Dearest Gentle Reader, What Comes Next?
With season 3 of Bridgerton now fully done and dusted, what—or rather who—could season 4 have in store for us?
The first three seasons of Bridgerton are now available to stream in full—but the bingeable nature of the show means those that are done are already clamoring for information about what’s coming next. Each season follows a different Bridgerton sibling and their happily ever after and has already covered Daphne, Anthony, and now Colin (and some of Francesca thrown in).
Warning: spoilers for the books ahead.
That leaves Benedict, Eloise, Francesca (her story is far from done), Gregory, and Hyacinth to go. So who could be next? Let’s go straight to the source.
What has the Bridgerton showrunner said?
“I can tell you that I know who it’s gonna be,” Bridgerton showrunner Jess Brownell told Refinery29. “We are in the middle of writing it right now.”
“I think that there are some clues,” she adds. “I don’t know that it’s completely obvious where we’re going. But there are definitely some clues for fans to pick over and theorize about.”
We have our own Bridgerton season 4 theories…
With those comments in mind, we’ve been turning over the final episodes of season 3 for some clues. In past seasons, we’ve seen the next main characters step into the centerstage slightly more, with Anthony becoming more of a central role in season 1, and Colin and Penelope in season 2.
Examing season 3 for the same clues, it’s of course clear that both Eloise and Francesca played some key roles. In Francesca’s case, that’s not exactly hard considering she was scarcely in the first two seasons. However, seeing as the pair of women are now headed off to Scotland, it seems that the show might be parcelling them off to save for later—for now.
In the case of Gregory and Hyacinth, both are still too young to be about to enter the marriage market, with their family members making multiple references to both of them still being children in the grand scheme of things.
That leaves one last potential sibling: Benedict. Indeed, if the show was following the same structure as the books, his story should have been the focus of season 3, rather than Colin’s. It therefore seems likely that Benedict could be taking the central role in season 4.
This is further evidenced by the focus on him and his love life that took place in season 3. Benedict finally explored his long-teased queer sexuality, embarking on a threesome with Tilley Arnold and her friend Paul. When offered a more serious relationship with Tilley on her own, however, Benedict politely turns her down with the reasoning that he enjoys being free—which is a classic line in TV from someone who’s about to experience a great love story.
With all that in mind, our money is on Benedict being the focus of season 4, but it could easily see Eloise or Francesca return from Scotland to take centerstage, with clues being laid for both of their future love stories already. The future is wide open, dearest reader.
(featured image: Netflix)
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