‘Bridgerton’ Season 4 Part 2 Has a Unique Problem: Too Many Bridgertons

When Bridgerton hit Netflix in 2020, the dreamy adaptation of Julia Quinn’s steamy romance novels about a Regency family of eight gorgeous siblings looking for true love initially treated lead couple Daphne Bridgerton (Phoebe Dynevor) and the Duke of Hastings (Regé-Jean Page) as its objects of obsession. Daphne’s seven other siblings were there, sure, but the show followed the sizzle of her early flirtations with the dashing Duke, the fun of their fake romance, the thrill of them admitting their true love, and their success overcoming their marriage’s first terrible obstacle. Subsequent seasons also successfully balanced Bridgerton‘s massive ensemble cast of characters while letting the new lead romance take center stage. That is, until Bridgerton Season 4.

Bridgerton Season 4 tells the story of how flighty and free-spirited second son Benedict (Luke Thompson) meets the love of his life first as a mysterious masked lady at a ball and then, in her true form, as the charming and clever ladies maid Sophie Baek (Yerin Ha). It’s “Cinderella” set in Bridgerton, finally opening up our understanding of the ton to include tetchy class politics. Bridgerton Season 4 is also the first time the series feels like it might have a “Bridgerton” problem.

There are so many characters vying for attention in Bridgerton Season 4 Part 2 that I sometimes felt like I was watching a Regency romance version of Adult Swim’s landmark 2014 sketch “Too Many Cooks.” Instead of Smarf and friends, though, Bridgerton Season 4 Part 2 has too many Bridgertons and not enough Benedict and Sophie.

Photo: Netflix

Bridgerton Season 4 Part 2 picks up where Part 1 left off, with Sophie reeling from Benedict’s indecent (though period appropriate) proposal for her to be his mistress. In Benedict’s eyes, this is the only option available to them as a gentleman cannot marry a maid nor the illegitimate child of a nobleman. In Sophie’s eyes, being his mistress robs her of her virtue, ensuring she can never marry anybody else if Benedict later discards her, while setting her own potential children up to know the same hell she has endured being a bastard. Meanwhile, Sophie’s vile stepmother, Lady Araminta Gun (Katie Leung), has moved next door to Bridgerton House, ensuring a confrontation.

In Quinn’s novel, this is drama enough for the story, but Bridgerton continues to follow Lady Violet’s (Ruth Gemmell) romance with Lord Anderson (Daniel Francis), Lady Danbury’s (Adjoa Andoh) struggle to endear her chosen replacement, Mrs. Mondrich (Emma Naomi), to Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel), and Penelope’s (Nicola Coughlan) stress trying to be Lady Whistledon and Mrs. Bridgerton. Oh, and Kate (Simone Ashley) and Anthony (Jonathan Bailey) finally return from India with their new baby boy, little Bridgertons Hyacinth (Florence Hunt) and Gregory (Will Tilston) are tiptoeing into society with a cute recital, and Francesca (Hannah Dodd) is trying to understand why her husband’s sultry cousin Michaela Stirling (Masali Baduza) is forcing such a wedge between her and Lord Kilmartin (Victor Alli).

Photo: Netflix

If this sounds like a lot — on top of maid wars, the return of a beloved side character, and Eloise (Claudia Jessie) experiencing her first bout of growth in ages — it is. All of this together is enough to overshadow the season’s central romance. However, halfway through Bridgerton Season 4 Part 2, something major happens that is yanked straight from author Julia Quinn’s books, only it’s from a wholly different love story. The implications of this event, along with its profound ripple effects, don’t just touch Sophie and Benedict’s story, but everyone’s.

After having only seen the first part of Bridgerton Season 4, I was utterly charmed by new leads Luke Thompson and Yerin Ha’s chemistry, but I was already concerned the show was trying to juggle too much material. Now, those fears have been realized, resulting in a season of television that feels more cozy family ensemble drama than top tier TV romance. The irony is that Bridgerton Season 4 saves its most passionate love scenes for Part 2. Benedict and Sophie’s sex scenes don’t just sweep the audience away, but illustrate in real time how the power imbalance in their romance adjusts and corrects.

When we first met the Bridgertons all the way back in Season 1, we were told that they were a “shockingly prolific family,” but the clan has exponentially grown into the point of barely controlled chaos. Now the Featheringtons are all legally Bridgertons, Lady Danbury’s Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story-era affair with Lady Violet’s father makes her their spiritual grandmother, and the Mondrichs are essentially acting as cousins. Everyone is a Bridgerton!!!

All of these characters are charming and all of these characters have their own stories to tell. However, you can’t really explore the sacred bond of a love story unless you’re willing to show how it feels when two people connect and the rest of the world — the overpopulated, overstimulating, overstuffed world — falls away.

Bridgerton Season 4 Part 2 is streaming now on Netflix.