Eloise Bridgerton
Honestly, it’s kind of amazing that Eloise isn’t regularly publishing her own newsletter already. Though season 4 saw her soften some of her most vehement criticism of marriage as an oppressive institution that controls women, she’s hardly chomping at the bit to enter into it herself. She’s also certainly got the free time to pick up a quill and the level of access to society that would allow her to discover most of the same information her best friend did.
Still, Eloise is perhaps the unlikeliest of our options, if only because now that we’re back in book-accurate romance order, season 5 should be her turn as the series’ main character. And since we’ve already seen Penelope attempt to juggle love alongside her secret pen name, such a twist would involve retreading fairly familiar ground. Now, should the show’s fifth outing turn out to be about Francesca instead, all bets are off. But it’s likely Bridgerton will give her some time to mourn before throwing her back into a romance.
Cressida Penwood
The woman formerly known as Cressida Cowper has already claimed to be Lady Whistledown once. Sure, it was a lie, but we shouldn’t put it past Bridgerton to pull a sneaky switch and make her lie eventually turn out to be true. And, to her credit, Cressida was smart enough to figure out that Penelope was Lady Whistledown before she announced herself. Yes, she tried to blackmail her with that information, but isn’t that just good business?
However, season 4 seemed to be somewhat leaning into the idea that Cressida is reformed. She’s seen the error of her ways, settled down, and has even made a point of proactively apologizing to Eloise and Penelope for all that she did to them. Furthermore, there’s no real reason for Cressida to take up the Whistledown mantle, other than sheer love of the gossip game. (Which admittedly isn’t nothing.) But she’s married now, and to someone who isn’t old enough to be her father, thankfully, meaning that she no longer needs the independence (or money) that her original scheme would have brought her.
Hyacinth Bridgerton
In all honesty, Hyacinth Bridgerton would make a perfect Lady Whistledown. She’s young, obsessed with society, desperate to be part of things, and a huge fan of the OG scandal sheet. Her upset at Penelope’s decision to quit is both loud and evident. (How will anyone name her the season’s diamond when it’s her turn to debut if there’s no one writing about it?) The show is unlikely to get to her book for at least three seasons, which means Hyacinth needs something to do with no romance on the horizon. And her new sister-in-law, Sophie, has already taught her how to blend in: Pretend to be of the lower classes. Hyacinth’s delight at realizing that she can pretty much do anything as long as she pretends to be a maid feels an awful lot like it could be foreshadowing how she’ll collect information in the future.
The only downside is that Hyacinth is quite young and hasn’t technically entered proper society yet. She’s unlikely to hear much good gossip from her younger compatriots and would surely be missed if she were constantly sneaking off to infiltrate her way into balls dressed as a servant. But it surely would be fun to watch her try.
