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Bridgerton fans who have been waiting impatiently for Colin and Penelope to finally get together were finally rewarded with season three of the hit Netflix drama. However, those who read the Julia Quinn books that the show is based on might have noticed that the pair needed significantly less of a push to get there than in the source material. In fact, Lady Danbury seemed positively uninterested in all the Penelope and Colin drama this season... which, it turns out, was a deliberate choice by the showrunner.

Jess Brownell, the new showrunner for Bridgerton season three replacing the outgoing Chris Van Dusen, explained that it all has to do with giving Lady Danbury a bit more variety in her life. “We felt like we’ve watched two seasons of Lady Danbury being heavily involved in molding or shaping the main couple and we wanted to give her a storyline that was more about her,” she said in an interview. “And not just about her being an accessory on the sidelines to someone else’s story. We wanted to put her more front and center.”

When you put it that way, it makes sense. We’ve already had two seasons of Lady Danbury putting the season’s main couple on the road to romance; did we really need a third? Besides, freeing her from playing matchmaker yet again has given us the chance to explore some of the storylines established in the Queen Charlotte spinoff, especially with her brother returning to connect with Violet Bridgerton this season. There is so much for the good lady to do that having her get involved in Penelope and Colin’s lives would have been too much.

Besides, the two didn’t need any help closing the deal, judging by the steamy carriage ride the two shared. Bridgerton remains the best at giving us the sexy period drama that we’ve always craved.

Whether its the bane of your existence or the object of all your desires (or both), Bridgerton is back. Read all our spoiler-y thoughts on Bridgerton season 3 here, and then delight at a guide to how to watch all of Bridgerton (and the spinoff), how to read the Bridgerton books (all 16 of them!), an our exclusive interview with the show's costume designer John Glaser, as well as some recommended reads for all Bridgerton fans.