*SPOILERS FOR BRIDGERTON SEASON 3*
Bridgerton Season 3 premiered its second batch of four episodes in mid-June on Netflix, thus concluding the “friends-to-lovers” story of Colin Bridgerton and Penelope Featherington (now Bridgerton!), played by Luke Newton and Nicola Coughlan, respectively. The Regency romance show from Shondaland is based on the book series by Julia Quinn, in which each novel centers on a different love story for each of the eight Bridgerton siblings — Anthony, Benedict, Colin, Daphne, Eloise, Francesca, Gregory, and Hyacinth.
Prior to Season 3 spotlighting Colin and Penelope, Season 1 focused on eldest daughter Daphne (Phoebe Dynevor) and her “fake dating” courtship with Simon Basset (Regé-Jean Page), while Season 2 showcased eldest son Anthony (Jonathan Bailey) in an “enemies-to-lovers” romance with Kate Sharma (Simone Ashley). For a show with as many eyes on it as Bridgerton — one of Netflix’s highest-viewed series of all time — it’s hardly surprising that the focus in the fandom quickly shifted to rampant speculation about which remaining sibling would lead Season 4.
Thankfully, as of July 23rd, just over a month after Season 3 concluded on June 13th, Bridgerton ended the speculation and officially declared second-son Benedict to be the lead of the upcoming season (the final one that Bridgerton has been renewed for…so far), via an announcement video released across their social media platforms. Prior to this long-awaited announcement, fans had been endlessly debating whether the fourth season would promote one of the Bridgerton daughters (Eloise or Francesca) into the leading role for Season 4, or if Benedict (whose book, “An Offer from a Gentleman”, actually comes before Colin’s book, “Romancing Mister Bridgerton”, in Quinn’s original release order) would finally get his turn at bat.
With this anointing of Benedict (portrayed by Luke Thompson) as the next leading man, all eyes have now turned to who will be playing his love interest in his season. In his book, Benedict meets and eventually marries a woman named Sophie Beckett, a nobleman’s bastard-turned-servant for her abusive stepfamily (yes, it’s a spin on the classic Cinderella tale).
If that name doesn’t sound familiar to you as a viewer of Bridgerton, fear not — it’s because we (and Benedict!) haven’t actually met her yet!
WARNING: SOME BOOK SPOILERS FOR AN OFFER FROM A GENTLEMAN BELOW
In the book, Benedict and Sophie meet and instantly have a connection at Benedict’s mother Violet’s masquerade ball. It’s love at first sight, but there’s a catch — Sophie has snuck into this ball for one night of freedom, and isn’t actually a member of high society at all. She runs away from the ball before Benedict can see her face or learn her true identity, and then the story actually jumps forward two whole years, wherein Benedict and Sophie meet again under very different circumstances. The next catch? — Benedict doesn’t recognize Sophie as the “lady in silver” from the masquerade, which leads to a delightfully preposterous two-person love triangle between Benedict, Sophie, and Sophie’s masquerade self. It all ends well in the end, as any romance story should, but not without plenty of hijinks and angst and sexual tension along the way.
In the show, one of the main reasons we haven’t already met Sophie is because this aforementioned masquerade ball has yet to occur. In the penultimate scene of Season 3, in Episode 8, Benedict speaks to his sister Eloise about her impending departure to Scotland (alongside Francesca and her new husband John Stirling, plus John’s cousin, Michaela). “I will miss you.”, he tells her, to which Eloise responds, “Only until next year. Do you think Mama would ever let me miss her masquerade ball?” Benedict concedes this point, ensuring Eloise that “[he] will be there, hiding out behind a mask, avoiding eligible ladies like the plague.”, and then the scene ends with Eloise promising to “join [him] in [his] hiding place.”
For book readers, this moment in the Season 3 finale was a major hint that Benedict would go on to lead the next season (showrunner Jess Brownell also seemingly confirmed the significance of this moment on the official Bridgerton podcast on July 4th, three weeks before the news came out about the Season 4 lead). With the recent awareness that Season 4 will tell the love story of Benedict and Sophie (dubbed “Benophie” by fans), it’s largely assumed that this masquerade ball will feature heavily in the opening episode of Season 4.
Personally, what I am most looking forward to about Benophie’s season of Bridgerton is the chance the show has with these two characters to present a completely different type of love story.
I mentioned that Benedict and Sophie experience the “love at first sight” trope when they first encounter each other at the masquerade, and I also acknowledged the similarities that exist between Sophie’s situation and that of Cinderella in the original fairytale, but I feel that neither of these tropes truly capture the essence and extent of what makes this couple’s story so memorable.
Instead, I actually prefer to view Benophie as the Bridgerton embodiment of the “soulmates” trope. Even though we haven’t yet met Sophie (and we’re still waiting on the formal announcement of which actress has been cast to play her), there’s already evidence that supports my theory that this will be the direction Bridgerton takes for this pairing.
Within the show itself, the evidence I’m referring to comes from an especially key scene in Season 3 Episode 8 that once again features Benedict and Eloise. While sitting on swings together at night in the family garden, bonding over their shared feelings of confusion (a Bridgerton tradition, now three seasons strong), Benedict tells his sister, “It feels right now that the next thing I might learn may change me entirely.”
When I first heard this line uttered on the show, let’s just say my reaction was…pretty much uncontainable. As someone who very much adores “An Offer from a Gentleman” and has been anticipating the Benophie season ever since I first read the book over two-and-a-half years ago, I knew instantly that this sentiment from Benedict was a direct nod to his future love story — and, more specifically, to the idea that he and Sophie are soulmates. (I’ll even add that when I rewatched this season with my close friend who has not read the books, she, too, immediately registered this line as something major.)
This precise moment — especially given the way Luke Thompson captures Benedict’s facial expressions in it — feels to me like it’s Benedict’s first time sensing Sophie’s existence, even without ever having laid eyes on her (which is extremely soulmates-coded). Thanks to this line, it became immediately clear to me that yes, Sophie is coming. The longest-awaited Bridgerton love interest is finally finally finally on her way, and I couldn’t be happier.
This type of soulmates-coded language is also sprinkled throughout the book, providing additional credence for my suspicion (and hope) that “soulmates” will be the predominant trope for Season 4. When Benedict first sees Sophie, right before the POV switches to Sophie’s inner thoughts, the line reads: “She took a step forward, and he knew his life had been changed forever.” In the next paragraph, Sophie’s POV describes how she “felt magic in the air” just before seeing Benedict, and that “she somehow knew that he was the reason she’d stolen into the ball.” (What was that I was just saying about Benedict feeling Sophie’s presence during the swings scene in the Season 3 finale?…)
The examples continue, even becoming more overt at times. Immediately before they (spoiler!) share their first kiss at the masquerade, Sophie responds to Benedict’s query about what she sees when she looks at him: “My soul. I see my very soul.”, she tells him. Later, once Benedict and Sophie have reconnected in the present day — but without Benedict realizing they’d already met two years prior — Benedict silently acknowledges how “he always kept his eyes open for the one woman who had touched his soul.”, and how if he were to ever commit to another woman that wasn’t her, it “would be enough to shatter his soul.”
In the first half of their book, Benedict and Sophie also spend several chapters at a countryside home in Wiltshire called “My Cottage”, and a particularly well-loved lake scene that takes place at this cottage produces even more instances of their soulmate connection. From Benedict’s POV, when reminiscing about the lady in silver during a dip in the lake, we learn that “he’d known she was the reason he was there that night; the reason he lived in England; hell, the very reason he’d been born.”
Then, the book goes on to describe how Benedict feels, while still standing in the lake, that “It was like before. When he’d met her. Something was about to happen, or maybe someone was near. His life was about to change.” It turns out that (spoiler!) Sophie is actually spying on Benedict in the lake during this scene, which explains the familiar sensation he’s currently experiencing. (Once again, what was that I was saying earlier about Benedict sensing Sophie’s presence?…)
The final example of Benedict and Sophie being soulmates happens in the very last chapter of the book. In response to Benedict’s big love confession, Sophie reveals, “I think I loved you before I even knew you.” She also tells Benedict, ”You are the reason I exist. The very reason I was born.”, unintentionally echoing the exact thought he had about her much earlier in the book. If that doesn’t scream “soulmates” to you, then I don’t know what will.
Regardless of what direction the show ultimately decides to take when it comes to adapting Benedict and Sophie’s love story for the screen in Season 4, I already know I’ll enjoy it — but there’s also no denying that if they choose to embrace the “soulmates” trope, this will very likely be my favorite season.
