Whilst we wait for season 3 of Bridgerton to release some talk within the fandom is around which Bridgerton may take the lead for season 4. In the lead up to, and in the immediate 4-6 weeks after, season 2 it was assumed season 3 would be Benedict, though after watching season 2 some wondered if it would be switched and Benedict would be delayed - something that proved to happen.
After the surprise of Colin being moved to season 3 most fans are no longer taking it for granted that Benedict will take the lead for season 4, with some speculating that Eloise could be the Bridgerton elevated to lead for season 4. There are arguments for and against for both Benedict and Eloise to be the season 4 lead, so let's take a look and see who could come out on top for the Bridgerton lead in season 4.
Eloise
The reasons why Eloise could be considered as the season 4 lead are varied, here are some of the more popular reasons that fans have for Eloise being season 4:
- The show will not want to do 3 Bridgerton brothers in a row. This is a solid theory, but there are counter arguments to this.
- It is widely believed that season 3 will be Penelope's season as opposed to Colin's season, thus having Colin as the 'love interest' similar to both Daphne and Kate before him, meaning that the main character development will focus on Penelope not on Colin. This has the potential to give the feeling of season 3 not actually being a Bridgerton season, but rather a Featherington season, especially as we have already been introduced the Featherington family - and some will argue they have had more development than some of the Bridgertons that the show is about.
- Eloise's book love interest has already been introduced into the show
- That Philip has already been introduced leads some fans to believe that if the show is not renewed beyond season 4 then season 4 is more than likely going to be Eloise's story - and this is a very strong possibility.
- Philip has been introduced, and as such we know he is a white man, which is problematic for some sections of the fandom who were hooked by the diversity of the casting and having people of colour in lead roles - they see two white couples in a row as the production only being performative in their claims of diversity in the show. This could work against the production if they go ahead with Eloise in season 4.
- Eloise has more development as a character.
- This is something that can't be overlooked, one of the reasons for moving Penelope's story forward was that the production had already spent time developing her as a character, this can be said for Eloise as well. It is also believed that Eloise will play a large part in Colin and Penelope's story, and there is a lot with her character to do after the way that season 2 ended, and the rift between Eloise and Penelope.
Despite there being compelling reasons for Eloise being moved to season 4, ahead of Benedict, there are also reasons that fans have put forward as to why her season won't be season 4:
- The set up for Eloise hasn't really happened, as it had for Penelope. Whilst Eloise as a character has been well developed some believe that the show hasn't spent enough time on the set up of her love story.
- Counter to this is the fact that in a way her story is being set up, and potentially was set up further in season 2. Marina, and Philip, have been introduced, as have Oliver and Amanda (of a sorts), thus the main players for Eloise's story are already in the Bridgerton Universe. It wouldn't take much for the rest of the set up to occur during season 3, with Marina's death being discussed in the first episode and Eloise beginning her letter writing to Philip.
- The twins aren't old enough yet.
- This is something that lends to the idea that the story will remain the same as the book, however, as we have seen Bridgerton as a production is more than happy to deviate wildly from the books, as such there is no guarantee that Eloise's story will follow that of the book - in fact we already know it won't be an exact replica as the key releationships of Philip, Marina and the twins has changed significantly.
- The Pall Mall theory had Eloise getting hoop 5, indicating season 5 for Eloise.
- This is an imperfect fan theory, all we do know from the production is that they made it so that Colin got his ball through hoop 3 as a sign he would be season 3, but all the hoops following could be open to interpretation.
- Benedict has to be before Eloise as his cottage is near Romney Hall, and it features in Eloise's book.
- This is something that has already been changed as in the show Romney Hall has been situated as being near Aubrey Hall, thus the location of My Cottage in the book could easily be changed to be Aubrey Hall.
Betsy Beers has previously said that she loves Eloise as a character, and she has also said that her favourite pairing in the show is Eloise and Penelope (collectively known as Peneloise), this indicates that she - and maybe others in the production team - have a view that Penelope and Eloise are a team, and as Penelope will be marrying and moving on in season 3 it is possible that they use this - as with the books have Penelope's marriage the catalyst for Eloise to run away, however, this could be changed to having Benedict's marriage as the catalyst rather than Penelope's.
Benedict
As with Eloise there is more than one reason for why Benedict should be season 4:
- They have already skipped his book, he should be next or it will upset fans even more. This is a very real problem for the production, the key is the general audience who may not care, but book fans do care, and many are threatening to not only skip season 3, but also season 4, if it is not announced that Benedict is season 4.
- To counter this, said simply - the production doesn't care. The production won't care that fans will turn off, or be upset if they skip over Benedict again, they have their vision for the series that they have mapped out, and as such will not change the order they have decided on if Benedict is not set down to be season 4.
- There shouldn't be two white couples in a row. This is a reason that is brought up by many fans, especially in response to those claiming that the show won't have three brothers in a row. This is a tricky reason, but I can see it could be a consideration for a show that has marketed itself on subverting the historical drama genre by having a more diverse cast. There has also already been issues raised by fans and writers/bloggers as to the risk that the show has of being seen as to not be serious about diversity, but rather performative. To have two all white couples in a row could play into this perception, and turn off some of the viewers they gained as a result of the diverse casting for leads. Bridgerton is a show that marketed itself on its diversity, it is widely believed that Sophie will be a woman of colour, so to have Penelope and Colin followed by Eloise and Philip will have some questioning this commitment to diverse casting.
- There is no guarantee that Bridgerton would cast Sophie as a woman of colour, this is only speculation and a view that is propositioned based on season 1 and season 2 where one half of the pairing was a person of colour. Without a casting announcement for Sophie this argument in favour of Benedict is hard to either put forward, or to counter, because whilst we know who Eloise's pairing is with we don't know anything about who will play Sophie.
- Further, Benedict's book is a Cinderella retelling, and considered problematic, and they see the story as being even more problematic if Sophie is a woman of colour, which leads some to suggest that either Benedict's story is being delayed whilst the production work through the best way to tell his story, and it is easier for the production to do two couples that don't appear, on the surface at least, as problematic.
- Benedict ended season 2 in crisis, he was at his lowest point, as was Penelope in the same season, and Anthony went to in season 1. This has been set up to suggest an arc for Benedict that leads to him finding his purpose and gaining confidence in his talent - two things that were part of his story with Sophie. To me this is one of the biggest indicators that Benedict is more likely to be season 4 than Eloise.
So, who is likely to be the season 4 Bridgerton lead?
Despite the compelling reasoning for Eloise to be season 4, and her advanced character development, I still believe that Benedict will be season 4. Based on season 2, I don't believe that Eloise has yet hit her rock bottom in order to set her up for her season. Of course we do not know what season 3 will bring for either Benedict or Eloise, but with a Peneloise reconciliation this is likely to lift Eloise from where she was left in season 2, whilst we can only see Benedict potentially going lower than where he was.
Who do you think will be season 4?
