Bridgerton's back: The best yet or losing its bite?

The show's third season has been described as "its best yet" and "still unbearably sexy".

But other reviewers cautioned that it's "losing its bite", and that its period drama formula "is wearing decidedly thin".

Four episodes were released on Thursday, with the second half of the third season due to arrive in June.

Mild spoilers below

Variety critic Aramide Tinubu said it is "more lush and enticing than audiences might remember".

The third season centres on a blossoming romance between Lady Penelope Featherington (played by Nicola Coughlan) and Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton), which "elevates this journey", she wrote.

But the writers also offer "some juicy subplots", she added.

"They take the time to reveal some of the layers of characters who had previously been on the fringes of the narrative."

The Huffington Post's Sarah Hunter Simanson was even more breathless in her praise.

"This season does not disappoint. It may even exceed fans’ already-high expectations," she wrote.

"Despite its similar construct, this season is heightened in almost every way...

"Viewers can be certain the fourth episode will end in such a way that you will be screaming at the TV, wondering why Netflix is forcing you to endure an entire month to finish a season that you’ve already spent two years waiting for.

"I don’t know Netflix’s reason, dear viewer, but I can attest that these four episodes are an immersive delight because, yes, the chemistry between Colin and Penelope is electric, but the larger world their romance takes place in is becoming even better."

The i newspaper's TV editor Emily Baker thinks she knows the reason why this season has been split into two.

It's "a transparent ploy to keep viewers subscribed for longer", she wrote.

The streamer has previously used the tactic with shows like Stranger Things, The Crown and Ozark.

Showrunner Jess Brownell has said season three has a "natural break" after the first four episodes.

Baker's four-star review was forgiving. "I would usually admonish Netflix for splitting up a series... but, in the case of Bridgerton, it’s somewhat poetic," she wrote.

"So far, it’s been worth the wait."

The Guardian's Rachel Aroesti also awarded four stars, saying Penelope and Colin (nicknamed Polin by fans) had "the most captivating courtship yet".

"There are certain aspects of Bridgerton that make it difficult to love," she admitted.

"There’s the stilted, staccato dialogue... which can grate horribly, plus the swelling strings that sign off practically every conversation, suffusing each scene with shallow sentimentality."

But Coughlan's performance is "sensational", and Aroesti concluded: "The things Bridgerton does well, however, it does very, very well."

'Zero chemistry'

Other critics were less enamoured. The Telegraph's Anita Singh gave two stars and questioned whether Bridgerton is past its sell-by-date.

Penelope and Colin "have almost zero chemistry", and aside from their romantic arc, the show "feels tediously familiar", she declared.

"The writers seem to have given up. Three of the first four episodes feature an almost identical scene of Penelope fleeing a ball in tears. The Lady Whistledown commentary now feels tired and unnecessary. Even the sex scenes are perfunctory, thrown in once an episode as if meeting a quota."

Empire's David Opie said Coughlan had "always been a scene-stealer and she continues in that fashion here", and said her turn to take centre stage is "most welcome indeed".

However, his two-star write-up went on: "The problem is that there's more sexual tension in Anthony and Kate's brief return than there is in Penelope and Colin's entire relationship."

He put the episode split down to last year's Hollywood strikes and Netflix's "evolving approach to their traditional release model", but said it "does Bridgerton no favours, with a severe lack of surprises heading into Part 2".

"Based on this first part alone, fun is surprisingly lacking in the ’Ton this season," he wrote.

The Hollywood Reporter's Angie Han agreed that this season "lacks the giddiness of earlier ones".

And the Evening Standard's Vicky Jessop said it "offers audiences little in the way of plot novelty".

"Three seasons in, the Bridgerton formula is wearing thin: can you tell?" her two-star review said.

"The plot beats are predictable (the old gambit of entering a room just as somebody says the wrong thing is getting old fast), the romance feels copy and paste and they all live happily ever after.

"But do viewers care? Even if newcomers will struggle, the fans will lap it up. This is still wildly addictive viewing."

The final four episodes of season three will be released on Netflix on 13 June.

-bbc