‘Bridgerton’ Star Nicola Coughlan Reveals an Easter Egg From the Very First Episode

Warning: This post contains spoilers from the first season of Netflix‘s Bridgerton.

The Regency romance series Bridgerton has taken Netflix users by storm, becoming the streaming service’s biggest show to date with 82 million views in just a couple of short months since its release. As fans wait for the upcoming season two, they’re revisiting the series, and breakout star Nicola Coughlan is rewarding eagle-eyed watchers with a very subtle Easter egg.

“Ok I’m just curious,” Coughlan tweeted out to her 250.4k followers, “has anyone spotted the massive Easter Egg about Penelope in the very first scene of Bridgerton?” As fans of the show now know, Coughlan’s character, Penelope Featherington, was revealed to be the gossipy Lady Whistledown, the anonymous queen of spilling tea about The Ton. One particularly observant fan replied with the answer — the massive feather in her hair that looks just like a quill.

“I’m very impressed with those that spotted it!” Coughlan tweeted in confirmation. “I decided on a prop for the scene where you first see Penelope, that prop happened to be a giant feather that looked a lot like…a quill.” Coughlan also teased further clues hidden throughout the season. “If you rewatch there are lots of little hints in there,” she explained. “Let me know if you spot any more and I can confirm/deny.”

Coughlan talked with Harper’s Bazaar about Bridgerton‘s shocking Lady Whistledown twist, a reveal that does not take place until the fourth book of the source material. “I think the reveal was done so well,” Coughlan said. “I mean, it was one of the most satisfying things in the world to shoot. It was amazing. And that big cloak and the carriage and everything, I think it’s the perfect ending. When I watch it, even though I know, I was still like, ‘Ahh!’”

“I think Season 1 is all about her [Penelope] gaining this power, but really not knowing what to do with it,” Coughlan continued. I think that becomes evident towards the end, especially with Marina, because I really didn’t expect her to go as far as she did. I was like, “Penelope is not going to risk her family’s reputation, she’s not going to ruin Marina’s life, just all for Colin.” And I was like, “Oh, my God, she did it. Oh, that’s pretty big.”

Penelope’s secret proved to be a fun acting challenge for Coughlan. “It was a big thing, in my mind, shooting the ball scene, because I would think, ‘What’s the Whistledown column? Is something happening?’” she said. “And I would say to the directors, whose main focus would be on the duke and Daphne, because that’s what the scene was about, ‘Would you mind if I sort of planted myself and just was here just to witness this?’ I don’t need to be there with binoculars or with a pen writing things down, but I do need to take all that in. I couldn’t be overt, but I think it will be fun for people to watch Season 1 back and spot Penelope, like Where’s Waldo, around the ballroom.”