Bridgerton Season 4 Review: This Outing Is Less Raunch, More Rom-Com

Prepare yourselves, period romance enthusiasts: "Bridgerton" is back for its fourth season, and some might say it's better than ever. As we journey back to the early 1800s to visit the delightfully chaotic Bridgerton clan and their various exploits, we're treated to a sweet, romantic story that should feel very familiar to fairy tale fans. There are still some lingering issues with the treatment of some of the supporting characters — there never seems to be enough time in eight episodes to do justice to the sprawling ensemble cast, and the now-famous decision to gender-bend an upcoming love interest looms large over the proceeding. 

But despite this, Season 4 benefits from a little bit of time away from London and the ton, giving its two leads (Luke Thompson and Yerin Ha, respectively) a chance to shine on their own. And although this season (Part 1, at least) is more rom-com than raunch, there are still plenty of moments that we suspect will make fans go feral.

Another year, another Bridgerton falling desperately in love. That's what we sign on for with each new season, and this time, it's the bisexual failed artist Benedict (Luke Thompson) in the hot seat. While he's been sleeping his way through London bohemian society, his mother is determined that he finally settle down. And although he remains skeptical that he'll ever find the grand love that the rest of his siblings have somehow lucked into, he agrees to attend the family's masquerade ball to open the season. That, of course, is where he meets the Lady in Silver, who he feels an instant connection with.

The only problem? Well, since it's a masquerade ball, and she disappears before they take their masks off, he has no idea who she actually is. And his efforts to try to track her down by creepily staring at the lips — the only part of her face that he could see — of all the younger members of the ton strangely fails to bear fruit. But that's because he's not looking in the right place. True to the Cinderella inspiration for this season, his lady love is Sophie (Yerin Ha), a well-born but illegitimate maid working in her stepmother's home, who wanted one magical night and certainly got more than she bargained for. But will these two crazy kids end up finding one another again — and more importantly, overcoming the not-insignificant class barriers that separate them socially?

It was certainly time for "Bridgerton" to get to Benedict's love story, as the poor man has been stuck in limbo for the past two seasons, treading water in B and C storylines. But now that we've finally gotten to him, his story doesn't disappoint. The dynamic between Benedict and Sophie is charming, and it's refreshing to see a couple who genuinely seem to like each other as people from the very start. Although it leans heavily on the Cinderella tropes, they've clearly invested time in giving Sophie a personality that goes beyond long-suffering servant. We like her right away, so we can understand why Benedict does as well. And the fact that they get a little bit of room to breathe away from London only helps matters, giving them the chance to get to know one another on their own terms.

But of course, each season has a full ensemble of side characters (possibly too many? Do we still need the Mondriches?), some of whom are given better material to work with than others. The Queen (Golda Rosheuvel), we are happy to report, is used more effectively than she has been in quite some time — the prospect of Lady Danbury (Adjoa Andoh), her closest friend, leaving court to visit the land of her birth leaves her feeling vulnerable. Her imperious nature crumbles at the idea of being left alone. This undercurrent of melancholy follows through into the relationship between Francesca (Ruby Stokes) and John (Victor Alli), who seem to care deeply for each other but aren't fully comfortable in their marriage yet — which is sad, since we know that Michaela (Masali Baduza) is essentially waiting in the wings to take over. It almost feels as though they're transposing Francesca's second chance at love storyline from the novels onto Violet (Ruth Gemmell). And while we're happy to see Lady Bridgerton have a little bit of fun — after raising this crew of miscreants, she certainly deserves it — the jury's still out on the impact this choice will have on Francesca's storyline in the future.

Overall, this latest "Bridgerton" romp will provide much of the same fluffy romance that fans fell in love with in the first place. But with two lead characters who are skirting along the edges of high society rather than fully entwined within the ton, Season 4 offers something a little bit different. And, at least in the first half of the show, there's significantly less angst than we've come to expect, allowing fans to luxuriate in the fluffy romance without too much stress. All in all, Season 4 of "Bridgerton" represents a return to form for the popular Netflix series — after a slightly underwhelming third season, the antics of Benedict and Sophie come at exactly the right time.

"Bridgerton" premieres on Netflix on January 29.