Our regency world Cinderella and show’s leading lady, Sophie Baek, can stand for herself
Dearest gentle readers, this author is thrilled to announce that the fourth installment of the much anticipated Netflix series, Bridgerton, has been fully released for the viewers to enjoy. This author is also happy to declare that this season has exceeded all of her expectations. Be warned if you have not watched the show for there are spoilers ahead.
Bridgerton, once again, takes us on an adventure of a whirlwind romance with ballrooms and masquerade and whispers among the Ton, as the story moves forward with another compelling love story in the renowned Bridgerton family.
All Bridgerton seasons are based on a romantic fiction novel series by Julia Quinn. Sophie Beck’s and Benedict Bridgerton’s story take the most beloved and classic fairytale Cinderella’s plot, with a little twist.
This season follows the second-oldest son of the family, the artistic and free-spirited, Benedict Bridgerton, who has unexpectedly fallen in love with the elusive lady in silver, whom he met at his mother’s masquerade ball. While he looks for her every where, little does Mr. Bridgerton know that she is closer than he expected.
Last season of Bridgerton was a bit of a disappointment, to say the least, as it paled in comparison to the first two. Costume inaccuracy, the lack of chemistry between Colin Bridgerton and Penelope Featherington, and the complete focus on other characters, ultimately diverted the viewers to subplots that overshadowed the main storyline.
Safe to say, the maker Chris Van Dusen and producer Shonda Rhimes heard the viewers’ critiques and this season has shone brighter than the last, in my opinion. The forbidden love story between the two leads has taken the spotlight, with other characters and plots being more cohesive and contributing to the progression of the story.
At the stroke of midnight
Mirroring Cinderella’s story, the season opens up with a masquerade ball, hosted by Benedict’s mom, Violet Bridgerton, kicking off the Ton’s new matchmaking season. At the ball, Benedict’s eyes fall onto the mysterious and intriguing lady in the middle of the dance floor, dressed in silver. As per the rules of the ball, when the clock struck midnight, everyone had to take off their masks and reveal their faces. Benedict’s lady in silver, however, left without revealing her identity, leaving one of her gloves behind with him. Since then, Benedict’s search for the lady in silver began.
Throughout the season, certain elements of the classic fairytale can be seen on screen, such as the emphasis of the lady in silver aka Sophie Baek being an illegitimate daughter of the late Earl of Penwood, forced to live and work as a maid by her ‘wicked’ stepmother, and her two stepsisters. Instead of having a fairy godmother and mice as friends, Sophie has her friends, Irma Gibbons and Aflie Barrow, who encourage her to go to the masquerade ball.
What differs Sophie from the classic Cinderella trope is that she is the illegitimate daughter of a nobleman. Sophie’s stance in the Penwood house was no secret, but it was kept under wraps to prevent her from being banished from society. In Cinderella’s stories, the stepmother was jealous of Cinderella’s beauty which was a threat to her own daughters’ futures. But in Bridgerton, Sophie’s illegitimate lineage could damage her stepmother’s and her stepsisters’ reputations, which put her in a tough position after the death of her father, Lord Penwood.
Her stepmother and one of her stepsisters, Rosamund Li, are portrayed as cruel and unfair to Sophie. While her other stepsister, Posy Li, as opposed to the rest of her family, is kind to Sophie. Posy reminded me of Anastasia Tremaine, in the original Cinderella movie sequel, who later stood up to her mother’s cruel treatment, and became a better stepsister to Cinderella.
For the first time in all seasons of Bridgerton, this season explores the upstairs-downstairs divide between the nobles and the working class.” – Frances Chiong
The question that no one should ask
At the end of part one, something unexpected happens. Benedict says the three not-so-magical words to Sophie: “Be my mistress”. Cue everyone screaming into their screens. The original title of the novel is An Offer From a Gentleman, but who would have thought that THAT was the offer! If I were given that offer, I would have probably done worse to Benedict than just deserting him at the stairs. Sophie was a better person than I am, I suppose.
Benedict, torn between his love for Sophie and his ongoing search for the lady from the ball, knew that being a mistress to a nobleman would be better for Sophie than being a maid. If he were to marry her openly, he would put himself and his family at risk within the Ton’s social standing. This highlights how unjust the societal standards were, especially to women like Sophie. Not only was the offer inappropriate, it was the worst time and place to say that to her. Benedict Bridgerton, there is a time and a place and better things to offer!
Amongst other things, Bridgerton has mastered the art of depicting intimacy on-screen. To recall, there have been plenty of steamy scenes between the two love interests of each season, displaying their burning desires for one another. We get a great deal of passionate love scenes between Sophie and Benedict. Yet, what separates this season from the past is that their love story focuses on the difference in the social class and the power dynamic between the two leads who cannot be together because the societal standards won’t accept their union.
A glance below the stairs
For the first time in all seasons of Bridgerton, this season explores the upstairs-downstairs divide between the nobles and the working class. Any household with a high social standing within society had a host of staff which helped maintain their lifestyle, thus emphasizing how crucial maids are in the society.
A glimpse into the lives of the working class is a breath of fresh air. It provides a new perspective by giving the working class the spotlight, while also highlighting how the system specifically keeps the lower class at the heels of the upper class.
Two symbolic scenes that highlight this class difference between Benedict and Sophie are when he climbs up the stairs, looking down at Sophie as she is being guided downstairs to the basement, where the other servants are working, reminding us that the class conflict is an obstacle to the legitimacy of their relationship.
The other one would be when the Bridgerton brothers have a playfight with shaving cream and Sophie walks by the room to see the aftermath with a maid on her hands and knees cleaning up the mess. A simple scene that shows how different their lives are and how they are burdened with cleaning up the mess left behind by the noblemen.
Early in the episodes, when Sophie tries to stand up for another maid at the Cavender house, Benedict is somehow lucky to stumble upon the scene to save Sophie and her friend from the hands of Lord Cavender. Even without any fault of her own, Sophie is left jobless again. Furthermore, the class system exposes the unfairness of the fates of children that are born out of wedlock.
Final thoughts
All things considered, this author particularly enjoyed this new season of Bridgerton, and hopefully, we will be able to see more of Benedict and Sophie in the future, as I cannot get enough of them.
They were a breath of fresh air as their love story and yearning for one another were exceptionally executed. Each episode was engaging and had strikingly aesthetic designs, which heavily contributed to the mood and setting.
While also appreciating the nod to Asian culture, the name change of Beckett to Baek to honour Yerin Ha’s Korean heritage, and her maid’s uniform which was similarly constructed to a traditional hanbok. Hopefully, as we continue forward to the other siblings’ love story, they can keep up with this pacing and to never repeat what happened in season three.
