Dearest Gentle Reader, Bridgerton Season 3 Part 1 is here at long last. It may already be setting up Benedict Bridgerton as Season 4’s lead by using a common storytelling principle – the rule of three. The writing tool is often used in comedy, but the idea that viewers best process information in patterns – groups of three – is still effective and satisfying in dramatic storytelling. The first four episodes of Bridgerton’s third season set this pattern in motion for Benedict as he finally takes the dance floor and dips his toe into society.
Bridgerton’s first two seasons see Benedict sidestep society’s rules in favor of attending parties at Henry Granville’s art studio, having romantic flings with the modiste Genevieve Delacroix and an artist named Tess from the Royal Academy of Art, and supporting people who need to or wish to work for a living. Benedict prefers standing on the edge of society rather than ever becoming an entirely active participant in it – or the marriage mart. However, readers of Julia Quinn’s An Offer from a Gentleman will know those tendencies bend and break once Benedict meets Sophie Beckett at a masquerade ball.
While Bridgerton Season 3 Part 1 doesn’t see that meet-cute happen, it gives the most hope that the second-born Bridgerton is well on his way to looking for something more in society and on the dance floor. Bridgerton 3×01, “Out of the Shadows,” all but pointedly confirms as much when Benedict tells Anthony, “In truth, I enjoyed having a purpose, whereas now that you’re back, I’m not certain what I’m supposed to do.” Benedict fills a necessary role while Anthony is on his honeymoon with Kate (Viscountess Bridgerton!) but becomes unanchored upon his brother’s return. He’s still on a quest for his purpose.
That restlessness in Benedict, spurred by his choice to step away from art in Bridgerton 2×08, “The Viscount Who Loved Me,” is reflected in his decisions and relationships this season. For instance, Benedict dances with Miss Stowell to play the part – his first notable dance on the show – in Bridgerton 3×02, “How Bright the Moon.” It may not seem as noteworthy as his dance later in the season, but it is the first in what could be Benedict Bridgerton’s rule of three during Bridgerton Season 3. If so, it’s paramount.
Benedict couldn’t be less invested in this dance with Miss Stowell. It plays exactly as it is – a dance. He has no attachments, though Miss Stowell feels them (Can you blame her?) It’s friendly, not interested or passionate. That dance with Miss Stowell is the perfect place for him to start this dancing rule of three in Bridgerton’s third season.
It’s also such great framing that after that dance, Benedict tells Will and Alice Mondrich, whom Benedict joyously welcomes to the ton, “This can all be rather enjoyable if you do not resist.” That dance is Benedict not resisting, which he must do because he doesn’t have society’s loophole in marriage. Notably, Benedict looks fondly on Lord and Lady Leon, who dance as much as they want with each other, and Lord and Lady Singer, who drink as much as they want, because they are married. Though Benedict turns his nose up to the idea of the Queen’s pick and Francesca’s suitors in Bridgerton 3×03, “Forces of Nature,” his admiration for the comforts and freedom of marriage speaks volumes.
Benedict even tells Will, “All these rules are to keep the marriage mart churning. But once you have performed your function and found your match, you are free.” Benedict isn’t there yet, but he’s on his way. This season, he isn’t the second-born taking on the responsibilities of the firstborn. Benedict isn’t a student trying to hone his craft as an artist. Rather, he is someone searching for his purpose in a society with rules he can’t escape until he’s married. So, of course, Benedict finds comfort in an independent widow with exciting passions and strong opinions, like her disinterest in remarrying.
Like Siena Rosso for Anthony and Marina Thompson (now Lady Marina Crane) for Colin, Benedict and Lady Tilley Arnold’s relationship is the tell-tale sign that Benedict is ready for something more – and should be the male lead of Bridgerton Season 4.
Benedict meets Tilley when he, once again, sidesteps Miss Stowell, i.e., the marriage mart, and finds himself next to her in the tent in “Forces of Nature.” She immediately grabs his attention because she stands out yet blends in the room filled with opinionated men. She stands by her interest in engineering and her desire to hear from people who think differently. Knowing Benedict’s history on Bridgerton, it’s no shock he is drawn to her. However, it is telling that he says, “I do so enjoy learning about the passions of others.”
Benedict is attracted to her passion but never offers up his own because he’s lost it.
Readers of An Offer from a Gentleman will know that Sophie Beckett helps Benedict rediscover that spark with art, but Bridgerton isn’t there yet. For now, it’s making a point about where Benedict stands as it first opts for telling Colin Bridgerton and Penelope Featherington’s friends-to-lovers romance. There isn’t a better person to do this with than Lady Tilley Arnold, who gets Benedict on the dance floor for the second time this season.
This dance is starkly different from the first with Miss Stowell. It’s more intimate, and Benedict is infinitely more interested. That intrigue comes from Tilley, her passions, and her disinterest in marriage, which Tilley makes abundantly clear after saying she’s been a widow for multiple seasons and does not want another husband. So, Benedict walks the line of participating in society’s rules by dancing with Lady Tilley Arnold. However, that dance reveals that Benedict feels more for her than she does him. Bridgerton 3×04, “Old Friends,” represents that disconnect when Benedict brings Tilley flowers to call on her.
Benedict bringing Tilley flowers is a society-friendly gesture that signals the next step for a pairing, but Tilley has no interest. She has the freedom that comes with being a widow. That said, Bridgerton Season 3 Part 1 shows its hand by having Benedict show up, bouquet in hand. That action reveals that Benedict wants to commit in a way he hasn’t done with anyone else. Lady Tilley doesn’t reciprocate those feelings (For now. There are still four more episodes this season), which could be precisely what Benedict needs.
Benedict can still exist just outside of society in this asymmetrically committed relationship. Still, with every episode and every scene with Tilley, it becomes evident that Benedict wants something more. He just doesn’t want it with Miss Stowell and can’t have it with Lady Tilley Arnold. But there’s still time – in Bridgerton Season 3 Part 2 – for one more dance that will open Benedict Bridgerton up to everything he wants and needs.
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What do you think about Benedict’s future on Bridgerton? Let us know in the comments below!
Bridgerton Season 3 Part 1 is streaming now on Netflix!
CATCH UP ON ALL OUR SEASON THREE COVERAGE
REVIEWS
- EPISODE 1 REVIEW
- EPISODE 2 REVIEW
- EPISODE 3 REVIEW
- EPISODE 4 REVIEW
- EPISODE 5 REVIEW
- EPISODE 6 REVIEW
- EPISODE 7 REVIEW
- EPISODE 8 REVIEW
EDITORIALS
- PLUS-SIZE WOMAN PORTRAYAL
- MIRROR SCENE
- PENELOISE CONFLICT
- PLUS-SIZE WOMEN WOUNDS
- CRESSIDA
- QUEEN CHARLOTTE & BRIMSELY
- FRANCESCA REINTRODUCTION
- LORD DEBLING OR COLIN BRIDGERTON?
- LORD DEBLING
- BENOPHIE SEASON 4
INTERVIEWS
