After three seasons of waltzing around it, Bridgerton has finally taken a lesson from Downton Abbey and properly addressed the c-word: class. But it’s complicated.
Though Shonda Rhimes’ Netflix series has long luxuriated in the ballroom gowns, glimmering tea sets, and manicured lawns of the nobility, it has avoided any direct confrontation with the complicated social structure of Regency society, instead living in a fantasy for three seasons. The show’s multiracial casting has raised conversations about historical context, but class politics hasn’t played a major part in the narrative, only being glimpsed fleetingly through characters like Lady Whistledown’s printing press staff and the Featherington’s fiercely loyal housekeeper, Mrs. Varley (Lorraine Ashbourne). The bourgeoisie have had their moments — the Mondriches’ (Martins Imhangbe and Emma Naomi) social standing rose in Season 3 — but the working class has never starred in their own storyline.
So Season 4 comes as a refreshing surprise, as Bridgerton actually gives airtime (and names) to the folks who keep the Ton and the houses of nobility running. Namely, the sublime Sophie Baek (Yerin Ha), a Cinderella-channelling maid in disguise who meet-cutes Benedict Bridgerton (Luke Thompson) at his family’s own fancy masquerade ball. She knows who he is. He doesn’t have the foggiest.
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