1/5
The fourth season of Netflix’s Bridgerton takes us beyond the surface-level luxury of the Ton and into the servant’s quarters, showing us the Cinderella-esque Sophie Baek and her blossoming romance with one Benedict Bridgerton. While this author is unable to fault the season’s main event, the short and sudden side plots do have her questioning the show’s intentions moving into the next marriage mart.
In addition to Sophie and Benedict’s yearn fest, we watch Penelope struggle to live openly as Lady Whistledown, Violet continue to conquest Lord Anderson behind her children’s backs, Hyacinth and Gregory attempting to break into society, and a society-scorching scandal known as the “Maid Wars”. On top of this, Francesca’s whole, heartbreaking storyline is being set up two seasons in advance. It’s simply doing too much. Sophie and Benedict’s love story is genuinely compelling, but it’s constantly interrupted by half-baked subplots that demand attention and then vanish. The result is a season that feels crowded, distracted, and oddly impatient with its own strongest romance.
