SPOILER ALERT: This post spoils the entirety of Bridgerton Season 4 Part 1 (the first four episodes).
More drama and gossip lie in wait for the second half of Season 4 of Bridgerton.
Part 1 of Season 4, now streaming on Netflix, plunges viewers back into the elaborate Ton with Benedict and Sophie inexplicably drawn to each other while the rest of the Bridgerton siblings navigate their own love lives, married or “on the shelf” as is the case with Eloise.
For Francesca, who has just summited discussion of “the pinnacle” with her husband John Stirling, Earl of Kilmartin (Victor Alli), a new challenge lies in wait with the unexpected arrival of one Michaela Stirling (Masali Beduza) at a dinner party the Kilmartins are hosting for the Bridgerton siblings.
“Michaela is just such a tornado of energy, and she really whips up something inside Francesca. Michaela represents a lot to Francesca, just in the sense that Francesca’s very regimented with her life, and she follows the rules, and she puts a lot of pressure on herself to get things right, and then you have this person who doesn’t live their life by those rules. I think that’s really confronting,” Dodd told Deadline. “But also I think there’s a little bit of jealousy there as well, like, ‘Why do you not have to behave the way that I [do] and why do I have to behave this way?’”
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Readers of Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton books have an idea of what is to come for Michaela, Francesca, and John — the latter two having made a perfectly suitable match.
“The dynamic with John and Michaela as well, I just think she’s put all of this effort into her relationship, and they’re finally in a really, really good place, and feeling a lot more physically comfortable with each other as well, and really looking to the future together, and then [Michaela] shows up,” Dodd added. “I think [Francesca] just knows that it’s going to be unsettling for her, and it’s going to have consequences, [Michaela] showing up again. But it’s actually a really, really fun dynamic between the three of them.”
Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton), who is caught up in his own world of newly-married life, may not be aware of his sister’s inner turmoil or his brother Benedict’s (Luke Thompson) request of Sophie (Yerin Ha). But Newton teased that Colin, whose love story is featured after Benedict’s in the book series, could still have some words of wisdom for the second Bridgerton son.
“Colin’s giving a lot of advice this season. I think he considers himself a bit of a professional when it comes to matters of the heart. I think he indirectly gives some advice to Benedict. He doesn’t necessarily know that Benedict needs that or is seeking that at this particular moment,” Newton told Deadline. “He’s kind of off on his own journey. I also understand that, because Colin is his younger brother and seems to sort of have everything figured out, there must be an ounce of frustration towards that. But, yeah, Colin’s giving advice to anyone that will listen and anyone that will take it, whether that be about love or cheese or … I don’t know. Yeah. [Laughs].”
Below, the pair of actors address other specific plot points of the first four episodes of Bridgerton Season 4 such as Violet’s (Ruth Gemmell) love life, Benedict’s offer to Sophie and more.
DEADLINE: I was hoping to get your thoughts on what your character’s reactions would be to Benedict asking Sophie to be his mistress.
LUKE NEWTON: I hope it’s as big as my reaction when I first read that moment and then first watched it. I love that, in this season, Colin just cannot comprehend the idea of having a mistress.
HANNAH DODD: So cute.
NEWTON: I remember reading those scenes and being like, ‘God’, I mean, obviously he’s against the idea, because he’s madly in love, but he just doesn’t even understand that that would ever be a thing. Up until just before Season 3, Colin was quite naïve to the way, of world for the men of the Ton. So, yeah, I think Colin would be very shocked.
DODD: I hope Francesca would be shocked. I would be shocked. I think the lead up to that, that moment is just so well done. You’re just getting there, getting there. Oh, it’s devastating, but I don’t know. I hope Francesca would be outraged by the behavior of her brother.
DEADLINE: I forgot about the scene at the club where the men talk about mistresses, and Colin is there. I’m glad you brought that up, Luke.
NEWTON: I remember that scene. And also, because we get scripts bit by bit, I remember thinking, ‘Is this a new storyline for me? Am I going to be so against [the idea of a mistress] and I’m going to eliminate all of the gentlemen?’ I was really reading into it. But really, he’s just so madly in love that he can’t think of anything worse, which I love. I love that.
DEADLINE: Hannah, Francesca’s storyline is wild with the pinnacle and everything, especially after Daphne went through something similar in Season 1. Could you talk about how that plotline factors into what we know of Francesca’s arc so far?
DODD: It’s such a nice storyline, because I just think it’s really important to show to two people within a relationship after they get married, and that a relationship is still work. And just because you’re married, it’s not just like a tick, you’re finished, you’re in love, ta-da. It’s a choice every single day, and you work on that relationship, and it’s important to grow within the relationship as individuals, but also together, and how difficult it is for these two introverts to discuss something that is like so intimate for them.
But also, I think it just highlights this whole unfairness that men are sent out into the world with all of this information, and they’re allowed to go and get that information and have experiences, and yet women were not only not told, but also expected to be innocent. So it’s really nice to see her, when she needs information, she goes and she leans on her female counterparts. It’s really special that the people that she chooses to go and have those awkward, uncomfortable conversations with are the people that they are.
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As hilarious as some of those scenes are, and they were so funny to film, I love the fact that she’s really going after the information in a very Francesca matter-of-fact way. ‘Tell me exactly what I need to know,’ and I think she puts such a pressure on herself to get it right, which I don’t think it’s helpful, but I think it ultimately is helpful to bring them both together, and helps them get closer within their relationship and take that next step within their relationship.
DEADLINE: Violet has a new friend at the end of Part 1. What do you think your characters think of that?
DODD: How aware is Colin? I don’t know.
NEWTON: He’s got no idea.
DODD: I think Francesca has a little idea. I think she did even at the end of Season 3. There’s a little scene. I don’t know.
NEWTON: I love Gregory’s reactions. I messaged Will [Tilston], who plays Gregory, the other night, because there’s two moments where he very abruptly, indirectly calls [Violet] out. It just goes to show how some of the Bridgeton siblings are really observant when it gets to that, and some are so in their own world that they have no idea what’s going on. But what a beautiful love story that we get. There’s so many love stories within this season alone, and I think ultimately, we’d all just be so happy for mum, yeah, because it’s it’s been a long time, and she deserves [it].
DEADLINE: Hannah, is, if there’s a specific song or string cover that you would want associated with Francesca’s storyline?
DODD: I love Chappell Roan, but I know that Francesca — I hate using the word fans, I don’t know why I’ve got such a problem with that — have claimed “Good Luck Babe” as like one of Francesca’s songs, which I would love. I very often use “Iris” by [The] Goo Goo Dolls as one of the ones I playlist. And I think for later down the line, there’s a song called “Francesca,” which I would love. I think it would be beautiful.
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