Season 4 of Bridgerton tapped Taylor Swift for an important scene between Benedict and Sophie.
The hit Netflix series returned on Thursday, January 29, with Julia Quinn‘s book An Offer From a Gentleman serving as inspiration for Benedict’s (Luke Thompson) love story with Sophie (Yerin Ha). After meeting at his mother’s ball, Benedict searched for the mysterious woman and ultimately ended up at the Li household.
Sophie, who is a maid for the household, watched on as Benedict interacted with Posy (Isabella Wei) thinking she was the woman who he met at the ball. Swift’s “Enchanted” from her album Speak Now set the scene as Sophie saw Benedict — who didn’t know she existed — for the second time.
The fourth installment of the regency series follows Benedict as he finally meets his match.
“Despite his elder and younger brothers both being happily married, Benedict is loath to settle down — until he meets a captivating Lady in Silver at his mother’s masquerade ball,” Netflix’s official synopsis read.
When viewers last saw Benedict, he wasn’t ready to get married. Instead, Benedict explored his sexuality after having a threesome with Lady Tilley Arnold (Hannah New) and Paul Suarez (Lucas Aurelio).
Showrunner Jess Brownell weighed in on Benedict’s future with Sophie, telling TheWrap in June 2024, “The introduction of Sophie is definitely still in the cards, but we are going to continue to explore his fluidity. This is not the end of that story line.”
Brownell noted that she was “very excited” to follow Benedict’s upcoming love story, telling Netflix’s Tudum, “It felt important for him to explore the fullness of himself before he settles down. He is someone who has big appetites, and we wanted to see him living a big life before he goes into settle-down mode. I’m excited for where we’re going with him in Season 4. There are a lot of things I want to say about it, but I should probably wait.”
More recently Thompson, 37, and Ha, 28, discussed taking over as the next Bridgerton leads.
“We did get on, and it is a weird kind of thing because it’s not a prerequisite,” Thompson told Town & Country earlier this month. “Chemistry in life doesn’t necessarily translate into chemistry [on screen]. Actors are much more comfortable living in that make-believe world — I was probably much shyer meeting her in real life than doing the scenes.”
Thompson reflected on what would drive Benedict. “He loves the romance and the fairytale nature of things, but he’s not so good with reality and what that actually requires — maybe negotiating a real relationship with someone,” he explained. “He’s a bit stuck in fairy land.”
He added: “Her problem is that maybe she doesn’t dare to dream so much, so they complete each other in that way. There’s something very modern about that.”
Season 4 of Bridgerton releases part 2 on Netflix February 26.
