or needs unless it benefited her. blair was not perfect but she never claimed to be perfect. she never claimed to be nice or some martyr. she was blair and she was loyal to her group even when that group wasn’t loyal to her. people went from hating her in season one to rooting for her to win in the end.

daemon targaryean is not a hero. that man is about to say a ‘son for a son’ and you know what? he is going to have the whole team black fandom rooting for the war crimes he is about to ensue. not once did daemon say he was the good guy or excuse his actions. that man took the definition of standing on buisness during the dance of dragons. he is a morally gray character that is loved by the fandom and does not waste his time trying to be some disney prince.

penelope & polin fans find the incessant need to have an excuse for every single one of penelopes actions. whether it be her being a wallflower or ‘saving’ her loved ones by writing about them, there always is an excuse for her selfish actions. penelope is not given the space to relish in the villain that is LW. she could have been so much more as a morally gray character that admitted to writing shit about people while also growing into a woman who is known to tell it like it is and not hide behind the glitter and pastels of the ton. i mean isn’t that what LW is meant to do? uncover the ugly truth behind the dances and courtships of the privileged society?

despise you penelope

and i dont mean in the ‘yeah she needs to shut up about her stupid lil feminism and realize she is privlige’ rhetoric but more i like ‘my ideas and aspirations have been met with ridicule and betrayal from those I thought who loved me. I am expected to be meek and quite & it seems when I’m not that is when I feel the most lonley.’

aka. she stops sharing her thoughts, ideas, aspirations with just ANYONE and actually waits for someone to listen to what she has to say and uplift her interests. She puts her wellbeing first and finds a genuine connection with some who she can trust with her heart without the fear that this individual may throw her under the bus when it seems fit.

will eloise find a friend like penelope in the future? probably not, but I hope she doesn’t either. she needs to grow from this childhood friendship. my hopes is that penelope will be a lesson in which eloise learns that the never ending love she experiences in the bridgerton household is not easily accessible in the outside world and that in order to find the person for her, she may need to widen her horizons and begin to look for someone (who may be unconventional/a surprise) worthy enough for her to speak her mind to and not have the fear of ridicule or being betrayed.

ok end of s3, penelope & colin happy & married, penelope truth about being LW comes out to the family and they work through all that ending with the family still accepting penelope. eloise & penelope talk things out and realize they are still meant to be friends however, eloise continues to feel this gnawing sense of lonliness and ‘can i trust you’. she gets closure from theo with finding him moving on with someone new or he travels or like dies off (idk). eloise is heartbroken and returns home to the lonliness and cries herself to sleep

s4: benedict finds his story with sophie. polin is doing newlywed stuff. mama bridgerton is getting her groove back w/ the ton. ELOISE FEELS SUPER ALONE. because of this she journeys outside the realm of high society once again (& more discretly) to find others alike (the radicals). she stumbles upon the writings of a feminist progressive radical who is writing under a pseudonym & inspires eloise to pick up writing. tells mama bridgerton she needs time alone to find her self (aka find her writing voice) and wants to go to the countryside (cloee to where phillip crane is) mama bridgerton says yes and eloise packs up and leaves. the rest of the family doesnt pay much mind but penelope still feeling guilty about the whole theloise situation and feeling as if her & eloise are not 100% cool takes notice especially as eloise dodges her questions. eloise spends time in the country falling in love w/ it and its people and stumbles across sir phillip geeking out on plants. to eloise knowledge, they create an acquaintancship while she is in the countryside but sir phillip starts developing feelings for her despite being in a loveless marriage. phillip is shy and reserved because he doesnt know if eloise is judging him for his interests or is genuinely interested in what he has to say. during their time in the country, eloise grows to love the speration from high society, indulges in radical readings, and writes. this is where she starts the whole penpal thingy. she dreads coming home for christmas but makes her way back to town to celebrate christams and benedicts marriage to sophie.