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SPOILER ALERT: This post contains spoilers for Bridgerton Season 4 Part 1.
Bridgerton Season 4 showrunner Jess Brownell has shifted the lens on love and life in Part 1 of the new season, starring Benedict (Luke Thompson) and Sophie Baek (Yerin Ha).
This is largely thanks to the character of Sophie, who provides a prism through which to view the downstairs operations and servant class in more detail. And though Sophie is a new entry this season, the supporting cast in lower-class roles also got to step into the spotlight.
“It gives a new energy to the show and a new depth that, after three seasons, I think this season [and] the show needed an injection of something new,” Brownell told Deadline. “Also there’s so many fantastic actors on our show who have had smaller roles in Seasons 1 through 3, and we got the chance to give them more of an interior world this season and really step them forward. Everyone really rose to the challenge.”
Another theme Brownell plays with in Part 1 of Season 4 is that of a fantasy world versus the real one, invoked partly by the Cinderella fairytale inspiration combined with what she calls a “class clash.” Benedict and Sophie’s gravitation toward each other highlight this clearly.
“In Part 1 we’re very much in a fantasy world. Part Two, we’re playing a lot more with the dynamic of workplace romance and Sophie being the maid at Bridgerton house under Benedict Bridgerton, who is filling in for Anthony in many ways, as the London version of the Viscount,” Brownell said. “There’s a lot of tension there, and stakes rise really quickly. But I will also say that there is nothing like a taboo to make two people want each other even more. As much as I’m describing stakes and conflict, there’s also some really, really sexy moments in Part 2.”
In the below interview, Brownell discusses incorporating and interrogating the Cinderella fairytale inspiration Julia Quinn used in her corresponding novel to Season 4, how she balanced several Bridgerton siblings’ love stories with the main one as well as Violet’s (Ruth Gemmell) and more.
DEADLINE: Cinderella is an inspiration for this Bridgerton love story. How did you want to work that in?
BROWNELL: The Cinderella story is absolutely obvious within An Offer from a Gentleman, but I think similar to the way [author] Julia Quinn treats it, it’s not a direct retelling. It’s not the story of a damsel in distress who is waiting to be saved by an upper-class gentleman. It’s the story of a housemaid who has a very clear sense of self and is very headstrong. And the prince-like character, or Benedict in our world, is someone who, in fact, needs to do some self-growth to be worthy of the housemaid in a lot of ways. I think invoking [Cinderella] allows us to interrogate it as well.
DEADLINE: Going off of Benedict being the prince-like character, what drove the idea to have Queen Charlotte seek an eligible bachelor via Lady Whistledown vs. her female diamonds and sparklers in the past? Also how did you want to keep some tension in Penelope writing about Benedict since the ton now knows she is Lady Whistledown?
BROWNELL: We were really conscious with every Whistledown line to check in on it and make sure — can Penelope eat dinner with her family if she’s publishing this? I think you will notice that she’s reporting the facts as per usual, but she’s not editorializing or making judgments quite as much as she might have in past years. The desire for the queen to focus on a suitor was really a practical story concern of wanting the Queen to be tied into Benedict’s story, but it also felt like an exciting way to shake up the dynamic of the Ton.
We knew we wouldn’t have a Bridgerton [daughter] debuting this year, and so if we’re not going to follow a Bridgerton girl, then we want to make sure we’re following one of our siblings. And why not Benedict? I think he’s incredibly eligible. And, until Gregory comes of age, he’s the last Bridgerton boy who’s eligible. So it felt right that the Queen would want to make a fuss over him.
DEADLINE: “Enchanted” by Taylor Swift. I know a bunch of fans wanted that song for this season specifically. Is that what drove you to use it? Or did you have that in mind already?
JESS BROWNELL: I was aware that “Enchanted” was on [the] fan wish list for the season, and we tried it actually in a few different scenes, but in a way, what we really liked about placing it where we placed it, is that it is a moment of romance, but the rug also gets pulled out from under that moment of romance, and so I think it has the greatest dramatic effect in that moment instead of using it in a simpler, more literal romantic moment.
DEADLINE: I was expecting it at the masquerade ball. How did you want to balance the various Bridgerton siblings and their love stories in Part 1 while also highlighting Sophie and Benedict? You did that in Season 3 as well with Penelope and Colin.
BROWNELL: In the front half, because we’re living in more of the fantasy part of our story between Benedict and Sophie, it gave us time to explore some fantastical moments with other siblings and look at their love lives, but then when we get to Part 2, we’re more looking at the reality part of our season, and things get a little bit deeper, a little bit more complex. I think that you’ll find that’s the case with the siblings’ relationships as well.
DEADLINE: With the tension between Queen Charlotte and Lady Danbury, are you setting up for potential Queen Charlotte Season 2? What made you want to work that in, and does the reason for their argument mean that Adjoah would take a step back from the cast?
BROWNELL: I want to say very clearly that we have no intentions of Adjoa stepping back. She’s still absolutely a part of the story in Season 5. It was more about wanting to explore the dynamic between a friendship in which there’s a power imbalance, which is very on theme with this season, where we’re looking at the relationship between servants and their employers. The Queen and Lady Danbury are real friends, but because of the power imbalance, it was interesting to explore what happens when Lady Danbury wants to do something for herself. It was an opportunity to explore new depth for their friendship.
DEADLINE: Season 3 was split into two parts. Season 4 is also split into two parts. Did you know that that was going to be the breakdown going into Season 4? How did you want to arrive at the “mistress moment” cliffhanger as I am calling it?
BROWNELL: We didn’t have confirmation for sure that Netflix was going to batch us again, but we were pretty certain it would happen. It seemed like it went well for them with Season 3, but we always break our seasons to a big midpoint at the end of Season 4 that changes the action and sends us into a new dynamic in the back half.
Landing on the mistress ask, I think made a lot of sense, because from the moment Benedict asked that question, the fantasy is broken completely, and it was really important for us to get to live in the fantasy and live in the romance and live in the will we or won’t we in Part 1, and then, as I alluded to before, in Part 2, you go into more of ‘Okay, let’s confront the reality of this class clash and how it affects the relationship between these two characters.
DEADLINE: I do really love that theme of the dreams and fantasy vs. reality. I also have to ask about Violet’s storyline with Lord Anderson. Will the kids find out? What were your thoughts there?
BROWNELL: A big theme for me this season that unites a lot of the side stories is about courage. It’s something that you’ll see more in the back half, we’re really playing for both Benedict and Sophie. Violet catches on to that theme as well. And last season was her blushing and flirting, and this season, it’s about, ‘Do you have the courage to put your heart on the line and be honest about your personal life with your family?’ That remains to be seen in Part 2.
DEADLINE: That does make me think of Francesca and John discussing the pinnacle. You can just tell she does not want to talk about it, but knowing what we know about her storyline, she’s very much in love with John, or so it seems right now, but how did you want to pace that out and still shine the light on them for a little bit before Michaela returns?
BROWNELL: It was important for us to give some space and time to exploring the connection between Fran and John. It is a really unique connection, especially within our show, in which all the other couples are having these big, angry, passionate love affairs. I think Fran and John’s relationship is really special.
For Part 1, the exploration of the pinnacle is really about honoring something that’s very true for a lot of women, which is, you might completely love your partner, but it’s very difficult for a lot of women to orgasm. I felt a bit of a responsibility to balance out the representation of people having simultaneous orgasms the very first time they have sex. Francesca felt like a character, it made sense to explore that with.
For me, her inability to have an orgasm has very little to do with her relationship with John. I think what it has to do with is her journey as a character of being in touch with herself, literally and metaphorically. And I think she’s a character who really isn’t in touch with herself, and in many ways, doesn’t know who she is. That’s what we’re trying to highlight with the pinnacle storyline.
DEADLINE: That brings me to Eloise, who has declared herself “on the shelf” until Hyacinth (Florence Hunt) hits a nerve with her. Most of her siblings are madly in love at this point, how did you want draw that contrast for her, and how is she still empowered as a character?
BROWNELL: I will say Eloise is one of my favorite characters. I think she’s a lot of people’s, favorite character, or one of their favorite characters. But I couldn’t help but feel after writing and then rewatching Season 3, this character is someone who has a lot of growth to do before they’re ready to have a mature relationship.
The justice of having little Hyacinth call Eloise out on something that is really valid is going to be really good for her character. I’m excited for the way those two impact each other. And I also am really feeling for Eloise this season, because I think it’s amazing that she is so unconventional and has so much conviction in her beliefs about marriage or lack thereof.
But it must be incredibly lonely to be a woman in that day and age who felt that way. And now you have Benedict, who was always the one holdout with her, who’s becoming a marriage romantic in certain ways. I just want to give her a big hug, but in order for her to find the kind of companionship that she deserves, she does need to start looking outside of herself, just a little bit.
DEADLINE: You’ve mentioned Benedict being a character that needs growth, and how in the past, his sexuality has been up for exploration. How did you want to draw that back into the story where he’s falling in love with Sophie?
BROWNELL: He is definitely someone who feels a lot and is capable of a lot. I think he’s probably good at everything he tries, but he has never been able to commit before. When we’re talking about the Cinderella story and the way that we’re flipping that on its head, in a certain way, it’s important for Benedict to become worthy of Sophie, and in a way, him having to overcome her class and having that major obstacle is really key to Benedict having to be brave.
The thing with never having committed to anything is that you’ve never had to push yourself to do something scary. So, I think even though Benedict seems light and carefree, I think bravery is something that, he’s never tested his mettle, and he really will this season.
DEADLINE: Back to the scene at the end of Episode 2, Benedict doesn’t really need to rescue Sophie like you said earlier. She’s got it handled at Cavender’s party, but what made you add Hazel in there during that big scene for Benedict and Sophie?
BROWNELL: It was really important in general, for Sophie to have confidants this season, otherwise we don’t get access to her interior life. And also, because she’s a character who has to deal with so much, we just wanted to give her friendship. The moment Hazel was added, we liked the idea that, instead of it just being Sophie is a victim in that situation, and Benedict saves her, even though she does, in a way, become a victim after Hazel, she’s actually the hero for Hazel. She gets to be more than just someone who is being assaulted. She gets to also be the hero in a way.
DEADLINE: The ‘My Cottage’ episode is mostly contained, but it felt a lot longer in the book. How did you want to play with that? I’m sure it factors into the fantasy reality aspect of this.
BROWNELL: The My Cottage set piece in the book and the episode and the season is really is my favorite part of the story in a lot of ways. It felt right for it to be one contained episode and then to get them back to society because the lovely thing about My Cottage is that there are no obstacles, because class is less of an obstacle in the countryside. No one’s around. Sophie is cosplaying as an upper-class lady. Benedict is hanging out with the Crabtrees and the servants in a way he might not normally in the city, and that’s a lovely place to live in, but we also knew that we wanted to get them back to Bridgerton house fairly quickly so that we could dive into some of the conflict a little bit more.
DEADLINE: How did you want to balance Araminta’s humanity with her being a big villain this season?
BROWNELL: I think it’s just the difference between narrative storytelling and a novel versus storytelling on screen. Villains are really fun, but I think when you have a human being, especially an incredible actor like Katie Leung, playing a role on screen, it’s difficult to completely villainize that person. You want to. It’s just more interesting, first of all, to know why people are doing the things they’re doing because, in our world, at least, people live in the gray area. No one’s completely evil, and especially women in that time period.
You know, you can’t help but look at Araminta, even Araminta in the book, and go, she’s a woman in a patriarchal system in the 1800s, she surely was suffering in a million ways. And you know, when we really dug under the surface of her backstory, it is a very difficult situation. First husband dies, she had to re-enter the marriage Mart with two little girls.
Finally meets someone who pushes an illegitimate daughter on her without telling her, really. That’s obvious, even in the book, and then he dies too. Poor woman! It makes sense then in certain ways, like even if we don’t approve of her choices, we at least understand why she’s making the choices she’s making. So it’s just much more interesting for us to paint her with a little more humanity.
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