‘Bridgerton’ Season 4 Episode 5 Recap: Beings From Opposing Worlds

Who knew that Benedict Bridgerton’s old pal Mr. Hiscox would play such a pivotal role in the latest episode of Bridgerton? Hiscox is a bridge between two major storylines in Episode 5, the first being Benedict’s desire to take Sophie as a mistress, and the second being Penelope Bridgerton’s newfound reluctance to spread salacious gossip now that her Whistledown persona is public.

It all began when Whistledown published her latest newsletter outing Hiscox for having a mistress. “Of all the sweet nothings a man can whisper in a woman’s ear, this author believes the three most common words in Mayfair may be ‘be my mistress,'” Whistledown wrote, alluding to the fact that one very indiscreet man of the ton – Hiscox – was out here parading his side piece around for all to see. A mistress is an easy way – in fact, it’s the only way – for a man to be with a woman outside his own station, and Hiscox’s situation is what inspired Benedict to ask Sophie to be his, but alas, pride comes before the fall, and it’s all starting to come apart for both men.

Sophie has refused to engage with Benedict since he passionately asked her to be his glorified concubine, throwing his “Do U like me? Yes, No, Maybe” letters into the fire and otherwise ignoring his presence when he’s at Bridgerton House. It isn’t until Will Mondrich explains to Benedict how insulting his request was that Benedict gets it. “No woman, no man no person truly desires to be hidden. Did you at least make it clear that you wish in some fantastical world that the two of you could be together legitimately?” Will asks Benedict. The answer is a big, fat no from Benny, and he realizes he’s only been looking at this situation through his noble, male lens and not from Sophie’s perspective.

Penelope is struggling with her own quandary after being confronted by Mr. Hiscox’s mistress, who tells Pen that she has ruined her life (though she loved Hiscox, she was also taking advantage of all of his money so she could save up for her own independence. This episode shines a light on how society seems worried what will happen to the men whose indiscretions are outed and ignores what might happen to the women. Penelope’s eyes are now open to that.). Penelope starts to wish this whole Whistledown thing away, even going so far as to request that Queen Charlotte allow her to retire. (Also a big, fat no.) Queen Charlotte has been disappointed in Pen’s latest newsletters that haven’t been as juicy and tells her to start naming names and revealing more or else.

Seeing an opening, Lady Danbury suggests that Alice Mondrich, who is now a Lady In Waiting in the Queen’s court, can dig up some dirt on Benedict, as the Queen is still very much invested in his being the “diamond” this season. Alice is hesitant to betray the Bridgerton’s trust by airing their laundry out, however. One person who’s willing to air out laundry though is Mrs. Varley, Araminta Gun’s new maid who defected from the Featherington house. Araminta, a.k.a. Sophie’s she-devil stepmother, has quietly moved in next door to the Bridgertons because, as we learn from Sophie’s old pal Alfie the footman, Araminta’s brother-in-law actually owns their London home and has been letting her live in it, and now he’s moving back with his new wife, the new Lady Penwood (her identity is unknown as of now, but it’s got to be our old friend who was exiled to Wales, no?). This has forced Araminta and her daughters Rosamund and Posy to find new digs, conveniently next to the family they want to marry in to.

Mrs. Varley thought working for the Featheringtons was bad, but working for Lady Penwood is far worse, she belittles Varley and chastises her for spending a little too long at the market gossiping with other maids one morning. When Araminta threatens to fire Varley, she saves her hide by blurting out that she knows that Sophie Baek has found employment at the Bridgertons. Varley has no idea what Araminta’s relationship is to Sophie, nor does she have any idea the can of worms she’s opened revealing this information to Araminta.

Whatever is happening over at Kilmartin House is certainly going to shake up Francesca’s marriage (eventually) if you know anything about it from reading the books… Francesca’s been conflicted about the unexpected arrival of Michaela Stirling, her husband John’s cousin.

Michaela and John are unusually close and Michaela has a zest for life, a “chaos” around her, as Francesca says, that seems foreign to Francesca, whose ways are far more methodical and routine. At a party for Michaela, in an effort to steer Michaela away from monopolizing all of John’s time, she tries to set her up with a suitor, which Michaela finds insulting (for reasons unexplained, other than John telling Francesca Michaela is happy to be a spinster). When Francesca goes to apologize, she admits she’s jealous of the relationship between Michaela and John, and the two women soften their attitudes toward each other. By the end of the night, they are besties.

The episode’s pinnacle, as it were, arrives as Hyacinth is giving a dance recital (really more of a mini-ball) for some friends who are performing the dances they’ve recently learned. Eloise is forced to be there as part of a deal she’s made with her mother to re-enter the marriage mart (against her will), Gregory’s there ’cause he’s still on break from Eton, and Benedict is there as Hyacinth’s chaperone, although he can’t keep his eyes off Sophie. Violet Bridgerton has suspected that Benedict’s new, secret infatuation is with Sophie, and she had even sent Mrs. Wilson on a fact-finding mission to learn more about her (which is how Varley found out Sophie was working there). Mrs. Wilson relays to Violet that Sophie’s mother was also a maid, and Violet, the best private investigator in Mayfair if we’re being honest, correctly deduces that Sophie, who has her mother’s last name, is the illegitimate daughter of nobility, the child of a mistress. She loves Sophie and clearly sees her as a suitable companion for Benedict, except for the fact that she’s a bastard and both Benedict and Sophie’s reputations will be tarnished if they get together.

At the recital, one of the footmen at Bridgerton House tells the maids he’s just learned Araminta is their new next door neighbor, news that shocks Sophie to her core. She immediately tells them she isn’t feeling well and races out of the ballroom. Benedict notices her fleeing and chases after her, sensing her distress. Violet, who has finally been getting it on with Lord Anderson, then chases after Benedict to tell him to back off, that whatever he’s feeling for Sophie is not appropriate. Benedict gets brutal by laying into Violet for “bedding a man who is not your husband,” a low blow that stuns her. Benedict then rushes off to find Sophie.

At this point, Sophie still refuses to tell Benedict about her past or her relationship to Lady Penwood, so she simply tells him she needs to leave Bridgerton House for good. That’s when he reveals just how in love with her he is. “The thought of spending a single day without you torments my soul,” he tells her. “You are the person I’ve been searching for all my life. I love you.”

“You cannot,” she protests, but she has fully melted into a Sophie puddle hearing those words, and it is ON. Or OFF, if we’re talking about their clothes.

It’s everything they’ve ever wanted to do to each other and more, but while there’s comfort and safety in this moment, things aren’t going to be so simple in the light of day.

Liz Kocan is a pop culture writer living in Massachusetts. Her biggest claim to fame is the time she won on the game show Chain Reaction.