The first half of Bridgerton’s fourth season premieres January 29 on Netflix.
By Elazar Abrahams
The fall-off of Bridgerton needs to be studied. The show is still one of Netflix’s largest global hits, built on a sturdy first season and a genuinely enjoyable second. Season 3, though, landed like a dud with messy and boring storylines. The new batch of episodes, which will be followed by another four to be released next month, is a slight step up from that low point, but still nothing great.
The season’s central love story belongs to Benedict Bridgerton and Sophie, and it’s a Cinderella-esque romance. A masquerade ball, a mysterious woman, and a man obsessed with finding her. He’d never imagine she’s a lowly housemaid! Will the glove she left behind be a way to find her? Come on. What might read like cliche comfort in the show’s source material comes off as far too predictable on screen. Sophie is fine, but the character and her story with Benedict is written so tightly along the Cinderella rails (including an evil stepmother and sisters) that it lacks any tension. The chemistry that made earlier seasons pop came from unknown situations.
Benedict, too, is a tricky lead for the show to hinge on. He’s pleasant and he’s there. And certainly handsome, but he doesn’t have the charm of the previous focuses. Not everyone can be Jonathan Bailey.
Speaking of Bailey, this is where Season 4 feels especially strange. One of the series’ defining pleasures has been its anthology-ish rhythm, a different Bridgerton’s love story each season, while familiar faces orbit in and out. This time around, there is a noticeable vacuum when the stars of Seasons 1 and 2 are simply not part of the fabric anymore, and Colin and Penelope from Season 3 barely show up for much of this opening run. Bridgerton has become a party where half the people who made it fun have already left. And the vacuum has not been filled with fan favorite characters like the Queen and Lady Danbury, who now feel demoted to a subplot that is so silly it borders on self-parody.
The long runtimes make all of this worse. When episodes are consistently hovering around a full hour to an hour and ten minutes, the show needs either sharper plotting or sharper editing. A few minutes shaved off here and there would make a real difference. When the story is already predictable, lingering on scenes that do not deepen character or escalate stakes just amplifies the sense that the show is padding time because it can.
There are some enjoyable pleasures to be found in the Ton this season. Eloise continues to be a freaking delight, and it’s nice to see Lady Violet get some action as well. Plus, the string covers of Paramore and Olivia Rodrigo tunes. The quality fluctuates, thank goodness, it is not a disaster. It’s just not a comeback.
I give Bridgerton Season 4 Part 1 a B-.
TV and City 