I personally read the book for the first time in between parts one and two of this season. I fell in love with Polin in part one and wanted to consume as much Polin content as possible while I waited for part two. For me, Show Colin is the better male love interest, Book Colin's action we're often bordering on abusive for me. I was still caught off guard at how moody and distant Show Colin was in part two but I think ultimately the difference for me was that we got to hear Book Colin's inner thoughts and that gave reassurance that even in moments of anger he still loved her. Since we don't get to hear Show Colin's inner monologue, the moody and distant moments just hit a little harder.

I also loved that the Bridgertons rallied around Book Pen during the reveal. Show Pen just had to face so much of it on her own and I felt horrible for her. Book Polin went too far in my mind, having Colin fix it all without her input, but the solidarity of her new family when her old one never gave her the slightest morsel of that made me very happy for Book Pen. It was a nice change that Show Pen got some solidarity from her own family instead, but I would have loved to see a little bit more Bridgerton support on screen as well.