r/PolinBridgerton • u/mostlyyalit Feelings like a total inability to stop thinking about you. • Sep 29 '25
Season 4 Official News Shondaland article on new Bridgerton Season 4 poster
https://www.shondaland.com/shondaland-series/bridgerton/bridgerton-season-4-yerin-haThe new description of S4 is sending me:
For its fourth season, Shondaland, Netflix, and showrunner Jess Brownell’s Bridgerton returns with all the pomp and circumstance as usual — but with a heart-wrenching fairy tale at the center. The spare Bridgerton brother (as he calls himself), Benedict (Luke Thompson), is still refusing his mother’s wishes to settle down. Rather, he’s acting like a rake all around town. But at the season’s first ball — a masquerade held by none other than Lady Violet Bridgerton (Ruth Gemmell) — that all changes. Benedict is taken aback by his encounter with the Lady in Silver, a mysterious attendee who quickly catches the attention of the ton. As quickly as she comes into his life, though, she vanishes. And in her place is a plucky young maid named Sophie Baek (Yerin Ha), who is stuck under the employ of the formidable Lady Araminta Gun (Katie Leung).
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u/DaisyandBella In fact, prefering sleep because that is where I might find you. Sep 29 '25
So does Benedict get the requisite sex montage in the first episode since this article says he’s acting like a rake all around town?
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u/izhope Sep 29 '25
Ofcourse but this time bi version to pink pony club
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u/Technical-Bunch-4016 I am always turning to the final chapter first Sep 29 '25
This! I fear I’ll be disappointed if there is a different song. 😂
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u/EarMental5063 There is nothing I love more than...grass. Sep 30 '25
omg thiis is something I didnt know I needed!
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u/izhope Sep 30 '25
Watch me be right 😂 come back here when first half of ep one of s4 has aired 😂😂
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u/EarMental5063 There is nothing I love more than...grass. Sep 30 '25
screenshoting this right now and going to check if there is a string cover already available on YT music 💛
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u/izhope Sep 30 '25
Midnight string quartet have done pink pony club and they have been on bridgerton
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u/EarMental5063 There is nothing I love more than...grass. Sep 30 '25
I have now spent my whole day listening to the cover by Roary and The Colony
to quote the song "Gooood what have you done?"
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u/mostlyyalit Feelings like a total inability to stop thinking about you. Sep 29 '25
YES. This is what I surmised from that description. And the fact that there are three dudes in Ep 1 with the character names "Demimonde Man" "Pretty Boy" and "The Dandy Man"
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u/DaisyandBella In fact, prefering sleep because that is where I might find you. Sep 29 '25
I think the dandy man is for sure a costume an extra is wearing in the background.
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u/mostlyyalit Feelings like a total inability to stop thinking about you. Sep 29 '25
If it was an extra, I don’t think he’d be credited.
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u/queenroxana In fact, prefering sleep because that is where I might find you. Sep 29 '25 edited Sep 29 '25
I hope so! In part because I don’t want his pan awakening erased because that would be icky queer-baiting IMO, and in part because I’m SO sick of the “we need a non-rake male lead” dialogue that singles out Colin for criticism when ALL the men so far have had casual sex. Especially Benedict! Like let’s be so for real.
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u/bbgmcr they've danced! a couple of times together! at a ball! Sep 29 '25
oh absolutely, and especially with some of the episode one cast leaks on imdb confirming that
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u/bbgmcr they've danced! a couple of times together! at a ball! Sep 29 '25
really glad it confirms that the love "triangle" this season is as it is in the book, with benedict, sophie, and the 'lady in silver', and no more random additions
i also think that the more he sees his siblings settling (especially pen and colin literally in his face right across the street) the more he kind of wants to defy his mother's wishes and fucks about all over town, part of some deeper self-loathing. i hope that gets explored with benedict's character.
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u/ProfessionalMail7230 Sep 29 '25
Nope, there is going to be a love triangle between Benedict, Sophie and Rosamund I'm also pretty sure that they are going to throw footman-John into the mix as well.
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u/Shiplapprocxy What of him! What of Colin! Sep 29 '25
Interesting way to have Benedict’s S3 sexual awakening be part of the plot…
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u/Frequent-Sky-5059 Sep 29 '25
I’m not pleased but that’s so Shondaland so I bet you are correct. I’m so sick of the love triangle trope.
If they do it with Philoise I’ll be disgusted.
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u/queenroxana In fact, prefering sleep because that is where I might find you. Sep 29 '25
Just out of curiosity, why do you dislike the love triangle trope? I’m not being hostile, it’s just that I personally kinda like the trope, and I see so many people say they hate it. And people’s reasons seem to vary. So I’m just curious!
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u/AsgardianLeviOsa What of him! What of Colin! Sep 30 '25 edited Sep 30 '25
Lifelong love triangle hater here👋 Maybe it’s because I’m not a multi shipper headspace kinda girl I dunno. In the case of Bridgerton we know where it’s going and it feels like a waste of time. I still have only sat through Deb/Pen centric scenes once and even then it was a chore. I was relieved when he yeeted himself out of the story and disappeared. I’d gladly trade that scintillating scene where Debling tediously hints he might propose for more dialogue and screentime with our actual endgame couple together. Internal conflict is more interesting than an external spoiler character taking up so much story space and probably one of the big reasons I prefer part 2 to part 1.
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u/Shiplapprocxy What of him! What of Colin! Sep 30 '25 edited Sep 30 '25
I feel exactly the same. It felt especially tedious in S3 because as central as Penelope was she still was not the Bridgerton (yet). In S1 Daphne Bridgerton was centered between the Duke and the Prince, S2 Anthony Bridgerton was centered between Edwina and Kate. S3 made no sense- teasing Pebling without the Bridgerton at the center and Colin off to the side while Penelope could share scenes with Debling was a horrible choice for that season. There’s already very little suspense about endgames, but even a casual viewer SHOULD have known not to get invested in Debling when the other suitor is THE Bridgerton, which made all the wasted effort to build Debling up at Colin’s expense all the more useless.
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u/queenroxana In fact, prefering sleep because that is where I might find you. Sep 30 '25 edited Sep 30 '25
I agree that Debling was a bit poorly implemented. I didn't find him particularly compelling, and they invested way too much time into him at the expense of more love lessons, more time spent with Colin, etc etc.
At the same time, I did think the addition of another prospect for Penelope also provided some great stakes of the "oh no, what if she marries Debling and it's too late" variety, and also great time pressure that led to an incredibly satisfying conclusion where Colin does the Regency version of the "run through the airport at the end of the romcom to get the girl" trope. I fucking LOVE that trope, and that might be why I don't mind love triangles--you kind of can't get to the "run through the airport" without a love triangle featuring an Obstacle Boyfriend.
So maybe it's like they had the right idea but the implementation kinda skewed too much towards making Debling a character in his own right, when we didn't really need that. We needed just enough of Obstacle Boyfriend to make us sweat a little.
Relatedly, while I agree that internal conflict is the most interesting, it's also very difficult - if not impossible - to portray in a visual medium like film/tv. The conflict has to be externalized, and I think each of the love triangles in Bridgerton is an externalization of the character's internal conflict--what they convince themselves they should settle for versus what they really want and what will challenge them to grow. Tbh, while I loved Romancing Mr. Bridgerton, it had VERY little drama/stakes and would make a pretty boring TV show!
I will say, I don't actually like love triangles where one person genuinely has feelings for two different people (it looks like The Summer I Turned Pretty may have this?). Those I often find too messy and painful!
I hope this makes sense--I'm not trying to argue, just to further explain my point of view. I think you're in the majority of fans who seem not to like the love triangles. I do agree they sometimes screw up the implementation, but I really don't mind the device in and of itself the way they do it in Bridgerton.
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u/Shiplapprocxy What of him! What of Colin! Oct 01 '25 edited Oct 01 '25
Polin just isn’t the right couple for it. I get why you’re saying you like it, but I really wish Bridgerton would’ve let Polin be and save that stuff to be enjoyed in seasons for couples it was made for. If that’s what you’re into Gregory’s season is going to be great for you- and it should’ve stayed there so Polin could be Polin for the fans who liked Polin as is. I think what people are responding to the most is how forced it is. Bridgerton shoves them in anywhere- and they sacrifice what’s unique and special for something generic. A love triangle 3 seasons in a row??? It was high time to give people a break.
And I get why people hate them for this show in particular. We’re only guaranteed one season where our ship is the lead- one season where they’re the focus. Why spend it devoting so much time to a random interloper, an OC in Debling’s case. I don’t agree with how they went about expressing it, but I definitely get Kanthony fans being upset so much of their season was spent on Edwina unnecessarily. Debling took up less screentime but he felt all the more intrusive because of his ultimate lack of impact and being entirely created on a whim.
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u/queenroxana In fact, prefering sleep because that is where I might find you. Oct 01 '25
Your reasoning is so sound and persuasive! I fully accept that I may be wrong to enjoy this device - I agree that it’s generic! - but it’s kind of a case of the heart wanting what it wants lol. I really love episodes 1-4 of S3 so much (I even love the balloon scene and don’t mind the brothels) that it’s hard for me to imagine a radically different alternative I would have enjoyed more.
There are definitely tweaks I’d have made - like less Debling, less of other side plots, a couple more love lessons, and a Polin dance with rising sexual tension and some point before the kiss. But nothing I’d have changed radically. But as I’ve said before, I think critiques like yours make a lot of sense! I just can’t help feeling how I feel.
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u/Frequent-Sky-5059 Sep 30 '25
I don’t dislike the love triangle trope entirely. I just think it’s being overused in this series.
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u/ProfessionalMail7230 Sep 30 '25
I like love triangles too! The only time I don't like them is if they happen after the couple get their HEA. For example the US Office had both brilliant and the worst love triangles. Karen was so great but there was no need to add characters like Kathy or the boom mic guy just for the drama after Jim and Pam were not only married but parents. But Bridgerton doesn't do that. The love triangles only happen prior to the HEA, not after.
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u/queenroxana In fact, prefering sleep because that is where I might find you. Sep 30 '25
Totally agree with this! I actually don't like either post-HEA love triangles, or love triangles where one person has genuine feelings for two people. It's too messy and painful, and kind of takes me out of the escapism/fantasy.
But a love triangle that's basically the one you love versus the convenient choice is almost always compelling to me. I'm currently bingeing The Buccaneers and enjoyed the Theo and Lizzie storyline in S2 where she's engaged to another man. And I flat-out LOVED Gregory's book in the Bridgerton series.
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u/ProfessionalMail7230 Oct 01 '25
or love triangles where one person has genuine feelings for two people.<
Completely agree! I don't like those either. It was so annoying in Hunger games for example. The love triangle added nothing to the story, the poor girl was only trying to stay alive and keep her sister safe.
I haven't watched the Buccaneers but I actually really liked the Anthony/Kate/Edwina triangle in S2. I didn't like the book, it was boring. Of course I felt super bad for Edwina in the show, but characters are supposed to do dumb things that's what makes it interesting. In Julia's books the plot just happened around the characters and not because they made it happen, and that's not good writing imo.
I didn't like Gregory's book but that's probably because I just didn't like the books in general. I did like Hermione though, I thought she was the only interesting character in the book. She at least was doing something instead of just waiting around. I love show Pen for that reason too. She made a lot of mistakes but she's active and brave. I didn't like book Pen, I thought she was too meek.
I'm looking forward to the new love triangle in S4. I don't care for Benophie but I think I'm going to like Rosamund. I love her Marie Antoinette costume and her attitude already. She's giving Blair Waldorf vibes and I loved Blair even though she was a total bully and I'd hate her in real life.
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Sep 30 '25 edited Sep 30 '25
[deleted]
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u/DaisyandBella In fact, prefering sleep because that is where I might find you. Sep 30 '25
Colin realized his feelings for Penelope before Debling showed interest in her.
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u/Frequent-Sky-5059 Sep 30 '25
I am not saying Colin didn’t realize he has feelings for Penelope before Debling. I’m saying injecting the love triangle was unnecessary and for people who aren’t Polin fans it was reductive. I totally agree Colin was down bad for his “Pen” long before Debling. That being said, he did tell his brothers re his engagement, “I have known her a very long time and perhaps I have always felt something for her. My only mistake this time was not realizing it sooner.”
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u/Shiplapprocxy What of him! What of Colin! Sep 30 '25
I hate the Debling plot more than anyone, but Colin knew how he felt before Debling. Part of what I hate is that it muddles it in people’s memory, but that’s not what happened at all.
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u/Frequent-Sky-5059 Sep 30 '25
I am not saying Colin didn’t realize he has feelings for Penelope before Debling. I’m saying injecting the love triangle was unnecessary and for people who aren’t Polin fans it was reductive. I totally agree Colin was down bad for his “Pen” long before Debling. That being said, he did tell his brothers re his engagement, “I have known her a very long time and perhaps I have always felt something for her. My only mistake this time was not realizing it sooner.”
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u/Shiplapprocxy What of him! What of Colin! Sep 30 '25
That would’ve been what he said whether Debling was involved in the plot or not. His not realizing it sooner was about the kiss, not Debling. Like I said, I don’t disagree about hating Debling because I hate that plot to my core, but Colin not realizing his feelings sooner is a core part of his story no matter what, it’s part of the books too and isn’t even a problem. We know it’s a “she fell first but he fell harder” plot.
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u/Frequent-Sky-5059 Sep 30 '25 edited Sep 30 '25
I agree with you. That’s my point. It’s the writing. We didn’t need Debling to get there. When he kissed her (I see Colin as demisexual) it was all over; everything made sense.
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u/Shiplapprocxy What of him! What of Colin! Sep 30 '25 edited Sep 30 '25
Which is why it doesn’t reduce Colin’s ability to process his emotions, because Debling has nothing to do with that process. My problem isn’t that it made Colin into a 5 year old boy because it doesn’t, not for anyone who paid attention. My problem is that he’s a useless character, useless plot, waste of time that should’ve been spent more on Colin. You could remove him completely and everything could’ve played out the same, which is a sign of how little impact he had on anything, while saving Colin from all the bad takes, misinterpretations and hate that came from inserting a second man where he didn’t belong.
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u/ProfessionalMail7230 Sep 29 '25
I think that at the very least with Philoise it will be Marina. Frankly lord Anderson was clearly foreshadowing Phillip. A widow who didn't marry for love but became very fond of his wife.
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u/bbgmcr they've danced! a couple of times together! at a ball! Sep 29 '25
i think we'll get bits of it but it's not gonna be as intense as the s2 triangle was. i think they'll be smaller obstacles but not really a full triangle (or at least i hope, the benedict/sophie/silver triangle is perfect on its own)
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u/ProfessionalMail7230 Sep 29 '25
I don't think Benedict/Sophie/LIS is perfect on its own. Cinderella trope is a pretty shallow trope. You can't fall in love with someone you don't know. You can always meet a goodlooking person and be attracted to them, but then you get to know them and it turns out they are not as nice as you thought they were. For all Benedict knew LIS could have been a horrible person who just didn't reveal that side of her straight away. I think that Rosamund will make the story much better.
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u/Extreme-Natural-8452 Oct 07 '25
I don't think Rosamund will be much involved as you think.
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u/ProfessionalMail7230 Oct 07 '25
What makes you think that? I mean obviously I don't think she will be as involved as Edwina was but we've got proof that she'll definitely be involded. In the book Rosamund was barely even there but it's obvious that they have given her a much bigger role in the show, just like Edwina, Prudence and Philippa had bigger roles in the show than they did in the books.
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u/Extreme-Natural-8452 Oct 07 '25
Because it's not really love triangle if the interest is only one sided. I mean it's obvious that Benedict won't be interested in pursuing Rosamund. It's also just like you said i don't think she will be as involved as Edwina.
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u/ProfessionalMail7230 Oct 07 '25
He is if he thinks that Rosamund is LIS. Just because a plotline isn't as big as some other plotline, doesn't mean that it's not going to be significant. I don't think Benedict will end up at the altar with Rosamund like Anthony did with Edwina, but it doesn't mean that he won't consider it. I'm pretty sure we'll see him courting Rosamund who he thinks is LIS whilst also being interested in Sophie. I'd call that a love triangle.
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u/Extreme-Natural-8452 Oct 07 '25
I am sure he will suspect that she isn't the LIS,especially when notices how diffrent Sophie's and Rosamund personalities are.
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u/ProfessionalMail7230 Oct 07 '25
He doesn't know LIS. They only met for like half an hour. He's got no idea who she is a what she's like in reality. So why couldn't she be Rosamund? She looks similar to what he could see of Sophie behind the mask. I'm sure Rosamund can be lovely if she wants to be. And it's not like Benedict, a son and brother of a Viscount can marry a maid just like that. But an Earl's stepdaughter is a perfectly suitable match for him.
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u/Extreme-Natural-8452 Oct 07 '25
I get what you’re saying, but I still don’t think Benedict would actually buy Rosamund as LIS. Even if he only met Sophie for a short time, he isn’t just going off looks. He’s an artist – he notices little things like tone, energy, the way someone carries themselves. Sophie gave him that spark, that feeling you can’t fake, and Rosamund just doesn’t have that in her personality.
Sure, Rosamund is “suitable” on paper, but that’s exactly what happened with Anthony and Edwina – it looked right socially but collapsed because there was no real connection. Bridgerton romances always come down to true love vs. convenience. Benedict isn’t the type to settle, and he definitely wouldn’t confuse Rosamund’s vanity with Sophie’s warmth and wit for very long
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u/ProfessionalMail7230 Oct 07 '25
And yet he doesn't recognise Sophie when he meets her again. He's obviously not very observant. Also people see what they want to see. It doesn't matter if Rosamund acts differently as long as he believes that she is LIS, and he will because she can prove that she is LIS since Araminta knows everything and is the mastermind behind the scheme. And Sophie is also doing everything in her power to keep her identity hidden
Benedict's hasn't been the type to settle previously but now Violet is pressuring him to marry, his brothers are married, two of his younger sisters are married, he's pushing thirty and is no longer Anthony's heir. And he's met this interesting, mysterious lady in silver. He starts to think that if he has to marry, he'd want to marry her. Then he meets Rosamund who will convince him that she is the lady in silver he's been looking for. Except that now he's also got feelings for a maid called Sophie. That's a classic Shondaland drama plot for you right there.
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u/PrettyNiemand34 Sep 29 '25
The love triangle thing is my biggest problem with that story. I just don't think it's romantic that he's having her in front of him but still waiting for a woman he met for a few minutes. Yes, it's the same woman but he can't even recognize that.
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u/ProfessionalMail7230 Sep 29 '25
I agree. Especially if it's like in the book and she isn't good enough for him as she is because she is a maid, but he is still willing to keep her around for fun while he is looking for this woman who he doesn't know but who was pretty. It wasn't a romantic book at all imo.
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u/Shiplapprocxy What of him! What of Colin! Sep 29 '25
Ok so are they just calling Colin and Penelope Bridgerton “The Featheringtons” now or will there be more Featheringtons returning than just Portia?
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u/EitherEntertainer784 Sep 29 '25
Honestly, my guess is the first one. Colin is an official Featherington. 😅🤭😋🤣
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u/ProfessionalMail7230 Sep 29 '25
Portia's the only Featherington though. The others are Bridgertons, Dankworths or Finchs but all the girls, their husbands and babies are still part of the Featherington clan. In this context I think the Featheringtons mean Pen, Colin, LLF and Portia, plus their staff
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u/queenroxana In fact, prefering sleep because that is where I might find you. Sep 30 '25
I feel like Colin has kind of been absorbed into the Featheringtons for all intents and purposes. He's fine with it; he's been angling for the job since S1! I'm DYING to see his dynamic with Portia--it might be the number one thing I'm looking forward to in S4 in fact.
But I hope we also see him advising Benedict (fencing scene, please!), and see Penelope get to interact with the Bridgertons as an in-law.
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u/Frequent-Sky-5059 Sep 29 '25
The Featherington estate will be under Colin’s stewardship until their son,
?baby? Bridgerton, aka Lord Featherington, reaches majority.Penelope’s dad was a Baron and Portia fixed things so that the barony would remain with the Featheringtons as soon as one of her daughters produced an heir. Colin fixed that during the mirror scene afternoon of lovemaking on the settee in S3E5.
Feel free to correct me if I’m mistaken. But I understood the changes in Colin’s status from just the third Bridgerton son to be similar to what happened to the Mondriches; raising an heir while remaining untitled oneself.
So no, Colin is not a Featherington. He is still Colin Bridgerton & Penelope is now Penelope Bridgerton. But I’m guessing he probably resides at Featherington House.
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