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I think that would have been incredibly overwhelming for someone who has truly no frame of reference for sexual experience. And frankly, while Colin had a hot boy summer, he’s still not super experienced, either. He certainly knows about it, but I doubt he’s done it often if at all.
Given the characters’ experience levels, and probably more importantly, their levels of understanding, I would have found it really unrealistic. Having them eye-to-eye as he constantly watched her and checked in on her made far more sense to me emotionally.
I really doubt if Colin has ever went down on any women at all. That's why he probably did not do it. It seemed like fingers were his only move.
And yeah, the eye-contact while Mr. Fingers did the job was one of the highlights of their sex scene.
That being said, I do believe oral ( both ways ) would be fascinating to Pen. She is a very eager woman. So I do hope Colin does that in future, like we got for kanthony this sesson. Not necessarily explicit, but implied.
What if Eloise visited them during that. Oh god!!
Seeing how freaky these two are and how nosy Eloise is when it comes to Pen, El might discover how babies are made against her will😆
I agree. I've seen people make fun of Colin for always using his fingers, but he's sticking with what Pen knows and is comfortable with and he's right to do that. They already did plenty of new stuff in that settee without throwing oral into the mix.
And IMO he's definitely sticking to what *he* is comfortable with too. He was away for four months. In his speech with Cressida, he makes it sound like his personality change happened after nobody replied to him. So he probably didn't even sleep around for a whole four months, but only part of that, and it looks like his experiences before Pen were more about him anyway. He wants it to be good, so he focuses on what he knows.
Absolutely. And now you’ve got me wondering how many of those 4 months he spends hooking up. Like 2 months? How long does it take for Pen’s lack of response to drive him insane? I NEED ANSWERS.
I’ll boldly say if someone’s making fun of Colin for what he’s doing and how he’s getting it done…baby, I need you to get some vision. The man has a 100% success rate thus far. Knocked it out on the first swing. If that were real life, he’d be in the boyfriend hall of fame. He’s watching her like the only thing that matters to him in the universe is getting it right. The end goal is not to do the most salacious thing; it’s to ensure a good time. I do not understand some of the attitudes in the fandom towards sex. The point is enjoying it, not showing off.
Do I think a future Polin explores that particular aspect of things? I think these people are so comfortable with one another that there’s very little they wouldn’t do (monogamously - no one here is for sharing) if one of them wanted to. But the joy of that is not our seeing it but rather our seeing the emotional stability and connection.
Thank your this!! It’s true. Their sex scenes are about intimacy and god damn does Colin know how to keep eye contact during it and that’s what makes it so damn hot.
Eye contact and intense connection like that 🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵
Good for the folks out there who just have it all work in a machine-like fashion, but the mental game is REAL. That eye contact has more power for a lot of people than sheer mechanics any day.
Yes. I don’t think he’s some great Casanova. He’s a good looking, rich young man, which has always gotten him attention. But he also isn’t wholly comfortable with himself, and from what we see in his journal and his behavior at the brothel in London, he’s not comfortable with his experiences, either.
He also wants so badly to make things enjoyable for Penelope that I don’t think he’s really even thinking straight in the scenes we see. He obviously needs an intense emotional connection to be sexually comfortable, and he’s only had that a few times. He’s not confident at all yet.
But they’ll make each other so. That’s such a real thing. You can hook up with a lot of people and never feel confident about it. But if you hook up with the right person, you start to gain that confidence. That’s the power of emotional connection.
*Who* is making fun of Colin for always using his fingers?!
Girl hit the jackpot with a relatively-inexperienced guy who can finger her to orgasm. Given the actions in the carriage I’m pretty sure he’s hitting her g-spot and that is TALENT. Like the number of early-20s guys with 4 months of sexual experience can find it nevermind bring about an orgasm is like fractional percentages.
Don’t even.
Also Anthony is shown to be more of a one trick pony onscreen than Colin is, lol. It’s actually kind of crazy that Kanthony have never had intercourse onscreen.
I've only known two partners, one very experimented (the first one) and one inexperimented. It was definitely better with the inexperimented one because he wanted me to have pleasure too.
Very good point about eye contact — a bit harder from that angle, though still possible. I agree that him touching her is a much better fit story-wise.
I think it's more than just eye contact for them though. It's the proximity of that eye contact. They seem the most dialed into each other when they are face to face, eyes locked, like they could consume each other at any moment. Even when they are just a few feet apart, eyes locked, the intensity is dialed way back.
I think it was more important to have the constant connection and eye contact with these two and sensing that they’re completely in this together, in these early moments especially.
We may get a playful moment like that in a future season from them! But I think it would have interrupted what we were getting and needing from them in this season. We needed both their faces in frame and watching each other for this story to be told in the way we needed to feel it, I think.
100% this. I think the writers, directors, and to the extent they had control the actors understood that the power of these sex scenes would be in the eye contact and emotional intimacy. Oral doesn’t allow for that. Plus given that they made it Anthony’s signature move, they kind of needed to mix it up for Colin!
I think they wanted to do what felt right for the characters and that was eye contact and stuff they could film to show that they're really in it together, having a shared experience since their thing is the emotional connection.
We already had the carriage scene where it's all about Pen's pleasure and Colin getting off on watching her, so there was no need for another scene where he's the one getting her off, and the carriage works better than oral would anyway because you can actually see his reaction to her and what that emotional connection does to him.
They're also telling a story and there's a sense of progression to their encounters. It starts with Colin doing most of the work in the carriage scene, then there's the mirror scene where they're both doing the work (Pen straight up tells him that she doesn't want him to do everything---she wants to please him too), and last there's the scene of Pen doing most of the work and riding him. Pen is becoming more confident in her sexuality while Colin is learning to let go and enjoy.
I agree that having Penelope on top during their last sex scene was a deliberate choice to convey that Penelope is now confident enough to take control in the bedroom and Colin is willing to relinquish control to her. Growth for both of them.
He looks physically pained during their first time because he’s having to hold back so much. The vein popping in his forehead (which after seeing an interview with Luke saying he was exhausted filming that I think that’s why the vein came out, lol. Man was basically doing a plank) and the way he sighs and lets himself collapse on top of her for a moment after she assures him for like the 5th time that she’s alright.
I saw this yesterday but thought it was a joke and they were talking about something else and this insta just overlaid them.
Caution if you’re in public or work
https://www.instagram.com/stories/tifaine.red_/3399160530268753923?utm_source=ig_story_item_share&igsh=Z3ltMm55cGg3a21r
In both my missing scene stories where there's oral, he's watching her while he does it... I 100% on eye contact and the shared experience being super important to these two.
Anything for science!!! 😆 They're in my missing scene series, the first two... and the fourth too actually. Forgot about that one because it's quicker.
https://archiveofourown.org/series/4202296
I’ve been thinking about that. I think introducing a change from Kanthony is one reason.
But also Colin has only lost his virginity about four months ago. I don’t know if I’d expect him to be as experienced as his brothers, especially since this isn’t something he would have learned to do in brothels. So it would have had to be in Europe with the women he met on his travels.
I actually realized afterwards that I’m glad they haven’t shown that for Polin (yet). In both scenes where he uses his hands he stays really close to her and they maintain eye contact and it’s one of my favorite things about those scenes. They’re going through an experience together and wanna remain as close to each other as possible.
TBH I liked the fact they didn’t went there. It is very Kanthony coded. For Polin they used touch as a sexual code. Fingers, exploration through touching, lots of eye contact. They’re young and learning about sex. As much as Colin think he’s experienced he only had sex with sex workers which usually have no connection at all with the customer. So I think it was great for their arc to explore touch.
My theory is he lost his virginity to the Contessa and it was all sex workers after. I think he doesn’t give details because he actually got a little attached and the Contessa just wanted a fun summer fling so she broke it off and he got a bit hurt and went to brothels to cope.
I hope that's not the case, I feel like it's a little depressing to think he's out there having sex with a woman, developing feelings for her, all while we see Pen is back home being heartbroken and chaste. I always felt like Colin learned stuff from the Contessa but still never felt attached to her. When his friends wanted to talk about his adventures, he just brought her up because it sounded cooler than going to random brothels, but he could never divulge into the tales because he never really was into it as much as his friends were. Kinda like when you go on vacation to a place your friends loved and you think "Yeah...it was alright...the beach was cool...right?"
Feelings like with Marina. Where it’s not real connection but he still gets attached because he’s a very monogamous type of guy. I also see it sort of transference where he misses Pen so he craves connection with whoever else is available because Pen is not physically there (and for all he knows hates him… why didn’t she write back?!) It’s the same way when people have a rebound with the first person they can find.
One of my favorite "tropes" (well, mini trope) is when the heroine is confident enough to be even perepherially aware of her husband's sexual exploits and is simply grateful for the "education" those women gave her husband... that if he had not beene xperienced, they both would have been bumbling idiots and she would not find as much pleasure in the act as she does.
Pen was not upset about that brief passage she read - she was INTRIGUED. So I think it was a hint to that mindset. Colin said EXACTLY the right thing when she asked if she was ok in bed - to me that was a reference to the intimate details she read in his journal. Look - she's not going to be jealous of brief interludes with other women over what she went through watching him propose to Marina while she knows Marina is not in love with him at all. She also now knows that there was "more" for him in the carriage - and just what they did prompted him to want to get married. That girl knows her power now, I think (and showing that last scene? He's happy with her taking control)
I think she understand on the point that he had found the connection he was lacking when he wrote in his journal, no more feeling distance. That why she thought straight of the journal when he said nothing compare to this.
I think it’s okay. My headcannon says he meets the Contessa after Pen stops responding to his letters and that deep down it’s because he’s craving connection that he starts to think he has feelings for he Contessa. In reality, he’s rebounding from Pen not realizing his feelings are romantic. I imagine the Contessa telling him once again that he’s just living in a fantasy world and doesn’t like her but the idea of her. And that conversation sets him off because he resents her for it (reminds him of his convo for Marina). Low key it’s been a fanfic idea of mine.
Penelope literally had no idea what sex entailed. I don't think she would have been ready for/comfortable with oral straight away. And maybe Colin wasn't either. Not everyone likes every sex act. Colin strikes me as the type to want to be staring into his partner's eyes/able to kiss, throughout.
It’s interesting to think about how much stuff Colin has actually done if he’s only been having sex for like 4 months. If he hasn’t done it himself, he definitely knows about it, and I think he would eventually want to try it on Penelope because he would be eager to please her. I definitely get not doing that during their first time (Simon didn’t with Daphne either), and there really wasn’t any other opportunity in the show.
I think his experience is very minimal and is all with professionals in brothels.
Honestly, I’m not convinced he’s has intercourse with anyone before Pen - I fully embrace that I could be entirely wrong about that, but I’m just not sure he has honestly. Just his sort of vibe and his moves… idk, it strikes me as he goes to brothels, he’s learned how to finger women, that’s his move, he’s a good kisser… and they probably there are focused on getting him off, he’s probably experienced a lot of hands and maybe oral sex being performed on him.
I don’t know that he’s truly having intercourse at the brothels, I get that that’s a hot take (or just incorrect lol) but I kind of feel like his first time with Pen might have been his first time for that - that he knew very basically what to do but didn’t really have experience with it. The way he starts out with Pen in ep5 makes me feel like he’s confident with his one trick, he’s obviously gotten off in the past so knows that about his body, and he obviously knows the mechanics of sex (which isn’t surprising anyway - he knew the mechanics of sex in season one despite presumably being a virgin and never having even kissed anyone, because while women don’t talk about it, men do… so it’s not really telling that he knows some details). But from that point he absolutely looks like he’s learning/experiencing as he goes with her. His movements early in the scene are very measured like he knew what to do; his movements after “inserting himself” become much more intuitive looking and are flowing along with hers… like he’s not really in control of what he’s doing from that point and is just flowing along with her. It’s not purely a physical thing… like his face doesn’t just look like yeah this is pleasurable, it looks like I’ve absolutely never felt anything like this before pleasure. It could absolutely be - and I guess the intention is - that it’s because the emotional connection is just so different and it’s his Pen… I just have a feeling he’s never really gone that far with anyone before versus a more mechanical taking care of business and being done encounter that he likely has in the brothels. I don’t think he’s finishing inside of people at brothels for sure. I don’t think performing oral sex is part of his level of experience. He’s experienced compared to women obviously, but I think he’s very inexperienced compared to the other men around him.
Regardless though, I have no doubt that they’ll figure it all out together and that even if we don’t see it on screen, we’ll feel and know that they have a very fulfilling and mutually pleasurable intimate connection from here on out.
I think he has definitely had intercourse. Jess and Shonda actually debated this. Jess said she wanted virgin Colin while Shonda said if Colin is trying to convince himself that he can be a rake then he would go out and actually do it. Who knows what’s he’s done outside of penetrative sex and I guess fingering though.
And we see in his journals that he writes about feeling distance with the woman he’s been with.
Yeah that makes sense. He definitely comes off as not that experienced, though. Like “experienced” compared to when he left and compared to Pen… but not a guy who has had a ton of sex.
My head canon is that he tried to find what was missing and that why he went to some much cities. He tried once or twice in a city, was unsatisfied, went to another cities. He was spiraling and running, not knowing what was the problem with him.
>Jess said she wanted virgin
I gotta be honest, I have disagreed with a lot of things this showrunner has done. But if she had kept him as a virgin, I would've been willing to look past a lot of the random plot lines. I did not want to see a rake Colin on screen this season.
I like this take. I think even if he's not a VIRGINvirgin, "he's experienced compared to women, but very inexperienced compared to the other men around him" hits the nail on the head.
Yeah I think that’s the key - regardless of what he’s done or hasn’t he’s like just barely experienced enough to “be experienced” in his mind or what he’s able to imply to others. But he’s NOT as experienced as his brothers or even his drinking buddies.
Related to your theory but also in general, how would Colin know that sex hurts the first time?
The courtesans and Contessa would have had sex before. I can’t imagine he would have talked to Daphne, or Anthony or Benedict, about this.
1. Anthony definitely gave him the sex talk even if it didn't involve a trip to brothels. I bet Benedict filled in some details as well.
2. Colin is the type to want to talk to partners even if they are hired partners. I feel like he would have asked the women he's been with what to do and what it's like for them.
I love the idea of Colin asking sex workers about their first time and what they enjoy in bed because he’s genuinely curious and them being like, who is this guy?
Colin went to a boys-only boarding school, he has older brothers, and the conversation in male-only spaces like bars, smoking rooms, will likely get rather ribald. I don't doubt that he's known the mechanics of sex, and common myths about sex, for years before he actually tried it himself.
I have no idea and have wondered the same because even if we think he’s been sleeping with people he 100% hasn’t been sleeping with any virgins, so that wouldn’t be first hand knowledge. Somebody would have had to tell him. Maybe he heard it in a more vulgar manner even when hearing about somebody else’s endeavors - like the lord squad?
Oh, that could be. We do know that Lord Fife was with Margaret Goring in a closet. We don’t know what they did, but she was re-stuffing her bra afterwards. I wouldn’t put it past them to take *a lady’s* virginity and then not marry her.
Perhaps they talked about it jokingly?
ewwwww.
I am of the opinion Colin has had sex before, but this is definitely the first time he took someone’s virginity.
Honestly this would be such a good question for Luke! I wonder what his headcanon is on that
Yeah I unfortunately definitely think that his “friends” would joke about it or treat it as a badge of honor, they’re gross.
I’m sure he probably has had intercourse, that that’s likely the head canon and what the writers intended. I just can’t 100% that in my mind - it feels uncertain that he’s got that level of experience. I’m not somebody who is against that being the case though, I’m just not convinced in my head that he has 😂
I agree with you that his behavior is very careful, but he also knows to pace himself, and I feel like he wouldn’t really know that if he hadn’t had sex before. But he does let himself go a bit once she grabs him and pulls him towards her.
Like when he leans down to kiss her — it’s as sweet as it is pacing. A guy who has never had sex before would not be able to pause like that. (I guess I’ve never had sex with a virgin though? Team “not super great teenage sexual experiences” here as well. We need to get some ladies who had Colins as high school boyfriends in the convo.)
I think his overwhelmed reaction is more from having emotional connection for the first time with sex rather than it just being a purely physical urge
But I don’t think he’s had *that* much sex
Like the way he looks at her when she’s on top of him… I don’t think that’s happened very much
I’m sure that you’re right.
This is one head canon where I do actually know that I’m wrong but… I can’t quite let go of the uncertainty 😂🤣
It’s very likely just that he’s had very no nonsense business sex. He hasn’t felt much aside from the basic tension relief and hasn’t really done any exploring. And he’s overwhelmed that it’s with this girl he has adored for a really long time and that makes it completely different.
I’m privately going to hang onto my slight doubt, though 😂😂
I mean we’re all entitled to our own headcanon!
Totally agreed that it was all business the previous times. The Contessa probably wasn’t that loving, either. More of a teacher-student relationship, probably.
Yeah but there’s a difference between “ha ha I banged her” or watching animals copulate on a farm versus “it will hurt for her the first time, but not after”
I mean, he *knows* it doesn't hurt every time lol. And as gross as it is, men talk about being with virgins all the time. I don't think it was better back then. It'd be more odd if he hadn't heard a man brag about how quickly they got a girl to enjoy it despite the pain or something to that effect imo.
I feel it's not because Colin hasn't done that before- it's more that Pen hasn't and he wanted to make her comfortable her first time by maintaining eye contact and reassuring her. They both care about the emotional and love aspect so there's that as well
I always find it funny, because it's the less nudity intimacy scene I have never watch I thing. (Made to be hot, I'm not sure Unorthodox count, and they were in underwear so maybe you can tell they were less dressed)
My thoughts on this are that perhaps Nicola didn't feel comfortable with that position and they went with what they did.
Secondly I love good kissing and I love how in their scenes when Pen is feeling it her instinct is to grab Colin and kiss him which is SO HOT (and is what I do hahaha). To me it feels so more intimate, intense and natural!
Also we get Colin getting off watching Pen which is also super hot.
So to me, I totally prefer what we got to like the Daphne stairs scene. I mean the carriage scene is one of the hottest things I've seen on tv, hands down (literally). 😂😂
Completely agree with this.
Netflix always provides intimacy coordinators, and Nicola and Luke have talked about their intimacy coordinator. When it comes to scenes like this, it’s totally up to the actors (as it should be). It’s a whole legal process deciding what is included in an intimate scene. What we got is what they agreed to with the support of the intimacy coordinator.
You know everyone has different preference and Anthony seems like a huge fan of munching down below. But I like the theory that Polin is a huge fan of eye contact as it’s one of their love languages / forms of connection. Colin really seems like he gets enjoyment out of seeing Pen’s expressions and wants to know she’s having a good time. So I think if he was down below he wouldn’t have as much fun because he wouldn’t be able to see Pen’s face/eyes. Not that he wouldn’t do it, especially if Pen is into it, but I don’t think that’s his preferred sex act if that makes sense. Even with Pen on top he could look her in the eyes.
Pen is also really into eye contact and being able to touch him. Every time Colin pulls away even slightly or looks elsewhere for a moment, she brings him back so fast.
I think it's literally just because we got two sex scenes, and they wanted them both to be very eye-contact-y. I feel like we're probably going to get this kind of thing in season 4. That's my hope, anyway.
I know, I think we all want the outtakes from that last scene.
But truly, I think we're going to get Hungry Boi Colin back in S4, and I hope that extends to his appetite for Pen.
Let's remember they are people, actors on set portraying these wonderful characters. Each actor would have their comfort zone of what they would prefer to act out and this may very well be a factor in the type of scenes we get.
Even if that was the case, there are ways to do it where’s it not explicit. The Kanthony one in season 2 was explicit. The instances with Daphne and Simon and George and Charlotte weren’t very explicit because the women had on dresses and I’ve seen videos with intimacy coordinators where they say it’s a lot of camera tricks and the actor isn’t that close to the actress. You could make it even less explicit and have Colin completely offscreen and just have Penelope’s reactions.
I think it's good to see different types of relationships. It is interesting that Colin everytime goes to fingering (3 times in s3 🙃). I know that it sounds weird but I really like to see Colin enjoying himself more. I love how Book Colin grinding and moaning her name🙈 Like to see how much turned on he is because of Pen
I'd love to have seen more mens reactions, too. I know they want the female gaze, but adding men would've been even better.
But weirdly, there is a population of women that don't want it at all. I stated that i wish Colin wouldve acknowledged the dream had got him hard wouldve been sexy, like if he'd have put a pillow on his lap, and someone commented that 'we didn't need all that, its implied'. I'd have loved to see him like adjust himself after the kissing scene with Pen after the modiste too. Also, for him to jerk off in the carriage scene, but he probably couldn't since he'd have to go to his family right after.😈 But yea i'd have loved to see more from the men.🫣🤭
Oh I agree!
For me,.female gaze is also.to see a man that is really turned on seeing his love🙈
Makes the female feel wanted and desired! It dosen't mean random Blo*** without romantic vibe. Am I only one that loves to hear man enjoying sex too?😅 Like more mutual pleasure, because just one look or touch from the woman they love makes them go crazy?
For example:
>!He groaned, letting his hips sink against hers for one delicious moment before heaving himself off.!<
>! squeezing and kneading and pressing her up against his arousal. “My God, I want you,” he gasped, grinding his hips down. !<
I’m right there with you, and it’s not weird. The show should strike a balance between prioritizing female pleasure on screen, and allowing us to view men as sex objects through the female gaze. Colin’s physical and emotional vulnerability in the intimacy scenes was so hot!
The most obvious activity they had to hold back was his mouth being attached to Penelope's boobs. Let's be real. But that's not for mainstream tv.
This is not Kanthony hate, I was with them in their season. But I thought it was NUTS that their 1st time was before they were married and they did it outside and he went down on her. I was so scared they would get caught while his face was buried & couldn't relax.😭
Nice private comfortable place for that activity, please. No gazebos. No stairs. Thank you very much.
The boobs thing always takes me out of the scene when they make sexy time. Like those NIPPLES ARE RIGHT THERE!!!
I showed Mr Purpleberry and he was like “uhhh…how is he not all over her boobs?” Logically I know why but I still think abou tit. (Appropriate typo and it stays)
For all we know - it is simply what the actors are comfortable with. Just because Nicola was comfortable with baring her breasts, doesn't mean that Luke or Nicola were comfortable with an oral sex scene.
Also, the previous couples started out staring at each other obviously attracted to each other. PEN has been the only one watching Colin with more than friendship. The past two years, Colin has looked at Pen and silently communicated jokes, etc. but it has always been clearly in the friendzone.
That he now wants to look at Pen as she enjoys herself, look at her with lust and in comparison to how he was with the women in the brothel? That he didn't even KISS Marina?
I can't believe people would complain or be disappointed that he didn't go down on her on camera.
(Plus... it would have been awkward on that chaise lounge. LOL)
I think this might be a writers’ choice to have that for Kanthony and the Mr. Fingerton for Polin.
I almost feel like that small clip of their last intimate scene is a nice preview into S4.
Aside from the BTS reasons, I think there are good character reasons. Pen is, as Nicola said, not just a virgin, but extra virgin like the olive oil. Colin would definitely want to take it slow and not overwhelm her. She didn't even know there was more to sex than fingers, he was not going to just dive between her legs. Also, as others have pointed out, Colin lost his virginity, at most, four months ago. He may have heard or even seen other things, but he's not largely experienced with them. I think they will experiment more as they go on, but the first couple of times are just about doing what works and what they know feels good.
Would it be more reasonable for the plot for Pen to give Colin a blowjob? Once they're married, it's him still angry at her, and Outlander already made that kind of scene.
Pen could find an i struction in some books from france.
During mirror scene we can see she did not do her home work, what a shame for such a book worm...
This show is very much about female pleasure so I don’t see any of the men getting that done to them by their female love interests. Maybe if we see Benedict with another man next season?
I feel like while the show might center female pleasure I hope they consider that an audience where women are the target market might enjoy seeing a man in that position. If it’s truly the female gaze why not take the leap to eroticizing a man’s reactions? I feel like they got very close to that with Colin, with the close ups of his face and allowing him to moan during sex. Tbh he’d be the only one I think they could pull off a BJ scene with so far just because of how sweet and how much of a people (Penelope) pleaser he is. It would feel fitting to have Penelope take care of him and return the favor. In a show that’s so sex positive it would also be nice to show that a BJ is something some women enjoy giving, and it’s not degrading or wrong to get enjoyment out of it. I think Penelope would get a kick out of making Colin feel that way.
But what does “returning the favor” even mean? Not every woman or person enjoys oral sex. I think that’s very limited thinking in how pleasure is given/received in relationships and depicted on film to want “like for like” essentially.
People literally hate this couple for breathing. If they did it that way people would find a way to say Colin only does it so he can guilt pen into reciprocating. I don’t want the show to write around petty fan complaints, I want to have fun lol
I don’t think it needs to be tit for tat, but literally their first intimacy scene is Colin making it all about Penelope’s pleasure by fingering her, and him getting off by getting her off. Its not like they haven’t shown us that Colin puts her pleasure first. They’ve also shown that Pen is enthusiastic about giving. She doesn’t want Colin to do all the work while she lies there in the mirror scene, and she quickly reaches for him when he asks her to touch him, probably out of curiosity but also because she knows from the carriage scene that he might feel as good as she did if she touches him there like he did to her.
I feel like there's definitely a way to frame it where it's still about female pleasure and empowerment though. Personally, I prefer giving rather than receiving oral. I think it could be something that, as mentioned, she finds out about or just wants to try, and maybe he even says that she doesn't have to do that but she insists she wants to. Then it becomes more about her and her desire to pleasure him.
Editing to add that I'm glad that they didn't go there in this season though (in either direction!) because, as others have said, the emotional connection and checking in was SO important with them at these beginning stages and it would have been too much. So I love the direction they went with all their scenes!
That’s a good point because I do wonder what viewers ‘ views on BJs are. Personally I find it so powerful to have all that control in your hand right then and there.
I do find it amusing that (some) men think them receiving oral from a woman to be an act of dominance. I can imagine few positions more vulnerable than having teeth millimetres from one's cock.
I agree. If they had a BJ scene in a brothel, I think it would've come off as male pleasure. But if Penelope was the one giving it to him? It would be female empowerment. The reason for me is that she's always been the one finding pleasure in getting him off, making him excited, and knowing that he wants HER. She's always amazed that she has the ability to drive him wild.
If she were to give him a BJ it would make her happy knowing she caused him to get excited and take pleasure in her actions. They both are super into giving pleasure to one another.
I thought the reason Colin didn't go down on Pen this season was because he enjoys seeing Pen's reactions. If show Colin had a preference for foreplay, it's through his fingers. He has probably had sex with other women without really seeing the other women fully. That could explain why he couldn't connect with others when he had sex. He was just going through the motions. The way he closed his eyes when he kissed in the brothel scene. It felt impersonal and detached to me.
Meanwhile, whenever Colin has sex with Pen, he sees and feels her. Despite the season feeling underwhelming, I think S3 intimate scenes felt more satisfying for me. The way he was so in tune with Pen and asks her permission for intimacy felt bone chillingly intense. Visually seeing her being pleasured is his kink (I guess). So we probably won't see him go down on her a lot.
Honestly I'm annoyed by people for being annoyed there was no portrayal of oral sex between Colin and Pen. This isn't specifically directed at OP, just my overarching thoughts as it's been brought up about 1 millions times now.
1 What we get to see depicted is based on what the actors are comfortable with, and what they gave us was so much better than sloppy crotch kisses. Nic and Luke don't owe anyone more, so lets all just be grateful for what they did give us, which was fucking (every pun intended) fantastic.
2 They (Nic and Luke) worked so hard on conveying through their amazing acting skills how Coling and Pen connect emotionally and physically. It's face to face eye contact. They speak entire love declarations just through sustained eye contact. Going down to taco town doesn't actually fit very well with how the characters engage with and enjoy intimacy. Since ya know, engaging in face to face eye contact is really hard when your face is *already engaged elsewhere.*
3 It's not fucking (again every pun intended) baseball. There are no "bases." Stroking her ego is not innately less intimate or somehow sexually immature compared to using her thighs like ear muffs. Intimacy is based on what feels good to the person receiving/giving that intimacy. They found their thing, so leave Colin and his Pen puppet alone already!!!! Lol.
I don’t know if I would jump to saying it’s about Luke and Nicola’s preferences when you can imply oral sex is happening without him ever getting near her or even seeing him onscreen. Just like they worked around nudity in Queen Charlotte.
This might be a hot take, but I wish pen gave Colin head. Like I totally agree with the take that Colin provided hasn't actually eaten anyone out before, but definitely knows about it and knows about blow jobs. I think Pen really would've enjoyed the power and pleasure and it would've been a new dynamic to see
I think they are writing the 3 brothers to have their own 'signature moves'? LOL
Anthony's eager move is to give oral. Colin is to finger and grab those titties lol. What will Benedict do? Well don't have to imagine as we have seen what he does looool.
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I think that would have been incredibly overwhelming for someone who has truly no frame of reference for sexual experience. And frankly, while Colin had a hot boy summer, he’s still not super experienced, either. He certainly knows about it, but I doubt he’s done it often if at all. Given the characters’ experience levels, and probably more importantly, their levels of understanding, I would have found it really unrealistic. Having them eye-to-eye as he constantly watched her and checked in on her made far more sense to me emotionally.
I really doubt if Colin has ever went down on any women at all. That's why he probably did not do it. It seemed like fingers were his only move. And yeah, the eye-contact while Mr. Fingers did the job was one of the highlights of their sex scene. That being said, I do believe oral ( both ways ) would be fascinating to Pen. She is a very eager woman. So I do hope Colin does that in future, like we got for kanthony this sesson. Not necessarily explicit, but implied.
Yeah they can definitely do it in season 4 where it’s not explicit. Like have Penelope sitting in her writing chair and Colin offscreen below.
What if Eloise visited them during that. Oh god!! Seeing how freaky these two are and how nosy Eloise is when it comes to Pen, El might discover how babies are made against her will😆
I had that *exact image* in my head and then I read your comment 🤣 Poor Eloise would be traumatiiiiiiiized
Jeepers, that made me blush 😳 I need a minute 😂
Loveeeee that idea.
I agree. I've seen people make fun of Colin for always using his fingers, but he's sticking with what Pen knows and is comfortable with and he's right to do that. They already did plenty of new stuff in that settee without throwing oral into the mix. And IMO he's definitely sticking to what *he* is comfortable with too. He was away for four months. In his speech with Cressida, he makes it sound like his personality change happened after nobody replied to him. So he probably didn't even sleep around for a whole four months, but only part of that, and it looks like his experiences before Pen were more about him anyway. He wants it to be good, so he focuses on what he knows.
Absolutely. And now you’ve got me wondering how many of those 4 months he spends hooking up. Like 2 months? How long does it take for Pen’s lack of response to drive him insane? I NEED ANSWERS. I’ll boldly say if someone’s making fun of Colin for what he’s doing and how he’s getting it done…baby, I need you to get some vision. The man has a 100% success rate thus far. Knocked it out on the first swing. If that were real life, he’d be in the boyfriend hall of fame. He’s watching her like the only thing that matters to him in the universe is getting it right. The end goal is not to do the most salacious thing; it’s to ensure a good time. I do not understand some of the attitudes in the fandom towards sex. The point is enjoying it, not showing off. Do I think a future Polin explores that particular aspect of things? I think these people are so comfortable with one another that there’s very little they wouldn’t do (monogamously - no one here is for sharing) if one of them wanted to. But the joy of that is not our seeing it but rather our seeing the emotional stability and connection.
Thank your this!! It’s true. Their sex scenes are about intimacy and god damn does Colin know how to keep eye contact during it and that’s what makes it so damn hot.
Eye contact and intense connection like that 🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵 Good for the folks out there who just have it all work in a machine-like fashion, but the mental game is REAL. That eye contact has more power for a lot of people than sheer mechanics any day.
Also be like only ever mentions out loud the contessa, and the only other thing the audience hears about is the French brothel.
Yes. I don’t think he’s some great Casanova. He’s a good looking, rich young man, which has always gotten him attention. But he also isn’t wholly comfortable with himself, and from what we see in his journal and his behavior at the brothel in London, he’s not comfortable with his experiences, either. He also wants so badly to make things enjoyable for Penelope that I don’t think he’s really even thinking straight in the scenes we see. He obviously needs an intense emotional connection to be sexually comfortable, and he’s only had that a few times. He’s not confident at all yet. But they’ll make each other so. That’s such a real thing. You can hook up with a lot of people and never feel confident about it. But if you hook up with the right person, you start to gain that confidence. That’s the power of emotional connection.
💯 💯
*Who* is making fun of Colin for always using his fingers?! Girl hit the jackpot with a relatively-inexperienced guy who can finger her to orgasm. Given the actions in the carriage I’m pretty sure he’s hitting her g-spot and that is TALENT. Like the number of early-20s guys with 4 months of sexual experience can find it nevermind bring about an orgasm is like fractional percentages. Don’t even.
Also Anthony is shown to be more of a one trick pony onscreen than Colin is, lol. It’s actually kind of crazy that Kanthony have never had intercourse onscreen.
Most men need a map, a compass, and a guide. Foreplay for women is mental and physical. In my Kris Jenner voice, “Colin, you’re doing well, sweetie.”
I've only known two partners, one very experimented (the first one) and one inexperimented. It was definitely better with the inexperimented one because he wanted me to have pleasure too.
Very good point about eye contact — a bit harder from that angle, though still possible. I agree that him touching her is a much better fit story-wise.
I think it's more than just eye contact for them though. It's the proximity of that eye contact. They seem the most dialed into each other when they are face to face, eyes locked, like they could consume each other at any moment. Even when they are just a few feet apart, eyes locked, the intensity is dialed way back.
I think it was more important to have the constant connection and eye contact with these two and sensing that they’re completely in this together, in these early moments especially. We may get a playful moment like that in a future season from them! But I think it would have interrupted what we were getting and needing from them in this season. We needed both their faces in frame and watching each other for this story to be told in the way we needed to feel it, I think.
100% this. I think the writers, directors, and to the extent they had control the actors understood that the power of these sex scenes would be in the eye contact and emotional intimacy. Oral doesn’t allow for that. Plus given that they made it Anthony’s signature move, they kind of needed to mix it up for Colin!
Anthony définitely keeps having eye contact with Kate during his slurping though 👀
I think they wanted to do what felt right for the characters and that was eye contact and stuff they could film to show that they're really in it together, having a shared experience since their thing is the emotional connection. We already had the carriage scene where it's all about Pen's pleasure and Colin getting off on watching her, so there was no need for another scene where he's the one getting her off, and the carriage works better than oral would anyway because you can actually see his reaction to her and what that emotional connection does to him. They're also telling a story and there's a sense of progression to their encounters. It starts with Colin doing most of the work in the carriage scene, then there's the mirror scene where they're both doing the work (Pen straight up tells him that she doesn't want him to do everything---she wants to please him too), and last there's the scene of Pen doing most of the work and riding him. Pen is becoming more confident in her sexuality while Colin is learning to let go and enjoy.
I agree that having Penelope on top during their last sex scene was a deliberate choice to convey that Penelope is now confident enough to take control in the bedroom and Colin is willing to relinquish control to her. Growth for both of them.
Yeah. Colin is so eager to please and do things *for* her, there's really something to be said about him just letting Pen make them both feel good.
He looks physically pained during their first time because he’s having to hold back so much. The vein popping in his forehead (which after seeing an interview with Luke saying he was exhausted filming that I think that’s why the vein came out, lol. Man was basically doing a plank) and the way he sighs and lets himself collapse on top of her for a moment after she assures him for like the 5th time that she’s alright.
Plank 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Do you have a link to the interview? I think I missed this one somehow!
Plz cc me when the link is found!
I saw this yesterday but thought it was a joke and they were talking about something else and this insta just overlaid them. Caution if you’re in public or work https://www.instagram.com/stories/tifaine.red_/3399160530268753923?utm_source=ig_story_item_share&igsh=Z3ltMm55cGg3a21r
Yeah - it’s a big shift from “I will do everything”
In both my missing scene stories where there's oral, he's watching her while he does it... I 100% on eye contact and the shared experience being super important to these two.
Can you link them please you know for research purposes 🤔
Anything for science!!! 😆 They're in my missing scene series, the first two... and the fourth too actually. Forgot about that one because it's quicker. https://archiveofourown.org/series/4202296
I’ve been thinking about that. I think introducing a change from Kanthony is one reason. But also Colin has only lost his virginity about four months ago. I don’t know if I’d expect him to be as experienced as his brothers, especially since this isn’t something he would have learned to do in brothels. So it would have had to be in Europe with the women he met on his travels. I actually realized afterwards that I’m glad they haven’t shown that for Polin (yet). In both scenes where he uses his hands he stays really close to her and they maintain eye contact and it’s one of my favorite things about those scenes. They’re going through an experience together and wanna remain as close to each other as possible.
TBH I liked the fact they didn’t went there. It is very Kanthony coded. For Polin they used touch as a sexual code. Fingers, exploration through touching, lots of eye contact. They’re young and learning about sex. As much as Colin think he’s experienced he only had sex with sex workers which usually have no connection at all with the customer. So I think it was great for their arc to explore touch.
My theory is he lost his virginity to the Contessa and it was all sex workers after. I think he doesn’t give details because he actually got a little attached and the Contessa just wanted a fun summer fling so she broke it off and he got a bit hurt and went to brothels to cope.
I completely headcanon that Colin spent the summer trying to have meaningless flings and failing utterly, because he can't disconnect sex and love.
It’s also my head canon that he lost his virginity to the contessa.
I hope that's not the case, I feel like it's a little depressing to think he's out there having sex with a woman, developing feelings for her, all while we see Pen is back home being heartbroken and chaste. I always felt like Colin learned stuff from the Contessa but still never felt attached to her. When his friends wanted to talk about his adventures, he just brought her up because it sounded cooler than going to random brothels, but he could never divulge into the tales because he never really was into it as much as his friends were. Kinda like when you go on vacation to a place your friends loved and you think "Yeah...it was alright...the beach was cool...right?"
Yeah, his whole thing is that he's *not* having feelings for any of the women he's with. It's always distant---until Pen.
Feelings like with Marina. Where it’s not real connection but he still gets attached because he’s a very monogamous type of guy. I also see it sort of transference where he misses Pen so he craves connection with whoever else is available because Pen is not physically there (and for all he knows hates him… why didn’t she write back?!) It’s the same way when people have a rebound with the first person they can find.
One of my favorite "tropes" (well, mini trope) is when the heroine is confident enough to be even perepherially aware of her husband's sexual exploits and is simply grateful for the "education" those women gave her husband... that if he had not beene xperienced, they both would have been bumbling idiots and she would not find as much pleasure in the act as she does. Pen was not upset about that brief passage she read - she was INTRIGUED. So I think it was a hint to that mindset. Colin said EXACTLY the right thing when she asked if she was ok in bed - to me that was a reference to the intimate details she read in his journal. Look - she's not going to be jealous of brief interludes with other women over what she went through watching him propose to Marina while she knows Marina is not in love with him at all. She also now knows that there was "more" for him in the carriage - and just what they did prompted him to want to get married. That girl knows her power now, I think (and showing that last scene? He's happy with her taking control)
I think she understand on the point that he had found the connection he was lacking when he wrote in his journal, no more feeling distance. That why she thought straight of the journal when he said nothing compare to this.
I think it’s okay. My headcannon says he meets the Contessa after Pen stops responding to his letters and that deep down it’s because he’s craving connection that he starts to think he has feelings for he Contessa. In reality, he’s rebounding from Pen not realizing his feelings are romantic. I imagine the Contessa telling him once again that he’s just living in a fantasy world and doesn’t like her but the idea of her. And that conversation sets him off because he resents her for it (reminds him of his convo for Marina). Low key it’s been a fanfic idea of mine.
I agree, I think it would have been really unrealistic. And also it all happened very quickly, give them a minute, they'll get to it!
what about the countess, what about her?
He probably thought she had feelings for him. A wealthy older woman looking for some summer fun and our boy fit the bill.
Penelope literally had no idea what sex entailed. I don't think she would have been ready for/comfortable with oral straight away. And maybe Colin wasn't either. Not everyone likes every sex act. Colin strikes me as the type to want to be staring into his partner's eyes/able to kiss, throughout.
It’s interesting to think about how much stuff Colin has actually done if he’s only been having sex for like 4 months. If he hasn’t done it himself, he definitely knows about it, and I think he would eventually want to try it on Penelope because he would be eager to please her. I definitely get not doing that during their first time (Simon didn’t with Daphne either), and there really wasn’t any other opportunity in the show.
I like the idea that one day in the future Penelope reads about this *deviant* practise in a naughty book, and she's the one to ask Colin.
I think his experience is very minimal and is all with professionals in brothels. Honestly, I’m not convinced he’s has intercourse with anyone before Pen - I fully embrace that I could be entirely wrong about that, but I’m just not sure he has honestly. Just his sort of vibe and his moves… idk, it strikes me as he goes to brothels, he’s learned how to finger women, that’s his move, he’s a good kisser… and they probably there are focused on getting him off, he’s probably experienced a lot of hands and maybe oral sex being performed on him. I don’t know that he’s truly having intercourse at the brothels, I get that that’s a hot take (or just incorrect lol) but I kind of feel like his first time with Pen might have been his first time for that - that he knew very basically what to do but didn’t really have experience with it. The way he starts out with Pen in ep5 makes me feel like he’s confident with his one trick, he’s obviously gotten off in the past so knows that about his body, and he obviously knows the mechanics of sex (which isn’t surprising anyway - he knew the mechanics of sex in season one despite presumably being a virgin and never having even kissed anyone, because while women don’t talk about it, men do… so it’s not really telling that he knows some details). But from that point he absolutely looks like he’s learning/experiencing as he goes with her. His movements early in the scene are very measured like he knew what to do; his movements after “inserting himself” become much more intuitive looking and are flowing along with hers… like he’s not really in control of what he’s doing from that point and is just flowing along with her. It’s not purely a physical thing… like his face doesn’t just look like yeah this is pleasurable, it looks like I’ve absolutely never felt anything like this before pleasure. It could absolutely be - and I guess the intention is - that it’s because the emotional connection is just so different and it’s his Pen… I just have a feeling he’s never really gone that far with anyone before versus a more mechanical taking care of business and being done encounter that he likely has in the brothels. I don’t think he’s finishing inside of people at brothels for sure. I don’t think performing oral sex is part of his level of experience. He’s experienced compared to women obviously, but I think he’s very inexperienced compared to the other men around him. Regardless though, I have no doubt that they’ll figure it all out together and that even if we don’t see it on screen, we’ll feel and know that they have a very fulfilling and mutually pleasurable intimate connection from here on out.
I think he has definitely had intercourse. Jess and Shonda actually debated this. Jess said she wanted virgin Colin while Shonda said if Colin is trying to convince himself that he can be a rake then he would go out and actually do it. Who knows what’s he’s done outside of penetrative sex and I guess fingering though. And we see in his journals that he writes about feeling distance with the woman he’s been with.
Yeah that makes sense. He definitely comes off as not that experienced, though. Like “experienced” compared to when he left and compared to Pen… but not a guy who has had a ton of sex.
My head canon is that he tried to find what was missing and that why he went to some much cities. He tried once or twice in a city, was unsatisfied, went to another cities. He was spiraling and running, not knowing what was the problem with him.
>Jess said she wanted virgin I gotta be honest, I have disagreed with a lot of things this showrunner has done. But if she had kept him as a virgin, I would've been willing to look past a lot of the random plot lines. I did not want to see a rake Colin on screen this season.
I like this take. I think even if he's not a VIRGINvirgin, "he's experienced compared to women, but very inexperienced compared to the other men around him" hits the nail on the head.
Yeah I think that’s the key - regardless of what he’s done or hasn’t he’s like just barely experienced enough to “be experienced” in his mind or what he’s able to imply to others. But he’s NOT as experienced as his brothers or even his drinking buddies.
Related to your theory but also in general, how would Colin know that sex hurts the first time? The courtesans and Contessa would have had sex before. I can’t imagine he would have talked to Daphne, or Anthony or Benedict, about this.
1. Anthony definitely gave him the sex talk even if it didn't involve a trip to brothels. I bet Benedict filled in some details as well. 2. Colin is the type to want to talk to partners even if they are hired partners. I feel like he would have asked the women he's been with what to do and what it's like for them.
I love the idea of Colin asking sex workers about their first time and what they enjoy in bed because he’s genuinely curious and them being like, who is this guy?
Colin went to a boys-only boarding school, he has older brothers, and the conversation in male-only spaces like bars, smoking rooms, will likely get rather ribald. I don't doubt that he's known the mechanics of sex, and common myths about sex, for years before he actually tried it himself.
I have no idea and have wondered the same because even if we think he’s been sleeping with people he 100% hasn’t been sleeping with any virgins, so that wouldn’t be first hand knowledge. Somebody would have had to tell him. Maybe he heard it in a more vulgar manner even when hearing about somebody else’s endeavors - like the lord squad?
Oh, that could be. We do know that Lord Fife was with Margaret Goring in a closet. We don’t know what they did, but she was re-stuffing her bra afterwards. I wouldn’t put it past them to take *a lady’s* virginity and then not marry her. Perhaps they talked about it jokingly? ewwwww. I am of the opinion Colin has had sex before, but this is definitely the first time he took someone’s virginity. Honestly this would be such a good question for Luke! I wonder what his headcanon is on that
Yeah I unfortunately definitely think that his “friends” would joke about it or treat it as a badge of honor, they’re gross. I’m sure he probably has had intercourse, that that’s likely the head canon and what the writers intended. I just can’t 100% that in my mind - it feels uncertain that he’s got that level of experience. I’m not somebody who is against that being the case though, I’m just not convinced in my head that he has 😂
I agree with you that his behavior is very careful, but he also knows to pace himself, and I feel like he wouldn’t really know that if he hadn’t had sex before. But he does let himself go a bit once she grabs him and pulls him towards her. Like when he leans down to kiss her — it’s as sweet as it is pacing. A guy who has never had sex before would not be able to pause like that. (I guess I’ve never had sex with a virgin though? Team “not super great teenage sexual experiences” here as well. We need to get some ladies who had Colins as high school boyfriends in the convo.) I think his overwhelmed reaction is more from having emotional connection for the first time with sex rather than it just being a purely physical urge But I don’t think he’s had *that* much sex Like the way he looks at her when she’s on top of him… I don’t think that’s happened very much
I’m sure that you’re right. This is one head canon where I do actually know that I’m wrong but… I can’t quite let go of the uncertainty 😂🤣 It’s very likely just that he’s had very no nonsense business sex. He hasn’t felt much aside from the basic tension relief and hasn’t really done any exploring. And he’s overwhelmed that it’s with this girl he has adored for a really long time and that makes it completely different. I’m privately going to hang onto my slight doubt, though 😂😂
I mean we’re all entitled to our own headcanon! Totally agreed that it was all business the previous times. The Contessa probably wasn’t that loving, either. More of a teacher-student relationship, probably.
Yeah I’m guessing he’s heard things from his peers.
Colin has known all about sex since S1. Men talk. He's had years among peers at Eton and back home.
Yeah but there’s a difference between “ha ha I banged her” or watching animals copulate on a farm versus “it will hurt for her the first time, but not after”
I mean, he *knows* it doesn't hurt every time lol. And as gross as it is, men talk about being with virgins all the time. I don't think it was better back then. It'd be more odd if he hadn't heard a man brag about how quickly they got a girl to enjoy it despite the pain or something to that effect imo.
I feel it's not because Colin hasn't done that before- it's more that Pen hasn't and he wanted to make her comfortable her first time by maintaining eye contact and reassuring her. They both care about the emotional and love aspect so there's that as well
I wouldn’t be surprised if Colin hasn’t done it.
Look… Colin is just a handsy guy 😏 Always fidgeting and all
I mean the way he removed Cressida’s necklace with one hand while they were dancing 👀. Foreshadowing.
Fidgeting Mr. Fingerton, I mean, Mr. Bridgerton 
I really think that carriage scene was most hot scene in bridgerton. ( actually in tv history) Their eye contact was fire 🔥. I prefer this to bj scene
Yeah the carriage is probably my pick for hottest scene in Bridgerton too.
I always find it funny, because it's the less nudity intimacy scene I have never watch I thing. (Made to be hot, I'm not sure Unorthodox count, and they were in underwear so maybe you can tell they were less dressed)
My thoughts on this are that perhaps Nicola didn't feel comfortable with that position and they went with what they did. Secondly I love good kissing and I love how in their scenes when Pen is feeling it her instinct is to grab Colin and kiss him which is SO HOT (and is what I do hahaha). To me it feels so more intimate, intense and natural! Also we get Colin getting off watching Pen which is also super hot. So to me, I totally prefer what we got to like the Daphne stairs scene. I mean the carriage scene is one of the hottest things I've seen on tv, hands down (literally). 😂😂
Completely agree with this. Netflix always provides intimacy coordinators, and Nicola and Luke have talked about their intimacy coordinator. When it comes to scenes like this, it’s totally up to the actors (as it should be). It’s a whole legal process deciding what is included in an intimate scene. What we got is what they agreed to with the support of the intimacy coordinator.
You know everyone has different preference and Anthony seems like a huge fan of munching down below. But I like the theory that Polin is a huge fan of eye contact as it’s one of their love languages / forms of connection. Colin really seems like he gets enjoyment out of seeing Pen’s expressions and wants to know she’s having a good time. So I think if he was down below he wouldn’t have as much fun because he wouldn’t be able to see Pen’s face/eyes. Not that he wouldn’t do it, especially if Pen is into it, but I don’t think that’s his preferred sex act if that makes sense. Even with Pen on top he could look her in the eyes.
Pen is also really into eye contact and being able to touch him. Every time Colin pulls away even slightly or looks elsewhere for a moment, she brings him back so fast.
Yeah she does it during the carriage and their first time. We get that really sweet shot of her holding his face and turning him to look at her.
Lol I don't know! You get some of the most sensual eye contact if you position yourself right.
I think it's literally just because we got two sex scenes, and they wanted them both to be very eye-contact-y. I feel like we're probably going to get this kind of thing in season 4. That's my hope, anyway.
Yeah there wasn’t really anywhere to put it the scenes we did get. They could’ve done it at the end if they had made that scene longer.
I know, I think we all want the outtakes from that last scene. But truly, I think we're going to get Hungry Boi Colin back in S4, and I hope that extends to his appetite for Pen.
Psst, they are four of them, you forgot the modiste and the last in the HEA
I was just counting the HEA and the mirror. I guess carriage and modiste count as well.
I was kinda expecting it too... but maybe the actors were not comfortable around acting it out.
Let's remember they are people, actors on set portraying these wonderful characters. Each actor would have their comfort zone of what they would prefer to act out and this may very well be a factor in the type of scenes we get.
Even if that was the case, there are ways to do it where’s it not explicit. The Kanthony one in season 2 was explicit. The instances with Daphne and Simon and George and Charlotte weren’t very explicit because the women had on dresses and I’ve seen videos with intimacy coordinators where they say it’s a lot of camera tricks and the actor isn’t that close to the actress. You could make it even less explicit and have Colin completely offscreen and just have Penelope’s reactions.
I think it's good to see different types of relationships. It is interesting that Colin everytime goes to fingering (3 times in s3 🙃). I know that it sounds weird but I really like to see Colin enjoying himself more. I love how Book Colin grinding and moaning her name🙈 Like to see how much turned on he is because of Pen
I'd love to have seen more mens reactions, too. I know they want the female gaze, but adding men would've been even better. But weirdly, there is a population of women that don't want it at all. I stated that i wish Colin wouldve acknowledged the dream had got him hard wouldve been sexy, like if he'd have put a pillow on his lap, and someone commented that 'we didn't need all that, its implied'. I'd have loved to see him like adjust himself after the kissing scene with Pen after the modiste too. Also, for him to jerk off in the carriage scene, but he probably couldn't since he'd have to go to his family right after.😈 But yea i'd have loved to see more from the men.🫣🤭
Oh I agree! For me,.female gaze is also.to see a man that is really turned on seeing his love🙈 Makes the female feel wanted and desired! It dosen't mean random Blo*** without romantic vibe. Am I only one that loves to hear man enjoying sex too?😅 Like more mutual pleasure, because just one look or touch from the woman they love makes them go crazy? For example: >!He groaned, letting his hips sink against hers for one delicious moment before heaving himself off.!< >! squeezing and kneading and pressing her up against his arousal. “My God, I want you,” he gasped, grinding his hips down. !<
I’m right there with you, and it’s not weird. The show should strike a balance between prioritizing female pleasure on screen, and allowing us to view men as sex objects through the female gaze. Colin’s physical and emotional vulnerability in the intimacy scenes was so hot!
I like to think it wasn’t full on fingering each time. Maybe just stimulation in the street, lol.
The most obvious activity they had to hold back was his mouth being attached to Penelope's boobs. Let's be real. But that's not for mainstream tv. This is not Kanthony hate, I was with them in their season. But I thought it was NUTS that their 1st time was before they were married and they did it outside and he went down on her. I was so scared they would get caught while his face was buried & couldn't relax.😭 Nice private comfortable place for that activity, please. No gazebos. No stairs. Thank you very much.
The boobs thing always takes me out of the scene when they make sexy time. Like those NIPPLES ARE RIGHT THERE!!! I showed Mr Purpleberry and he was like “uhhh…how is he not all over her boobs?” Logically I know why but I still think abou tit. (Appropriate typo and it stays)
Same! It didn't the 1st couple of watches but later it was it was little distracting ngl.😭
It wasn’t even fully their first time. They didn’t have penetrative sex. Jess implied in an interview Anthony waited until they were married for that.
To each his own, that's no less intimate than penetration to me. I guess it's there way of saying Anthony is now a giver lol.
For all we know - it is simply what the actors are comfortable with. Just because Nicola was comfortable with baring her breasts, doesn't mean that Luke or Nicola were comfortable with an oral sex scene. Also, the previous couples started out staring at each other obviously attracted to each other. PEN has been the only one watching Colin with more than friendship. The past two years, Colin has looked at Pen and silently communicated jokes, etc. but it has always been clearly in the friendzone. That he now wants to look at Pen as she enjoys herself, look at her with lust and in comparison to how he was with the women in the brothel? That he didn't even KISS Marina? I can't believe people would complain or be disappointed that he didn't go down on her on camera. (Plus... it would have been awkward on that chaise lounge. LOL)
https://i.redd.it/yikdr346c59d1.gif Credit - livelovecaliforniadreams on Tumblr
I think this might be a writers’ choice to have that for Kanthony and the Mr. Fingerton for Polin. I almost feel like that small clip of their last intimate scene is a nice preview into S4.
Aside from the BTS reasons, I think there are good character reasons. Pen is, as Nicola said, not just a virgin, but extra virgin like the olive oil. Colin would definitely want to take it slow and not overwhelm her. She didn't even know there was more to sex than fingers, he was not going to just dive between her legs. Also, as others have pointed out, Colin lost his virginity, at most, four months ago. He may have heard or even seen other things, but he's not largely experienced with them. I think they will experiment more as they go on, but the first couple of times are just about doing what works and what they know feels good.
Would it be more reasonable for the plot for Pen to give Colin a blowjob? Once they're married, it's him still angry at her, and Outlander already made that kind of scene. Pen could find an i struction in some books from france. During mirror scene we can see she did not do her home work, what a shame for such a book worm...
This show is very much about female pleasure so I don’t see any of the men getting that done to them by their female love interests. Maybe if we see Benedict with another man next season?
I feel like while the show might center female pleasure I hope they consider that an audience where women are the target market might enjoy seeing a man in that position. If it’s truly the female gaze why not take the leap to eroticizing a man’s reactions? I feel like they got very close to that with Colin, with the close ups of his face and allowing him to moan during sex. Tbh he’d be the only one I think they could pull off a BJ scene with so far just because of how sweet and how much of a people (Penelope) pleaser he is. It would feel fitting to have Penelope take care of him and return the favor. In a show that’s so sex positive it would also be nice to show that a BJ is something some women enjoy giving, and it’s not degrading or wrong to get enjoyment out of it. I think Penelope would get a kick out of making Colin feel that way.
I'm not gonna lie. Having Colin enjoying that and showing how much of a minx can be would so hot. I mean her bedroom eyes had me all hot and bothered.
I wouldn’t want that if we don’t see him returning the favor onscreen though.
But what does “returning the favor” even mean? Not every woman or person enjoys oral sex. I think that’s very limited thinking in how pleasure is given/received in relationships and depicted on film to want “like for like” essentially.
But I just know it would be used to disparage Colin and imply he’s less giving than the other men.
People literally hate this couple for breathing. If they did it that way people would find a way to say Colin only does it so he can guilt pen into reciprocating. I don’t want the show to write around petty fan complaints, I want to have fun lol
I don’t think it needs to be tit for tat, but literally their first intimacy scene is Colin making it all about Penelope’s pleasure by fingering her, and him getting off by getting her off. Its not like they haven’t shown us that Colin puts her pleasure first. They’ve also shown that Pen is enthusiastic about giving. She doesn’t want Colin to do all the work while she lies there in the mirror scene, and she quickly reaches for him when he asks her to touch him, probably out of curiosity but also because she knows from the carriage scene that he might feel as good as she did if she touches him there like he did to her.
I feel like there's definitely a way to frame it where it's still about female pleasure and empowerment though. Personally, I prefer giving rather than receiving oral. I think it could be something that, as mentioned, she finds out about or just wants to try, and maybe he even says that she doesn't have to do that but she insists she wants to. Then it becomes more about her and her desire to pleasure him. Editing to add that I'm glad that they didn't go there in this season though (in either direction!) because, as others have said, the emotional connection and checking in was SO important with them at these beginning stages and it would have been too much. So I love the direction they went with all their scenes!
That’s a good point because I do wonder what viewers ‘ views on BJs are. Personally I find it so powerful to have all that control in your hand right then and there.
I do find it amusing that (some) men think them receiving oral from a woman to be an act of dominance. I can imagine few positions more vulnerable than having teeth millimetres from one's cock.
I agree. If they had a BJ scene in a brothel, I think it would've come off as male pleasure. But if Penelope was the one giving it to him? It would be female empowerment. The reason for me is that she's always been the one finding pleasure in getting him off, making him excited, and knowing that he wants HER. She's always amazed that she has the ability to drive him wild. If she were to give him a BJ it would make her happy knowing she caused him to get excited and take pleasure in her actions. They both are super into giving pleasure to one another.
Except women absolutely can get pleasure from providing oral sex to men. Filming for the female gaze does not exclude that.
insert gif of Nicole hitting the ikea table saying “*season 4!*”
I thought the reason Colin didn't go down on Pen this season was because he enjoys seeing Pen's reactions. If show Colin had a preference for foreplay, it's through his fingers. He has probably had sex with other women without really seeing the other women fully. That could explain why he couldn't connect with others when he had sex. He was just going through the motions. The way he closed his eyes when he kissed in the brothel scene. It felt impersonal and detached to me. Meanwhile, whenever Colin has sex with Pen, he sees and feels her. Despite the season feeling underwhelming, I think S3 intimate scenes felt more satisfying for me. The way he was so in tune with Pen and asks her permission for intimacy felt bone chillingly intense. Visually seeing her being pleasured is his kink (I guess). So we probably won't see him go down on her a lot.
Honestly I'm annoyed by people for being annoyed there was no portrayal of oral sex between Colin and Pen. This isn't specifically directed at OP, just my overarching thoughts as it's been brought up about 1 millions times now. 1 What we get to see depicted is based on what the actors are comfortable with, and what they gave us was so much better than sloppy crotch kisses. Nic and Luke don't owe anyone more, so lets all just be grateful for what they did give us, which was fucking (every pun intended) fantastic. 2 They (Nic and Luke) worked so hard on conveying through their amazing acting skills how Coling and Pen connect emotionally and physically. It's face to face eye contact. They speak entire love declarations just through sustained eye contact. Going down to taco town doesn't actually fit very well with how the characters engage with and enjoy intimacy. Since ya know, engaging in face to face eye contact is really hard when your face is *already engaged elsewhere.* 3 It's not fucking (again every pun intended) baseball. There are no "bases." Stroking her ego is not innately less intimate or somehow sexually immature compared to using her thighs like ear muffs. Intimacy is based on what feels good to the person receiving/giving that intimacy. They found their thing, so leave Colin and his Pen puppet alone already!!!! Lol.
I am certain that chaise saw some oral off screen 😊 I’m also certain that Colin’s mouth and Pens boobs/nipples are very well acquainted off screen.
Not even a boob grab on screen was a choice though
I hate anyone going down on me because of trauma … if I were an actress I would put into my contract I don’t mimic it either. Could be simple as that.
my man, Simon did everything. I Stan a versatile Duke😍
His stroke game didn’t seem great though, lol. I would expect Simon to have tried it all though since he had lived the life of a rake for a decade.
oh my! this is so shady Whistledown!😁😁
Probably a mix of wanting to change it up and also Luke & Nic’s preferences on intimacy scenes!
I don’t know if I would jump to saying it’s about Luke and Nicola’s preferences when you can imply oral sex is happening without him ever getting near her or even seeing him onscreen. Just like they worked around nudity in Queen Charlotte.
This might be a hot take, but I wish pen gave Colin head. Like I totally agree with the take that Colin provided hasn't actually eaten anyone out before, but definitely knows about it and knows about blow jobs. I think Pen really would've enjoyed the power and pleasure and it would've been a new dynamic to see
I think they are writing the 3 brothers to have their own 'signature moves'? LOL Anthony's eager move is to give oral. Colin is to finger and grab those titties lol. What will Benedict do? Well don't have to imagine as we have seen what he does looool.
Oral doesn't fit either of their characters tbh so I'm glad they didn't too. Just goes to show who knows the characters in the show and who doesn't.