Review: Bridgerton Season 4, Episodes 1-4
Sirius: Once again Janine and myself decided to review a new season of the Netflix show Bridgerton, based on Julia Quinn’s romance novels about the Bridgerton family, together. At the end of the third season I was not planning to watch the next one. I was not all that interested in Francesca’s story. However when I saw the trailer for season 4 where it was clear that Benedict would be the main character and his journey would be the main storyline I was all in. I find the actor who plays Benedict the only male Bridgerton whose looks appeal to me :).
The trailer also hinted at Cinderella homage and I wanted to see it even more. Cinderella is one of my favorite fairy tales ever. Were you eager to see Benedict’s story Janine?
Janine: I think Cinderella is one of almost everyone’s favorite fairy tales ever. It certainly is one of mine, and yes, it made me more eager to watch. I would have watched regardless because I like the show’s self-aware, satirical take on itself (personified for me by Julie Andrews’ ironic narration and Golda Rousheuvel’s arch portrayal of Queen Charlotte, who all but winks at the viewer, and supported by the outrageous and amusing wardrobe). And it’s a pretty spectacle, don’t you think?
Sirius: It is very pretty yes. I do not know if I care much for satirical take because I do not like satire in general. I appreciate satire and think it is necessary especially when it is concerning something current (nothing specific in mind, just speaking in generalities), but certainly one of the main reasons I watch is because the show is so pretty. And for this season trying to imagine where the show would take Cinderella.
Janine: To get back to your earlier comment, I actually like Jonathan Bailey’s (Anthony Bridgerton) looks best of those of the Bridgerton brothers, and of course Regé-Jean Page (Simon Basset, Duke of Hastings) from season one is gorgeous. But I do like Luke Thompson, the actor, and Benedict Bridgerton, the character he plays, quite a bit. There’s often a slightly befuddled look on Benedict’s face, a charming confusion tinged with joie de vivre. He’s loveable — for all his decadence, he hasn’t become a cynic. Maybe he can feel himself slipping in that direction, and that’s why he’s drawn to Sophie’s sense of wonder? But my interpretation could be wrong– I haven’t read An Offer from a Gentleman.
My one criticism, and I don’t know if it’s the director’s interpretation of the character or Luke Thompson’s, is that Benedict’s expression of combined befuddlement and bedazzlement sometimes goes over the top, almost as if he’s high. Maybe he’s supposed to be? He is a bohemian. But that’s not explicit, and so that look can make Benedict hard to take seriously at times. Do you agree or disagree?
Sirius: I thought Rege- Jean Page was gorgeous too. I think Jonathan Bailey is a very good actor, but I am not very enamored of his looks. I do not hate how he looks of course, but I prefer how Luke Thompson looks. I think the over the top expression on his face means to convey that at times we are not supposed to take him seriously yes? Maybe it will disappear by the end of the season when he will presumably get his happily ever after with his true love?
Janine: I hope so, because I would like to take his feelings a little more to heart. What do you think of Sophie Baek, Benedict’s love interest, and of Yerin Ha, who plays her?
Sirius: I was captivated by her, I thought her casting was perfect, I loved how she plays Sophie with such a delicate touch on one hand and on another hand how tough she became after working as a maid for a while. Having said that, I am not sure what I think about their actual romance yet.
Spoiler: Show
Janine: Agreed on both counts – Yerin Ha’s casting and performance, and the character of Sophie. There is something magical about Sophie, and good chemistry between her and Benedict. And like you, I appreciate that we are getting the falling in love as well as the instalove. I enjoy courtship and I think it gives the immediate connection more substance and believability.
Sirius: On another hand, knowing that Sophie was of noble birth sort of took the worry out of the story for me if that makes sense. I understand that this is probably the only way they would be allowed to marry in real 19th century (maybe?) however Bridgerton has so little resemblance to real history in my head that I was not sure if it was necessary. What did you think of their developing romance?
Janine: Is Sophie entirely of noble birth? I thought she might be illegitimate, although her necklace hints that there might be more to her background than she knows. If she was conceived out of wedlock, then in the actual regency it wouldn’t have mattered if her father was a nobleman — she would still be persona non grata among the ton, and completely inappropriate for Benedict to marry.
Sirius: Yes, I thought that for now we are supposed to think that Sophie was illegitimate and I also think that this may turned out not to be true.
Janine: I do take your point about the show not being bound to historical norms, but I think the show’s writers had to stick to this plot point, because if Sophie didn’t need a noble background for Benedict to marry her and still be accepted by society, then what would be the conflict keeping them apart?
Sirius: I was not clear. I understand that Sophie’s station in life ( which as we seem to agree will turn out her being of noble birth) is the conflict keeping them apart and that makes sense. However, us predicting/ knowing that is what makes said conflict *less* for me, not *more*. I am not sure if that makes sense. If Sophie was an actual maid, if her parents were workers, not nobles ( so far we only know/ guess about one of her parents, but I do think it will end up that both her parents were of noble blood), then I would have truly wondered whether they will end up being together. And of course, in the show that truly followed historical norms Benedict could not have truly been with her if she were a maid and thats all she were. However in Bridgerton, show that breaks the norms when it feels like it, I would not have batted an eye if they would figure out a way for them to be together even in that situation.
Janine: What I meant was, if they could figure out a way for them to be together, then the rest of society could also figure out that same way. And then there would be no internal logic to making this the conflict.
Sirius: What did you think of Lady Violet’s getting some love of her own? I was happy for her and find the actor who wanted to be with her (Daniel Francis as Lord Marcus Anderson) very easy on the eyes, but I also found it a little confusing that she would be so nervous. I mean I understood the reasoning, that it was a first suitor since her husband’s death, but still found it a little over the top.
Janine: Hmm, I didn’t. Her husband had died when Gregory was born, so surely at least a decade earlier. That’s a long time to be celibate, not to mention that no other man had ever seen her naked and her body was no longer the same as it had been when she was young. She was also doing something that was considered illicit at great personal risk.
I did like her romance, but I found the juxtaposition of her storyline with Francesca and John’s a bit much in episode four. It was amusing to see Francesca asking around about what a pinnacle was, but I would have rather had just one or the other couple having awkwardness around sex, and not both, within the same episode. Speaking of, what did you think of John and Francesca’s storyline and the interactions over it?
Sirius: Just to be clear, I understand Lady Violet being nervous, I understood that it was a long time since her husband died and she was not intimate with anyone since then. It is just the degree of her nervousness was to borrow your words a bit much for me. And yes, Francesca and John added to that was also a bit much for me. I mean, once again, I get how the young woman in those times may not have known anything about orgasm or pinnacle – why pinnacle by the way? Was it a code word or something in the 19 century?
Janine: While in other ways the show’s worldbuilding doesn’t stick to history, the dialogue usually has *some* historical feel. Upper class female characters use words that are elegant and sound appropriate to their gender and class. I looked for synonyms in the OED historical thesaurus, and other than “happy ending,” which is American rather than British, the alternatives given (“orgasm”, “spending”, “climax”, “Big O”) are cited no earlier than 1856, at least as far as the meaning “the highest point of sexual excitement.” I think some would have had a vulgar enough connotation in Regency England that they would not have been considered appropriate for women to use in quote unquote polite society.
I don’t know if “pinnacle” was used precisely that way, but it’s an old word (1450). Since it means “highest point” but doesn’t come out and say highest point of what, it’s a good euphemism to use in portraying the characters and their milieu. It seems suitable to someone as shy and delicate as Francesca. She had a hard time bringing it up at all. Did the use of pinnacle bother you?
Sirius: I just found it jarring. This is one of those places when show is giving me a whiplash. They are not following historical norms and follow them at the same time? Or as you said just being satirical about that? So I did not particularly enjoy that story.
Janine: I don’t think they are being satirical about history at all, only about themselves, if that makes sense. When I refer to its satire and irony, I just mean that Bridgerton is a bit tongue in cheek and doesn’t take itself too seriously. It’s fluff that signals it knows it is fluff.
Sirius: I also wanted to ask, how did the unmasked Lady Whistledown play out for you so far? I knew that Julie Andrews’ narration would always be a hit with me, but I was worried that since there is no intrigue now about her identity any mentioning of her would be boring to me. Surprisingly it was not so, and I enjoyed seeing Penelope writing and talking to the queen in her Lady Whistledown capacity so to speak.
Janine: Yes, I thought that was handled well. I had a lot of skepticism going in about whether the Whistledown gossip would be as effective if Penelope’s writing was hampered by having to kowtow to the queen, but so far it’s working out well. I’m also happy that there’s a reason for Nicola Coughlan to remain on the show, unlike the main actors from the first two seasons. I think she does a great job with Pen.
What are your thoughts about the Queen / Lady Danbury storyline this season? I have mixed feelings. I really liked seeing Golda Rosheuvel and Adjoa Andoh given deeper material; they are both such fabulous actresses. And I loved how Queen Charlotte was fleshed out with unexpected vulnerability. The scene where she swallowed some of her pride and admitted she needed Lady Danbury by her side was great. My sympathy swung back and forth between them, and that is also commendable. But at least where we are at this point, in episode four, with Lady Danbury trying to extricate herself from forced service to the queen by forcing Alice Mondrich into that same service in her stead, I’ve lost some of my sympathy for both of them.
Sirius: Yes I was sympathetic to both of them, same as you were. And yes, I disliked Lady Danbury’s manipulativeness. It was nothing new though, right? In the past seasons she was also manipulating people when she was trying to put the couples together or back together at some point. It is just this time she does it for more selfish purposes and she knows it otherwise she would not have asked Lady Violet’s advice. Basically I agree with you.
Janine: The difference for me is not the selfishness per se, but rather that Alice did not want or consent to this role. Lady D’s prior manipulations aided others, whereas this one actually harmed (or at least had the potential to harm) someone else.
What did you think of this half of the season overall? Did each episode pull you along into watching the next one? They did me, but not as strongly as in earlier seasons. I don’t know if that’s because some of the novelty has worn off, or because I watched it coming off the high of HBO’s Heated Rivalry. But in any case, things are heating up and I do plan to watch the rest of the season.
Sirius: Heated Rivalry pulled me in way more than *any* Bridgerton season did :), but sure I enjoyed this season and plan to watch the rest.
And then there’s this (fake) trailer for the first three seasons.
@Jayne: So funny. Thank you.