WARNING: Spoilers ahead for the "Bridgerton" finale. Daphne and Simon's love affair, Marina Thompson's future plans, the end of Lord Fetherington's double-dealing, etc.

Most of the season followed Eloise Bridgerton and Queen Charlotte (open in new tab) as they gathered clues and plotted to uncover the identity of London's most notorious gossip columnist. They suspect Lady Danbury, the housekeeper, and the merchant, and finally determine that the modiste Madame Delacroix is in a prime position to hear all the gossip in town, and may be hiding something other than why she is faking a French accent. This was because he seemed to have a knack for showing up on the scene of every scandal, and as a member of a noble family, he was privy to every gathering of the subjects of Lady Whistletown's scandal sheet.

Unfortunately, Eloise, the Queen, and I were all dead wrong, and in the last seconds of season one, it was revealed that Whistledown was none other than Penelope Fetherington (spoiler alert). To recap: Julie Andrews (opens in new tab) narrates the last gossip column of the season. 'I may come forward one day, but you, dear readers, must know. With that said, he finally pulled down his hood to reveal Penelope.

While undeniably surprising, on closer examination it makes perfect sense as to who Whistledown is. [because not only were the working class of Georgian society often found themselves in the company of upper-class families, but they were usually overlooked in such settings. The downside here, however, was that Lady Whistledown's reports were often published just hours after the latest dinner or ball was over. Therefore, Lady Whistledown had to be someone who was actually present at those events. Enter: Penelope, played by Nicola Coughlan of the Delhi Girls.

While Penelope attended such events, she was rarely the center of the party due to the self-consciousness imposed by her family and her preference to keep an eye on the drama from the sidelines. In fact, according to Coughlan, if you keep an eye on Penelope during social scenes, you will often find her lurking in the background of the show's biggest scenes.

"I'm like, 'What's the whistledown column? Is there something going on? ' I said to the directors, 'Well, that scene is mainly about the Duke and Daphne. Coughlan told Harper's Bazaar (opens in new tab) about her approach to playing a gossip girl in disguise. You don't have to have binoculars or a pen to write things down, but you have to be open to it all. You can't do anything overt, but I think it's fun to go back to season one and find Penelope like, 'Where's Waldo?'" "

Showrunner Chris Van Dusen also admitted that he and the show's writers made Penelope whistled down according to Julia Quinn's romance novel series (opens in new tab), which "Bridgeton" is based on: " The real motive for Penelope's sideline will be revealed in the upcoming season," Van Dusen told Variety.

Penelope's talent for subterfuge may make it seem like a strange choice for Bridgerton's writers to have Penelope reveal herself to viewers so quickly on a show that promises (and hopes) to be a long-running show. However, in an interview with Decider (opens in new tab), Van Dusen explained that the choice was made intentionally to keep series newbies interested while ensuring that the adaptation is faithful to fans of the books.

"For me, it just felt like the time was right. In the writers' room, I think there were always two lines of thinking when looking at Lady Whistledown. I knew that there was an audience that had read the book and had thoughts and theories about who Lady Whistledown was. And then there was a whole new group who knew less about the book and had no idea where the story of Lady Whistledown went. It was about keeping the mystery alive and entertaining for fans of the book, but also about never getting ahead of ourselves. To never give notice of where you are going."

Some of Whistledown's most scathing reports concerned Penelope's own family: she downplayed her sisters' prospects in the marriage market and, more shockingly, revealed the premarital pregnancy of her cousin and friend Marina Thompson. It may seem inconceivable that Penelope would jeopardize her own family's social standing, but it makes sense in light of the way she was treated. Penelope's mother and sisters regularly denied Penelope's marriageability and teased that Penelope was "two stones heavier" than her sisters.

"As Penelope grew older, I think she became more accustomed to keeping secrets. Penelope's sisters are a two-person show, and they are very close. Her father and mother don't know she's alive. I think that's her way of coping, and it's not necessarily healthy, but I think it's interesting because she's young too."

As for Penelope revealing a secret that could ruin Marina's reputation, Coughlan tweeted (opens in new tab) to Variety that it was probably a childish miscalculation by Penelope, who is used to being overlooked at home and in society. 'I know people are mad at Penelope, but she's 17. She has been ignored her whole life. Whistletown is her way to have power in the world, but in season one, she doesn't realize how much power she actually has," Coughlan said.

And finally, in contrast to her best friend Eloise, who is adamantly against marriage, Penelope is fully invested in what is happening in the ton and what it means for her own romantic prospects. For example, by naming Daphne Bridgerton a socialite jewel, Penelope demonstrated her love and respect for her best friend's family, who show far more compassion than her own parents and sisters.

Her decision to share Marina's secret also stemmed from love. Revealing Marina's pregnancy was not only an act of protecting Marina's fiancé Colin Bridgerton and his family from the possibility of further scandal, but also an act of jealousy stemming from Penelope's own secret love for Bridgerton's third son.

"I think there are many divisions in Penelope's life. Because she is an outcast in front of her family, bright and sparkling in front of Eloise, romantic in front of Colin, but never says that to Eloise," Coughlan said of Penelope's seemingly contradictory message as Lady Whisbardown told Decider.

"I think being Whistledown allows her to get out a lot of her emotions and stress and things that she would be too embarrassed to say."

With Marina gone and Colin traveling the world, it is anyone's guess how and in what direction Whistledown will exercise its power in the upcoming season (opens in new tab).