I’m more certain than ever that Bridgerton’s upcoming Benedict story will still end the same way as in the books, but it won’t be as easy. The choice to embrace Benedict’s sexuality, with Bridgerton season 3’s ending seemingly promising to explore his “freedom” more, was a strong one, but it’s also complicating things. As almost every Bridgerton book fan will no doubt have thought at the time: where does this all leave Sophie Beckett?

That’s not to say that Netflix’s has struggled to tell the right stories, even with changes to the Bridgerton books. In fact, some of the more interesting story elements have been introduced as unique to the Netflix show. And while I should know to trust the showrunners, I love Benedict’s book story so much that anything that compromises its magic is troubling, to say the least.

In Bridgerton season 3, Benedict Bridgerton’s story diverges from Julia Quinn’s books. Thrust into a casual but passionate entanglement with Lady Tilley (Hannah New), Benedict embraces a more fluid sexuality when he meets Paul Suarez (Lucas Aurelio), another of her lovers. It’s immediately clear that Benedict’s eyes are open to a world of pleasures previously closed off to him, and ultimately, he breaks things off with Lady Tilley when she expresses feelings.

Benedict’s path now is set up to be one of sexual adventure, through which he will discover himself, just as much as Eloise’s trip to Scotland will afford her a similar evaluation. He spent most of season 3 evading over-zealous mothers attempting to foist their eligible daughters upon him, despite him not announcing his intent to marry this season. That aversion to commitment came well before his bisexuality became a factor, and that doesn’t necessarily bode well for his romantic story from the books.

How Can Benedict Settle With Sophie If He Won’t Settle?

The problem with Benedict’s new story is how he gets to his “happy ending” with Sophie as it is originally written in Quinn’s books. Benedict has just told Lady Tilley he doesn’t want to settle down, but to marry Sophie, he has to walk that back immediately. And it wouldn’t just be a matter of using his commitment phobia as something to add more to the drama, because Benedict’s identity is also an important factor.

Right now, it’s impossible not to read Bridgerton’s Benedict story as positioning him as a “lost boy” archetype, and I admit I’ve worried a little that his sexuality is a means to underline that trope. While that would be somewhat reductive, there is a way to avoid using sexuality as a device for narrative tension before the course “rights itself”.

Part of that, too, would require the show to write Benedict’s story in a way that doesn’t present his sexuality as a thing to be conquered in order to find his happiness. Benedict should end up with Sophie, but there must be an acknowledgment that his heteronormative relationship doesn’t mean he’s not bisexual. That isn’t something I’d expect to be a problem, given how the show has navigated identity storylines, but it’s something I will watch develop with great interest.

Anyway, the good news for fans of Benedict and Sophie’s story is that season 3 showrunner Jess Brownell explained why we’ve not seen any of it, and seems to have confirmed a conventional endgame for Benedict:

“…We were just excited to spend a little more time with Benedict before he settles down. He’s a very impulsive, passionate character, and we wanted to see where his impulses and passions would take him before we tell his happily ever after.”

So yes, it might be more difficult to envisage at the minute without some sort of major compromise, but we are heading there. The question I have is now just how…

Why Benedict & Sophie’s Story Can Still Happen In Bridgerton Season 4

As I’ve already alluded to, Benedict not wanting to fall in love and it happening anyway is a popular and well-trodden romance trope. Mr Darcy was a stoical lone wolf when we met him and his journey to romantic revelation was more gripping because of his own resistance. That would be very easy for Bridgerton to write in too, but there’s more to consider here.

Benedict is the emotional heart of the Bridgerton family, at times counsel to multiple characters and an obviously very loving figure to all of his siblings. His instinct is to remain in the home, even as his siblings leave it to find themselves. Benedict could have left the Ton to explore his sexuality with greater ease, but instead he seems intent on doing so without turning his world upside down.

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Luke Thompson himself talked about the emotional reward he gets from his family, which somewhat replaces his need for intimate connection (beyond something physical):

“…What’s also interesting is that maybe they’re sort of standing in each other’s way a little bit. I think there’s a lot of emotional intimacy, that Benedict gets from his family and Eloise in particular. You sort of think, ‘Well if you’re going to find someone specific, you’re going to have to let go a little bit, or hold on a little less tightly to those relationships.’ It’s very hard, when you have such a connection, and it’s such an old connection, like brother and sister, it’s really hard to make space for other stuff.”

Benedict’s position at the end of Bridgerton season 3 is different, though. His family circle is increasingly pulling smaller: Eloise’s move to Scotland will leave him emotionally unsatisfied and all of his siblings are either enveloped in their own romantic stories, absent entirely, or too young for the same level of connection. Even his mother is now embarking on a romantic journey, and it’s notable that Benedict doesn’t really have friends the same way his brothers do.

I can easily see a world where Benedict throws himself into more sexual relationships in season 4 to seek connection, before realising that his own declaration that he has a lot of love to give means more than simply sowing his oats. That adds a new element to Sophie’s potential arrival at the Masquerade ball and his subsequent Cinderella-like quest to find her.

In the Bridgerton books, it takes Benedict 2 years to reconnect with Sophie after the ball, which I would expect will be sped up for the series, but the time between the meet-cute and their eventual happy ending could very well see Benedict attempting to fill his emotional vacuum with more casual relationships.