It’s been a month since the Bridgerton Season of Love event, and I can’t stop thinking about it. Showrunner Jess Brownell and the Season 4 leads, Luke Thompson and Yerin Ha gave fans a first look at the upcoming season. As an adaptation of An Offer From a Gentleman, Season 4 debuts the Benophie season — Benedict Bridgerton meets Sophie Baek at his mother’s masquerade ball, and the two are forever changed. Bridgerton fans were treated with images from the masquerade, plot details, and even updates on the rest of the Bridgerton family and their whereabouts during the fourth season. To put this plainly… we’ve been eating good.
However, a month later from this glorious celebration of Bridgerton and the Benophie goodness, there’s been something nagging at me. One I really wasn’t expecting. It comes from a comment Luke Thompson made regarding Benedict’s past three seasons and how they inform him of what’s ahead in his leading-man season. He mentioned Benedict’s fear of commitment and how Benedict has compartmentalized his life. Here’s what Thompson said:
“He’s sort of been waiting in the wings for a long time. So, it’s interesting to unpack why that is; and often like those things, you can sort of feel like… Is it just bad luck or he hasn’t met the right person? But is it something that’s blocking him, some sort of fear of committing, fear of commitment I guess. Also, I think it’s always about wrapping things together. He has a very sectioned out life. He’s got his art, he’s got… He’s Benedict at home. He’s Benedict out and on and on like that. There’s a real fear of falling in love would mean tying all those things together, which is a big challenge and probably quite scary for him. So yeah, we’ll see what happens.”
In many ways, Thompson’s answer here recontextualizes how I see Benedict Bridgerton. It’s an insightful lens into the real man Benedict is. I’m thankful that Thompson gets Benedict to the cellular level. Having been Benedict for years, his answer reveals a genuinely intimate understanding of Julia Quinn’s character.
As someone who has written about Benedict Bridgerton over the years, I have always felt I had understood the character (both book and Netflix version). There isn’t much I miss about Number Two. Yet here I am: gleaning new depths into a character I love and kicking myself for not registering it sooner… Benedict Bridgerton is a compartmentalizer.
It makes sense, right? Benedict operates on the edges of his family and enjoys the freedoms he has as the second-born son of a prestigious family. He has the privilege to explore his passion for art, float in and out of balls without making a splash, and attend any event he wants because he’s a Bridgerton. Benedict gets to pick and choose what version of himself he reflects to whichever group of people he’s around. It’s evident in the book version of Benedict, too. To quote Taylor Swift, he is a mirrorball.
So far, this has worked for Benedict to a degree. It’s a good coping strategy for him. Instead of letting something distressing pummel you into the ground, it can be put into a nice little box, put to the side, and dealt with later. I think about how compartmentalizing could’ve served Benedict well in the wake of his father’s untimely death. (I do hope the TV series takes the time to give audiences a flashback to see how Benedict reacted to losing his father). It has kept Benedict’s messy yet privileged life tidy and, above all, safe. It keeps out pain, but consequently, it can equally keep out love.
Up until this point in the Netflix series, Benedict doesn’t do well with vulnerability. When Benedict quits art school, he shuts this side of himself down entirely. He ignores his artistic pursuits. Even when asked by Paul during his dinner with Lady Tilley, there’s a brief spark of Benedict remembering his love of art before remembering the pain and pushing it down again. This contrasts with John Stirling’s description of him during his wedding reception toast; he admired Benedict’s openness. Benedict has opened himself up to exploration of his sexuality, which is valid and important for him to discover, but he hasn’t opened himself back to his art, something that stirs his soul.
The same is true when it comes to love for Benedict Bridgerton. Audiences have seen glimpses of Benedict’s romantic side when he taught Anthony about poetry in Season 2. He’s capable of feeling deep, profound feelings about love. It’s one thing to speak on them in a metaphorical sense, but to actually take the plunge into something real and the sacrifice love requires… it’s intimidating. Hence, Benedict’s fear of commitment makes total sense to his character.
As what unfolds in An Offer From a Gentleman, his reluctance to commit to Sophie is born out of his fear of committing to her and potentially losing the Lady in Silver. Benedict wants to keep a piece of himself available and ready to drop everything if he ever finds her. This is why he offers to make her his mistress. The titular offer also highlights Benedict’s tendency to section out a space for her in his life without losing her. He’s trying to have his cake and eat it, too. See what I mean? Serial compartmentalizer. (Can I make this a T-shirt?) But as Benedict learns, this is a fantasy that’s not possible.
Love can’t thrive when it’s sectioned off or left in the dark. Love consumes every aspect of your being and ties a person’s whole self together. Love means being vulnerable enough to let someone in and discover everything about them. Their passions, their fears, their quirks, their friends, their family. All of it is fair game. By loving someone, you are inviting them into your world and opening yourself up to them, changing it all the same. You have to pray that they accept every facet of you, even the messy, imperfect parts.
This is why Sophie is special. Sophie sees him for all of him. Yes, it’s love at first sight at the masquerade ball, but when the two of them are at My Cottage, she gets to really know the man behind the mask from that night. Her own fantasy of Prince Charming is torn down and replaced with someone real. No, Prince Charming didn’t save her from Araminta; she had to save herself after she was thrown out. But Sophie discovers that her prince is an artist who adores his family and has the soul of a poet. He enjoys pushing her buttons and brings out the devil in her. For the mess Benedict makes trying to make Sophie his mistress, she can’t stop loving him anyway. Sophie stands up for herself, and she still loves all of Benedict.
Benedict is about to be brought to his knees by this petite woman not just because he’s lovestruck — the reality of love with Sophie is terrifying on a personal and societal level for him. Whether he realizes it or not, change is on his horizon. Isn’t that what Benedict said himself in the Season 3 finale? “It feels right now that the next thing I might learn may change me entirely.” Love, love is about to change you entirely. It will be uncharted waters for you, Benedict, but risking it all for Sophie is going to be worth it because she is the safest person for you. You are each other’s anchors.
First Featured Image Credit: ©Netflix