Disclaimer: I’m a blind film critic. Bridgerton has audio description available on Netflix.

Dearest gentle reader, we find ourselves once again in the midst of the Bridgerton household, a conveniently large family, whose lineage suggests at least 8 possible seasons worth of hot and steamy romance. While the first three seasons certainly had their own scent of impropriety, nothing could have prepared us for the fourth season. As it turns out, Benedict Bridgerton (Luke Thompson) is ready to settle down. While the eight episodes does focus on a single love interest, Sophie (Uerem Ha), who brings her own level of scandal. The only disappointing part of this season was how quickly our bisexual Bridgerton brushes off the potential of male suitors, and goes for the typical broad romance. If I could change one thing, it would have been at least showing some hesitation or questioning early on. In the first episode, he runs into an old flame, but nothing really happens except a reminder to the audience that Benedict has slept with men. Once he meets the girl in the silver dress, time stops. That girl, Sophie, is basically leading a Cinderella adjacent life, and shouldn’t even have been at the ball, because despite her deceased father being of nobility, her mother was a maid, and her stepmother (Katie Long) never lets Sophie forget her place beneath the bottom rung. She has two daughters of her own, the rather delightful Posey (Isabella Wei) and Rosamund (Michelle Mao), who is not as nice.

Basically, Queen Charlotte (Golda Roschuvel) has taken a liking to a wager on Benedict being the most eligible bachelor of the season, so of course, Lady Whistledown is focused on the drama that unfolds.

This leads to a season long romance between Benedict and Sophie, in a will they or won’t they, upstairs downstairs, forbidden love scenario. He’s a classy man, he can’t just marry a maid. What would the people think? Sophie also doesn’t want to draw more attention to herself, having been kicked to the curb by her vengeful stepmother. And, if you have seen Bridgerton before, you know a lot of steamy things will be going on. The build up to how and whether or not these two crazy kids will end up together was fairly interesting, even if it so feels like a Cinderella story.

Other major plot points involve Lady Danbury (Adria Ndoh) wants to either take Season 5 off, or be written off altogether, as her big story arc is full of farewells as she seeks the Queen’s approval for her to travel back and see her homeland. She knows the Queen needs a replacement, so she grooms Alice (Emma Naomi) to be the Queen’s new confidant. While our Season 1 lovers don’t return, Anthony (Jonathan Baily) does return for an episode with Kate (Simone Ashley) in tow. Colin (Luke Newton) doesn’t have much to do, except support his wife, Penelope (Nikola Coughlin), who has a bit more to do as she’d rather not be Lady Whistledown anymore, and really would like the Queen to let her stop. Will she?

The future Bridgerton’s, Eloise (Claudia Jessie), Hyacinth (Florence Hunt), and Gregory (Will Tilston) all have little to do. Sophie ends up taking care of Eloise and hyacinth as the younger prepares for her entrance to society, but there’s not much here. Eloise is rumored to be a potential for next season.

The big surprise here is what they do with Francheska (Hannah Dodd). No spoilers here, but they really took her character for a ride. Most of the first part is spent with her having feelings over not being able to get pregnant, with the back half of the season giving her character something entirely different. I still am enamored with Violet (Ruth Jamil) who is trying to have a normal quiet romance with Marcus (Daniel Francis), a relationship that has been building since they first met. This is my favorite couple, and I’m curious about the choices made at the end of the season. I’d prefer an entire season dedicated to these two, navigating being widow and widower, and exploring a second marriage and merging of the families. with Eloise, Hyacinth, and George being too underdeveloped or young, a Violet season might be what we need right now, especially as it also gives Francheska a season to breathe. Marcus is next to perfect, and seeing a season where they finally have to be in the open, might be a lot of fun.

Bridgerton once again offered excellent acting, scandalous moments, and boundary pushing scenes.It continues to be a feather in the cap of both Netflix and Shonda Rhimes, who know they have a comfortable eight (maybe nine) season show. The audio description from Liz Gutman is amazing, as usual, though her work on Season 3 is the stuff of legend. Here, there are plenty of scenes to describe, as multiple couples are intimate. I particularly liked the way an encounter between Violet and Marcus went.

Bridgerton continues to creatively thrive in its fourth season, and while we seem to be moving through the kids, might I suggest a slight deviation to Violet? She’s been exceptional since day one, and this season really sets her up the best.

Fresh: Final Grade: 8.4/10