It’s a quick vow exchange, but the important moments are bountiful, including one big Easter egg in the form of Polin’s walk-down-the-aisle song choice. Below, showrunner and executive producer Jess Brownell breaks it down—including the hidden meaning behind Penelope’s dress—as well as the reason for that surprise reveal (at least for book fans) at the end of the episode that seemingly sets up season four.
Glamour: Penelope and Colin’s first dance at their wedding was an orchestral version of Taylor Swift’s “You Belong with Me.” Why was that the right song choice for that moment?
Jess Brownell: Thematically and lyrically, it makes so much sense for them. These characters have so many years together, and it’s not a newer relationship. It’s something that has been in the making forever. There is that sense of fate with these two. It just worked really well.
What about other Easter eggs from their wedding?
They walk down the aisle to Coldplay’s “Yellow,” which is a nod to Featherington yellows and the colors there. Our costume designer John Glaser designed a very simple silhouette for Penelope, that was in some ways a nod to her being this powerful career woman. She is not super fussy in that moment. It’s a very strong silhouette.
Penelope and Colin are now parents to a baby boy. In the book, their first child is a girl. How does having a boy fit into their narrative?
Yeah, in the book, they have a baby girl first, who they name after Lady Danbury. The book features Lady Danbury much more than we were able to in the show, though we did try to pay homage to it in certain moments. It felt like for us in season 3, it was the perfect ending to that heir race to have Penelope win over her sisters after everything she’s been through. The fact that she’s had the boy also means that she’s now the mother of the heir, which means she gets to move into Featherington house. And practically speaking for us, we get to keep our sets. So it kills many birds with one stone.
Shonda Rhimes said she cried during the finale, which is easy to understand given the magnitude of so many developments and personal interactions. What stood out to you?
Even though I wrote it, I cried seeing Luke Newton deliver the final speech where he tells Penelope that her Whistledown reveal was bloody brilliant. Everything he says, and the moment where he’s like, “If my only purpose in life is to be the man behind the woman, then so be it.” That to me is, especially as a career woman, the dream thing you want someone to say to you.
Yes. And finally, when Penelope says to him, “I do not need you to save me. I just need you to stand by me, to hold me, to kiss me,” I immediately thought, is this a nod to Grey’s Anatomy when Meredith tells Derek, “Pick me, choose me, love me?”
Oh, no. It wasn’t intentionally.
See, this is what happens when you consume so much TV!
Yeah. [Laughs]
This feature originally appeared on Glamour US.
