Editor’s Note: Spoilers ahead for “Bridgerton” Seasons 1, 2, 3, and 4.
As the fourth season of “Bridgerton” is released, it is fated to face the same amount of scrutiny that all popular shows must face as they enter their later seasons. This season was released in two parts—the first in late January and the second in late February—each part with four episodes each. It follows the same formula as the previous three seasons: the audience watches as another one of the Bridgerton siblings manage to find a love match, which is a rarity in the society that they live in.
This season in particular follows Benedict Bridgerton (Luke Thompson), the second born son of the family, as he chases his love for a masked woman he meets at a masquerade ball. She is later revealed to the audience as a servant girl named Sophie Baek (Yerin Ha), working under her cruel stepmother, Lady Araminta Gun (Katie Leung). This story is a retelling of the classic folk tale Cinderella, which is reflected in the way B. Bridgerton has only Baek’s glove to find her at the end of the ball.
When being compared objectively, this season has come to be an incredible success. According to IMDb, season four had come out as the highest rated season of all, with every episode having an 8.0/10 or higher. It had a total average of 8.45/10. However, when looking at this season in comparison to seasons one and two, it doesn’t seem to match the quality of its predecessors, despite the ratings.
Season four can be summed up in one word: decent. It did not have anything that was particularly outstanding. It felt incredibly predictable, as it followed a story retold many times, and the solution to the cross-class relationship felt too easy for the amount of turmoil it caused throughout the season. Everything felt almost too easy for the characters, who despite appearing like they were struggling actually seemed to be doing relatively well. It was almost like they were creating their own problems. On top of this, the middle of the story was boring and repetitive, as every time it seemed like B. Bridgerton and Baek were getting anywhere in their relationship, it just circled back to square one until the last two episodes. There was none of the buildup and release of tension that the previous seasons had, it simply felt flat.
Another qualm that has been brought up by audiences is the dilution of the storyline. In seasons one and two, there was a significant amount of time spent on the main couple’s development. In fact, most, if not all, of the side characters were tied to the main Bridgerton family/sibling in some way. Yet as season three progressed, the storyline became very divergent, with each character managing to get their own fleshed-out storyline despite contributing little to the main couple at all. For example, in season one, the side characters Alice Mondrich (Emma Naomi) and Will Mondrich (Martins Imhangbe) had a direct relationship to the male lead, Simon Bassett (Regé-Jean Page). They helped his development throughout the season and overall had ties to the story that affected another starring family, the Featheringtons. Contrastingly, seasons two and three, they begin to go from a working class family to nobility through an inheritance, resulting in their own storyline developing. This had audiences disappointed considering they were expecting a focus on the main couple, and season three and four lacked that focus.
Since season three, there has been a significant change in the overall aesthetics of the show. This can likely be attributed to the change in showrunner, as stated in Brit+Co, Chris Van Dusen stopped working on the show after season two and was replaced by Jess Brownell. Brownell brought a significant decrease in the period accuracy of the show—although the plotline overall is not period accurate—unlike the previous showrunner who kept the stylistic elements focused on accuracy and allowed the storyline to run more freely. With more muted tones of blue, purple, silver, and white, combined with rich fabrics being used intentionally for the main family, it created an incredibly beautiful ensemble for the cast in the first two seasons. Once it hit season three, there was a significant change to much more vibrant and outlandish silhouettes for all characters. This change was accompanied by tacky, modern patterns and fabrics, really taking away from the beauty the show used to have in its wardrobe. This can be seen especially in characters that repeat their seasons, such as Kate Sharma (Simone Ashley). In season two, she was recognized for her consistent style of rich purple and blue tones, with relatively form-fitting silk and velvet fabrics that complimented her darker complexion very well. Nevertheless, her style was changed almost entirely in season three, changing to muted brown, murky orange, and dark teal patterns and more silhouettes that did not match the typical fashion of the Regency era. The colors now blend into her skin tone and don’t provide anything interesting to look at. The only thing they managed to keep consistent in season three was the use of the empire waistline.
After audiences shared their opinions on the stylistic choices of season three, there has been a significant decline in intensity of the costumes. They have somewhat returned to the more elegant, cool-toned color pallet and stayed with the classic silhouettes for the main cast. However the extravagance has still remained in many of the side characters, sometimes making it very obvious that this was filmed in the 21st century and taking away from the simplicity of the period.
Combined with the clothing, characters’ makeup was also changed from season two to season three. There was a surplus of acrylic nails, bold eyeshadow, and obviously fake lashes in a time where simple makeup was meant to be desirable. This change makes the season stand out drastically compared to the first two. However, season four also managed to improve on this front as well. The makeup across the board for women became much more simplistic, returning to highlighting the natural beauty of the actresses instead of adding excess makeup.
One of the main upsides of the season was the storyline of Francesca Bridgerton (Hannah Dodd) and her husband John Stirling (Victor Alli). As newlyweds, it shows their struggles with F. Bridgerton’s infertility and then eventually the death of Stirling. This gives the audience a view into F. Bridgerton’s emotional journey after losing her husband and shows her friendship with his cousin, Michaela Stirling (Masali Baduza). Dodd delivers an incredible performance of the grief that F. Bridgerton is facing, and the guilt she has of not being able to produce an heir before his passing. Her story of finding comfort again in her family and moving on is a beautiful way to display grief and new beginnings. The writers have also begun hinting at a lesbian relationship between M. Stirling and F. Bridgerton, as the original source material features the widow moving on with J. Stirling’s cousin as well.
It was also enjoyable to see the inner workings of how the servants, cooks, footman, and ladies’ maids managed throughout the season. Previous seasons have focused solely on the nobility aspect, however with the main female lead coming from the working class, they focused more on her perspective. It gave some interesting insight into how the working class is seen in relation to the nobility, and their relationships with each other and how they experience their lives devoted to a single family.
Finally, one of the main concepts of the show was the existence of Lady Whistledown, an anonymous gossip writer who has managed to captivate the society since the first season. Her identity was revealed to the audience as Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) in season one, however, her identity was not revealed to society until season three. In season four, they are now tasked with exploring how Featherington is able to remain a chastising, honest writer while everyone knows exactly who is saying things about them. Eventually, she decides to put down her pen and move on to other writing, seemingly giving an end to the Whistledown name. In the last episode of the season, it is revealed that a new Lady Whistledown has emerged— without Featherington knowing. This has to be one of the worst decisions they could have made for the show. By simply passing the mantle to another person, it completely takes away the weight of revealing her identity in season three. It makes the character more disposable and just reverses the story of Whistledown back to its status in season one. There was no reason to revert it like this, and taking away something significant about Featherington’s character is undeserved and makes it seem like what she did could be done by anyone. It makes the job seem easy, which the storyline has spent 4 seasons showing the audience it is not. They focused on how it damaged people’s lives, just to bring it back when the column was finally done and people could live without fear.
Ha and Thomas both put on perfectly convincing performances of a love that seemed like it was not fated to happen and kept the yearning that the audience craves every season. Although the performances of the cast were undoubtedly wonderful, they could not make up for the fact that the storyline they were given did not have as much in it as previous seasons’ did. There was not the same “Bridgerton” tension that keeps the watchers holding their breath in suspense for the fate of the couple. Though, as they have improved since season three, it is likely the show might go back to its former quality with viewer feedback.
