Are you a hopeless romantic? Seeking something to fill your craving for Cinderella-esque content? Look no further than the first half of Bridgerton Season 4. So far, the characteristic jaw-dropping costuming and artistic storytelling of this Netflix romantic drama’s latest season has not disappointed this author. As someone who was nervous to see what Netflix was going to do with this season of Bridgerton after the disappointing final season of another hit Netflix series, Stranger Things, I am happy to report that I was pleasantly surprised.
For those who have not been keeping up with the show, or have not seen it in its entirety: Bridgerton focuses on the drama and scandals that face the elite families navigating the marriage market, loosely based on Regency England. These events are then amplified by a gossip writer, under the pen name Lady Whistledown, who is revealed to be wallflower Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) during Season 3. Traditionally, each season focuses on the successes and drama surrounding a different Bridgerton sibling looking for love. The focus this season is on Benedict Bridgerton (Luke Thompson) and the nature of his relationship with Sophie Baek (Yerin Ha).
In the first episode, Benedict meets Sophie at the first ball of the season, a masquerade ball, making her identity unknown to him. Personally, I am in love with the trope of an unknown love interest used in this first section of the season. The trope gives more depth to his and Sophie’s relationship since Benedict remains clueless that the Sophie he meets later is the very same woman he met at the ball, while we as the audience know that the mystery woman has been right under his nose the entire time. There’s something about that kind of romance storyline that gives me so many butterflies when it comes to the tension between our protagonists of the season, Benedict and Sophie. Through the portrayal and shots of their first encounter, the showmakers do an amazing job giving their romance additional significance for the viewers. As someone who loved fairytale-type shows and movies as a child, there was something so nostalgic about the first time that Benedict sees Sophie at the ball. The scene made me automatically think of the 2004 movie “A Cinderella Story,” which has a scene that is almost an exact carbon copy. That moment was my favorite scene in the show so far.
I only have one complaint, and that is the three words which Benedict lets slip at the end of Part 1 of the season: “Be my mistress.” In defense of the show’s writers, saying something this careless is true to Benedict’s characterization in the Bridgerton book series (where he is known as a bit of a “rake”), but as a viewer it made me feel as though all of the progress that he and Sophie had made as a couple went straight out the window. Though I believe that this moment is meant to provoke this exact feeling of disgust, I would have enjoyed some expression of romantic commitment in the same vein as Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) and Penelope’s carriage proposal from Season 3 of the show rather than whatever this moment was between Benedict and Sophie.
Netflix has continued to use the costuming beautifully to integrate visual storytelling this season. I have enjoyed how the costume designers carried the attention to detail in the third season into the fourth season. In the third season, for example, the color palette or Penelope’s clothing changed from vibrant yellows in previous seasons to darker greens, showing her more serious intentions in the marriage market. In this newest season, costuming remains symbolic, as seen in the outfits worn to the first ball of the season. The contrast between Sophie’s silver dress and handmade mask and the fully black outfit that Benedict dons physically embodies how they come from two completely different backgrounds. The writers amplify these differences as Sophie’s mask does a much better job at hiding her identity than Benedict’s, who is still identifiable by the majority of the attendees in the scene. Overall, anyone who enjoys a classic romance should definitely check out the fourth season of Bridgerton and look forward to the second half of the season, which comes out on Feb. 26.
