This article contains spoilers for Season 4 of Bridgerton
On January 29th the long awaited new season of Bridgerton came out, and I have thoughts. The story follows Benedict, the second oldest brother in the family, and his love story with Sophie, a maid working for the ton. I’m just gonna dive right in, but if you would like more information about the season in general I would recommend reading Amina’s article!
The plot of this season models Cinderella. Sophie sneaks into a masquerade ball where she is able to conceal her identity, and meets our rake Benedict. He teaches her how to dance, they kiss, and all she leaves behind is a glove and memories that will haunt him. I actually liked the first episode, despite how ridiculous I thought some of the masquerade costumes were. I think the mystery of it all was intriguing, and I enjoyed watching it. I don’t love or hate Cinderella stories, so I’m excited to see where this goes. My one concern would be that the story begins to seem like Benedict is Sophie’s “savior”, so I am interested to see how the rest of the story unfolds in part 2.
What I really appreciate about this season so far is the attention it draws to the Upstairs-Downstairs dynamic. With the seasons we’ve gotten so far it’s been easy to get lost in the glamour of it all, when in truth during the Regency era a very small percentage of the population lived the way the ton does. Though it’s been hinted at before with Marina visiting a lower class neighborhood and Eloise and Theo in season 2, not a lot of attention has been called to it. One of the scenes I really liked was when the brothers were shown joking around and making a mess with shaving cream, and then it instantly cut to someone cleaning up that mess. In the lavishness of it all, even I as a watcher forgot that what was a fun moment for some was work for another. I’m very interested to see how the rest of this plot line plays out, as the dynamic between the servants and the rich families is one that is very interesting. I think this is especially important since this is season 4, so we’ve come to understand the workings of this universe at this point, though as a watcher I never really considered things from the staff’s perspective. Hearing their voices is certainly new, though I’m appreciating the more serious nature of it.
The last thing I’ll touch on in this article is the actual relationship between Benedict and Sophie. Despite how infuriating it is that Benedict has not yet found out Sophie is the lady in silver, the fact he still falls in love with her as just who she is was something I absolutely loved. He fell in love with the same person twice, without knowing it was the same person. Honestly, talk about meant to be. It’s also really nice to finally get a deep dive into Benedict’s character. For so long he’s been an enjoyable side character, fun to watch but never really understood. Going into who he really is beneath everything else is something long overdue. Sophie is amazing as well. I’ve already come to love her in the few episodes we’ve gotten. Despite everything she’s gone through with her father and Lady Penwood, she perseveres, something I love to see in characters. The two together make a wonderful couple. Both have tried to hide from the spotlight, but both need to embrace who they are without shame to be happy.
The first half of this season has certainly given me high expectations for part 2, and I truly hope the show does not disappoint. Compared to season 3, everything is already looking a lot better. Now all that’s left to do is wait for the next part (and rewatch every season again!) and see how the story ends. Stay tuned for my review of part 2!
