Benedict has delivered quite an ungentlemanly invitation in “Bridgerton” Season 4, Part 1.
Adapted from the third Julia Quinn novel, titled “An Offer From a Gentleman,” Netflix’s latest batch of episodes follows Benedict’s (Luke Thompson) quest to find the mysterious Lady in Silver he met at his mother’s masquerade ball. Though he never finds her, he manages to unknowingly fall in love with her. (Read full recap.)
Let me explain: The Lady in Silver turns out to be Sophie Baek (Yerin Ha), a maid who snuck out to the ball to get a taste of high society. Sophie and Benedict later meet again, and though he has no idea that she’s the woman from the ball, he develops a romantic connection with the lady behind the silver mask.
Though the two fall in love, they can’t be together in the traditional sense since they are of separate social classes; Benedict comes from a noble family, and Sophie is a servant. So, Benedict comes up with a workaround in the final moments of Part 1: “Sophie… be my mistress.”
Bridgerton showrunner Jess Brownell calls Benedict’s invitation ‘a huge mistake’
TVLine spoke with “Bridgerton” showrunner Jess Brownell, who adds some context to Benedict’s proposal for us modern folk: He’s asking Sophie to be his official side piece, Brownell explains. He will take care of her, but their relationship will remain a secret.
“In the time period it was not unreasonable for Benedict to think that this was the right ask,” Brownell shares, but admits it is “a huge mistake for Benedict to make.”
“He should be seeing Sophie as more than her class,” Brownell says. “For him to make that ask in that moment, outrage is absolutely the right reaction.”
How could the supposedly “bohemian” Bridgerton son have such a conservative view of romance and marriage? Is he not the same man who’s openly sleeping around, going to late-night parties, and rejecting the traditional search for a wife?
“A lot of his progressiveness, not with his sexuality, but in other ways, has been performative,” Brownell explains. “He is incredibly privileged and hasn’t really reckoned with that privilege. He has enjoyed life to the fullest, but has never done anything really scary.”
And a noble man publicly committing to a relationship with a maid during that time would be scary. It could spell doom for the Bridgerton family; they could be ousted from the social scene and the young Bridgerton girls might never marry.
“Deep down, Benedict is not as brave as he would like to be because he’s never really stepped out in a way where he’s had to be brave,” Brownell adds.
What was your reaction to watching Benedict’s mistress proposal come to life in the Netflix series? Hit the comments with your thoughts!