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Bridgerton’s fourth season finds its spark in Benedict Bridgerton and Sophie Baek, a pairing whose immediate chemistry drives the first half of the story. Played by Luke Thompson and Yerin Ha, the couple brings the yearning, tension and emotional disorder that have fueled the show’s strongest romances.

Their attraction becomes especially potent in episode three, when circumstances leave them together at Benedict’s countryside estate. Stolen looks and uncertain touches steadily intensify the desire between them.

The romance also gives Benedict overdue room to grow. As he confronts his feelings for Sophie, the Bridgerton family’s charming second son begins questioning his identity and purpose. His pursuit is hardly graceful, with bad choices and misplaced confidence complicating his path.

Sophie, meanwhile, is far more than the object of his affection. Benedict first encounters her at a masquerade ball, where she appears in a silver gown and conceals her identity. Known to him only as the “Lady in Silver,” she joins Benedict in the garden for an effortless conversation that ends with a kiss.

The fantasy soon collides with their sharply different realities. Benedict belongs to London’s privileged social class, while Sophie lives under a cruel stepmother and works as a maid.

That Cinderella-inspired divide allows the season to venture beyond lavish ballrooms and briefly examine the labor and inequality supporting the ton’s extravagant lifestyle. Its treatment of class remains relatively light and is sometimes played for humor.

Years of neglect have made Sophie guarded, but they have not erased her longing to belong. Although Benedict initially seems like an impossible dream, their relationship helps her develop greater confidence and a clearer sense of what she wants. Ha balances Sophie’s vulnerability with humor, while Thompson matches her with a restless performance that makes their connection feel tender and convincing.

A passionate encounter closes the season’s first half, leaving the pair facing further complications. With its central romance firmly established, Part 1 delivers an energetic return to Bridgerton’s familiar blend of desire, conflict and emotional excess, earning a 4.9-out-of-5 assessment.