Benedict Bridgerton (Luke Thompson) and Sophie Gun aka Baek (Yerin Ha) have found their fairytale happy ending, though it was anything but easy to navigate the cross-class layers of their choosing to marry.
Add in the stubborn, first-born Viscount Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey) to the equation, with Violet (Ruth Gemmell) laying out the consequences more gently, and the stakes of such a choice became clear to the second Bridgerton son, who was willing to risk it all anyway.
“That tension in that relationship has been brewing for a few seasons. I think Anthony —even with the whole art school thing, he thinks that Benedict is well-meaning, but fundamentally not equipped to deal with difficult things,” Thompson told Deadline. “Benedict has probably given him a lot of reasons to think that, but I think what Anthony doesn’t realize is that Benedict is shifting, and what’s happening to him with Sophie is making him change. “
A vengeful Araminta (Katie Leung) also didn’t help matters as she did everything she could to oppose the union, further unraveling the fantasy into reality.
As the pair prepared to make huge sacrifices, with Sophie almost running away to the Americas, a different opportunity presented itself in the form of a convenient wrinkle in social strcture thanks to Alice Mondrich (Emma Naomi), Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel), Lady Danbury (Adjoah Andoh) and more.
Thompson and Ha break down Benedict’s many moments telling Sophie he loves her, the confrontation with Anthony after his return from India, Sophie’s grace in the face of her stepmother and more in the below interview.
DEADLINE: Luke, could you talk about how Benedict’s speech at the funeral in Anthony’s stead shows that he is worthy and like he’s stepped up to fill this position despite his own insecurity?
LUKE THOMPSON: I think that’s bang on. I think that’s right. I think there’s something quite touching about that, that his default is to think, “Oh, I’ve messed it up.” It’s doubly complicated because it’s facing something that Benedict has been running away from. With what happened to his dad, you can see that he’s someone who doesn’t like to think about complicated things, and death is very much the most complicated thing to think about, so he’s being forced into a position where he has to do that, and also, as you say, shoulder that responsibility, as the head of the family in that context. It’s a lot for him to go through, but I think that’s also part of the process. From an actor’s perspective, I like it, because I think it’s putting a character through stuff. It’s really setting fire to the structure that he’s built for himself.
DEADLINE: What was it like working with Jonathan Bailey and having that tension with Anthony over the wedding and marriage? How was that challenging for you? Was it fun working with him on that confrontation and then closing the loop in the wedding scene?
THOMPSON: I mean, it’s always fun. Even when you’re dealing with anger or sorrow or grief or whatever different things [while] acting, there’s always a baseline where it’s make believe, so you get to be angry or you get to be sad. There’s something about that that inherently is pleasurable.
And also, with Anthony, sometimes when there’s big change like that, when people start changing in real life, you do have to correct them in terms of, like, “You’re relating to me as if I’m who you thought I was three years ago, and I’m not. I’ve changed now.” I like the tension because it’s fresh material for Bridgerton to have a lot of difficult emotions.
DEADLINE: Yerin, Sophie’s so attentive as a servant, but at John’s funeral reception, when she helps Francesca, it’s also coming from this place of great love, for Benedict and for his family. How did you approach that dynamic, as her position eventually shifts from servant to Bridgerton family member?
YERIN HA: You might say that she may have overstepped a little bit as a maid, but I think her attending the funeral takes her back to when she was a kid, and she understands how much grief can affect you, how much it can affect a family. [Sophie] giving advice to Francesca as well is her way of reminiscing of a really beautiful time with her father, and is reminding her of the beautiful things that she does remember. In a way, there’s a part of Sophie that does hold on to that, and she does give that to Francesca.
At the same time, she also holds such a dark place and a dark reminder of her father. So it is interesting. Death always unites people together. She finds it beautiful that the Bridgerton family does that. They all come together. They all celebrate John, and she wants to be as helpful as she can in her position. I think that’s really beautiful to see people come together. Because, as we’ve said before in previous interviews, deaths sometimes make you actually start living.
DEADLINE: I love when the Bridgerton siblings shield her as she’s walking into the ball to sneak her in there. I also wanted to ask about her — I don’t know if it’s empathy or sympathy for Araminta — at the end, specifically when you say “He loved you too, I saw it.” How did you find that grace Sophie has for this woman who’s just made her life so hard?
HA: It’s interesting. I think me, Yerin the actor, really struggled to understand. I had to not judge that. I think it really is a testament to Sophie’s power in the way that she treats people. I think she almost pities Araminta. She feels sorry for her, and actually the more powerful thing is to not stoop to her level, but to remind her of — I do think Araminta’s hatred and the pain that she inflicts on other people stems from [the fact that] she hasn’t dealt with it herself. So to remind her of the light that she does have, but she refuses to see, I think is the biggest gift that Sophie can offer her, and she deals with it in such a graceful way that even I respect. I think we can all learn a lot from Sophie in that moment, absolutely.
DEADLINE: Last question for both of you is about Benedict’s profession of love, and then Sophie returns it. Did it meet your expectations after having three seasons of very memorable moments from these Bridgerton men?
THOMPSON: It’s a lovely, beautifully written moment. Again,I think it’s even more fun to play because there’s been this big buildup to it, like, he sort of fudges it in Episode 4. So he’s got a while to go. I think things are always more interesting the more they’re held back, held back, held back, and suddenly to have that moment, and it feels true to him because I can’t imagine that he’s someone who’s used the word “love” about someone before. So it’s going to be hard. It’s hard for someone to say that if they’re a bit terrified of the word and what that implies.
HA: What I love about it is, I think we throw around the word love without a lot of weight these days. So for him to really say it with a lot of depth and meaning, even though, through the mistakes, you finally get there, it really lands finally, and he did an amazing job. I love it.
