Club Benefits
“Bridgerton” is back with the first part of season 4, comprising four episodes, but the show has once again deviated from original author Julia Quinn’s original books. This season is primarily Benedict Bridgerton’s, which means it is based on “An Offer from a Gentleman.”
Yet, many changes have been made to that story, some for the better, and some that don’t quite work. So, here are seven significant differences between “Bridgerton” season 4, part 1, and “An Offer from a Gentleman."
The timeline has changed quite a bit
“Bridgerton” has adjusted the order of the books to make more sense for its eight-episode seasons — all of which have had more than a year between release dates — which meant shuffling the order of some Bridgerton siblings’ marriages. In Season 4, Colin is married to Penelope, and Francesca is married to John Stirling, before Sophie and Benedict ever meet.
This isn’t necessarily the most significant change. However, in the books, Francesca is still living at home, and Penelope is pining for Colin, whereas in the show, Francesca is struggling with marital problems, and Penelope and Colin have welcomed a new baby. The much larger implication tied to this change is that the Ton knows that Penelope is Lady Whistledown.
In “Bridgerton,” Lady Whistledown’s true identity has already been revealed when the mysterious “Lady in Silver” (Sophie, secretly) leaves Benedict breathless at the masquerade ball. Among other changes, Benedict uses Penelope’s work as Lady Whistledown to discover the Lady in Silver’s real name, which is a significant departure from “An Offer from a Gentleman.”
Sophie Beckett is now Sophie Baek
With every new season of “Bridgerton” comes a wave of online backlash about the show changing the all-white characters of the books, despite “Bridgerton” having done so from the beginning. While it shouldn’t be a shock four seasons into the show, the change to Sophie’s character — from the white, blonde Sophie Beckett to Sophie Baek, played by Korean Australian actress Yerin Ha — was met with the same outrage.
In addition to the racism of the backlash, complaints about this change to Sophie’s character (perhaps intentionally) overlook the fact that, clearly, executive producer Shonda Rhimes, showrunner Jess Brownell and author Julia Quinn are all on board with this approach and want to bring a more diverse cast to the show than the books, which have essentially no racial diversity whatsoever, would offer.
As has been proven with previous character changes, Ha’s performance confirmed that the outcry was unnecessary, as she is absolutely brilliant in the role and makes the perfect Sophie.
Sophie’s evil stepmother is much crueler in the book
Along with Sophie, Season 4 introduces Araminta (Lady Penwood) and her daughters, Rosamund and Posy, replicating the family dynamics of “Cinderella.” Like that evil stepmother, Araminta treats Sophie cruelly and forces her to serve the family as a maid rather than seeing her as a daughter. However, Araminta is much worse to Sophie in the book.
In “An Offer from a Gentleman,” Araminta has Sophie locked in a closet while Benedict visits the Penwood home — another callback to “Cinderella” — whereas, in “Bridgerton,” Sophie roams the house and peeks in on Benedict’s conversation with Posy. In the book, Araminta also has Sophie polish all of her shoes, and she slaps Sophie so hard that Sophie falls to the floor. In the show, neither happens; Araminta simply kicks her out.
Season 4 changes one of Sophie’s most important moments
Among the most crucial parts of Sophie’s story in “An Offer from a Gentleman” is Phillip Cavender’s sexual assault and attempted rape of Sophie with his friends, the latter of which is prevented by Benedict. In the show, the premise remains the same, but Sophie’s role changed. Phillip and his friends do attempt to sexually assault a maid, but it’s not Sophie; she actually comes to the maid’s rescue. Benedict still intervenes when Phillip turns on Sophie, but she isn’t assaulted.
This gives Sophie a more heroic role, yet it’s a troubling decision, as it could be interpreted as “Bridgerton” not wanting Sophie to seem ‘tainted’ by an assault. While that’s almost certainly not the intention, this interpretation even being a possibility is problematic. Narratively, this was also disappointing, as, in the book, this had a profound impact on Sophie, who was understandably distressed and became more vulnerable with Benedict as a result.
Benedict’s injury from this incident is also an invention of the show. In the book, Benedict falls ill, and Sophie nurses him back to health. In “Bridgerton,” Benedict falls on broken glass during his fight with Phillip, and his cut becomes infected. This is a relatively minor change, but it makes Sophie feel more responsible for Benedict’s condition, which alters their dynamic somewhat.
The season’s new thief means an altered ending
In “An Offer from a Gentleman,” Sophie steals Araminta’s shoe clips when she is thrown out so that she can sell them for money to survive. Ultimately, this leads to Sophie’s arrest. Season 4 has already changed this theft, which will necessarily mean a different version of this story. In the show, Posy gives the clips to Sophie so that she can sell them. Like the change to Sophie’s assault, this is a bit frustrating.
This version establishes that Posy isn’t like her mother and sister, which sets up the book’s ending, in which Posy leaves the Penwood home to stay with the Bridgertons. Yet, once again, this feels like a way to make Sophie ‘pure’ and ‘innocent’ compared to the book. Sophie’s desperation to steal was a realistic depiction of a woman who was put in a horrible position and had to survive — it didn’t make Sophie a bad person.
The Bridgerton family has major on-screen differences
Throughout “Bridgerton,” countless changes have been made to Violet Bridgerton and her eight alphabetically named children. In Season 4, certain differences are especially notable, including Violet’s arc involving a steamy connection to Lord Marcus Anderson.
Romance was already budding between the two in Season 3, but the new episodes make their relationship much more intimate, which is a major deviation from the books, in which Violet never truly committed to anyone new following the death of her husband, Edmund.
Other “Bridgerton” romances look quite different, too, including Benedict and Francesca’s respective interest in both men and women, as well as the difficulties in Francesca’s marriage.
Queen Charlotte isn’t in the book
Queen Charlotte plays a major role in the “Bridgerton” universe, not only with her recurring role in “Bridgerton,” but also in her spinoff show, “Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story.” Yet, she wasn’t featured in the books. This represents another deviation, although, in this case, a very good one, as Queen Charlotte is a fan-favorite character. In season 4, part 1, she is particularly involved with Penelope/Lady Whistledown, which, for obvious reasons, wasn’t in the books.
Follow Tom's Guide on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds.
More from Tom's Guide
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
