'Bridgerton' Season 4 - Part 1 Review: Masquerades, Mirrors, and the Romance of Not Seeing Clearly
- Romey Norton
- 12 hours ago
- 4 min read
By Romey Norton - January 29, 2026
TV - Premium TV
Few series understand the art of romantic excess quite like Bridgerton, and in Season 4, Part 1, the Netflix juggernaut leans fully into fairy tales which interrogate desire, class, and self-deception. Under showrunner Jess Brownell, the series continues its evolution from frothy period romance into something more emotionally layered, without ever surrendering the pleasures that made it a global phenomenon. So audiences, hold on to your carriage, Bridgerton is back, with vengeance.
Before turning its gaze to Benedict, Season 3 reshaped the emotional architecture of the show. Colin and Penelope’s long-simmering romance finally came to fruition, transforming Penelope Feathering ton from wallflower to wife. And, some would argue more importantly, outing her as Lady Whistledown to the town. The reveal altered the series’ power dynamics, forcing Penelope to navigate marriage, public scrutiny, and authorship simultaneously. Meanwhile, Francesca’s quieter, more reserved courtship with John Stirling introduced a contrasting vision of love: gentle, restrained, but perhaps something simmers under the surface. Season 3 ended with the Bridgertons entering a new phase of adulthood, marriage, and consequence; a tonal shift that Season 4 builds upon rather than resets. Some audiences are excited for this series, whilst others worry about its pace and purpose now we know who the secret Lady Whistledown is. Well, as an avid fan, the series is still strong in its bright costumes and bold music choices, but the story does lacks depth felt in previous seasons.
Part 1 of Season 4 pivots to Benedict Bridgerton, long positioned as the family’s aesthetic wanderer: charming, avoidant, and resistant to definition. Luke Thompson brings a thoughtful restlessness to the role, making Benedict’s refusal to “settle down” feel less like immaturity and more like a genuine fear of choosing incorrectly. He's as sexy and suave as ever, so audiences are in for more raunchy, racy scenes. His characters fear crystallises at Lady Violet’s masquerade ball, one of the most visually sumptuous sequences the series has staged, where Benedict encounters the masked Lady in Silver and promptly projects onto her every romantic ideal he has carefully avoided naming. Talk about love-bombing.
A story with a Cinderella feel; Lady in Silver is, in fact, Sophie Baek, a maid in the household of the imperious Araminta Gun. Sophie, portrayed with warmth and quiet steel by Yerin Ha, is not simply living a double life; she is navigating a society that allows fantasy to exist only for those who can afford it. My main stipulation is that her accent is so clear and 'posh' yet the other workers in the kitchen are Northern. This stereotype is long in the tooth and it would have been more interesting to give her character the same thick northern accent.
Still, the tension is not whether Benedict will fall in love, but whether he can reconcile the woman he idealises with the woman he fails to see when she stands unmasked before him. Benedict’s struggle is not simply about choosing between two women, but about confronting the fact that he has split one woman into acceptable and unacceptable halves.
Claudia Jessie’s Eloise remains one of the show’s sharpest instruments, serving as both accomplice and sceptic in Benedict’s search. Her presence grounds the romantic mystery, reminding the audience that obsession, even the poetic kind, has blind spots. Lady Whistledown is simply now a glorified gossip to the queen and some magic that show once had is now lost. But it still works in the sense that people now read it as a generic column in a newsletter. Love is blossoming for more than just Benedict, as his mother's affections grow from Lady Agatha's brother, and Lady Agatha expresses her wishes to leave after this season. Giving the Queen a humility we've been wanting to see since the spin off show Queen Charlotte.
Visually, the series continues to dazzle: candlelit interiors, pastel gardens, and costume design that subtly codes class and aspiration. Yet there is a growing emotional intelligence beneath the gloss. The fairy-tale structure is knowingly employed, not naïvely embraced. The music is masterful as ever, with more titillating tones for audiences to go wild over.
If Part 1 occasionally risks indulgence, particularly in its repetition of longing glances and near-misses and honestly, the same structure of another brother not wanting love and finding it (I'm ready for a sister story now, please). Bridgerton Season 4 understands that romance is not just about recognition, but readiness. And in asking whether love can survive when fantasy dissolves into reality, the series offers one of its most mature propositions yet. In its masked balls and quiet kitchens alike, Bridgerton reminds us that the greatest obstacle to love is not society’s rules, but our own refusal to see clearly.
Bridgerton Season 4 Part 1 ends with tension as Sophie is working as a maid in the Bridgerton house, Michaelea is back making Francesca turn her head away from home her husband and Lady Violet succumbs to... we'll call it 'tea'. Let's hope all these leads are strong enough to bring audiences back for part 2.
Bridgerton Season 4 Part 1 is available now globally on Netflix.
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