Benedict has sparkling blue eyes, the misfit mystique of an artist, and the work ethic of an eldest daughter. When will we finally get to watch him fall in love?

Dearest gentle reader, I recognize that the laws of attraction can be fickle. The very same features that might make one person quiver beneath her bodice might, in fact, stir nothing but disgust for another. The flirtatious habits that once made a bachelor’s eyes sparkle during one season might bore him to tears in another. Nevertheless, I must ask: What the hell is going on with the hottest brother in Netflix’s Bridgerton?

No, I’m not talking about Anthony, the dreamy (now married) Viscount played by Jonathan Bailey. I’m talking about his younger brother, Benedict, whose love life has been a hot, sexy mess for three seasons. Sex appeal might be subjective, but as far as this writer is concerned our boy Benny checks all the right boxes: He’s got gorgeous blue eyes, witty ballroom comments, and a soul-meltingly mischievous smile. Also, he’s the most reliable of his many, many siblings. Too bad Bridgerton can’t seem to decide what to do with him.

Next season will likely belong either to Benedict or his younger sister, Eloise, who already made a catastrophic debut on the Ton’s marriage mart in Season 2. But if we really are moving on to Benedict, it’s going to take some real finessing to stick the landing.

First, let’s get this out of the way: I understand that sex appeal is subjective, but if you’re sitting at home thinking to yourself that Anthony really is the hottest Bridgerton, you’re simply wrong. I understand that his chocolate-brown eyes, angular jawline, and past reputation as the town rake bring with them a certain je ne sais quoi, but really, what else is he bringing to the table? His traumatic backstory—watching his father die from a bee sting—was executed so goofily on screen that the show itself doesn’t even seem to take it seriously. Why else would they incorporate a little bee into its customized Netflix logo? As far as Regency-era smokeshows go, crushing on Anthony is like ordering a plain latte at Starbucks—expected, unoriginal, and thoroughly uninspiring when there are so many other, more unique options.

As for the rest of the Bridgertons, there’s hardly any contest. God bless Colin (Luke Newton), but he’s always been shockingly boring for a guy who always seems to be taking a gap year abroad. Phoebe Dynevor set the standard as the eldest sister, Daphne, but she was too demure to claim this crown. Eloise is gorgeous and, more importantly, an intellectual free spirit, but she’s also not terribly interested in romance. That leaves Francesca (now played by Hannah Dodd)—who might be dating in the series but, frankly, feels too young for me to include in this list—and youngest siblings Gregory (Will Tilston) and Hyacinth (Florence Hunt), who are definitely too young.

Benedict, though? He’s got it all. For three seasons, Luke Thompson has played his character as a thoughtful, sensitive observer of society who also never takes things too seriously. Take, for instance, the nonchalant lecture he offers his friends Will and Alice Mondrich regarding how they can break the rules as they nervously navigate their first ball—or his repeatedly dodging the desperate debutante Miss Stowell, who tries to attach herself to his side after one dance. It’s hard to blame Stowell, though: Who among us could resist a man who possesses both the soul of an artist and the ironic remove of Oscar Wilde? As if that wasn’t enough, Benedict’s apparently got some financial sense as well. This season, we find out that while Anthony was away on his honeymoon, his younger bro was successfully managing the family’s business affairs. Soon, he’ll have to do that again, since his brother has opted to take a second trip abroad with his wife, Kate Sharma (Simone Ashley). But taking care of the family is nothing new for Benedict—after all, he’s spent three seasons lending his ear to Eloise, who trusts him as a close confidant.

Had the Netflix series followed the sequence of Julia Quinn’s novels, Season 3 would have been Benedict’s chapter. In the books, he falls in love with a woman named Sophie Beckett in a long, Cinderella-like romance that kicks off after they meet at a masked ball. The TV adaptation, however, has opted to skip his story (for now) and jump straight into Penelope and Colin’s friends-to-lovers arc.

Benedict isn’t suffering too much; while Pen and Colin shoot each other furtive looks and hook up in carriages, he’s taken up with an alluring, empowered widow named Lady Tilley Arnold (Hannah New). Still, of all the Bridgertons, Benedict’s romantic inclinations have been the most… let’s say, frenetic.

First, he seemed to strike up a flirtation with Henry Granville—an artsy fellow with a conveniently open marriage. But then, the show backtracked on that crackling chemistry and made Benedict as hetero as possible in Season 2—a directive that’s apparently remained in tact for Season 3.

(L-R) Hannah New as Lady Tilley Arnold and Luke Thompson as Benedict Bridgerton.

Liam Daniel/Netflix

“I’ve seen a lot of discussion about Benedict’s sexuality in Season 1,” showrunner Chris Van Dusen told TVLine after Season 2 premiered. “But the storyline [of him befriending] Henry was really about tolerance in a really intolerant time, and showing Benedict in that world.”

Van Dusen’s comments to TVLine seemed to contradict themselves; on one hand, he told fans to “wait and see” if Benedict’s “sexuality will become fluid,” but at the same time, he said that the show’s producers had made a “conscious choice not to have it be fluid in Season 2.” As someone who absolutely noticed the fireworks between Henry and Benedict in Season 1, I read all of this with a sharply arched brow.

Much to the chagrin of fans who’d been excited by the idea of a queer Bridgerton boy, Season 2 Benedict moved on to romancing Tessa—a nude model at the art school he later abandoned after he found out that Anthony had basically bought his admission. (Part of Sophie’s book arc with Benedict includes restoring his confidence in his art, so this tracks.) This season, he’s jumping in bed with Lady Tilley, with once again nary a flirtatious look in any man’s direction. Meanwhile, much to his mama’s chagrin, none of these relationships have seemed particularly serious.

The reason for that might lie in his romance with Sophie. In Quinn’s third novel, An Offer from a Gentleman, Benedict falls in love with Sophie at the ball but does not see her again for two years. In that intervening period, he basically gives up on the idea of love. It’s possible that whenever we hit Benedict’s season in the series, we’ll get a flashback to his first meeting with Sophie—thereby revealing the reason for his stop-start romances.

Eagle-eyed fans on Instagram might’ve already noticed that Bridgerton hairstylist Grace Gorman already dropped a major clue as to how all of this might come together. On Friday, she posted a photo of actress Joanna Bobin, who plays the mean girl Cressida Cowper’s mother, Lady Cowper with a curious “fun fact” in the caption.

According to Gorman, the character’s first name is Araminta—which just happens to be the name of the evil stepmother who forces Benedict’s lady love, Sophie, to work as a servant after her father dies. This would make Cressida her evil stepsister, which, if you think about it, is hilariously fitting.

It might be a minute before we get Benedict’s love story, but if this post is to be believed, the carriage wheels already seem to be turning. You know what they say—better late than never.