Get in your horse drawn carriage.
The famously steamy historical drama “Bridgerton” is back, and it’s turned oddly prudish. The first half of Season 4 is here, now streaming on Netflix. The show is still charming and watchable, filled with a breezy story and dazzling visuals – but this time around, the central romance feels phoned in.
If you tune into “Bridgerton” for the characters and the world, Season 4 still has plenty of treats to offer. There are more class politics than ever, juicy side plots for Lady Agatha Danbury (Adjoa Andoh) and the Bridgerton matriarch, Lady Violet (Ruth Gemmell) – not to mention, revisiting last season’s love story of Penelope (Nicola Coughlan) and Colin (Luke Newton).
But if you mainly watch the show to get the seasonal central love story, you’re in for a rough time.
Produced by Shonda Rhimes and based on historical romance novels by Julia Quinn, each season follows a different member of the Bridgerton family as they fall in love in 1800s England.
Season 4 of the steamy Netflix period piece follows Benedict Bridgerton (Luke Thompson) as he gets enamored with a maid, Sophie (Yerin Ha), after they meet at a masquerade ball. Clad in a mask and silver dress, she’s a mystery woman. Dazzled by her, he has no idea she’s “the help,” who would be considered unsuitable for him.
It’s a Cinderella story for Sophie, and the show practically beats the viewer over the head with references, as if the writers are shouting in our ears, “Did you get that?” Ah yes, because Cinderella is such an obscure reference that might escape us.
The tepid romance isn’t Ha or Thompson’s fault. She’s a winsome leading lady. Meanwhile, Thompson does his best with meager material. Benedict simply works better as a side character than a leading man.
The pacing is also off. The plot point of him trying to figure out her identity is dragged out for a tediously long time.
For a show that staked its reputation on being risque, there’s an odd lack of any R-rated scenes, as if the writers suddenly got gun-shy.
It’s a strange time for “Bridgerton” to turn prudish. Despite rumors that Gen Z doesn’t want sex in their entertainment, the steamy HBO Max phenomenon “Heated Rivalry” recently proved that audiences still embrace it, in a big way.
“Bridgerton” Season 4 didn’t seem to get that memo.
The lack of spark or steam might work if there was a wealth of emotion between Benedict and Sophie.
If a romance ignites from one meeting, then that encounter needs to be epic. While their night together at the masquerade ball is sweet – dancing, flirting – their “meet cute” fails to be convincing that it was so amazing as to fuel his obsession to find her.
As if to hammer in their lack of chemistry, all the other romantic subplots this season work better, including a welcome one for Benedict’s mom. While it’s nice to see a woman of a certain age get a love story on TV, it doesn’t say good things about Benedict that his mom’s relationship outshines his own.
“Bridgerton” has been a star-maker, with Season 1 premiering in 2020 to launch Rege-Jean Page. Season 3 star Nicola Coughlin was already famous from “Derry Girls” but the show catapulted her to further prominence.
Season 2 launched Jonathan Bailey – who went on to star in “Wicked,” and the “Jurassic World” franchise, not to mention, making history as People’s first openly gay “Sexiest Man Alive.” The show may have launched him too much, as there’s neither hide nor hair of him in the first part of Season 4.
Bailey clearly had better things to do, and it’s hard to blame him.
Will Season 3 have the same impact on Thompson and Ha? As of now, they’re not given much of a chance to shine, with a connection that’s alternatively boring and tedious.
It’s possible the second half of Season 4 will rescue this story. For now, it’s impossible to say, as Netflix didn’t make those episodes available to critics. But, you’d think if the rest of the season redeemed it, they would have.
“Bridgerton” Season 4 is divided into 2 parts with 4 episodes each. The first part is now streaming. The second part premieres on Netflix on Feb. 26.
