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Bridgerton Season-Finale Recap: Might You Stay Forever?
Bridgerton
Dance in The Country
Season 4
Episode 8
Editor’s Rating
Well, love really can change people.
Photo: Liam Daniel/Netflix
As this is the season-finale episode, it is my right to hop on a soapbox and talk about how satisfying it is to watch all these plots come together. At this point, it seems we can’t get through a season without nitpicking over which characters are brought back and why, but this is the first season in which every plot is truly in service to the larger story. As my personal friend Kathryn has written about this season, Bridgerton is kind of notorious for side quests. They’re usually amusing enough or, at the very least, created with the intention to give us information about characters we’ll need to know better by the time it’s their turn to find love. The problem is, those plots rarely tie back to the main story line. This season? Every side quest has either enriched our understanding of the main conflict or added to the season’s emotional devastation. Most important, without every thread from the past seven episodes, the charmingly chaotic scene in the Bridgerton drawing room would be so much less fun! Let’s break it down, shall we?
After being escorted to the clink, Sophie has a chat with the nicest prison guard in London. Nice is maybe overstating it, but I do respect that he levels with her, even if doing so is his saying, “Yeah, babe, no one will care what your poor friend says about your character. That lady seems like a bitch on wheels who wants you dead, so I’d take the blanket and get used to life behind bars.” My girl is alone behind medieval bars, and her only visitor is Araminta, who comes to demand that she confess — a self-serving demand, in truth. What Araminta really wants is for this all to be swept under the rug to keep Rosamund’s fresh proposal to Lord Stotter safe. Worst of all: No one knows where my girl is! Now, if we hadn’t laid the foundation for Varley leaving the Featheringtons for the Dowager Lady Penwood, then guess who would still be in jail?
Araminta is crowing about her successes in the drawing room, and in fairness to her, she did get what she wanted. She took down her op and got her daughter a man all in one morning. Thankfully, Posy has had enough of her mother fucking up Sophie’s life, and in front Varley, calls her out for getting Sophie arrested. With this information in hand, Varley runs to Alfie to confess that it was her information that got Sophie tossed in the big house. He drags her right to Mrs. Wilson, and it is hilarious that they manage to fit in yet another worker cooing at the beauty of working at Bridgerton House.
Upstairs (metaphorically and literally), Gregory, Hyacinth, Eloise, Colin, and Penelope are all over Francesca. In an effort to get some space from her family’s well-meaning but literally crushing comfort, she requests a subject change. This leads to Gregory asking about Lord Anderson, but before Violet has even stammered her way through two words, Benedict whips in like a bat outta hell. “MOTHER! I need to speak to you about Sophie!” He bellows, then notices the majority of his family gawking at him. Typically, I would say read the room, but my guy wasn’t even in the room before he started hooting and hollering. Everyone gapes at him, and Francesca expertly sweeps Gregory and Hyacinth upstairs before they hear too much more.
Violet wants to know if he has asked her, but Benedict can’t find her. Eloise wants to know whom he is asking, Penelope wants to know what he is asking, and, coming in from stage left, Hazel slides in with Mrs. Wilson. Violet is like, “Oh my God, kids, be cool, your brother is in love with your lady’s maid and wants to marry her. I am into it, kinda, please catch up.” Eloise can’t believe he chased her to the docks while Benedict warns Penelope not to write about this. Pen is like, “I’m not even Whistledown anymore,” and Hazel is trying to get the room’s attention. Violet’s all aflutter about Sophie leaving without saying good-bye, while Benedict tries to figure out how to charter a boat. Finally, Mrs. Wilson puts some bass in her voice and demands they all shut up so Hazel can speak: “I have good news and bad news. The good news being Mr. Bridgerton will not be needing a boat.” Is that scene not a thousand times more satisfying for having a better understanding of everyone in that room?
He may not need a boat, but Benedict does need to storm into the courtroom! And let me tell you, he better have his mother with him, and they better be ready to PULL SOME GODDAMN RANK. He says “viscount” twice, and Violet icily name-drops the Duke of Hastings just in case anyone is unclear. Araminta, surprising absolutely no one, is not about to go down without a fight. “Mr. Bridgerton is a second son,” she sneers, before demanding the judge listen to her, a countess! Violet, acting as a professional Boy Mom for good, makes sure to get in some jabs about the worth of those shoe clips. They cannot stop snapping at one another, equally trying to win over the judge and bitch each other out. The judge is like, PLEASE remember you are rich and act like it! Violet wins Sophie’s freedom with a plea for her beloved lady’s maid, and the judge begs them to settle this out of court and save him the headache. That would be great — but for now, Araminta has the last word. They may win in the court of law, but with society? Good luck trying to explain this to the queen!
Violet is thinking all this through in what I have to imagine is a hugely awkward carriage ride back home. The queen could be … a real issue. Mercurial as she is, her disapproval could really fuck things up. Oh, but it’s gonna be fine, babe, Violet assures Sophie, despite the fact that she is still visibly panicking. Back at Bridgerton House, Sophie is now a guest. I guess once the lady of the house semi-approves of the marriage, it would be wild to send her back to mending. Her room is right across from Benedict’s because where the hell else would it be in this maze of a house? Sophie tries to apologize for not telling him she was his Lady in Silver, but Benedict is too hurt to hear it for the moment. Hot Footman John has been assigned the lucky task of making sure his boss-friend and former co-worker don’t bang. Thanks to Hazel’s incredible game, John is distracted juuust long enough for Sophie to dart across the hall.
Benedict, a diva, is preparing to soak away his troubles in a bath, lounging about in his robe and period-appropriate underwear. Sophie confesses that, yes, she was furious that he didn’t recognize her immediately. I am glad she said it because that would sting! But mostly, she has realized it doesn’t matter; he has shown her more love than anyone ever has. She just didn’t know how to trust it because, despite her father (sixth earl of Penwood btw) claiming he loved her, he left her out of his will entirely — you know, according to Araminta. Benedict is like, “Mama, that woman hates you, why would she tell you the truth?” Then it dawns on her that she just … believed her father would have forgotten her, “believed that the love I felt in my head was made up from the beginning. Believed that I should not expect you to love me, or recognize me, or commit to me.” Oooooofff, that is sad, my heart is breaking! Benedict’s is too, and he apologizes for the mistress offer — “forever sorry” is a nice touch. He wants to propose, but Sophie, like any bride-to-be, doesn’t want the threat of jail to hang over their engagement. Fair enough! Let’s take a sexy bath and engage in some activities that, while delightful, will not result in a child! I have to confess that I winced when they splashed all that water on the hardwood floor.
Thankfully, the lightbulb about the will gives Sophie a plan. After Eloise stumbles upon her awkwardly not cleaning, she assures her future sister-in-law that the only thing she is mad about is missing the gossip that was literally under her nose. They hug, and knowing Eloise is on her side, Sophie begs a favor. She’s gotta sneak into the new Lady Penwood’s home … could Eloise give her a reason? Eloise sucks it up and treks over to see her old frenemy Cressida. It takes a minute for things to get comfortable between them, which is great because Sophie needs all the time she can get. It’s great for us, too, because we get to watch Eloise try to figure out what to say about the wildly pink home Cressida has created for herself. Sophie is gone for long enough that they manage to actually find some common ground. Cressida shocks Eloise by quoting Mary Wollstonecraft, whom she admits has some good ideas about losing independence, etc. But she doesn’t value love enough for Cressida. Love can change people, Lady Penwood has learned. Eloise, who probably never thought she would be sitting in her former nemesis’s drawing room so her ladies maid could snoop for a will so she can wed her brother, thinks she may have a point.
Meanwhile, Benedict is doing an excellent impersonation of Colonel Brandon in Sense and Sensibility: “Give me an occupation, Mrs. Dashwood, or I shall run myself mad.” He’s pacing up a storm in the drawing room while Violet tries to reassure him that Lady Danbury might be able to get the queen on their side. Benedict is also having a bit of a confidence crisis … can he be the man Sophie will need him to be? Violet tries to tell him that he will, but when he (fairly!) accuses her of being disappointed in him on more than one occasion, she knows he has a point. But she knows she was so much like him as a kid: wild and carefree and rebellious! Finding Edmund and raising 9 billion kids chilled her out. Still, Benedict wants to see more of that girl in his mother, and as Violet studies her marriage portrait, I’m starting to think we’re gonna!
It’s a bummer that Lady Danbury’s truly amazing PR spin for this couple leaves the queen entirely unmoved. Even though this would mean the queen would win her bet with Penelope, Benedict Bridgerton simply cannot marry a maid. No matter how well Lady Danbury sells the “simple grace and beauty of a girl of humble origins,” Charlotte isn’t having it. And she had hoped that she and Lady Danbury would make one final match together. What a shame!
And here is where the Mondrich plotline neatly comes to a head! Another couple unfairly maligned for “taking up space” or whatever, but without Alice replacing Lady Danbury, where would we be? Nowhere! Also, I love her and her relationship with Will, as this scene demonstrates. She tells Will that she overheard Benedict and Sophie talking and that they are in love for real, but the queen won’t hear of it. And in the meantime, Alice is stuck planning the queen’s ball, which she is throwing mostly to make herself feel better but technically for Lady Danbury, too. She is moving to “Elsewhere” after all, and that should be celebrated. Alice is annoyed that Lady Danbury got to be on the forefront of desegregating nobility while she has been relegated to décor. Thanks to a quick boxing session with Will, she forms a plan, determined to save Benedict and Sophie from heartbreak. She storms into the Bridgerton drawing room doing a damn good Lady Danbury impression. She has no time for their polite assurances that now isn’t a good time; she knows everything anyway. Alice tells them the queen wasn’t moved, but she’s got a plan.
Things are looking up! Thanks to Eloise (and Irma and Alfie), Sophie was able to find the original copy of her father’s will. As with John Stirling’s last jigsaw puzzle, I was startled at the size and shape of it, but it’s 18-something-something, baby! Big-ass wills are in! And surprise, surprise, Araminta lied! Not only was she making money off Sophie living with her, but she also stole Sophie’s dowry! With their ammunition gathered, the whole Bridgerton clan, minus Fran but plus Sophie, heads to the queen’s ball. Mrs. Mondrich has arranged the whole thing, so they just gotta sneak Sophie in there! Thankfully, that is easily done if you are in this family. Violet hands over her invite and then helplessly waves at her passel of children and in-laws, breezily telling the guard it’s so hard to know who is with her at any given moment.
“Lady Penwood, you are being summoned.” Alice cleverly doesn’t answer when Araminta demands to know if the queen is summoning her, just shoots her a coy smile. TRAP! The queen is not waiting for her, but Violet, Benedict, and Sophie are! To add insult to injury, Sophie looks like a goddamned princess, my word. Before Araminta can get too worked up, Sophie tells her she knows everything. She has seen the will, she knows that Rosamund, Posy, and herself were to have equal dowries. Oh, and would it be possible that Araminta doubled Rosamund’s dowry to woo over that lord? It is! Then we’re back to the shoe clips! Posy finally admits she took them, and Araminta has nowhere to go but below the belt. She accuses Sophie of stealing her husband from her, but even Rosamund is over it at this point. Araminta weakly tries the “impersonating nobility” thing, but her crimes are worse and she knows it. Enter rebellious wild child Violet with the solution. Certainly they can come up with a story that benefits everyone?
There is only one thing left to do, and that’s win over the queen. Alice is like, “Heyyy, queenie, I have a surprise for you! That maid? She’s here!” Charlotte wants her gone, but Alice has had enough of being pushed around. She reminds the queen that once she was the one that everyone in the palace wanted to go away, and now she’s the coolest queen ever! She loves zebras and the arts, but she’s got a huge blind spot when it comes to the lower classes. “A woman capable of making that man settle down? … Your Majesty, you are missing all the good gossip!” Charlotte has a little smirk on her face that means she is 100 percent won over, and she swans into the room, interrupting Benedict and Araminta yelling at each other. She demands Benedict present this woman he is in love with, Miss Sophie Gun. “Gun? As in the late Lord Penwood?” Violet hops in with their made-up story — a daughter of the earl’s cousin … for sure! Araminta agrees through gritted teeth, I assume because Violet pinches her. The queen thought she was supposed to be a maid, but she’s over it. Sophie can say with all confidence that she is a daughter of Penwood House. The queen starts giggling, then appraises Sophie once again: “You would have made a wonderful diamond.” Also, did someone say something about a shoe clip? The queen giggles her way out but still has time to impress upon Alice that she took a big risk. Still, she won this round!
The news of Rosamund’s lack of 36,000 pounds has killed her engagement to Lord Whatever, and goddamn, that is a big dowry! That’s gotta be the 18th-century equivalent of paying for the SAT, right? Thankfully, there is a sweet baron who is totally bowled over by Posy, and even though I thought she was, like, 15, it seems there might be a match in this family after all!
Finally able to be out and in the world with their love, Benedict asks Sophie to dance and they twirl lovingly under the watchful eye of Lady Danbury and the queen. They have a serious case of the giggles, and the queen admits she is quite taken with that Alice Mondrich and her energy! Her mad plan worked, and she was right about one thing — the queen does love a good laugh! When Lady Danbury reminds her that she is going to win her bet with Penelope, their giggles turn to full-on cackles. Then the queen keeps looking at Lady Danbury and her eyes fill with tears: “That was fun, Lady Danbury. We have such fun together.” Lady Danbury is crying as she agrees, Brimsley is crying, and the whole damn club is crying!
Pay up, Penelope! Benedict gives Sophie one dance as a recognized Penwood before whipping out that ring and making her a Bridgerton-to-be. The dance floor is charmed as the new couple dances, and it’s time to wrap up some other stuff, too! Like our dear Lord Anderson: He’s hoping Violet is ready to announce their engagement, but Violet has rediscovered a part of herself she thought was gone and she’s not ready to give it up yet. Meanwhile, despite Fran asking Michaela to stay in town and help her grieve, the girl packed up and left in the middle of the damn night! I will say I don’t think they gave us enough to really get why Michaela is running away. I could have used more yearning over Fran from her POV to make that hit harder. The most shocking thing, though? The Whistledown that ends the episode! I am feeling shocked! Who is this new Whistledown? Penelope doesn’t know since she’s on her The Artist’s Way journey and working on a novel! Who is it??? I want to say Cressida, but that’s too obvious, isn’t it? My dark-horse pick? Posy. And! Varley comes home! The gossip queens are back together! Is Lady Featherington the new Whistledown?
BUT WAIT … THERE IS MORE! A charming wedding at Our Cottage, of course! Anthony telling Benedict never to listen to him is sweet, but Anthony telling Benedict their father would be proud of him is tearworthy. In the crowd, Eloise shocks everyone by claiming she loves weddings! All her pals in one place! When everyone looks at her like she has two heads, she assures them she means as an attendee. Fran is never getting married again; she’s had her great love. And just like that, we’ve got our plots set up for next season! Sophie looks perfectly STUNNING. The priest has the sickest hair I’ve ever seen, and I love that Hazel is her maid of honor! You know that girl is walking Hot Footman John like a dog, and bless her!
This was so long that my ass should be in the clink, so I shall bid you adieu! Good news, no need for a shelf this week! Like Eloise will be, we are spinsters no longer!
