*Spoiler Alert
Dearest gentle—or should I say, raging—readers, after a brief pause, our beloved Regency drama, “Bridgerton,” has returned for its fourth season. And who might our lead be this time? Well, it is none other than Mr. Benedict Bridgerton, the second-eldest son of the most talked-about family in The Ton, and who, at the setting of the sun, becomes preoccupied with—for the sake of modest speech—peculiar activities. Since the series’ inception, fans have been anticipating Mr. Bridgerton’s emergence into the limelight, often expressing their frustration with his previous romantic flings and fantasies, which only seemed to deepen his loneliness and drive him to unconventional pastimes.
Audiences were more than excited to see that Mr. Bridgerton was enchanted by a young woman during the masquerade ball hosted at Bridgerton House. The two shared a dance far from the scrutinizing eyes of The Ton and engaged in a long conversation in which the young woman avoided Mr. Bridgerton’s inquiries about her identity. She later ran off and left him standing alone at the stroke of midnight with nothing but a glove and a pounding heart.
Finally, is it happening? Has Benedict Rake-of-the-Ton Bridgerton entered the early stages of love? Indeed, I believe he has, which means yearning is back! But not without its challenges.
Our Lady in Silver is no other than Ms. Sophie Baek, daughter or ward—depending on whom you ask—of the late Earl of Penwood. Upon his death, Sophie became a maid at Penwood House and lived as such until the night of the masquerade ball, when she climbed through the social ladder to experience one night of dancing and splendor with the rest of society. However, Lady Penwood has a most observant eye, and after discovering Ms. Baek’s secret, dismisses her and ensures she will have a hard time finding further work in London.
After crossing paths during an altercation in the countryside, our two leads of the season headed off to My Cottage, where over the course of the days, their connection began to grow and became undeniable to both Mr. Bridgerton and Ms. Baek. When the pair returned to Mayfair, this meant they also returned to their respective roles in society, and the possibility of resuming their feelings for one another was no longer a sensible option.
Many shared glances and the ripping of a button later, Sophie and Benedict have a climactic… moment together in which Benedict tells Sophie how much she means to him, how she has occupied his every thought. Benedict’s declaration starts off sounding very romantic, but the emotional depth of his words crashes when he says, “Sophie… be my mistress.” This sent audiences raging. And while I can also admit to feeling disappointed in our beloved Bridgerton lead—for whom we had such high expectations—perhaps we need to remember every Bridgerton’s quest for love has never been an easy journey, and it most certainly will not start being one now.
In a recent segment of Brittany Broski’s “Royal Court,” actor Luke Thompson had some things to say about Benedict as a character: “He likes being on the sidelines, and he doesn’t like sort of committing to anything for too long… It’s why it’s so fun to put a character like that as a romantic lead…” This season of Bridgerton is challenging Benedict to push beyond his self-imposed limitations. Previously, we have seen him wrestle against the conformity of marriage, especially in a time when the union of two people was not always performed out of love but more as a tactic of survival and a way of maintaining power structures.
Asking Sophie to be his mistress is not only a demonstration of the fixed nature of social ranks during Regency time but also of Benedict’s resistance to committing to someone once and for all. Proposing Sophie be his mistress is Benedict’s way of bridging the social gap between the two of them without having to deal with real, but also emotional risks. Sophie’s unspoken refusal to accept Benedict’s offer is exactly the shift he needed to put a stop to his no-strings-attached antics. Meanwhile, audiences also interpreted this as Sophie protecting her reputation, which Benedict did not consider when making his offer, leading to even more criticism.
It seems that in the coming episodes, Benedict Bridgerton will learn that love cannot exist in secret but needs to be fought for, no matter the obstacles.
Yours Truly,
Lady Whistledown of Manhattan University