I Think it’s Pretty Clear Who the Next ‘Bridgerton’ Lead Will Be

Among the many things fans were excited to see in the second half of the third season of Bridgerton—from how the whole Lady Whistledown issue was going to be resolved to whether or not Kate and Anthony would announce a pregnancy, to the budding relationship between Francesca and John Stirling—there were also the usual hints about who the next leading Bridgerton sibling will be.

Spoilers ahead for all four final episodes of Bridgerton season 3, and also for some details from An Offer From a Gentleman, so be warned.

The end of season 1 had that little bee detail to signal that season 2 would be about Anthony, and season 2 had Penelope and Colin fall out—even though Colin didn’t really know they had—so that they could mend things egregiously in this season. And now I think all hints point at season 4 finally being Benedict’s time to shine.

In the season 3 finale, the second-eldest Bridgerton bids goodbye to his sister Eloise who’s leaving for Scotland together with newlyweds Francesca and John Kilmartin. Eloise has decided to spend the off-season far away from her usual places—Bridgerton House and Aubrey Hall—and hopefully decide just who she wants to be and what she wants to do. In an attempt to console her, Benedict assures Eloise that they’re most definitely going to see each other a year from then at their mother’s famed masquerade ball, which Lady Violet would never allow any of their children to miss.

That was enough to raise eyebrows among everyone who read the original Bridgerton books—since it’s precisely at a masquerade ball that Benedict meets Sophie Beckett, the woman who will go on to become his wife, in a very Cinderella-esque moment.

The mention of the masquerade ball was the most obvious and final hint, but this second half of the season has been dotted with little character moments to make us understand that Benedict was ready for a big change—especially after discovering his own bisexuality thanks to Lady Tilley and Paul. 

During his dialogue with Eloise on the swings just outside Bridgerton House, Benedict says that he feels like the next thing he learns might change him entirely. Considering that he was coming off of a conversation with Lady Tilley about not being ready for a serious relationship like she was, it makes sense to speculate that what’s next in store for Benedict—the thing that could potentially change him completely—is in fact the committed relationship he has avoided over these three seasons of Bridgerton.

Then again, just because we know that Benedict is likely going to be the leading man of season 4 it doesn’t mean that we can be sure how his story will pan out. The show has made several changes to the original material—as all adaptations do, and most of them good ones at that—so it could very well do the same when it comes to Benedict and Sophie’s story. For example, how will Benedict’s newfound sexuality come into play? Will Sophie be a man, in the way Michael Stirling has been adapted into Michaela Stirling? 

If I have to be completely honest, I would love for Benedict’s endgame story to be a throuple—one side of which is of course Sophie—since you don’t see many of them in mainstream television and we’ve seen him be pretty comfortable in one during season 3. Then again, it might be asking a bit too much. Whatever the case, we can be sure to have the usual delicious amount of Bridgerton drama when we return to the ton once more come season 4.