In the two long years since Bridgerton last swept audiences away to the Ton, The Gilded Age has taken Downton Abbey‘s place as America’s favorite sudsy period drama, Heated Rivalry has rewritten the rules of how horny sex scenes in mainstream romance TV can be, and The Summer I Turned Pretty had the world rapt, week after week, to discover if Korean-American heroine Belly (Lola Tung) would indeed get her happily ever after with Conrad Fisher (Christopher Briney). All of which is to say, Bridgerton Season 4 Part 1 is hitting Netflix at a time when its sumptuous balls, steamy love scenes, and barrier-breaking multi-racial cast might not seem quite as fresh as it did back when it first premiered in December 2020. Nonetheless, Bridgerton Season 4 still has something new to say about romance and that’s that the everyday average person has every right to a happily ever after, too.
The new season of Bridgerton focuses on the Cinderella-inspired story of Sophie Baek (Yerin Ha) and Benedict Bridgerton (Luke Thompson). We already know Benedict as the aristocratic family’s free-spirited second son, more interested in the libertine art scene than the marriage mart. Sophie is something altogether new for the series. Bridgerton‘s first Asian leading lady is also its first from the lower classes. Sophie is a ladies’ maid who only meets Benedict by sneaking into Violet Bridgerton’s (Ruth Gemmell) masquerade ball. Because she never reveals her face or name, Benedict spends the rest of the season searching for his mysterious “Lady in Silver.” All the while, he’s oblivious to the fact that the plucky servant he’s flirting with is actually the woman of his dreams.
Bridgerton Season 4 is based on Julia Quinn’s An Offer From a Gentleman, a book that opens by bluntly establishing Sophie’s position as a nobleman’s bastard daughter. This adaptation chooses a different tact, though, by first introducing Sophie as Benedict’s beguiling dream girl before saddling either her or the audience with knowledge of her class-based baggage. She doesn’t just stand out in a crowded room because of her beauty, but her pure innocent joy. She doesn’t know how to dance, but she can verbally spar with grace. For Benedict, the idea of a lady yet unspoiled by the cynicism of society is a miracle. For Sophie, getting to enjoy one night playacting the role of a legitimate lady — and falling in love with London’s most eligible bachelor! — is a dream come true. Unfortunately, Sophie knows she has to wake from that dream.
The most interesting part of Bridgerton Season 4 is how much it shifts the focus away from the dream world of the upper class to show us the harsher reality of working “downstairs,” following the example of classic British period dramas like Upstairs, Downstairs. It’s not only apparent that the magical world of Bridgerton has been built on the backs of hard labor, but that most of the aristocratic characters we meet don’t truly deserve the titles of gentleman or lady. (The Bridgerton family is, of course, the exception as they, like Downton Abbey‘s Crawleys, are angelic to their doting staff.)
When Sophie’s vile stepmother/employer Lady Araminta Gun (Katie Leung) discovers she attended the masquerade, she spitefully throws the girl out on the street. Months later, Sophie finds herself protecting another maid from being sexually assaulted by their lecherous new employer. Who comes to her rescue? None other than Benedict Bridgerton. Benedict doesn’t recognize the love of his life, only underscoring how invisible the lower classes are even to our beloved Bridgertons. Still, Benedict finds himself attracted to Sophie and the two draw closer in the privacy of his country cottage.
Bridgerton Season 4 Part 1 retains the charm of past seasons, but it often feels like two clashing shows, competing for ultimate attention. When new series leads Luke Thompson and Yerin Ha are on screen together, the rest of Bridgerton‘s busy world of balls, gowns, and gossip fades away. Instead of the volcanic longing of couples past, Sophie and Benedict share a beguiling banter that will warm your heart (if not necessarily your loins). However, Bridgerton keeps pulling focus from this enchanting romance to make sure we’re keeping up with all of the other Bridgertons, Featheringtons, Danburys, and Mondrichs of the Ton. Like Sophie the maid, Bridgerton Season 4 Part 1 is sometimes spread a little too thin.
As much as I enjoy keeping up with Violet Bridgerton’s love life and the politics of finding the Queen a new lady-in-waiting, some of Bridgerton Season 4’s subplots feel as though they would be better served in an ensemble period drama versus a marquee romance. Ironically those aforementioned storylines didn’t even originate in Bridgerton, but its spin-off, Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story. (Is this my soft appeal to renew Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story for Season 2? Yes, Shondaland execs, it is.)
Ultimately, though, Bridgerton remains a crowd-pleasing delight. Luke Thompson nimbly assumes the mantle of leading man, lending Benedict his quirky sense of humor and hot swimmer’s bod. Rest assured, gentle book readers, the iconic “Lake Scene” lives up to what’s written on Quinn’s page. Yerin Ha is an absolute revelation as Sophie Baek. Although the actress has previously popped in Halo and Dune: Prophecy, here she absolutely sparkles. Together, Luke Thompson and Yerin Ha are incandescent. I only hope they get the chance to be a tiny bit more passionate in Part 2. So far, their romance has hewed closer to rom-com than bodice-ripper.
Bridgerton Season 4 Part 1 ends on a few juicy cliffhangers that tantalizingly tease more drama still to come. My only hope is that that drama can be a bit more streamlined, a bit more sexy, and bit more focused on our wonderful season leads when Part 2 rolls out on February 26. Sophie and Benedict deserve to have their romance to take center stage.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
