Polin is here! That's the portmanteau for Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) and Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton), the featured couple in season three of Netflix's historical romance series, Bridgerton, based on Julia Quinn's best-selling series of books.

All four episodes of the third season's part one were released Thursday, March 16. We're now in the first half of the fourth book, Romancing Mister Bridgerton, published in 2002. Penelope, considered a spinster since she's in her third season, wants to find a husband. Colin, recently returned from his frequent travels, does not want to look for a wife just yet. And now the stage is set.

In praise of Polin?

Bridgerton, Nicola Coughlan, Penelope Featherington

The critics have spoken and they've weighed in on Bridgerton's third season, part one.

Carol Midgley of The Times (UK) singled out Coughlan's talent, “Coughlan is the one who manages to punch through this often stilted comedy of manners to offer real vulnerability and a sense of the fundamental human need to be loved in the middle of a false society that is basically an aristocratic meat market.”

Midgley seems to have enjoyed the show for what it offers and not asking for more, which is a sensible thing to do. However, the same can't be said for Empire Magazine's David Opie. He isn't very impressed, “”With repetition setting in, the second half of Season 3 needs to surprise fans with some bigger swings if Bridgerton has any hope of remaining the belle of the ball.”

Louise Rugendyke of the Sydney Morning Herald invokes the mantra “the heart wants what it wants,” In her review, she said, “Once again, the romantic drama has delivered a satisfying romance, with enough drama and dollops of ridiculousness to take it beyond guilty-pleasure territory. I want to hate it but, like any good romance, I just can’t quit the damn thing.”

Slate's Rebecca Onion has a problem with Bridgerton season three, too many ballroom scenes. She laments the lack of diverse scenery and wrote, “Three seasons in, what I miss in Netflix’s Bridgerton and its source material is texture: that sense of variety, in story, experience, and action. Without it, there’s a flatness to the world and all the glittering little figurines inhabiting it.”

However, Dan Einav of The Financial Times is still charmed. He notes that since the series is in its third season, everything is now tried and tested, and there's nothing wrong with that. The show's plot isn't broken by any means, so there's no need to fix it.

Einav said, “Here, as before, we find all the usual frills and frivolity, pomp and pageantry… But the undeniably sumptuous series now feels like it’s beginning slightly to lose its lustre — if not quite its famed lustfulness.”

Bridgerton fans, are you okay?

Curiously enough, the critics have given Bridgerton's first installment of the Polin storyline a higher score than the audience. As of this writing, Part 1 earned a 93% Tomatometer rating and an 83% audience score.

I believe the biggest factor when it comes to the low audience rating is the splitting of the season into parts one and two — the first time for a Bridgerton season.

Why the split then?

This is most likely due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes last year, as well as Netflix's new strategy to how they release their shows. While I understand the logistical reasons for it, I'm not quite sure how I feel about it.

Don't get me wrong, I've seen the entire first part — all four episodes of it — and I love it. I'm still Team Polin. I'm even warming up to Cressida (Jessica Madsen). I also want Lady Violet (Ruth Gemmell) to find love with Lord Marcus (Daniel Francis).

So what's my problem? It's just four episodes.

With the age of streaming came binge-watching. We're a spoiled audience. Four episodes mean roughly four hours of viewing time. While that looks like a good amount of time to invest in a show — on paper — the reality is that it's not. Those four hours still only equal four episodes , and that's four episodes short of a Bridgerton season.

And with part two debuting a month later, June 13, everyone will have a month two stew on what their problem is with the first part. Maybe a Bridgertonized Give Me Everything by Pitbull can cheer you up?