Most bodice-ripping romances hinge on a strapping suitor saving a delicate heroine. But in Bridgerton season three, Nicola Coughlan’s Penelope Featherington isn’t holding out for a hero—as Luke Newton’s Colin Bridgerton learns in the tumultuous early days of their marriage. “Growing up in the Bridgerton family and having the lack of a father for a certain amount of years, I feel like he has a weird, twisted opinion on what a man’s role should be within a family,” Newton says while visiting the Still Watching podcast studio. “So meeting Penelope really helps him reset that. He has to learn that he just needs to be present and support her, and he doesn’t need to protect or save her. She is a strong, independent woman. She’s been dealing with the stress of being around London society at that time, but also being the most successful businesswoman in town.”

In the third season’s action-packed final four episodes, Colin learns that his bride-to-be also happens to be Lady Whistledown, the very same figure he once vowed to publicly “ruin.” But Colin and Penelope walk down the aisle anyway, and after an angst-filled newlywed period—including his disastrous attempt to save his new wife from blackmail—they settle into a mutually satisfying marriage. “In truth, I have been envious of you,” Colin tells Penelope shortly after she unmasks to the entire Ton. “And now I simply cannot believe that a woman with such bravery loves me. If my only purpose in life is to love a woman as great as you, then I will be a very fulfilled man indeed.”

Newton says he and Coughlan watched that scene together amid their global press tour. “It was very emotional for us, because it’s the moment when Colin says, ‘I realize that you are her. There’s no separating the two of you,’” he explains. “She’s just been separating the two worlds, when really, if she learns to accept them as one, then, to him, she’s just perfect. It’s a beautiful ending.”

Below, Newton chats with Still Watching about his love story’s long-awaited conclusion, from dismantling Colin’s “hero complex” (and sexily breaking some furniture in the process) to his hopes for season four of Bridgerton.

Vanity Fair: In only four episodes, Colin discovers Lady Whistledown’s identity, gets married, has a child, and publishes a novel. What was your initial reaction to reading the back half of this season?

Luke Newton: Coming to the end of part one, I was excited to see giddy Colin in this place of contentment, engaged, hopefully going to live this happily ever after. Obviously, there was the Whistledown secret underlying, but I was hoping that we’d get a moment of light relief. We see a real smidgen of that, and then immediately he starts to sense that something’s wrong.

He just really goes through it, and I loved diving into it. He’s tortured throughout the season—even at the start when he sees Pen from afar and how well she’s doing with all these new suitors. Then later on down the line, it cuts deeper. So it was a real challenge for me, particularly with the way that Colin had been portrayed previously in seasons one and two, to really dive into this darker side.

Rather quickly in the new episodes, we see Colin and Penelope get intimate for the first time post-carriage scene. How did the two of you approach this major scene?

We had a load of conversations with all departments. We started with a conversation just with the intimacy coordinator, Nicola and I, and kind of talked through what was written on the page, then how we wanted to bring that to life and what we felt was appropriate for this love story.

For both of us, we just gave a hundred percent into this season. There was no stone left unturned. We honestly just went for it. We really explore the themes of consent, and Colin is naturally a very sensitive and empathetic person, particularly when it comes to those moments. He’s very protective over Pen, so we see that care coming out. And it’s beautiful to watch back and see that it’s still sexy. It’s not tearing their clothes off. It’s really sexy, but it’s full of tenderness and care.

We had previous [intimate] scenes. There was the carriage scene, the kiss scene, and the dream sequence. But that was the first time that we were fully exposed. And there’s the weird parallels in that they both are as characters in that moment as well. They really open up and become honest with each other for the first time. They needed to have that. It takes the story to the next level.

On a mechanical note, you both have teased that a piece of furniture was broken. Can you confirm which piece of furniture?

I can confirm. So, we’re on the chaise longue, is how you say it? [It is referred to as a “settee” in the series.] It’s the mirror scene, and our director at the time took a step back and said, “Right. Let’s just mix it up, this take, and let’s really sort of go for this one. Let’s up the energy basically, and up the stakes.” Then I think we were maybe 20 seconds in and one of the legs just completely snapped off.

We both burst into laughter. Then Nicola shrieked and said something in her natural [Irish] accent. I was really hoping that the laugh kind of makes it in, which it does. We do laugh together at the end, which is really beautiful, and just feels really appropriate and sweet to their relationship. I think Nic’s got a picture, which I’m sure will end up on social media at some point, of this leg that snapped off. It was then propped up by apple boxes and stuff to try and keep the chaise longue secure. Little moments like that make the days just so much more enjoyable.

I remember when I first put on my intimacy wear, and it’s unusual to look at—it’s just a sort of cup, bag-shaped thing that you wear. I was wearing a dressing gown, and we were just about to do the first take when Colin undresses. And I just said to Nic, “I need to show you this before we roll because you are going to lose it on camera if you don’t.” So, we had a little giggle. It was nice to be able to be light-hearted about it. And that scene, we shot over three days, so by day three, we were literally throwing the robes off and strutting around the studio.

It feels good to savor the levity of that moment, given how dark things get between Colin and Penelope after the Lady Whistledown reveal. You’ve said that the scene where Colin finds out was scripted as an angrier reaction, but when you went to film, it stirred a different emotion in you. Can you talk about that?

It was a night shoot. It was my first time on that set, which is more of the working-class areas of London. Then we got on set that day and started shooting it, and I just started to reflect on not only this season and the history between these two characters and how this would change their relationship, but also previous seasons and how the Whistledown character had affected everyone in his life, and everyone that he feels very protective over. So, I realized that the stakes were a lot higher than I anticipated and then it just felt really emotional.

We were coming towards the end of a long shoot, 10 months, and everything just came to the surface and I kind of broke down in one take where it just felt right. Then Tom Verica, our wonderful producer and director ran over and was like, “Can we get that again? I think that really works.” And I was like, “This isn’t gonna stop. I think I’m gonna be in tears for a little while.” There’s a real good balance in the writing of how hurt and angry he is, but also he turns back into a boy for a moment, reflecting on all those moments that he had been hurt. He feels a lot of people’s pain, so every scandal that has unfolded over the years, he really sympathizes with everyone around him. It not only hit him for how it affected him, but for everyone.

How did you approach getting married on screen with so much turmoil surrounding Colin and Penelope?

It was difficult, because I wanted to stay true to everything that happened, but I was also aware that they’re both very young and still trying to grow up. I think about dealing with those problems myself as a 31-year-old and I’m like, No, thank you. And [Colin] is much younger than me. But also, they’re both real romantics and would get swallowed up in the situation. Ultimately, he just loves her more than anything. By this point, he’s really accepted that he’s always cared for her, but just misplaced that love. I thought it was a friendship, and all of a sudden I’ve realized she’s the only person I want to be with. There’s that underlying gut-wrenching feeling when something’s just not quite right, but ultimately they both know that things will get resolved. These two characters that you wouldn’t normally see leading a series finally get their wedding moment was really special.

There’s a small time jump at the end of the season, where we see Colin and Penelope as parents, having both published new works. How will this impact where things go in the fourth season?

I always love the time jumps. We actually thought that there was going to be one at the start of the season, because in Romancing Mister Bridgerton [the Julia Quinn novel on which this season is based], both Colin and Penelope are slightly older. We want to do this show for many more years, hopefully. So it worked out great [to not age up the characters]. Then it was nice to do that jump where they win. They get the son, they get to inherit the title. Penelope’s lived a life feeling like she’s always losing to her sisters. So, it came around full-circle. I think it’s a beautiful ending.

Nic and I have talked about the themes that we explored this season and what we hope we continue to in future seasons—it’s the rom-com element between them. Nic is obviously such a brilliant comedy actor, so to get the privilege to work opposite her in some of those scenes that felt slightly comedic, I really hope we get to dive into that a bit more next year. It’d be nice to feel like Kate (Simone Ashley) and Anthony (Jonathan Bailey) do at the start of the season and be in wedded bliss.

This interview has been edited and condensed.