Stream It or Skip It: ‘Bridgerton’ Season 4 on Netflix, where that rake Benedict Bridgerton finally falls in love… with a maid

That old playboy Benedict Bridgerton has been happy to let his siblings Colin, Daphne, Anthony and Francesca get married off, but on Season 4 of Netflix’s hit period romance Bridgerton, it’s the second-oldest Bridgerton son’s turn to find love. Though Benedict (played by Luke Thompson) has never wanted to settle down, he finds himself reconsidering marriage after meeting a mystery woman at a masquerade ball.

BRIDGERTON (SEASON 4): STREAM IT OR SKIP IT? 

Opening Shot: Things are bustling at the Bridgerton family home as Violet Bridgerton (Ruth Gemmell) readies the house for the arrival of most of her children, including Eloise (Claudia Jessie), Francesca  (Hannah Dodd) and her husband John Stirling (Victor Alli), and Colin (Luke Newton), who is now married to Penelope (Nicola Coughlan) and has a baby boy. Benedict Bridgerton, who’s sleeping off a night of debauchery, is absent, and Violet is furious.

The Gist: With Viscount Antony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey) off in India with his wife Kate (Simone Ashley), Benedict Bridgerton is taking up the temporary mantle as “the eldest boy,” but he’s more occupied with having a good time than assuming his brother’s official duties or making sure the Bridgerton name remains respectable. Benedict has decided it’s more fun to live “outside good society;” he’s happiest when he’s got a drink in his hand and a woman (or man) in his bed, and marriage is out of the question. The guy’s an incorrigible scamp, a rake, and his reputation is making Violet crazy.

One reason Violet is so stressed these days is because she’s hosting the first ball of the season, a masquerade ball, at that. It is at this masked ball that Benedict first lays eyes on Sophie Baek (Yerin Ha), a mysterious woman that he assumes is a noblewoman, but who is actually a maid who works for her mean step-mother, Lady Penwood. Sophie’s is a Cinderella story: the illegitimate daughter of a Lord, he loved and cared for her until his death, after which, her cruel stepmother, Lady Penwood, forced Sophie into servitude as their family maid. Sophie has two stepsisters, one wicked (Rosamund) and one more kind and sympathetic (Posy). On a whim, Sophie sneaks into the masquerade ball where she encounters Benedict, who is immediately taken by her, though she never reveals her name or identity to him. Benedict refers to her only as the Silver Ingenue and before the night is over, she flees so she can make it home before midnight, leaving him only with a single silk glove to remember her by.

Meanwhile, Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel) decides that this year’s “diamond of the season” will be a gentleman, and she declares Benedict to be the perfect candidate despite Penelope’s attempts to dissuade her, since Penelope knows Benedict’s not the type to settle down. Benedict realizes Pen might be an asset to him though, and he asks her to use her newsletter to plant clues to help her track down the woman in silver.

What Shows Will This Remind You Of: Bridgerton is a well-established commodity at this point, but this season infuses a bit of the class-centric plotlines that the long-running British series Upstairs Downstairs was renowned for.

Our Take: Loyal Bridgerton fans know that Benedict’s story is third in the book series, but the television version swapped things around so that Colin and Penelope’s story could come first. Benedict’s time has come and, Gentle Reader, it was worth the wait. More than any other past season, this one focuses on class and title, taking a leap into Julian Fellowes territory, which is to say that the lives of servants are explored more deeply to show the contrast of the haves and have nots. Sophie, born with a noble name but eventually cast out of society by her own stepmother, is an example of just how much titles matter in this world (even more entertaining though, is the way the show frames the idea that even those with a title, such as Lady Penwood and her daughter Rosamund, have titles but no class).

Another new development this season is Penelope’s identity as a more public version of Lady Whistledown; she’s writing her gossip column under her real name which is proving tricky… almost as tricky as trying to please and delight that gossip fiend, Queen Charlotte. With these new elements this season (and fun side stories, like Violet’s romance with Lord Anderson, Eloise’s single life “on the shelf”) the show feels like it’s at the top of its game.

Performance Worth Watching: As Eloise, Claudia Jessie has always added a feminist, witty flair to the show, and this season Eloise has declared herself “on the shelf,” which is to say she’s accepted her fate as a spinster and seems to be having great fun with it.

Sex And Skin: In keeping with what we’ve come to expect from this show, there’s an awful lot of Regency-era butt-crack and bed-hopping. 

Parting Shot: “With a little imagination the impossible seems possible,” Lady Whistledown writes in her first newsletter of the season. “Dreams seem tangible. And yet, Gentle Readers, one must eventually wake up.” As we hear these words delivered by Julie Andrews, we see Sophie, now dressed in her maid uniform, wistfully hide the single silk glove she has to remind herself of the most magical night of her life.

Sleeper Star: Yerin Ha makes her Bridgerton debut this season, and given her fascinating position as a noblewoman cast out of society, she’s the perfect foil for Benedict.

Most Pilot-y Line: “Of all the men of the ton, I would wager that Benedict Bridgerton is the least likely to marry,” Penelope tells Queen Charlotte, who believes Benedict should be her diamond of the season. This doesn’t have the intended effect of dissuading the Queen. Instead, Charlotte literally takes the bet, telling Pen, “How much are you willing to settle on this bet?”

Our Call: STREAM IT! Sophie’s story is unlike anything we’ve seen on Bridgerton before; even though it seems obvious that Sophie and Benedict will find a way to be together, there’s also a “good-triumphing-over-evil” story as we wait (and hope) for them to stick it to Sophie’s conniving stepmother by the end. Like Benedict himself, the newest season of Bridgerton is fun and sexy and promises a good time.

Liz Kocan is a pop culture writer living in Massachusetts. Her biggest claim to fame is the time she won on the game show Chain Reaction.