Hi! It’s Annie!
The first half of the newest season of Bridgerton dropped and I definitely have a lot of thoughts. But seriously, I’ve been waiting for this one for so long! Benedict is my favorite of the Bridgerton men and he has been since the first season, so I’m honestly so happy to finally see him as the main love interest in a season. But of course, with looking forward to this season as much as I was, I also had high hopes that I was absolutely worried would not be met. Last season of Bridgerton definitely could have been better in a lot of ways and this season seemed to be sort of a test for a lot of people of whether or not Bridgerton as a show can be trusted going forward. That’s not to say that my opinion won’t change, because it is just the first half of the season, but I do believe that this first half will be a really good informant of how the rest of the season will go. So, how is it so far?
SPOILERS FOR SEASON 4 SO FAR!!
Main Romance:
This is my favorite romance we’ve seen in Bridgerton so far, nobody come for me. I mean, I get that people love enemies to lovers and I don’t blame them. However, this is the trope that I like. I love a good golden retriever man and, to be frank, this should have been Colin last season. Penelope deserved a golden retriever man. But I also think we all knew that Benedict would be this in the end and I’m so happy to see it. I was just reading a post about how every other Bridgerton man has had so many moments where they brood and make things more complicated. Benedict has been nothing but calm and understanding this entire season thus far. Sophie is such an amazing main character to follow as well, I already love how adorable and sassy she is. Seriously, she may be my favorite of the main female characters we’ve gotten so far as well, though her staying my favorite will likely not continue (‘cough’ Eloise ‘cough’), but it would be through no fault of her own. I’m also loving how much the Bridgerton family loves her as well, it’s adorable to see her so appreciated. Together, these two are so incredibly cute and almost childlike together. They have this very adorable quality of bringing out the whimsy in each other that I absolutely love. We’ll have to see how the end of this season changes their dynamic because it could absolutely affect how I feel specifically about Benedict. If he remains as understanding as he has been then we shouldn’t have a problem, but I do know in the book his quest to make her his mistress becomes more manipulative as it goes on. Benedict is fairly different personality wise in the show compared to the book (much less broody), so we may have some luck here! I also loved the dreamy quality of the masquerade and this has been a wonderfully fresh Cinderella take so far.
Francesca:
It is very clear that this series is setting up Francesca figuring out that she’s not actually attracted to men. While Benedict is absolutely a bisexual, a fact that this season has only confirmed, it seems as though Francesca will be depicted as being lesbian. I actually like this so much! As someone who is pansexual and also identifies with the bi community, I often find that characters are passed off as bisexual so that the audience will find them more palatable as a queer person. It’s almost this idea that a character having the ability to like the opposite sex as well as their own gender identity means that they are kind of straight to the audience so that way everyone’s happy. This mentality is used way too often and actually makes nobody happy. It cheapens the bi representation that you already have while also being a disservice to other forms of queer representation. Francesca being a lesbian actually introduces a wider variety of queer identities within the Bridgerton family which I’m super excited about. I’m so excited to see how Michaela is written into the latter half of the season; but I do have some concerns. Francesca discovering her sexuality has been great so far, but I do still think there’s an issue with Francesca falling for Michaela first. It changes the whole dynamic of the book and I still strongly feel that Michaela should have fallen first. I also am hoping that they hold off on Francesca’s season because I do think we need to see Francesca mourn for a little while after her husband dies. I fear they are moving a little too fast with this before letting us get used to the characters and I’m hoping they will give this a little bit more time to develop.
Eloise:
I know I’m biased when I say this, but I want her season next. Yes, she’s my favorite character and I’m antsy to know what they’re going to do with her. But I also feel like she needs her season to be next as a character. This season Eloise has decided that she’s going to be a spinster and is dealing with the repercussions of what that actually looks like in society. This is super interesting to me, but I don’t think we can have another season of this storyline. We need a more active Eloise and I think that means having her season next. I feel like she’s reached the point where her character could grow stagnant in the storyline if they don’t focus up. Deciding that she’s a spinster is sort of an end of the line decision until something can come in and change her mind about it. I’m still hoping that her season is good to her. I would honestly prefer an entire season where she returns to politics and finds Theo Sharpe again; that would be my dream Eloise season. I have a feeling they’re going to try and make it book adjacent though and I’m very scared about that. Either way, I want to see her back with radicals! I do also love how much she’s been helping Benedict this season though. They’ve always had my favorite Bridgerton sibling relationship.
Violet:
I love that we’re getting a Violet romance storyline here. I do feel like it takes up a bit too much screen time, but I would remiss if I didn’t say that it’s super cute. It’s important that we see romance between people of all ages on our screens in media and I love that they’re doing that here. Also, do you see the way he looks at her????? I’m dead. But seriously, this is the side story with the most screen time and I feel like it’s taking up half the show. Just give Violet her own season! I’d watch it!
Hyacinth:
I know that they’re trying to make her more of a familiar character, but I’m just not loving her this season so far. I felt like they wanted me to side with her over Eloise when she calls Eloise selfish for talking down about typical women’s duties of the time period, but I couldn’t. Firstly, Eloise is completely correct for saying that this being all that a woman is allowed to do is kind of horrific. I’m not finding many flaws in Eloise treating something that is sexist with sarcasm. Especially because it is very well tied to her own insecurities. Secondly, Hyacinth has been coming off a little spoiled this season. All she seems to talk about is her own rich person privilege and wanting a husband. It feels like she’s trying to be the second Daphne, which feels a little tired since we’ve already had a whole season of Daphne. Hyacinth this season is only adding fuel to my opinion that maybe Bridgerton will have to stop after Eloise and Francesca, but we’ll see what happens there. I just don’t feel that Hyacinth or Gregory are being written with the same pull that the other Bridgerton siblings had. To be fair though, Francesca only became interesting in the last season and she’s become one of my favorite characters so we’ll have to see.
Lady Danbury:
I’m a little confused with what they’re doing here. I could have sworn that they were looking to replace Lady Danbury, but they’ve recently come out and said that she isn’t going anywhere. I understand covering a storyline where her and the Queen are having some sort of falling out, but I feel like there needs to be a better point to it as the season goes on considering that they aren’t actually writing out Lady Danbury.
Penelope:
I love her this season and I love seeing how confident she is as Whistledown. I also love her team ups with Eloise again, I seriously missed those moments. I still think she deserves way better than Colin, but I love where they’ve gone with her character. It’s really cool to see her with the Queen and Lady Danbury so much this season! It feels like she’s joined the table of badass women and I love that for her.
These are my thoughts so far, but who knows what might happen! I’m really excited for the next half of the season to come out so I can refine some of these opinions and/or double down. I am also excited because they did announce that the next season of Bridgerton will be filming in March of this year, which also likely means there will be a shorter wait between this season of Bridgerton and the next one. We also had it confirmed that Eloise and Francesca will be the next two seasons, though we don’t know in what order. This likely means that we’ll get an announcement of the two leads in the next season very quickly after this season ends! I can’t tell you how much I’m anticipating that announcement! I still hope that it’s Eloise, but I also love Francesca so I’ll be happy with either. I just really want to know what will happen with Eloise and I want Francesca to have a little more character padding before we get to her. I’ll be happy with whatever announcement they make though! I mean, c’mon, it’s Bridgerton!
See you across the pond!
Sincerely, Annie
Oreos & Peanut Butter 