Is Colin Bridgerton held to a higher standard than other male leads in Bridgerton?

ETA: Maybe my title was a tad misleading since a few seemed to have misinterpreted it as an in-universe. This was intended purely as a discussion of fan response. I think the other's a separate discussion for another day :)

This is an important aspect of an ongoing discussion, I think. So, I thought it's time to have a frank, in-depth discussion or revisit this conversation, also keeping in mind the new male lead's character arc ( sadly, I couldn't focus on Ben since my write-up became too long, but feel free to discuss him within this topic as well)

First of all, I should clarify that my stance is that yes, Colin is seemingly held to a higher standard in the general fandom, with lesser leeway given to his mistakes or less than ideal reactions to situations. Over the years, I've witnessed how strictly Colin seems to be judged as a character, his every 'mistake'(put within quotation marks as I believe some of these are quite subjective) scrutinized under a lens, even demanded to be 'punished' by withholding his happy ending with Pen in extreme cases. I believe several factors lead to this response. However, I want to point out the facet I find the most interesting: the past traumas of each male lead and the respective fandom reactions. Let me break it down below:

Simon and Anthony, the two previous leads, are (quite rightfully) seen as individuals grappling with significant childhood/adolescence trauma that impacts their generally not-so-healthy and at times very toxic attitudes and actions toward women, love, and relationships. A lot of the fans are willing to give a 'pass' to their problematic behaviour, saying they were trauma responses and their arc is overcoming the trauma and becoming better partners. I think that's completely fair since they more or less do learn from their mistakes and experience self-growth by the end (After all, flawed characters that undergo rehabilitation and growth are a fundamental of good storytelling!)

But the only problem with this? The same fans generally disregard that Colin also underwent significant trauma in his life. First, when he was just a 10-year-old boy, he suddenly lost his father in a traumatic way and was forced to witness his mother's great depression and the scare of almost losing her or his little sis or both due to birth complications. Also add in the more nuanced tragedy of also 'losing' your older brother overnight due to his own trauma and newfound role within the family. Edmund's death led to lingering psychological damage on ALL family members, lest we forget (as both the show and many fans seem to do)

Colin was old enough to comprehend all these tragedies but young enough that he couldn't help his loved ones, forced to watch the situations unfold helplessly (which clearly explains why he develops his hero complex to try and 'save' his loved ones when he is old enough to do so, tied to a core insecurity of only feeling worthy of someone's love if he is of service to them, seen most clearly w/ Pen and even Marina)

Then, as a teenager, he undergoes another major life trauma with Marina's betrayal. I think it is interesting how he is the same age that Anthony was when Edmund died. Not to diminish the great tragedy of a father's death and the subsequent great burden of responsibility on Anthony here. But both were 19-year-olds suddenly faced with traumatic situations that quickly thrust them from the innocence of childhood to the harsh realities of the adult world. It spelled the end of their carefree days, forcing both to cope by adopting different mechanisms, not always healthy. Anthony, by becoming more rigid, duty-bound, and controlling, Colin, via his escapist and people-pleasing tendencies to fit in with others.

Marina's saga was a major blow to his trusting and carefree self and romantic idealism that guided him up to that point. It gave him deep-seated trust issues coupled with nagging doubts about his self-worth and value. However, I think most fans, even some Polins, overlook the huge impact the trauma of Marina's deception had on his psyche moving forward. Which is a bit understandable since Colin himself buries deep his feelings of hurt, rejection, wounded pride & shattered self-worth, trying to escape his trauma/ distract himself by throwing himself into different endeavors (i.e., travelling, drinking, business investments)

I fear the show is also guilty of being almost too subtle when hinting about his ongoing psychological issues, compared to how in-depth and beautiful the poignant exploration of Anthony's struggles was. I kind of wish we had the flashback scenes for Colin in S3 since there was SO MUCH backstory and character-defining material to address with him, just as with the past male leads!

The thing is, all these traumas very clearly affect his attitudes and actions in S3 Part 2 which some fans found hard to move past. The LW reveal was a major trigger that reawakened all the self-worth issues and the hero-complex already ingrained in his psyche. His trauma informed his reactions & responses just as much as it did with Simon & Anthony, and his behaviour of being distant and cold (kind of escaping into his own head) was very much in character if you consider his backstory and inner struggles.

I think it is a huge shame that this aspect of his character arc is not recognized or addressed nearly enough, as with certain other characters, when critiquing him as a male lead. My argument is not that Colin is perfect, nor that his responses were always healthy. But that they were also trauma responses of sorts and that the same grace should be extended to him to let him make mistakes, learn from them, and become better (which he did and I'd personally argue to greater lengths than other show male lead, case in point being his final love declaration after the LW reveal to the Ton)

Interested to hear everyone's thoughts and insights. I wanna clarify very strongly that my intention is not to downplay the trauma of Simon and Anthony or to degrade their characters in any way. I think they are both very compelling characters. I simply wish for fans to extend the same understanding and grace to Colin, who also faced a different set of traumas and was significantly younger than the other two when he was forced to finally address and overcome those core insecurities.

(Note: Please, please be civil and respectful, and keep the discussion limited to character analysis. I want no bashing of actors or fandoms/fans)