Dearest gentle reader, I know you’ve been patiently waiting for the arrival of “Bridgerton” season four, so I have kindly provided you with a review. Do enjoy. 

“Bridgerton” season four was split into two parts with the first part coming out on Jan. 29, and the second part coming out on Feb. 26. This new season followed the second eldest Bridgerton son Benedict and his love interest Sophie Baek. This season employed a Cinderella retelling with Sophie being portrayed as “Cinderella” and Benedict as the prince. 

The first episode of the season mimics the classic story of Cinderella, with Sophie, a maid, secretly donning a silver gown and attending the first ball of the season, which just so happens to be a masquerade ball. Here, Sophie meets Benedict, who is immediately enchanted by her. They share a private dance and conversation until Sophie rushes away at midnight before she could remove her mask to reveal her identity, leaving Benedict with only her glove and the memory of her lips. 

The following episodes pick up with Benedict searching for the elusive “Lady in Silver.” Ironically, he meets Sophie without recognizing her as his mysterious masquerade woman. They form a relationship that quickly becomes romantic, but her lowly status prevents them from being together in courtly society. Eventually, the revelation of a lie about her heritage allows the pair to happily marry.

This season reinvigorated the show, especially after the let down that season three presented to viewers. The side stories in this season were also much more prominent than in other seasons, which took away from the main couple and their screentime, resulting in both positives and negatives.

Some of the side stories felt unnecessary or unfulfilling. Violet Bridgerton and her relationship with Lord Marcus Anderson was one of those. They felt awkward together, and overall this story served no purpose as they ended their relationship at the conclusion of the season. It felt as if their relationship was mounting to something real before being cut off, leaving Violet independent again, as she had been ever since her husband Edmund passed away. The reason for breaking off this relationship was so that Violet can find herself independently of a man or children, but this plot feels unlikely to be followed through. As a widow with three remaining unmarried children, the chances of Violet taking a step back from the marriage mart are low.

Although that story came across as lacking, Lady Danbury and Francesca Bridgerton’s side stories were exceptionally well done and contributed greatly to the success of the season. 

Queen Charlotte’s arc was developed very well with her initial refusal to allow Lady Danbury to leave until her gradual acceptance. Their final goodbye scene was emotional and a beautiful portrayal of their deep-rooted friendship. It also showed a lot of Queen Charlotte’s character development to let go of her control and fear of being alone to permit Lady Danbury to leave her.

Francesca’s story was another side story this season that was as beautiful as it was heartbreaking. It was painful and tragic to see her finally fitting in with her husband John and his cousin Michaela just to unexpectedly lose John and grapple with the grief that she had failed him. The scene between Francesca and Violet where Francesca admits that she felt that she had failed John by not bearing a child to honor his legacy was a brutal portrayal of her feelings of inadequacy and failure.

Sophie’s resolution fell flat with the Bridgertons making up that she was the legitimate daughter of a noble cousin. The whole season consisted of Benedict and Sophie being unable to be together because of her low social status, and then this problem was solved in mere minutes with a simple lie. I found it especially unfortunate because Mrs. Mondrich had just given a speech to Queen Charlotte about accepting Sophie, rendering the lie unnecessary and taking away from Queen Charlotte the ability to choose to extend her good graces to Sophie and accept her even though she was only a maid. Instead, Queen Charlotte was simply made to believe this lie and Sophie’s true heritage and experiences were erased in the eyes of society rather than accepted.

This season did an excellent job of setting up the other Bridgerton siblings for their upcoming seasons, encouraging viewers to build attachments to characters and continue watching to see them develop in the coming seasons.