While the first three seasons of Bridgerton have several things in common, repeating the formula of adopting a new lead romance with each installment, Benedict Bridgerton’s (played by Luke Thompson) story includes several unique elements that will set it apart from previous seasons. Adapted from Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton novels, the show focuses on the Bridgerton children’s search for love. Bridgerton is one of Netflix’s most popular series and has gotten better with each season.
7. Bridgerton Season 4 Will Show A Main Couple As Parents
Penelope & Colin Have A Son At The End Of Bridgerton Season 3, While Anthony & Kate Are Expecting
In Quinn’s books, Daphne (Phoebe Dynevor), Anthony, and Colin are all parents, but the series hasn’t shown much of any of them in that role so far. Since Rege-Jean Page left Bridgerton after season 1, it’s understandable why Simon and Daphne’s parenting adventures aren’t overly featured in season 2. Kate (Simone Ashley) only gets pregnant midway through season 3, so there is no opportunity for her and Anthony to be depicted as doting parents.
However, Bridgerton season 3’s ending sees Penelope and Colin have a son. Given that they will be returning for the fourth season and may even have a bigger role than even Kate and Anthony, the series can use this opportunity to explore a storyline that has been ignored in the past seasons. The leading premise of Bridgerton is the romance between each year’s main couple, but it’s still important to show how they have evolved after their season has passed, with new trials and responsibilities.
6. Benedict’s Story Will Be Based On A Fairy Tale
Benedict & Sophie’s Romance Includes Many Elements From The Cinderella Narrative
While the love stories in Bridgerton might all seem like fairy tales, only Benedict’s is strictly based on one. Benedict and Sophie’s (Yerin Ha) story shares similarities with Cinderella: The couple meets at a ball, has an amazing dance, and the mysterious young lady runs away at the end of the night, leaving a memento behind that will help her suitor find her. Another element in An Offer From a Gentleman inspired by the classic tale is Mrs. Gibbons’ role in Sophie’s life. Mrs. Gibbons, who is the head housekeeper on the Earl of Penwood’s estate, acts as the fairy godmother in the book.
Mrs. Gibbons ensures Sophie goes to the Bridgerton masquerade ball where she meets the man who becomes her husband. Benedict’s story being based on a fairy tale will add a fresh perspective to the series, giving it an especially romantic feel. So far, Bridgerton has incorporated the usual tropes found in romances, such as Anthony and Kate’s enemies-to-lovers story and Colin and Penelope’s friends-to-lovers dynamic. With Cinderella being the inspiration for Sophie, Bridgerton season 4 will have even more material from the fairy tale that it could utilize.
5. Bridgerton Season 4 Will Have A Time Jump
Benedict Only Meets Sophie Again Two Years Later
In the three previous seasons of Bridgerton, the Bridgerton siblings meet their future spouses, fall in love, and get married during the same social season. Benedict’s story takes a slightly different route. This installment in the Bridgerton book series sees Benedict meet Sophie, or as he comes to know her, the Lady in Silver, during his mother’s 1815 masquerade ball. After Sophie leaves the ball, Benedict tries to find her but fails. They meet again two years later when he saves her from Phillip Cavender and his friends’ unwanted attention, although he doesn’t recognize her until later on in the book.
The time jump in Bridgerton season 4 is needed as it will be significant for Benedict’s character arc. In season 3, Benedict has an affair with Lady Tilley (Hannah New) and a threesome with her and her friend Paul (Lucas Aurelio). However, he ends their relationship when she wants them to be monogamous. The time jump in season 4 will allow Benedict to still explore his sexuality. If he were to immediately fall for Sophie, it would undermine what he came to realize about himself in season 3 and stunt his growth, which would ultimately make him a terrible partner.
4. Lady Danbury Won’t Play A Huge Role In Benedict & Sophie’s Story
Lady Danbury’s Role In This Bridgerton Season’s Match Is Less Defined
As one of Violet Bridgerton’s (Ruth Gemmell) closest friends, Lady Danbury (Adjoa Andoh) plays a huge role in helping the Bridgerton children all find their perfect match. The first season of Bridgerton depicts the formidable character playing matchmaker to Simon and Daphne; she does the same for Anthony and Colin during their seasons. However, her role in Benedict and Sophie’s romance is unclear in the upcoming Bridgerton season when she barely appears in An Offer from a Gentleman.
Benedict and Lady Danbury don’t have a close relationship, and she might just be a spectator in Sophie and Benedict’s story. Yet having a minor role in Benedict’s season could actually be a good thing for Lady Danbury. The fourth season could instead focus on other aspects of her life that don’t involve her matchmaking or meddling, perhaps a love story of her own. Alternatively, Lady Danbury could take over the role of Sophie’s fairy godmother from Mrs. Gibbons as she had already acted in a similar manner to the other Bridgerton children.
3. Violet Bridgerton Will Have Her Own Romance
Violet Has Discussed Wanting To Find Love Again While Her Children Do The Same
Violet and Viscount Edmund Bridgerton’s (Rupert Evans) relationship serves as an example of how a true love match should be for her children and other characters in the series. Unfortunately, Edmund died when Violet was pregnant with their youngest. Although Violet was lonely after Edmund’s death, she didn’t try to replace him or find someone new to love. Several years after losing her husband, Violet finally tells Lady Danbury that she might want companionship again. Her admission to her friend set up her potential romance with Lady Danbury’s brother, Lord Marcus Anderson (Daniel Francis), in season 3.
Violet has always put the needs of her children first, meaning it could be a strong storyline if she pursued a romance with Lord Anderson in the upcoming season. Violet is undoubtedly one of the best characters in Bridgerton, and it’s taken too long for the show to finally give her own romance. Hopefully, season 4 will give Violet the romance she deserves after staying so long without someone she could call her own.
2. Benedict’s Story Will Break A Bridgerton Trend
All Of The Bridgerton Spouses So Far Are Also Aristocrats
The Bridgerton series has explored relationships that can’t become more because of a strict social hierarchy. In season 1, Anthony can’t be with Siena (Sabrina Bartlett) because of the difference in their social statuses. The same thing was true for Eloise (Claudia Jessie) and Theo (Calam Lynch), even though their relationship didn’t reach the point where she would have had to make the difficult decision of being with someone who was outside her social and economic class.
Despite some of the Bridgerton siblings being tangled up with people who society believes they shouldn’t end up with, they all still end up marrying people deemed suitable. Anthony marries Kate and, in the books, Eloise marries Sir Phillip Crane (Chris Fulton). Sophie and Benedict’s season will be the first time that the series depicts a Bridgerton marrying someone (initially) outside their social class.
While Sophie and Benedict get married despite being on different levels of the societal ladder, it isn’t as simple as that. In An Offer From a Gentleman, Sophie’s social status is elevated from illegitimate child and housemaid to one of her stepmother’s distant relatives. If Sophie hadn’t been seen as one of the high ladies of society, she would have faced a stigma that would have no doubt put a strain on her relationship with Benedict.
1. Sophie Will Have A Unique Backstory In Bridgerton Season 4
Sophie’s Family History Will Make For An Intriguing Subplot In Bridgerton
As Bridgerton season 4 is inspired by Cinderella, it makes Sophie’s story stand outs compared to the other leading ladies in the series. Sophie is an illegitimate daughter of the Earl of Penwood who is taken into his custody after her mother dies. Like Cinderella, Sophie has two stepsisters and is mistreated by her stepmother Araminta (who will be played by Katie Leung). While at Penwood House, she is given the education befitting a high-born lady, but that all changes when her father dies and her already low status becomes even lower as she is demoted to a housemaid.
Luckily, Sophie is loved by most of the servants at Penwood House, who see how badly Araminta treats her and want her to have a happily ever after. It’s because of this wish that Mrs. Gibbons helps Sophie disguise herself so she can attend the famous Bridgerton masquerade ball undetected. During the ball, she has a magical night with Benedict and falls for him, but she knows deep down that they can’t really be together. Unfortunately, her stepmother deduces that she had been at the ball, and she kicks her out of the house.
Sophie fends for herself until she once again meets Benedict, who saves her from being sexually assaulted. He offers to find another job for her, which is how she finds herself working for his mother. While Benedict is attracted to Sophie, he knows he can’t marry her, instead thinking the best solution is for her to be his mistress, an offer she refuses. With this story, Bridgerton season 4 will have a lead who is not only smart but assertive and who opens a channel for the series to feature other characters from a lower social class.
