In the books, Eloise is sort of furious at her best friend Penelope for suddenly getting married, and she begins a pen pal love affair with a man named Phillip. Phillip has just lost his wife (Eloise’s cousin, Marina), who suffered from a horrible depression, and he and Eloise begin writing to each other.
Eloise is one of the series’ best characters, and there’s some good stuff to be found here as she goes to stay at his country house and meet his two badly behaved children, but the show might be taking this story in a different direction. On screen, Marina is a Featherington cousin who is devastated to find out that the man she loves has died in battle. Phillip is the one who arrives to tell Marina this news, and offers to marry her instead. At the end of season one, we saw them riding off in a carriage together. And in season two, as she tells Colin, Marina is content in her decision to marry Phillip.
So, it’s not clear what the plan is for Eloise. It could stay the same, since Eloise is currently 17 and doesn’t get married until she’s 28. But that’s a dark future for Marina that we’re not sure we’re into.