'Bridgerton' Season 4: What to Expect When You're Expecting More Sibling Engagements

The final part of Bridgerton Season 3 has arrived, bringing Penelope's (Nicola Coughlan) and Colin's (Luke Newton) love story to a blissful and wedded conclusion. The latest batch of episodes not only adapted the infamous mirror scene from the Julia Quinn novels on which the show is based (it's even better than the carriage scene, we promise) but pushed Pen and Colin to figure out if their romance could survive the knowledge that Penelope is the real Lady Whistledown. Since this is a romance series and every season of Bridgerton has ended with a happy couple, you can assume how everything went down, but it was a rollercoaster to get there. 

The second batch of episodes not only put Penelope's and Colin's relationship through the wringer, but it also revealed a few major revelations for some other Bridgerton siblings. Benedict (Luke Thompson), Francesca (Hannah Dodd), and Eloise (Claudia Jessie) each made major strides in their respective journeys in the final episodes of Season 3, all of which have major implications for future seasons of the series (and caused some jaw-dropping reactions from viewers at home). We're here to break down the Bridgerton Season 3 ending and what it means for Bridgerton Season 4 and beyond. 

Warning: Spoilers for Bridgerton Season 3 and the Bridgerton novels follow.

Let's start with Benedict, who we assume will be headlining Bridgerton Season 4 after the major clues delivered in his final scene of the season. Before we get to that, though, we must congratulate Mr. Bridgerton on cementing his status as a bisexual icon. Lady Tilley Arnold (Hannah New) brought another man, Paul (Lucas Aurelio), into her tryst with Benedict. While the idea initially had the second-eldest Bridgerton running away, Benedict ultimately conceded he was curious. The throuple spent a fabulous montage in bed together, delivering on the Benedict bi-curiosity fans have been clamoring for since Season 1. 

We have to wonder if Benedict will have the space to explore this uncovered dimension of his sexuality, though. After the tryst, Tilley confessed that she had developed deeper feelings for Benedict than expected and asked if he would consider being exclusive. Benedict turned her down – he just discovered sleeping with men is so fun! – because he's not ready to get married. Tilley understood and thanked him for showing that she even could want something more for herself than casual hook-ups. But if Benedict isn't ready to get married, why do we think his love story will be the focus of Season 4? In one of the final scenes of the Bridgerton Season 3 finale, Eloise announces that she's following Francesca to Scotland but tells Benedict that he won't be able to miss her too much because she will be back in time for Violet Bridgerton's (Ruth Gemmel) masquerade ball — where Benedict first encounters his love interest, Sophie, in the An Offer from a Gentleman novel. 

The tease of the masquerade ball is like Season 1 teasing Anthony's (Jonathan Bailey) upcoming romance with Kate (Simone Ashley) with the bee in the Bridgerton garden. Benedict's love story is coming next season, but his threesome with Tilley and her gentleman caller raises many questions. Will Netflix gender-bend Sophie and have Benedict pursue a man? We don't think so because of what happens with Francesca this season (more on that below). At a minimum, Benedict will have to tell Sophie that he also enjoys sex with men, or else the Bridgerton creative team is going to find themselves in the center of a serious queerbaiting controversy. We wait on tenterhooks to see how this turns out! 

(Ed Note: Viewers who have not read the novels should be aware An Offer from a Gentleman takes place over two years; Benedict meets Sophie at the masquerade and then spends the rest of the social season unable to find her again. It's not until the following year that he runs into her again, and at first, he does not realize this new crush is the same woman from the ball. The series may very well introduce her in Season 4 and then leave Benedict hanging until Season 5.)

It's always the quiet ones! Francesca pursued her romance with John Stirling (Victor Alli) in the second half of Season 3. The two married in a quiet ceremony in the Bridgerton family drawing room. The romance seemed tied up with a very quaint bow, but then John introduced Francesca to his cousin Michaela Sterling (Masali Baduza), who will join them on their trip to John's estate in Scotland.

Francesca literally forgot her own name when Michaela appeared. She stuttered and completely lost her cool. If that wasn't obvious enough, book readers also picked up on the name Michaela. In Francesca's novel, she falls for John's best friend, Michael, after John's untimely death. While novel readers have been aware of John's fate since he was introduced earlier in the season, the introduction of Michaela signals that Francesca is also a queer Bridgerton sibling. What's most interesting about this development is that Francesca has the spiciest of all the Bridgerton novels despite being the most reserved of the octet.

Now we wait to see if Francesca's relationship with Michaela will develop in Season 4 alongside Benedict's love story or if the series will wait until Season 5 or Season 6 to explore that more fully. 

Eloise is on the move. The most stubborn of the Bridgerton siblings decided at the end of Season 3 that she needed to spread her wings at the end. She can't just read about the world and contemplate how to change it without actually seeing it. So she will join Francesca, John, and Michaela in Scotland and explore the highlands. 

We love this for Eloise, but it does raise a lot of questions about what will happen in her eventual romance. She does not go on this adventure in the novels. Book Eloise becomes an avid fan of writing letters and becomes unexpected pen pals with Sir Philip Crane, who you may remember from Season 1 as the man who came to rescue Marina Thompson (Ruby Barker) from ruin. Marina meets a tragic end in the books (she never had as large a role as she did in the series), and Eloise eventually becomes a stepmother to her two children. 

Will Eloise's travels abroad change her mind about wanting to settle down and have a family? Bridgerton has made it a fundamental part of Eloise's personality that she finds the idea of marriage stifling. So it remains unclear whether the series will follow Eloise's path in the books or create an entirely new romantic adventure for her when it is her turn to lead a season. If the creative team is somehow reading this and looking for ideas, several astute fans on the internet have clocked that the very charming Lord Debling (Sam Phillips) is also a big fan of travel and might turn out to be the level of an aloof husband that wouldn't make Eloise feel tied down. 

It would be a much more uplifting tale than what happens to Eloise in the books! 

While Bridgerton Season 3 has prompted many questions that are still to be officially answered by Netflix, we do know that there will be a Bridgerton Season 4 and that Shonda Rhimes has said she fully plans to go eight seasons. The show received a double renewal in spring 2021 after the premiere of Season 2. However, fans should pace themselves. Bridgerton executive producer Jess Brownell informed The Hollywood Reporter that she expects a two-year gap before a new season of the series arrives. So it may be 2026 before we get answers to several of the questions posed by Season 3. 

At least we can rewatch this new batch of episodes over and over until then. Bridgerton Seasons 1-3 (and the Queen Charlotte prequel!) are now streaming on Netflix.