Audiences have been waiting with bated breath for a to return to the ton with the newest season of one of Netflix’s biggest and best dramas of all time. And the first half of the fourth season did not disappoint, almost immediately wracking up 174 million views and taking the #1 spot on the Netflix Top 10 Streaming list. Other seasons of the series also made their way back into the Top 10, with the first season nabbing the #10 spot with 2.7 million views, and the third season taking the #8 spot, also with an impressive 2.7 million views.
Bridgerton is back in a big way, this time with fan-favorite Benedict Bridgerton at the center of all the romantic drama. This season focuses on the second eldest brother, Benedict, known throughout the ton as a rake, a perpetual bachelor, and the prize of all prizes, as he meets the woman of his dreams at a masquerade ball. He ends the night holding the mysterious stranger’s satin glove, a moment that sets him on a search for her identity in an obvious nod to Cinderella that the showrunner calls “magical” and “romantic.” But nothing is ever that easy, and the woman is actually a maid named Sophie, who is nothing short of his ultimate match—and a woman he can never truly be with.
What Makes Season 3 So Unique?
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When speaking about the show and what makes the relationship between this season’s leads so exciting, showrunner Jess Brownell says, “Benedict lives in a fantasy world. Sophie lives in a hard reality. You have two characters who are at opposite ends of a pole, and rather than either of them needing to get all the way to the other side, they both need to travel to the middle. Between fantasy and reality, true love lies in the middle—neither one creates the circumstances for romance to bloom. You have to embrace a little bit of both.”
The newest season has debuted to an impressive 82% on Rotten Tomatoes, with critics saying that the series is as sweet and steamy as it’s ever been, even when tackling such a familiar fairy tale. “This spectacular affair was so stunningly choreographed, and so magnificently ambitious, that even if you’ve never seen Bridgerton before, it’s worth watching this opening episode just to marvel at the spectacle,” says Christoper Stevens of the Daily Mail. Allison Rowat of The Herald agrees, rating the new season 4 out of 5 stars, and saying, “Drenched in sunshine and awash with flowers in bloom, Bridgerton is a shot of vitamin D to the soul. If the writing is not as sharp as before, it still has more witty asides in a single speech than other shows have per episode.”
All in all, it’s a lush and dramatic addition to a series that’s captivated millions of viewers, carried by its two leads who have some of the best chemistry that we’ve seen so far on Bridgerton (Daphne and Simon, you will always be the greatest of all time). While it’s not the strongest of the Bridgerton offerings (again, Daphne and Simon, no one does it like you), it’s certainly worth a watch, and maybe even the month long wait for the second half of the season.
Bridgerton Season 4, Part 2 releases on Netflix on Feb. 26
What was your favorite moment from the first part of Season 4? Let us know in the comments, and then head over to the ComicBook forum to keep the conversation going.