Dearest Gentle Reader, Bridgerton season 4 (Part 1, that is) is upon us, and so another Bridgerton sibling is reluctant to marry yet finds themselves the center of a charming, candy-colored romance. Netflix’s anachronistic period drama returns with more of the same, but with a new inspiration: a classic tale we all know. Benedict (Luke Thompson), the artsy wild child, is this season’s leading man, but not necessarily its hero.
Its hero, or rather heroine, is Sophie Baek (Yerin Ha), a maid with a mysterious past. With a storyline directly lifted from Cinderella, Sophie is a servant to stepmother Lady Penwood (Katie Leung) and her two daughters. Shades of her pre-stepmother past are hinted at in Part 1. As with any good melodrama, surely more will be revealed in time.
Benedict, meanwhile, is the bane of his mother Violet’s (Ruth Gemmell) existence. Surely after three seasons of children who are reluctant to marry and then find true love, Violet knows the drill by now. Benedict’s disinterest in marrying clearly means he will find love sooner rather than later. It is the Bridgerton way, after all. Thompson is a charming hero, grinning and lounging about, open-necked, in a loose white shirt. For those who loved Anthony’s dripping-wet Mr. Darcy moment in season 2, wait until you see Benedict in a lake!
Low stakes, even for Bridgerton
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The stakes remain compelling only in the primary plot. While Sophie and Benedict’s plot thickens—can a maid reveal herself to be the mystery woman? Is Benedict going to put the pieces together, or must Sophie pine in silence?—The thread connecting the tension between seasons is broken.
After publicly unmasking Penelope (Nicola Coughlan) as Lady Whistledown, the in-universe intrigue of who is writing about everyone is no longer there. Not only that, but everyone seems quite unbothered that Lady Whistledown openly walks among them. Penelope even receives visitors eager to spill their gossip to Lady Whistledown. Wouldn’t that make people less willing to socialize with her?
Then again, when has Bridgerton ever striven for realism? The most fun part of Penelope’s newfound fame is Queen Charlotte’s (Golda Rosheuvel) interest in using Lady Whistledown as her own pawn for the social season, tasking her with finding an eligible bachelor to focus her column on.
Meanwhile, when Benedict’s not onscreen…
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Side plots for the other Bridgertons mainly focus on Francesca (Hannah Dobbs) and her sexually unfulfilling marriage to kind, accommodating Lord Kilmartin (Victor Alling). Violet’s flirtations with Marcus (Daniel Francis), brother of Lady Danbury (Adjoa Andoh), blossom into a genuinely moving romance. Eloise (Claudia Jessie), keen to avoid being anyone’s love interest, asks for Benedict’s help in deflecting potential suitors. Eloise and Benedict’s sibling dynamic is perhaps the second-best of the season.
The diamond of the season, to borrow a Bridgerton term, is of course Benedict and Sophie’s chemistry. A show like this, so built on fluffy anachronisms and pastel petticoats, lives and dies on the chemistry of its lead couple. Thompson and Ha have it in spades, trading barbs at times but exchanging far more swoony, yearn-filled glances.
The forbidden romance stakes of the servant and aristocrat are not new territory. A Cinderella retelling is not new territory either, for that matter. But it’s Bridgerton, so trope away. It’s escapism in every sense of the word, and a terrifically charming escape at that.
Bridgerton Season 4 Part 1 is available now on Netflix. Watch the trailer below.
Images courtesy of Netflix.
REVIEW RATING
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Bridgerton Season 4 Part 1 - 7/10
7/10
Claire was once asked in elementary school why her go-to question was always, “Watch anything good lately?” It’s still her go-to question, because she loves hearing what other people are passionate about. She often sacrifices sleep in the hopes that she will one day clear her to-watch and to-read lists (a futile effort so far).
