There are many fantastical things Bridgerton asks us to believe – not least that the violin players of London’s Regency period had Usher’s “DJ Got Us Fallin’ in Love” and Madonna’s “Material Girl” in their repertoires. But in series four of Netflix’s period romance, we’re asked to suspend reality further than before, for creator Shonda Rhimes wants us to believe in fairy tales. Specifically, Cinderella.
Benedict Bridgerton (Luke Thompson) is – much like his brothers Anthony and Colin – classically handsome, rich and the object of the affections of all the debutantes of the Ton. But he’s not interested in all that. As the Bridgerton family’s token “rake” (that’s Bridgerton for bad boy), he’d much rather get drunk at parties and shag around – all genders welcome – than engage in the marriage mart.
That is until he meets a mysterious woman at his mother’s masked ball, who – just like that shoeless princess before her – leaves Benedict with naught but a snog and a glove with which to track her down. In the second episode, however, her identity is revealed (to us, though not to Benedict) as Sophie Baek (Yerin Ha), a lowly maid working for her cruel stepmother and two stepsisters, though they are far from ugly.
Luke Thompson as Benedict Bridgerton (Photo: Liam Daniel/Netflix)Bridgerton has worked its way through the romance tropes: we’ve had a fake relationship turning into real love with Simon and Daphne, enemies-to-lovers with Anthony and Kate, and Colin realising that the love of his life is his best friend, Penelope. Now, we’re going full Austen and separating a potential couple by their class status – how preposterous it would be for someone like Benedict to fall in love with a maid!
As such, the first half of series four (the second part will stream in a month’s time) is all about the yearning. Sophie – who ends up working the Bridgerton house – is well aware that Benedict is the man she kissed at the masked ball; he is none the wiser about her true identity and spends most of his time searching for his mystery woman. A man who falls madly in love after one kiss and will do anything to have her? Another fantasy.
Yet this is perhaps Bridgerton’s most chaste series yet. For all the longing looks and brushed hands, Benedict and Sophie only share two kisses in this first part of the series.
There’s a bit of carriage shagging from previous offenders Penelope and Colin, we are privy to Francesca Bridgerton’s struggle to “reach the pinnacle” in bed, and we do get a bit of nudity when Benedict goes for a naked swim, but this is far from the Bridgerton bonkfest we were gifted back in 2020. One masturbation scene can’t compete with the smut that TV has delivered over the past five years.
Claudia Jessie as Eloise Bridgerton, left, and Nicola Coughlan as Penelope Featherington (Photo: Liam Daniel/Netflix)Without that USP, Bridgerton might have risked becoming a bog-standard period drama. The mystery of gossipmonger Lady Whistledown is no longer a central part of the series since Penelope was exposed at the end of series three, and the new focus on the servants and maids of the Ton aligns Bridgerton even more with the upstairs-downstairs drama of Downton Abbey.
But with Netflix’s astronomical budget (each episode reportedly costs over £5m to make), Bridgerton will never blend into the TV landscape – its sumptuous costumes, equally exquisite backdrops and intricate characters with modern sensibilities will always set it apart. So no, it may not be new or as inventive as it once was (it bears repeating that this series’ central love story is a Cinderella rip-off), but it remains a wonderful, luxurious watch. Sometimes no sex is the sexiest thing of all.
‘Bridgerton’ series four part one is streaming on Netflix
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