How Does 'Bridgerton' Season 4 Part 1 End? Stars React to That Controversial Moment
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!
Fans who are quickly binging their way through Part 1 of Bridgerton Season are already buzzing online about the major climax.
Keep reading to find out what happens…
In Part 1 of the Netflix series’ fourth season, Benedict Bridgerton (Luke Thompson) continues to indulge in his single shenanigans, until meeting a Lady in Silver at Violet’s masquerade ball.
The two dance, and she makes it clear she’s not looking for a husband.
They head outside, as he kisses the mystery woman’s cheek before midnight, and she runs away before revealing her identity, leaving a single silver glove behind.
We learn that the mystery woman is Sophie Baek (Yerin Ha) afterward, a maid forced into servitude by her evil stepmother Lady Araminta Gun (Katie Leung) attending that ball in secret.
Benedict tries to find her later on, and Lady Araminta Gun realizes who he’s looking for and sends Sophie away from the home to work somewhere else.
Sophie and Benedict run into each other again when he encounters men ganging up on her, but the brave act results in her getting fired by her boss, so Benedict offers to take her back to London to find new employment.
There’s a storm during their travels back to London, so they stop at his cottage.
When Benedict realizes he was injured in the confrontation with the men, they spend more time in the cottage for him to recuperate. The two get increasingly flirty and close, including a moment where she finds him swimming naked and he emerges, knowing she could see all of him, eventually leading to their first kiss.
When they get back, Sophie takes up a job under Benedict’s mother, Violet. The family gets along well with her, and the two rekindle their forbidden love on a staircase.
And then, there’s an incredibly awkward moment.
“Sophie… be my mistress,” he says, causing her to run away hurt at the shocking declaration. We do not yet know what she says back, leaving us on a giant cliffhanger.
Luke Thompson has since reacted to the scene in an interview.
“It’s nice to surprise people. And I do feel like, when I read it, I was like, ‘Whoa, okay!’” he told EW.
“That [scene's] from the book, but they’ve elaborated Benedict in a certain way in the show. So to have a character like he’s been portrayed so far say something that can seem insensitive, maybe cold, maybe a bit blind, or trying to have his cake and eat it sort of thing… It’s quite fun, because it feels in some way maybe out of character for Benedict.”
“We all do things that are out of character sometimes and, often, the things that we do that are out of character are the things that actually say the most about us. So yes, it’s a great moment. I just read it and thought, ‘This is so fun to play this build up that it’s going to be this wonderful proposal!’ And then he says what he says and it’s, like, [eek],” he added.
Yerin Ha also reacted to the scene in the same interview.
“Yeah, I was fuming…I was fuming.”
Luke laughed, and countered: “I think he thinks that it could work. That he could sort of splice all these things together and make this sort of weird situation that works for him… and then it doesn’t.”
“And [Benedict] thinks that it’s going to help Sophie’s life and make it easier,” Yerin notes.
“I don’t think he thinks it’s necessarily the most romantic thing to do, but it’s like, ‘This is me being realistic and also trying to be with you,’” Luke added.
Showrunner Jess Brownell also weighed in: “I think for a modern audience, it seems like a real slap in the face, but the fact of the matter is that it was incredibly common. And it would have been the only logical ask to make between a gentleman and a housemaid in that period of time.”
“However, I think Sophie’s reaction of being pretty damn outraged is really valid. She wanted to believe that Benedict saw her for more than her station, and that their connection was something special. So she has a real right to be very pissed,” she added.
As for what to expect? The second half of the season premieres on Netflix on February 26.
“In the little time we’ve had to get to know her, I think viewers can already tell that Sophie’s not someone who suffers fools, or allows herself to be insulted in that way. So she’s absolutely going to separate herself from Benedict a bit…don’t worry. The thirst will get them back together pretty quickly,” the showrunner teased.