“Bridgerton” showrunner spills the tea on that popped question, the Lady Whistledown of it all

"There is more to come with that secret in the back half," Jess Brownell tells "Entertainment Weekly."

WARNING: This article contains spoilers for Bridgerton season 3, part 1.

Dearest gentle reader, it seems our own Lady Whistledown has quite the proposal on her hands.

In the final moments of Bridgerton season 3, part 1, Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) asks Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) the question she had once longed to hear more than any other.

After some heavy petting in their carriage and an after-hours invitation to the Bridgerton household, Colin can't contain himself and blurts out, "Penelope Featherington, are you going to marry me or not?" And then, we cut to black, left to await Pen's response until part 2 hits Netflix on June 13.

But, well, is she?

Luke Newton isn't so sure. "If you'd asked me that at the end of season 1, it's a no-brainer, but so much has happened," the actor tells Entertainment Weekly. "She's been through so much and almost is in disbelief and doesn't understand. She hasn't seen what he's been through and the process that he's had."

"It's really nice to see that power dynamic change," he continues. "She's got the power now. He's asking her, 'Please marry me. Let's spend our life together. I haven't stopped thinking about you for months.' For her, she's kind of like, 'Well, I haven't stopped thinking about you for years, so there needs to be some sort of even playing field here.' That's a big scene in the books, and it was so important to us to keep it true to the characters and their storyline and not overly romanticize it."

Related: How Bridgerton transformed Luke Newton into hunky 'pirate Colin' for season 3

But showrunner Jess Brownell is a bit more reassuring (and she notes that it was pure happy coincidence that part 1 ends on this massive cliffhanger, as Netflix didn't suggest splitting the season into two parts until they had already wrapped production).

"It is a show of happily-ever-afters," she says. "But how they get to that happily-ever-after is up for grabs, and it's not exactly going to be a smooth path."

Largely, that's because of a major change from the novel. In Romancing Mister Bridgerton, Colin is fully aware of Penelope's secret identity as Lady Whistledown when he proposes. In fact, he catches her in the act moments before, and he's in her carriage because he intercepted her while she was delivering her column.

Related: From spoon licks to wet shirts, the cast of Bridgerton recaps the first 2 seasons

But on the show, Colin remains blissfully ignorant of his potential new bride's alter ego. And what's worse, his sister, Eloise (Claudia Jessie), knows the truth that he does not.

"While the book foregrounds the Lady Whistledown hunt and has Colin finding out about Pen's secret much earlier into the story, we felt like because we've been tracking the hunt for Lady Whistledown now for two seasons, that story needed a break for a little bit," Brownell explains of the change. "Especially as we had Penelope on the hunt for a husband, which is not as specific in the books. It felt important to give that a moment to shine without making her secret identity overshadow the storyline. But there is more to come with that secret in the back half."

Newton also teases that the secret will create potentially disastrous consequences for Colin and Penelope. "That's the key to keeping the rest of the season complicated," he hints. "At this point, confessions could be made and they could say, 'Great. We live happily ever after.' But there's this underlying secret."

Related: Why does Francesca Bridgerton look so different (and who is she again)?

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Additionally, Colin has a lot more at stake in regards to Whistledown on the series. The gossip columnist blew up his engagement to Marina Thompson and has brought scandal to the Bridgerton name with her writings about Eloise. "It's affected Colin so deeply, and not only for the things that have been said about him," Newton reflects. "Eloise was almost ruined by Whistledown, and he's still affected by the Marina scandal, even though he doesn't have feelings toward her anymore. But he feels betrayed by that and like she was ruined by that. He's probably the most angry out of anyone, holding onto that grudge against Whistledown."

Welp. That bodes well.

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.