What To Expect From 'Bridgerton' Season 4 Based on the Book (2024)

Dearest gentle reader, it has come to this author's attention that the beau of the ball in the upcoming marriage season — or in the upcoming fourth season of Bridgerton — will be none other than a certain Benedict Bridgerton (Luke Thompson). Yes, Netflix, producer Shonda Rhimes, and showrunner Jess Brownell have made their choice, and the next run of the beloved Regency romance series will be centered around the second-born Bridgerton son. Fans of the books had already picked up on this fact, as Season 3 wrapped with nods to a masquerade ball held by Violet Bridgerton (Ruth Gemmel), the very social event in which Benedict meets his beloved Sophie Beckett. However, there were still those that were theorizing that Season 4 would be devoted to Francesca (Hannah Dodd) or Eloise (Claudia Jessie), given how the two sisters ended up: the former, set to become a widow, and the latter, moving away from home to enjoy some much-needed fresh air. Considering that Bridgerton has already tempered with the order of the original Julia Quinn novels once, such theories did have the potential to be correct. However, the cat is now out of the bag, and Benedict will finally get his shot at true love.

Benedict was already supposed to have had his moment, of course. Based on the first of Quinn's books, The Duke and I, Season 1 of Bridgerton tells the story of Daphne Bridgerton (Phoebe Dynevor) and the Duke of Hastings (Regé-Jean Page). Season 2, in turn, adapts the pages of The Viscount Who Loved Me, and focuses its screentime on Anthony (Jonathan Bailey) and Kate Sharma (Simone Ashley). By this logic, everyone expected Season 3 to be based on Benedict's book, An Offer from a Gentleman. The team behind the show, though, decided to skip straight to book number 4, Romancing Mr. Bridgerton, and tell Colin (Luke Newton) and Penelope's (Nicola Coughlan) story. It was the right call, plot-wise, but it also put Benedict fans on hold for quite some time. With his season now on the horizon, what can we expect based on its source material? And what changes will be made to make the story more, well, Bridgerton-y?

Bridgerton

TV-MA

Drama

Romance

Set in the glamorous world of Regency London, the Bridgerton family maneuvers through the opulent and treacherous landscape of high society. Daphne Bridgerton, the family's eldest daughter, enters the marriage market, sparking a whirlwind romance with the enigmatic Duke of Hastings.

Release Date

December 25, 2020

Creator

Chris Van Dusen

Cast

Rege-Jean Page , Julie Andrews , Jonathan Bailey , Ruth Gemmell , Polly Walker , Golda Rosheuvel , Phoebe Dynevor , Simone Ashley , Luke Newton , Nicola Coughlan

Main Genre

Drama

Seasons

3

Studio

Netflix

Creator(s)

Chris Van Dusen

'An Offer from a Gentleman' Focuses on Benedict Bridgerton and Sophie Beckett's Story

An Offer from a Gentleman has as its main character, besides Benedict Bridgerton, a young woman by the name of Sophie Beckett. The bastard daughter of a deceased earl, Sophie is raised by her awful stepmother, the Dowager Countess Amarinta Reiling, alongside her stepsisters, Posy and Rosamund. However, instead of being cared for like any child deserves to be, Sophie is turned into an unpaid maid, virtually a slave to her would-be family. Her luck changes, though, on the day of Violet Bridgerton's masquerade. With the help of the housekeeper, Mrs. Gibbons, Sophie manages to escape the Reiling household and make her way to the ball dressed in a beautiful silver dress, her identity hidden by a mask. There, she meets Benedict, and the two hit it off right away. But when the clock strikes midnight, Sophie runs back home, leaving Benedict with nothing but an old glove bearing her grandmother's initials.

If you think you know that story already, you're probably right. An Offer from a Gentleman is a retelling of the classic Cinderella fairy tale, with a glove instead of a glass slipper. But Sophie's story has a lot more steps between her days as a maid and her happily ever after. Having stolen one of Amarinta's shoes to wear at the ball, Sophie is kicked out of the house and finds employment at the Cavender residence. It is there, during a party, that she runs into Benedict once again, four years after Violet's masquerade. He doesn't recognize her but saves her from being harassed by a group of men all the same. After such a traumatic event, Sophie quits her job, and Benedict vows to find her a place at his mother's mansion.

It's all very sweet and made all the sweeter by the fact that Benedict is immediately taken by this unknown maid, but fears that falling in love with anyone else might betray the memory of his mysterious Lady in Silver. Alas, things don't stay this cute for long. There's really no way to mince words, here: Benedict blackmails Sophie into going to London with him, threatening to accuse her of theft, and tries to make her his mistress as she's working at Violet's place. Eventually, this is all voided as Sophie is indeed arrested at Amarinta's behest, and Benedict has to do everything in his power to save her, granting the couple a happily ever after. Still, it is a very problematic plot element that one can only hope Brownell and her team will do away with in the writing room.

'Bridgerton' Season 4 Still Has Room to Make Changes

This wouldn't be the first time Bridgerton softens or eliminates problematic parts of Quinn's novels. The Duke and I had a pretty horrid scene in which Daphne forces a drunken Simon to have sex with her in order to conceive a child against his will. In the show, this was changed to Daphne simply forcing Simon to finish inside her, with no alcohol involved. The scene is still horrifying, but there's no denying that a change was made with the intention of making everything more palatable. On a lighter note, Season 3 completely did away with Penelope's weight loss, making her story much more inclusive. Thus, there is definitely room for Season 4 to play a little bit with Benedict's characterization, perhaps making him a little bit less of a creep. As it is in the books, one has to jump through a lot of ethical hoops to be okay with him and truly root for his happy ending with Sophie by his side.

But there is still the matter of whether Sophie will actually be the one by Benedict's side in Bridgerton Season 4. Now, it has recently been revealed that Netflix was casting a key female character named (or codenamed) Emily for the show's upcoming season, and Benedict's entry in the streamer's own Bridgerton family tree already mentions a Lady in Silver. Everything points to Sophie being on her way to join the Ton. Still, Season 3 made some significant additions to Benedict's character, confirming him as pansexual. So maybe Brownell will give him a queer love story in Season 4. Again, this isn't the first time that Bridgerton has flipped a main character's gender. While there is some pretty damning evidence pointing to a heterosexual love story much like the one portrayed in the book, all the cards are still on the table.

What Does Season 4 Have in Store for the Other Bridgerton Siblings?

Bridgerton Season 4 will also have to concern itself with forwarding the plot of at least two other Bridgerton siblings. While Hyacinth (Florence Hunt) and Gregory (Will Tilston) will continue their job growing up, and Anthony, Daphne, and Colin will keep enjoying their marital bliss on or off-screen, Eloise and Francesca have some pretty big romances coming their way. With that in mind, what do the books have in store for the two Bridgerton women? Francesca will certainly have a complicated marriage with John Stirling (Victor Alli), as she is evidently in love with his cousin Michaela (Masali Baduza). Considering that she needs to become a widow by Season 5 or 6, as dictated by her book, When He Was Wicked, she still has some time to deal with her confused heart.

As for Eloise, she needs to become friendly over mail with Sir Phillip Crane (Chris Fulton) after Marina's (Ruby Barker) death. Her book, To Sir Phillip, With Love, has her marrying him out of convenience and subsequently falling in love. Perhaps Season 4 will devote some of its time to Sir Phillip, making him into a more fully-fleshed character, or perhaps it will even have Marina's tragic demise as part of its story. Either way, both Francesca and Eloise have some dealings with the Grim Reaper ahead of them. As for Benedict, he's currently on the lucky side, with nothing but love on his path.

All three seasons of Bridgerton are available to stream on Netflix in the U.S.

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