“Dearest gentle reader,” words that when said by the voice of famous Julie Andrews (known for The Sound of Music and The Princess Diaries), I know I’m glued to my couch for at least a few hours. The recent release of the second part of the fourth season of the renowned Netflix series “Bridgerton” calls for an opinionated recap of the first part. Minor spoilers ahead.
With the first part premiering on Jan. 29, season four’s leading Bridgerton is the second sibling, Benedict (Luke Thompson), with his love interest being a maid, Sophie Baek (Yerin Ha). The season follows a Cinderella-esque storyline, with Sophie going to the Bridgertons’ masquerade ball at the start of the courting season, dancing with her Prince Charming aka Benedict, and having to leave the ball when the clock strikes midnight.
I could instantly feel Benedict and Sophie’s chemistry. With Ha’s charming portrayal of Sophie and her curiosity and Thompson’s yearning gaze, “Benophie” is my favorite Bridgerton ship so far. Benedict’s developing relationship with Sophie, both with her as “The Lady in Silver” from the ball or as a maid, has been such a fun watch that almost all the subplots are uninteresting to me.
One of the subplots that still has an appeal to me has to do with Queen Charlotte (Golda Roshuvel) and Lady Danbury’s (Adoja Andoh) friendship this season. Danbury wishes to leave to visit her homeland, and Charlotte denies her request. This makes a discourse between the two that snowballs into Charlotte breaking down in Danbury’s arms whilst Danbury repeats “I am here” to comfort Charlotte.
Not only is the plotline captivating, but the music choices are on point with the theme of the scene they’re portraying, with just a couple exceptions. An instrumental of “Enchanted” by Taylor Swift plays in the background when Benedict calls upon Sophie’s stepsister, Posy Li (Isabella Wei), matching the original song’s lyrics of “please don’t be in love with someone else.”
Season four has been my favorite of “Bridgerton” so far. The next two seasons have been confirmed to be centered around Bridgerton sisters Eloise and Francesca, and while I cannot wait to see where they end up, I am unsure if they will be able to top the “diamond” that is Benedict and Sophie’s.
