Season 4 of Bridgerton ends with a bang. And that bang was the sound of my jaw hitting the floor when the final twist of the final episode was revealed. It seems there’s a new Lady Whistledown in town, and she promises to bring her readers (and the rest of us) “so much fun.”
Look, it may seem like an easy task, revisiting an updated version of the show’s central mystery (and one that didn’t appear in Julia Quinn’s books at that). But if that mystery keeps Julie Andrews (long may she reign) on our screens even a minute more than she would have been otherwise, sign me up. The finale shocker and its cliffhanger question – Who is Lady Whistledown? – is indicative of a leveled-up batch of episodes that elevates Season 4 of the Netflix regency drama from ho-hum to fantastic.
While Part 1 of the Benedict Bridgerton-centric season was at times plodding and frustrating, Part 2 takes off like a rocketship and doesn’t let up until the credits roll. It kind of makes one wonder (Dearest Gentle Reader) why Netflix insists on splitting up the seasons. But regardless of the rationale, the four new Bridgerton episodes are worth the wait.
When we last left our favorite very large 18th century British family, second son Benedict (Luke Thompson) had asked his maid-cum-paramour Sophie (Yerin Ha) to be his mistress (even though she was the woman he had unknowingly fallen in love with at a masquerade ball). Erstwhile Lady Whistledown Penelope (Nicola Coughlan) was finding it difficult to suss out her place in society now that her secret identity had been revealed. Matriarch Violet (Ruth Gemmell) was navigating a new relationship, and quiet Francesca (Hannah Dodd) was trying to find peace with her husband’s cousin.
When we pick up in Season 4, Part 2, a plodding and at times ridiculous confluence of events resets and takes off in spectacular fashion. Benedict and Sophie’s relationship grows deeper and more passionate. In a turn that will surprise absolutely no one, Benedict (internet memes be damned) finally realizes Sophie was the mysterious lady in silver and plots to find out a way to marry her, even though they are of different classes.
Violet, who at one point becomes betrothed to her love interest Lord Anderson (Daniel Francis), uses Benedict’s situation to realize that she is better off on her own and wants to revisit the spirited girl she used to be. And thus one relationship fizzles while another ramps up.
Sophie’s “wicked stepmother” and her stepsisters (one nice, one not) get their comeuppance, but in a way that’s both realistic and empathetic. In one of the season’s great surprises, we’re left with a feeling of sadness and empathy for the Season 4 “villains,” given that their station in the stuffy Regency era was no cake walk. Hats off to Katie Leung, who plays lead villain Araminta, for being so horrible the entire season but still not letting us hate her fully.
The season’s third main plotline revolves around resident Bridgerton introvert Francesca, her husband John (Victor Alli), and John’s cousin Micaela (Masali Baduza). For those who haven’t read the books, Micaela is a gender-swapped version of the character Michael – who eventually enters into a relationship with Francesca upon John’s death. Season 4, Part 2 sees John – surprise! – kick the bucket and Francesca and Micaela are left to pick up the pieces. Dodd and Baduza play the relationship brilliantly. There’s barely a hint of future romance, but there’s SOMETHING there even if you’re not quite sure what it is. And if you weren’t familiar with the books, you’d have a hard time placing it.
It’s a brilliant choice from the producers of the show that’s flawlessly performed by the two actresses. This isn’t the yearning we see between Sophie and Benedict but there’s a connection; one that’s severed when Micaela leaves in the middle of the night at the end of the season, leaving Francesca – and us – mourning what may have been (and probably will be in Season 5.
All of these plotlines synthesize into a Cinderella happy ending for Benedict and Sophie, culminating in a mid-credits wedding sequence, which is preceded by the Lady Whistledown reveal. Some might say that the surprise is a cop-out: returning the show to the surefire mystery that made it a success in the first place. But I disagree. The core mystery was always essential to the appeal of Bridgerton. The “Who is Lady Whistledown?” question balanced out the more romance-heavy and fantastical elements of the show and created a throughline for the series across changing protagonists and dramas. I’m glad the show is getting “back to basics,” and perhaps even more happy that Penelope will be given something to do other than half-heartedly pretend to care about her former alter-ego.
Bridgerton Season 4, Part 2 gets the show back on track after what had been a somewhat disappointing start to the season. It returns the series to where it was in earlier seasons, and that’s pretty great.
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