Benophie Season: A Review of Bridgerton Season 4 Part 1

Dearest Gentle Reader, welcome back to Reading Has Ruined My Life or welcome if this is your first time entering our fair ton. My name is Lady Z, and I shall guide you on today’s journey into the decadent and scandalous world of Bridgerton.

After two long years, Bridgerton has finally returned! I have been so excited for this season since I got into the show. Why? Because Benedict has been my favorite character since the start. I have been waiting for his love story for six long years at this point.

I am ready for fun historical fantasy costuming, lavish scenery, beautiful music, and drama, drama, drama to reenter my life! Now, let’s be real for a second, season three, specifically the second half, was not good. While I am incredibly excited for season four, my hopes and expectations are pretty low given how last season ended. Harsh but true.

But I have lived and breathed Bridgerton this past week in preparation for today’s review. A few small notes before I begin my official review. I’ve not read any of the Bridgerton books. Season one was my first foray into the series. I know many things are different between the books and the show. One day I shall read the series, today is not that day. I know the main premise of each book, but I don’t know any of the fine details. While I do want that to change, I much prefer the surprise. I want to see what the writers come up with. Also, there are major spoilers ahead. Do not read my review if you haven’t watched season four yet. I cannot be trusted not to spoil events and scenes from the show. With that, it’s showtime! 

A Regency era Cinderella story. Season four follows Benedict Bridgerton, portrayed by Luke Thompson, as he searches for the woman of his dreams: the Lady in Silver AKA Sophie Baek played by Yerin Ha. The pair meet at Violet Bridgerton’s masquerade ball which Sophie crashed. Being the bastard daughter of an Earl, her vindictive stepmother turned Sophie into a ladies maid after the Earl’s passing. Sophie simply wants a night off when the season begins, which leads her to disguising herself and crashing the Bridgerton’s masquerade party.

Yerin Ha as Sophie Baek (left) and Luke Thompson as Benedict Bridgerton (right) in Bridgerton 4x1.

Benedict Bridgerton is smitten, he is head over heels in love with this mystery woman. The Lady is Silver is an enigma and he is ready to let go of his rakish ways and marry her. Alas before he can learn her name, Sophie rushes off to return home before her stepfamily realizes she left. She leaves Benedict with a kiss and a single glove; he is determined to find the Lady in Silver and vows to marry her.

His pursuit often feels fruitless. No one knows who the Lady in Silver is; not even his sister-in-law Lady Whistledown AKA Penelope Bridgerton. Benedict can find no clues to the Lady in Silver's identity. But during his search he meets another young lady, a maid named Sophie Baek. Their worlds were never meant to collide, but there’s instant chemistry between the pair. In fact, Benedict finds himself falling in love with Sophie. But he can’t break his vow to himself to find and marry the Lady in Silver. What’s a Bridgerton brother to do? Well he asks Sophie to be his mistress and that is where season four part one ends.

First of all, I need to shout out the music team. Justin Kamps, Kris Bowers, and the Vitamin String Quartet knock it out of the park every season, and season four is no different. I am in love. I am obsessed. To this day I listen to the instrumental cover of “Wildest Dreams” on repeat. And using “Enchanted” as a song of longing instead of for Benedict and Sophie’s first dance is a stroke of genius!

Yerin Ha as Sophie Beak (left) and Luke Thompson as Benedict Bridgerton (right) in Bridgerton 4x3.

Let’s turn to the writing now. From what I’ve seen thus far, season four is much better than season three. The writers room really fumbled the ball last season by including far too many subplots thus detracting from Penelope and Colin's love story. But the focus of season four is actually on Sophie and Benedict and their love story! I do fear the bar for season four is on the floor. I fear that part two will fall short and there will be a repeat of season three where the first half was good and the second half was exceptionally bad; but the writing quality has greatly increased in the intermit. The plot is much more streamlined, the subplots are properly balanced so the main love story isn’t undermined; dare I say the writers finally learned how to juggle the main love story and a myriad of subplots? I shall as for once the subplots actually compliment the main story! And with the main focus properly on the love story between the two main characters, that focus leads to so much yearning.

Luke Thompson and Yerin Ha have fantastic chemistry. Every scene they share is magnetic. I could not look away any time they were on screen together. The banter and easy sense of closeness they share during episode three makes it clear why this couple is meant to be; even if they fight against it due to their class divide.  

Yerin Ha is phenomenal as Sophie Baek. I applaud her performance. Her struggle between wanting to tell Benedict she’s the Lady in the Silver and continuing on with her life is consistently evident in Ha’s performance. Sophie screaming into her hands will be a moment I’ll never forget.

As for Luke Thompson’s performance, I am very glad he is properly continuing the tradition of Bridgerton men yearning and the Bridgerton brothers collectively sharing one brain cell. Benedict Bridgerton is down bad. This man is on his knees begging for just a glance from Sophie, and he is being the biggest idiot in the world. I knew the “be my mistress” line was coming, yet I still yelled at him like I was Tyra Banks screaming “we were rooting for you” at Tiffany.

I do wish viewers got to see more of this season’s villain in part one. Lady Araminta Gun, portrayed by Katie Leung, plays a large role in Sophie and Benedict’s love story. Yet she doesn’t appear much in the first four episodes. She could certainly be seen more. Right now Araminta is the evil stepmother stereotype through and through. While I know the Araminta character doesn’t go much beyond that, I can’t help but feel Araminta is nothing but a cliché. My hope is to see more of her in the back half of the season because right now she does not come across as the threat I know her to be.

From left to right: Isabella Wei as Posy Li, Katie Leung as Lady Araminta Gun, and Michell Mao as Rosamund Li in Bridgerton 4x2.

Finally, I need to speak about the costuming of season four. John Glaser is the first costume designer to work on more than one season. John Glaser is also the man responsible for creating the outlandish, and often cheap looking, costumes of season three. Thankfully, season four’s costuming quality has increased. The costuming was far too outlandish in the previous season with even the Bridgerton family wearing some questionable styles at times, but thankfully things have been reined in this season. Sure, there are still some dresses covered in large oval sequins that do not work in the world of Bridgerton, but the simple elegance of seasons one and two has made a reappearance. A small one, but it is there. 

Bridgerton season four may just be my favorite season to date. The acting from Yerin Ha and Luke Thompson is phenomenal, they’ve created such a believable and sweet romance full of longing. With gorgeous sets, music, and costuming, it all combines for a true feast for the eyes and a beautiful love story for fans of star-crossed lovers. Of course, we shall see what part two brings. I vividly remember enjoying the first half of season three two years ago only to be devastated by the state of part two. A fear of this repeating is founded. I will not be burned again!

With that, I shall bid you all adieu. Thank you very much for joining me today, Book Nerds. I hope you all had a lovely time visiting out fair ton. I will see you all again next week with a fun new post for all the history girlies out there. If you can’t wait that long, then I highly suggest giving Reading Has Ruined My Life a follow over on Instagram (@ReadingHasRuinedMyLife). I post there almost daily so come back often to revel in literary goodness. You can also follow the blog on Twitter and BlueSky (@RHRMLBlog). If you want something not related to books then I highly suggest checking out my podcast Nothing to See Hear. The show stars me and two of my dearest friends as we talk about everything and anything. Recommending our episode on Lord Byron feels right since I talked about the Regency era today. You can currently find the show on Spotify and YouTube.

Until next time, stay safe, wash your hands, and read some good books for me.

See y'all then, bye!