Saman ShafiqUSA TODAY
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Spoiler alert: This story includes details from the four final episodes of Netflix's "Bridgerton" Season 3 (now streaming).
NEW YORK − Ever since Shonda Rhimes' "Bridgerton" premiered on Netflix during the peak of COVID-19, it has become a hit among Netflix subscribers. The first four episodes of Season 3 dropped May 16, garnering 45.1 million global views in just five days and taking the No. 1 spot in 78 countries, according to the streaming platform.
The Regency-era romance is based on Julia Quinn's novels, with each spotlighting a different family sibling. Season 3 focused on the love story between Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) and Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan).
As the curtain closes on Season 3 of Netflix's romantic Regency drama "Bridgerton," (final four episodes now streaming), another sibling, Benedict Bridgerton (Luke Thompson), looks subdued. Sister Eloise, who is moving to Scotland with Francesca, bids him goodbye. As Lady Whistledown explains in a voiceover, "It is time now to look toward the future, whatever it may bring."
Just a few scenes earlier, Benedict had told Eloise that "it feels right now that the next thing I might learn may change me entirely." With Benedict at a crossroads, what's next?
"I feel like for Benedict this season, things are coming to a head," Thompson says in an interview. "He's always been obsessed with this idea of freedom and wanting to sort of escape something, whether it's what's going on with his family or whether it's society, and so that carries on. At the end of the season, when he comes across Lady Tilley's character, she tells him something that he hasn't really heard before, and that's what makes him think about things in sort of different ways."
In the season finale, widow Lady Tilley Arnold (Hannah New) tells Benedict that she has begun to care for him and would like to commit and explore the emotional side of their relationship. But Benedict turns her down, explaining he's not yet ready to give up his freedom.
Like being in a bookshop
"The way I think about that scene sometimes is, you know when you're in a bookshop and you're like, I want to read all the books?" Thompson says. "How can I pick which book to read? You can't just scatter around and just try and read everything. You have to focus on something, and I sort of feel like that's Benedict's problem. I think he wants to be free, but actually freedom comes with its limitations.
"It's less simple than his heart being broken. It's more that it's confronting: Tilley really reflects back at him this idea (of) what does he want, actually? He's a very fun, carefree character. But like a lot of fun, carefree people, there's a question inside. There's an inner thing going on that he hasn't quite solved. He's very good at going along with stuff and playing. But actually, he's not a very rooted character."
That explains why Benedict's threesome with Lady Tilley and her friend Paul Suarez proved to be a turning point in his relationship with Tilley, changed his perspective, and "opened his world" sexually, as he tells her. Thompson says it was "very on brand" for Benedict, given his innate sense of curiosity and free-flowing nature.
"What I find refreshing (and) unusual about Benedict is he seems to approach everything with a sort of sense of curiosity," Thompson says. "Sexuality, particularly male sexuality, often is dealt with in a very boxy way, and there's a lot of angst. What's lovely about Benedict is that, uncharacteristically for a guy, there's a real curiosity, like 'Let's try, let's just follow this for a bit'," he says, adding that for Benedict, the threesome was more about experimenting rather than defining his sexuality.
Is Benedict leading Season 4?
With Benedict now on a journey of inner self-discovery, much like his brother Colin in previous seasons, is he ready to embrace Sophie Beckett with an open heart? (That's the plot of Quinn's "An Offer from a Gentleman," on which Benedict's season is based.) Thompson is expected to be next season's leading man, although Netflix has not yet officially confirmed plans.
"Oh, my God, no. I don't even know if it is next season," he says coyly. "I couldn't possibly comment. I know nothing." But Thompson says he's excited to eventually "deep dive" into Benedict's character.
"What's wonderful about the show is that the siblings get to have a real zone in on them," Thompson says. "It's also lovely to have the time to build a character. With TV you get to work on a character for months and months, and you get to slowly fill him out and make this picture come together."
'Bridgerton' Season 4: What we know so far about release date, cast, lead couple
What does Benedict's journey look like for Season 4?
Benedict might be gearing up to find his soulmate next season, but will he also find a purpose? The Bridgerton brother did not indulge in his artistic pursuits this season, and much of his storyline in Season 3 centered on his relationship with Lady Tilley.
"Benedict for the last three seasons has been a very free character, but also slightly lost sometimes. There's a sense of not being quite sure where he sits," Thompson says. "You have to accept that there comes a point where you have to make a choice and commit."
This season's focus was on younger brother Colin (Luke Newton) and his declarations of love for Coughlan's Penelope (see: carriage scene), but Benedict's witty one-liners have not escaped fans, and members of the ton.
Does Thompson have a favorite quip?
"I actually quite like 'Ladies, ladies and more ladies. Oh, and 'They've taken to hunting in packs.'"
When does 'Bridgerton' come out? Season 3 Part 2 release date, cast, where to watch new episodes
Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X @saman_shafiq7.
