My Honest Review of Bridgerton Season 4 (spoiler: it’s not about Benophie)

Fair warning: I waited two years for this season. Two years of Polin fanfictions, rewatched scenes, and very specific feelings about a certain carriage. So yes, my expectations were high. Embarrassingly high.

And here’s my honest take, now that the hype has settled.

Bridgerton Season 4 Review: visually flawless, emotionally distant

Let’s start with what Bridgerton always nails: the aesthetics. Season 4 is genuinely stunning. The costumes, the lighting, the masquerade ball, probably one of the most beautiful sequences in the entire show, all of it is exquisite. If you’re here to admire, this season delivers completely.

But admiring something isn’t the same as feeling it.

That’s where Season 4 lost me a little. Where Season 3 had me rewatching scenes at midnight and thinking about Colin and Penelope between episodes, Season 4 left me more spectator than obsessed fan. I watched it. I appreciated it. I didn’t ache for it. And for a show built on romantic addiction, that’s hard to ignore.

Benedict and Sophie (Benophie): Sweet, beautiful… but missing the spark

Sophie is genuinely a great addition to the Bridgerton world. Smart, vulnerable, layered… And the contrast she brings between upstairs and downstairs life adds real texture to the season. I rooted for her immediately.

Benedict, though? I hate to say it, but… he felt a little thin this season.

And it’s not entirely his fault. By Season 4, we already knew Benedict well: his identity struggles, his need for freedom, his complicated relationship with desire. So when his arc this season essentially boils down to man falls in love… it’s fine. It’s sweet. It’s just not particularly riveting.

I ended up feeling more compassion for Sophie than passion for the couple. They’re lovely together. Beautiful to watch. But they didn’t wreck me, and when a romance is the whole point, that matters.

The Side Plots that actually made me feel something

Here’s the thing: Season 4 has some of the best secondary storylines of the entire show. And that’s both a compliment and a problem.

Francesca and John (episode 7) completely blindsided me 😢. I knew what was coming, and yet. Hannah Dodd’s performance is quiet, devastating, and utterly real. It’s the emotional peak of the season, and it has nothing to do with the leads.

Hyacinth is an absolute delight from start to finish. The rehearsal ball with Gregory? Adorable. Her reaction to John’s death? Genuinely moving. She’s grown into one of my favourite characters without me even noticing.

The Queen and Lady Danbury carry a warmth and depth that anchors the whole season. You feel the years, the love, the loss. It’s subtle and magnificent.

In Season 3, I remember being mildly annoyed by the side plots because I just wanted more Polin. In Season 4, I found myself skipping through Benophie scenes to get back to everyone else. That reversal says everything 😶.

And honestly? The Mondrich storyline finally made sense this season (yay). For three seasons, I low-key did not get it. Like… why are they here? What is the show doing with them? Can we just get more Polin please 😩 ? But Season 4 finally gave me my answer  and for the first time in four seasons, I genuinely cared about where they’re headed.

So. THAT’S what they were building towards. Okay then!!!

Polin in Bridgerton Season 4: The good, the frustrating, and what was missing

Obviously, I can’t write this review without talking about Penelope and Colin. 🥹

There are genuinely lovely moments:  the carriage 2.0, the masquerade ball, the tea scene with the brothers (hilarious, chaotic, perfect). And Colin in full protective big brother mode during the rehearsal ball? That’s the Colin I love. Chef’s kiss.

But here’s my frustration: we see them happy. We see them in love. We just never really hear them. After all the drama of Season 3 Part 2 (the betrayal, the forgiveness, the emotional wreckage) I wanted conversations. Real ones. About Whistledown. About what marriage actually changed between them. About their fears, their future, the weight of everything they’ve been through together.

Instead we get glimpses of bliss. Beautiful glimpses. But glimpses nonetheless.

And Colin, I’ll say it, deserved his own arc this season. Look, we all loved the Colin “My Wife” Bridgerton era. The fandom built an entire fantasy around it: Colin, fierce and proud, standing beside Penelope like she hung the moon. Protective. Devoted. Quietly dangerous when someone dares to underestimate her ⚔️.

But there’s a difference between “My Wife” Colin and invisible Colin 😶‍🌫️. And somewhere along the way, Season 4 confused the two. He didn’t get to be her champion. He just… faded into the background of her story. Which is ironic, considering Luke Newton has the range.

We asked for a man who’d burn the ton down for her. We got a very handsome wallflower. 🙈

The New Whistledown: Exciting twist… or are they phasing Penelope out?

Okay. The new Whistledown. I have thoughts.

On paper, I get it. Whistledown was always part of the show’s DNA. The mystery, the gossip, the social chess game. Bringing it back makes narrative sense. And passing the quill could be a beautiful way to let Penelope evolve beyond the secret she’s been carrying for four seasons.

But.

Can we talk about what this actually means? Because Penelope putting down her quill is one thing. Penelope slowly fading into the background is another. And I am not ready for that conversation 🫠.

Here’s my fear, and maybe I’m being dramatic (I’m absolutely being dramatic) what if this isn’t just about freeing Penelope the character? What if it’s also about freeing Nicola Coughlan the actress 😱 ? What if the show is quietly, gently, making her less… essential?

Because I will say this clearly: a Bridgerton without Penelope at its heart is a Bridgerton I’m significantly less invested in. She is the emotional core of this show for me. Her wit, her warmth, her messy complicated humanity. You can’t just… replace that with a new anonymous gossip columnist and call it character development.

So yes, I’m cautiously intrigued by the new Whistledown storyline. But I’m also watching very closely.

Don’t you dare, Shonda. 👀🌹

My Final Verdict on Bridgerton Season 4

Season 4 is a good season. Sometimes a great one. It’s elegant, moving in places, and genuinely surprising in others. But it never made me obsessed. For a show built on romantic addiction, that’s hard to ignore.

I admired Season 4. I didn’t lose sleep over it.

That said, Francesca and Michaela? The new Whistledown mystery? Hyacinth’s story just beginning?

I’m not going anywhere. 🌹

★★★★☆  —  7/10

A beautiful season, occasionally moving, visually stunning throughout… but one that owes far more to its side plots than to its central romance.

— Jane W.