Bridgerton season 4 part 2 is streaming now on Netflix, and the new episodes left fans with conflicting feelings of celebration and mourning.
In wrapping up this season, production has done an amazing job honoring the main love story between Benedict Bridgerton and Sophie Baek while still following through on several subplots involving other characters. Not only did the finale episodes give fans the resolution we hoped for, but they also set us up for what to expect in the next few seasons.
CAUTION: this post contains SPOILERS about Bridgerton season 4, part 2
In season 4, part 2 of the beloved historical romance, Benedict Bridgerton must make the tough choice between marrying Sophie and facing societal ruin or denying a blissful future with Sophie to save his family from scandal. Violet and the eldest Bridgerton, Antony, also make it clear that any children Benedict and Sophie might have could never be treated as equals to the other Bridgerton heirs (to the public eye, at least).Â
Just as Benedict decides to choose a life with Sophie, albeit banished from society, Sophie’s own fate turns upside down. Sophie’s evil stepmother, Araminta Penwood, presses charges against Sophie for theft. Sophie faces life in prison if convicted, but Violet and Benedict Bridgerton act swiftly, demanding Sophie’s immediate release from custody and challenging the validity of the charge.Â
The court allows Sophie’s release and encourages an amicable resolution between the Penwoods and Bridgertons over the dispute of Sophie’s innocence. Although Araminta is reluctant to come to an agreement, she isn’t left with much choice when the Bridgertons expose her crime of a much larger theft—Sophie’s dowry, which Araminta formerly claimed was non-existent. The Penwoods and Bridgertons settle on Sophie’s freedom, reclaiming Sophie’s dowry and keeping Araminta’s crime a secret.
None of this really came as a surprise to fans, because there were some hints that Araminta wasn’t being forthcoming about Sophie’s inheritance. Also, if you’ve read the book, the ending didn’t veer off too much from the original story, so there was no shock that Bridgerton and Sophie ended up together. (If you didn’t read the book, you still probably would have assumed the co-stars would end up together based on how the previous seasons have gone.) However, there are a few surprises that left fans in shock this season.Â
1. Francesca's husband, John, dies suddenly
This may not have come as a shock to those familiar with the book, but as someone who has read it, the timing still caught me off guard. Benedict’s novel mentions John’s death but does not ever explain it in great detail. It’s clear that production wants to set up Francesca’s season to focus more on the events surrounding her second marriage. Francesca was fully devoted to John in this season, so the suspense around her growing affection for Michaela remains a large subplot for season 5.Â
2. Hyacinth questions her desire to marry
John’s death takes a toll on the entire Bridgerton family, but fans see an unexpected reaction from Hyacinth, the youngest of the Bridgertons. Hyacinth had been eager for her chance to enter the marriage market in season 4, part 1, but John’s death in part 2 reminds her of her father’s own sudden death, and she begins to question the point of marriage.
She feels the chances of becoming widowed are high—or at least in her mind they are. Hyacinth’s closest female role models have all experienced the loss of a spouse: Lady Featherington, Violet Bridgerton, and Francesca, whom Hyacinth has a particular fascination with. She admires Francesca’s life with John and aspires to find someone to give her that kind of life as well. Fortunately, she has Eloise to comfort her, leading us to the next surprise of the season.
3. Eloise changes her perspective about marriage
Eloise spends much of season 4 reiterating her strong desire to avoid the marriage mart. She hasn’t met anyone worth her time and would rather commit to 'spinsterhood.' Now that her best friend, Penelope, is married, Eloise begins to feel the void of companionship. With no prospects, Eloise leans on Benedict to defend her feelings about marriage, but in this season, he falls in love with Sophie. It isn’t until Eloise witnesses Hyacinth’s reaction to John’s death that she forces herself to find the bright side about marriage.
Eloise reminds Hyacinth that they wouldn’t be sisters if it weren’t for Edmund and Violet Bridgerton falling in love and marrying. Her expressions and attitude about marriage finally soften near the end of season 4. With Eloise being the star of season 5, this is the perfect way to highlight her change in heart ahead of her own love story.Â
4. Michaela leaves the ton
After John’s death, Francesca invites Michaela to extend her stay in London. She knows Michaela to be a bit of a vagabond, and although she was annoyed by Michaela's intrusion on their new marriage at first, Francesca now sees her as the only remaining connection to John. One night, Michaela agrees to stick around, but the next day, she’s gone without a goodbye. It will be interesting to see how this plays out next season!
5. Cressida Cowper enters her nice girl era
Cressida makes an unexpected return to London this season, marrying Sophie’s second cousin. She doesn’t return to cause chaos, though—she actually has a complete change of heart, which is a storyline not seen in the book. Cressida is apologetic and remorseful toward Penelope, extending an olive branch by hosting a ball of her own. She’s also hoping to get back in the good graces of the Queen and society as a whole. She begs Penelope to write favorably about her so that the ton will be compelled to accept her.
Penelope eventually decides not to write anything, positive or negative, about Cressida, but ends her reign as Lady Whistledown by encouraging the ton to be more forgiving and less subjected to gossip that ruins lives. With that, Penelope rests her Whistledown pen for good.
6. Sophie lies about her ancestry to the Queen
When the Penwoods and Bridgertons finally make a decision regarding Sophie’s nobility, they aren’t forthcoming about the truth in the presence of the Queen. Sophie has a dowry, making her more acceptable as part of elite society, but as a child born out of wedlock, whose noble father fell in love with a lower-class maid, it would still be impossible to marry Benedict.
The Bridgertons lie when confronted by the Queen, explaining that Sophie is the daughter of her dad’s cousin. The Queen seems to accept this answer, overturning her prior refusal to allow Benedict to marry a maid. Though the Queen has brought some change to society, it appears that intermixing social classes is not yet on her list of progressive decision-making
7. Queen Charlotte bids farewell to Agatha Danbury
In season 4, part 1, Lady Danbury asked the Queen’s permission to leave London and travel back to her homeland, but the Queen denied it. Lady Danbury is Queen Charlotte’s closest friend and confidante, the person who knows her best. She’s getting up there in age and understandably has some level of “finding herself” again that she’d like to do, outside of being London’s most skilled matchmaker.
By the end of the season, Queen Charlotte has a change of heart, realizing that she doesn’t want to keep Lady Danbury trapped in the palace forever. Fans will certainly miss Lady Danbury if this alludes to her absence in future seasons of the show, but hopefully that isn’t the purpose of this dramatic subplot.
8. Violet rejects her long-awaited marriage proposal
Violet shocked us all by turning down her love interest after accepting his proposal and being hesitant to announce it to her children. At first, Violet put off the engagement with Lord Marcus to focus on marrying off her first four children, then she put it off to not overshadow Francesca’s grief. When the time was finally right, Violet decided that she wanted to discover herself again too, rather than fall back into a marriage where her husband would become her main priority. Kudos to Violet for choosing herself, but it was certainly a surprise for these gentle readers!
9. A new Lady Whistledown is on the horizon
Yet another surprise not foreshadowed in the books: there is going to be a new Lady Whistledown! In a recent post on Instagram by Cinema Blend, showrunner, Jess Brownell, hints that this person may have a vendetta against the Bridgertons, so let the predictions begin as to who this mystery writer could be!
10. Don't miss the extended ending
If you missed the extended ending like I did, here is your sign to go back and watch the very end of the last episode, which features Sophie and Benedict’s wedding. There is also a tease about season 5! If you want more early spoilers about what to expect in season 5, Jess Brownell answers some of our burning questions in an interview reposted by Deciderdotcom.
Bridgerton season 4 is now streaming on Netflix.Â