The long-awaited fourth season of Bridgerton is confirmed to focus on the story of Benedict Bridgerton (Luke Thompson), and the book it will be adapted from comes with a built-in time jump that actually makes perfect sense for the second Bridgerton child’s arc. In the established format of Julia Quinn’s Regency series of novels, her book An Offer from a Gentleman follows another of the eight Bridgerton siblings as he finds love and fulfillment. Benedict’s season will be his best yet if BridgertonThe Rotten Tomatoes trend continues, with each new chapter only receiving better reviews than the last.
The casting of Benedict’s soulmate/bride-to-be, Sophie Baek, to be played by Dune: Prophecy Actress Yerin Ha was enthusiastically received by fans as the cast and crew began preparing for the upcoming season. However, as the Bridgerton TV show has done so far, Benedict and Sophie’s story will not just be about romance, but about their individual needs and character development. Conveniently, An Offer from a Gentleman includes a time jump that Bridgerton season 4 must continue to avoid undermining Benedict’s character arc thus far.
Benedict meets Sophie again two years after seeing her for the first time at the masquerade ball
Benedict is enchanted by the silver lady, but he hasn’t met her again for some time.
In An Offer from a GentlemanBenedict first meets Sophie, the illegitimate daughter of an earl forced into servitude by her stepmother, at her mother’s masquerade ball. The significant event in Benedict XVI’s timeline is hinted at in Bridgertonseason 3 finale, when Benedict and Eloise (Claudia Jessie) mention how they will get together again at Violet’s (Ruth Gemmell) famous high society event. Although Benedict XVI promises that it will be again “avoiding eligible women like the plague,”This turns out to be a big night for him when he meets a mysterious young woman obscured by a mask who he refers to as”Silver Lady.“
As much focus as the novel puts on them being inconveniently kept apart, only this time is truly crucial to Benedict’s character.
Elements taken from the classic Cinderella narrative are evident; when Sophie makes her long-awaited escape, Benedict becomes determined to find her again (despite all his previous claims that he is not interested in marriage). However, two years pass before the pair are reunited, at which point Benedict does not realize that she is the same woman. As much as the novel focuses on their being inconveniently kept apart, this time alone is crucial to Benedict’s character; it would also speed up Francesca’s (Hannah Dodd) timeline regarding her first marriage before her next romantic arc.
A time jump would allow Benedict to finish his Bridgerton season 3 arc
Benedict’s arc with Lady Tilley in Bridgerton season 3 takes him away from marriage and commitment
Benedict’s arc in Season 3 ends with him saying he’s not ready for marriage, for a few good reasons. This season, Benedict begins an affair with widow Lady Tilley Arnold (Hannah New); After some time together, the invitation to a ménage à trois with her and her friend Paulo (Lucas Aurélio) proves enlightening for Benedict XVI. It means something much greater in Benedict’s quest for freedom in a very stratified society, summed up by the argument Tilley made to him earlier about how narrow many of his peers’ worldviews are.
Ironically, shortly thereafter, Tilley says she has serious feelings for Benedict and suggests a monogamous arrangement. Benedict turns her down because he still wants to explore his sexuality further, stating that both Tilley and Paul have shown him “how good it is to be free“; and that Tilley”open [his] world“and he is”I’m not ready to close it again now.” Yet Benedict’s claim that he wants this would be severely undermined if he fell madly in love just a few months later. rejecting a woman with whom he has a real connection.
Happily, An Offer from a Gentleman There are still two years until his and Sophie’s real relationship begins, which gives him some time to have a few more affairs. Tilley warns him that he should still consider commitment eventually, which most of the audience knows will happen. However, Bridgerton it made the earlier novels satisfying, allowing individual personalities to be as important as the pairs. Although Benedict XVI has long lived as a carefree bachelor, this recent revelation about himself also needs to be followed up for it to have the greatest effect.
Bridgerton season 4 needs to reconcile Benedict XVI’s ideals with his marriage
Benedict’s artistic, carefree characterization shouldn’t be sacrificed for his history with Sophie
Benedict spends a lot of time in the third season wondering what the concept of freedom means to him: first arguing that marriage promises its own relief from the obligations of the marriage market; then thinking that it is the ability to discard rules and embrace new life lessons. Furthermore, Benedict does not appear to have painted since leaving art school. Sophie will likely convince Benedict to return to art, an important facet of the romance this reflects Penelope (Nicola Coughlan) and Colin (Luke Newton) supporting each other in their writing.
Bridgerton needs to incorporate everything about Benedict so far in the relationship to make it a deep story for both of them.
Sophie has her own storyline that Benedict must respect; she refuses to be his mistress despite his assurances that she would care for any children because of her experiences as an illegitimate daughter. In the same way, Bridgerton needs to incorporate everything about Benedict so far in the relationship to make it a profound story for both of them: his ideals, his art, his sexuality, and how these things are supported by passion. Benedict is arguably the more classic and romantic brother, but their fairytale romance has the potential to be something much greater by continuing their previous subplots.