Bridgerton Season 4 begins like a fairy tale – even though that would explain the premise of every other season. This one in particular has a Cinderella theme around it – the stepsister, the evil stepmother, the prince charming, the midnight deadline, and the shoe that’s left behind, which in this case is yet another accessory.
Yet this Victorian-era story that is all about courtships, suitors, debut balls, and women being groomed to find an eligible suitor continues into Season 4 with a scene that takes its inspiration straight from the timeless tale of Cinderella, but somehow manages to stay modern and relatable. This is the ultimate testimony to Bridgerton’s timeless quality and modern perspective. The new season which dropped just the other day on Netflix, is, as Lady Whistledown would write – Dear Gentle Readers – ‘already the talk of the town, with most having only good words for it’.
This season, the spotlight is on the favourite, most vivacious, and scandalous Bridgerton lad, Benedict Bridgerton. On one of his reluctant appearances at the season’s first ball, he chances upon a young lady in a mask who catches his attention. He is smitten, but she leaves before he can know more about her. The ball is hosted by Lady Violet Bridgerton, unlike how it used to be, with Lady Danbury doing the honours until now. This does not make the Queen happy, as she is when she hears Lady Danbury say she needs a break from being the Lady-in-Waiting.
What’s also new this season is Lady Whistledown herself. She is no longer in the shadows. Everyone knows her, and despite being crazily in love with Colin, her husband now, and with a baby, she still continues to write her share of gossip for the ton. But she is bogged down by not being in anonymity. Does she feel constrained, controlled by her readers, especially the Queen, whose constant thirst for gossip makes her relentless in her demand for more?
This is that season when the entire Bridgerton family is at home, even Eloise. Anthony & Kate too are supposed to make a brief appearance in Part 2. Each comes with their fears, doubts, and their questions and answers. In finding answers to their questions, they bring up several pertinent issues. The win for Bridgerton Season 4 is how it stays true to its times and its characteristics, is all about romance, love, flirtations, and marriage. We do watch this period fiction for all that, and the grandeur of the Mayfair mansion, and the old-world charm with its well-mannered men and the not-so-elegant ones, and the women waited upon by maids, besotted to vintage Victorian fashion.
The period is also about women who are limited by societal norms, of having to be chaperoned to be considered noble, of having their life’s worth determined by the men they manage to marry, and the houses they keep. But the women of the Bridgerton series while they are all that also get to speak their mind, and discover themselves. And it is done with such finesse that it looks naturally empowering.
As we watch the four episodes of Part 1 of the popular series in anticipation to see how the romance unfolds, we also delight in the fact that our favourite characters speak in a language we like. The credit surely goes to the writers, as one hears that the books aren’t a patch over the series when it comes to giving the characters a feminist perspective. Here’s a big cheer to the team behind making Bridgerton such a delightful watch with sensible screenplay adding the cherry on the top.
