Full spoilers below for all four episodes of Bridgerton Season 4Part 1. Episodes are streaming now on Netflix.
Dearest Gentle Reader,
A new season of Bridgerton is upon us. Romance is in the air. Mystery abounds. And enchantment is sure to appear around every corner. This seasonone Benedict Bridgerton – the second son of his esteemed family – takes center stage. A notorious rakeMr. Bridgerton is a man of contradictions. A bachelor in his primehe is infamously averse to marriage and enraptured with nothing more than merriment and frivolity. Will the roguish gentleman ever settle down? Or is he destined to a vapid life of purely carnal pleasure? If a new mystery lady has anything to say about itMr. Bridgerton’s lifelong bachelorhood may not long for this world. And this author is intrigued as to what will happen next.
OKenough of that. As you may have heardBridgertonthe mega Netflix romance series from Shonda Rhimesreturns for Season 4and it’s as sumptuous and quivering as ever. The first four episodesavailable now on Netflix (you’ll have to wait until February 26 for the rest)focus on Benedict (Luke Thompson)who’s constantly hounded by his mother (and nearly everyone else) to settle down and find a wife. That isuntil he meets a mysterious masked woman (Yerin Ha) at a masquerade ball and falls head over heels for her.
The rest of what follows is a literal Cinderella story (seriouslymany of the plot points are a beat for beat rehash of the classic story or Disney movie; take your pick). The masked woman is in fact a maid named Sophiewhose noble father died leaving her to fend for herself with a wicked stepmother and stepsisters. Benedicther “prince,” searches for her using nothing more than a memory of the lower half of her face and a left-behind piece of clothing (in this casea glove). Cases of mistaken identitystolen glancesand copious dancing ensue. You’ve seen it all before. And that’s the main problem with this season of Bridgerton.
While the performances are as sharp as ever and the chemistry between the leads simmers to the point of boiling in scene after scenethere’s not much here that hasn’t been done already (and better) in previous seasons of the Netflix drama. Boy meets girl. Girl fancies boy. But they can’t be together (at least not yet) for insert your reason here.
Bridgertononce a mile-a-minute feast of mystery and smutseems somewhat blunted now that most of the breakout characters have either lefthaving been coupled off in their own seasonsor had their screen time severely diminished. It’s somewhat understandable as these departures are mainly a function of the plot – this is Benedict and Sophie’s seasonafter all. But you can’t help but feel the loss of Anthony and Kate’s (Jonathan Bailey and Simone Ashley) smoldering will-they-or-won’t-they love/hate relationship or Penelope Featherington’s (Nicola Coughlan) double life as Lady Whistledown. (The all-seeing scribe still factors into the new seasonbut her bite and influence has been severely diminished by her public unveiling in Season 3.)
Season 4 does its best to try and fill these gaps with new subplots. Lady Danbury (Adjoa Andoh) has an almost falling out with Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel) over the former’s desire to move on to a life away from the Royal Courtleading to a series of surprisingly intense scenes that show two actresses at the top of their game. Matriarch Lady Violet Bridgerton’s (Ruth Gemmell) secret relationship with Lady Danbury’s brother (Daniel Francis) is another. Seeing how the crushing weight of societal expectations affects multiple generations of Bridgertons is both saddening and (by the end of the fourth episode at least) titillating all at once. These storylines try to make up for the absence of the previously featured Bridgerton siblings and their now-spouses. But those are big shoes to fill. And these subplotsinteresting as they areare little more than slight decorations at a fairly drab party.
The main storyline is where Season 4 fails to meet the height of the preceding iterations of the show. Thompson and Ha are greatboth individually and together. Howeverthe increasingly ludicrous plot holds them back from reaching true “relationship goals.”
LookI realize this show is not trying to be much more than frothy romance. But Benedict’s inability to realize the woman he’s falling in love with is the same woman he ALREADY fell in love with (albeit behind a mask) borders on the absurd. There’s only so much disbelief a viewer can suspend before getting distracted by the sheer ridiculousness of it all.
That’s not to say that Season 4Part 1 of Bridgerton isn’t worth a watch. If you’ve followed the lives and tribulations of the Bridgerton siblings with a passion until nowyou’ll still want to check in with what’s going on in Regency-era Mayfair. The performances are still fun. The setscostumesmusic (string covers of pop songs still abound)and scenery are as lavish and opulent as ever. But if you’re looking for the latest batch of Bridgerton episodes to kick the show into a new gearyou’ll be left out in the cold - like Cinderella's carriage stuck in the mud.
Time will telldear readerif part 2 of Bridgerton’s fourth season provides the much-needed heat that fans of the show have come to expect (but the newest episodes decidedly lack). Until thenwe’re left with a story this author considers not exactly cold but certainly not a piping hot cup of English tea either.
