WE'RE BACK! Lesbians & Lavender Marriages in Bridgerton S4
Sir Benedict is my third favorite Bridgerton
It’s time for some Regency Era messssss ‘cos The Bridgertons are back, back, back again!
I have written several times about Bridgerton. I fucking love this show. I had zero clue about the existence of the series before it premiered on Christmas Day 5 years ago.
I didn’t read the books (I’ve since only read the 1st one but own most of them), was not part of the fandom, and had no idea of any of the changes that Mama Shonda made when it went from book to series.
I had my issues with it (the whole color blind casting threw me once I read up on it) but like many people who talk shit about something—EYE STILL LOVED IT!
I am dedicated to this family and the only other caucasian family I care more about are The Featheringtons which…WHERE ARE THEY THIS SEASON?!
Anyway, the latest season trailer dropped this week, and in case you’re new to all things Bridgey, each season focuses on a different child from the elite family. This season we are zooming in on bisexual baddie and artisté, Benedict Bridgerton, the 2nd of the 8 Bridgerton children.
He’s a sweet little man who loves to be creative and apparently likes to dip his paint stick in lots of peoples pots around town. Which is like, fine! But his mom is like “get married” and he’s like “omg maybe but like leave me alone about it or whatever”
There’s a party and it looks like there….he meets the masked love of his life who we find out is Sophie (Yerin Ha). She is a new face (lol) in the world of Bridgerton and other then knowing that she works as a maid for Lady Gun (Katie Leung) and her daughters Rosamund (Michelle Mao) and Posy (Isabella Wei), we don’t know anything else.
It looks like this season is following a Cinderella plot of sorts, so maybe Sophie is the daughter of one of Lady Gun’s two dead ex-husbands? I don’t know and to be super honest…I’m not fully invested in their story.
Maybe it’s because it’s the 4th season so the show has built up so many storylines that I have other fun ones to focus on? I don’t know, but the only Cinderella stories I’ve cared about star Brandy Norwood or Drew Barrymore so…we’ll see shall we?
So, just as I have done in the past, let’s go ahead and get into my thoughts on Season 4 based on the trailer!
Chat soon gentle readers!!
BITCH—WHERE ARE MY THE FEATHERINGTONS?!
Where are my well dresssed and horrible queens?! I didn’t see a lick of true color in that trailer? I know we sort of wrapped it up with their BIGGER storylines last season but they all had kids and we need to know what is going on with every single one of them, not just Penelope. I just have a feeling that Mama Featherington will return to the The Ton still happily single and wearing bright purple while being debt-free.
Also, today I learned that none of them are redheads IRL! I knew Nicola wasn’t but I was SHOCKED at the rest of them!
The Mondrichs are trying not to lose recipes
Baby Mondrich got a surprise title last season, and now he and his family, including his parents Will & Alice are now part of The Ton. Last season they were navigating how to keep elements of their old life (independence, romance in their relationship, kind and sweet children) while adjusting to the new shit their new status brings (financial stability, better opportunities for their children, the ability to REST) they don’t want the title and money to change their kids or their family.
I love this because I think its something many in this generation (millennials and beyond) of Black families are navigating too. Like, we are allowing and advocating for our (future) children to choose paths in life that THEY want, bringing up children with empathy, wanting them to be who they are, and it’s new to how many of us were raised. The Mondrichs want to bring in elements of their old lives to their sudden new one and are truly trying to figure out how and phew!
P.S I thought it was hilarious last season when theybasically got told because they are now rich and titled that they can’t sleep in the same bed or bedroom and they were like…LOL WHAT?
Whose gotdamn white baby is that?
the answer is NO ONE’S! Every Bridgerton so far has married someone that isn’t white, except for Colin…
…but HE MARRIED A PERFECT REDHEAD WHO IS SMART AND HOT AND WITTY SO THAT’S FINE. They are pulling an early aughts Kardashian (Colin is Kourtney, duh) and it’s kinda wild and I also kinda love it, but also like do I? and also whatever? and also let’s just see what happens?
Will we see Benedict bisexualing?
Season 3 was the first time it was made explicitly queer clear that Benedict was not straight. He dove into Lady Tilly’s fanny and touched butts with Paul and they also did a lil mini Eyes Wide Shut action, or Challengers if you’re under 30 and don’t get that reference…but also I’ve never seen Challengers...threesome. They had a threesome.
I personally called it in Season One, anytime someone says a character digs a “bohemian” lifestyle (and also hangs around closeted queens who throw fabulous parties) I know it’s code for queer…I’VE SEEN RENT, I KNOW THE LINGO. I talked about the lazy queer coded takes on Eloise at one point but I didn’t fully buy into it—EYE DID BUY INTO HER BROTHER THOOOOOOO AND EYE WASSSS RRRIITTEEE!
I’m wondering if in this season there will be any queerness in his story line. Eloise and Penelope basically call him a fuckboy
So maybe before he starts chasing after Cinderhottie Sophie he’s like hooking up with one of the ton boys? or maybe he has to choose between Sophie and somevguy he fell in love with too? I don’t know!
FRANCESA IS IN A LAVENDER MARRIAGE?!
She has always been the sibling who is not fully interested in bring a Bridgerton and is most likely to do whatever she needs to live life on her own terms as much as any regency era girl could. So if that meant getting married to a guy who is also hella private, rarely home, is fun and nice to be around, let’s her do her own thing (like…read), and isn’t truly pressed about going to parties during the season? OKAY COOL.
She wasn’t fucking with anyone on the market last year and married John Stirling in a quiet ceremony and then was getting ready to move to SCOTLAND (lol she said GET ME OUUTTA HERE NOW!). She meets Michaela Stirling (Masali Baduza) at her brother Colins wedding reception.
Michaela is the cousin of her husband John AND FRANCESA GOT BUTTERFLIES WHEN SHE SAW HER.
Now, let me tell you right now. If Netflix throws this storyline out, makes it fully unqueer, or anything of the sort IM SUING AND WINNING. You don’t get to play stringy romantic music, have her fumble over her words, have them both stare into each others souls, AND THEN NOT BUILD ON IT THE NEXT SEASON.
PLUS I know they veer from the books ::cough cough:: the sheer amount of niggas in the show, with or without storylines ::cough cough:: but they also keep some things the same. In the books Francesa falls in love with Johns cousin MICHAEL. So I’m just saying…
P.S Lavender marriages can be full of love and I think she adores him BUT i think she also wants to kiss his cousin lol
ALSO, I called Francesa being queer before season 3 premiered and I just KNOW season 4 will confirm it for me!
MAMA BRIDGERTON IS BACK ON THE MARRRRKEETTT
I’ll never forget that scene in Queen Charlotte where she is talking to Lady Danbury about how wildly horny she is because she hasn’t had sex since her husband passed. They apparently had a great sex life (EIGHT KIDS SOOOOO) and her garden was WELL tended to and now, out of nowhere, her drive is back.
Masturbation was a thing of course, but many high class women/girls barely knew about sex let alone masturbation—this was found in a CONVENT during the era also, go watch Behind Convent Walls.
Remember when Daphne had her lesson on both in Season 1, and when The Queen had to have it spelled out for her by a young Lady Danbury in Queen Charlotte?
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1When they were aware of sex, single/widowed women who wanted to have NSA relationships couldn’t without risking their reputation or the reputation of their family and Dowager Viscountess Bridgerton falls under that. She still has daughters to marry off and has to keep up their family status in order to make sure they attract high quality men great suitors.
Her only true route is to re-marry. She met Lord Marcus Anderson (LADY DANBURY’S BROTHER LOL) last season and they lowkey it off and I’m here for it. She’s only 49 in the show so why shouldn’t she get another shot at love and a little bit of lust. Plus her falling in love with Lady Danbury’s brother is only fair because Lady D had an affair with her dad so—EVEN STEVENS!
The besties are back
The girlies are friends agaaaaiiiinnn. Eloise has presumably fully forgiven and healed from Penelope lying to her about being Lady Whistledown and they are sisters! I love how cuddled up they are (I think Penelope is pregnant again?) and I do wanna know who gave Eloise this haircut (they must pay) and who she is looking at like this.
You would do it too for a check
How is it going to work now that everyone knows who Lady Whistledown is? Like, don’t we all know it’s her..she literally told everyone. So is she just going to like, start signing all her papers, xoxo Penelope Bridgerton? In the trailer, you still hear Mary Poppins Julie Andrews voice, and you can see people still reading Whistledown, and like, we love a small publishing house but is she just gonna keep it going? is The Ton going to pretend they don’t know it’s her so they can still get their gossip? whatever I love it, gotta keep those Bridgerton coffers full!
That’s all I got! Season 1, Part 1 premieres January 29th and I wanna know everything you’re thinking!!!
Extras
Y’all be the fuck SLEUTHING ‘cos this catch was crazzzzyyyy
Do we think Tia feels seen watching Bridgerton?
If you liked this piece you should pop over to this one:
Tessa Thompson is a bisexual menace to (high) society in Hedda
“Before you were domesticated, you were like fire”
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Mini lesson: Before the Regency Era there was the Georgian Era. I LOVE period drama shows and movies and loved history class too. During the Regency Era when Bridgerton takes place, men would go to brothels and 1 in 5 women in London were sex workers (you should try and find a copy of Harris’s List of Covent Garden Ladies and read its FASCINATING), queer men visited Molly Houses, and queer women often had unassuming “close friendships”
Love the analysis of the Mondrich family navigating generational change. That tension between maintaining authenticity and adapting to new social circles is something alot of upwardly mobile families experience but media rarely explores it well. Also the Francesa lavender marriage theory makes total sense given how they framed that Michaela introduction scene, the music and choreography was doing way too much work for that to go nowhere. Bridgerton's gotten better at queer storytelling as the seasons progress so dunno if they'll commit fully but the setup is definately there.