How Bridgerton Season 4 star Yerin Ha raised the bar in acting
The fourth season of “Bridgerton” could have easily been a filler season if not for Yerin Ha.
The “Cinderella”-themed season focused on Benedict Bridgerton (Luke Thompson), the backup to heir Anthony (Jonathan Bailey). His debauched, debauched lifestyle was due for a reckoning and could have fallen into tropes of the season’s theme.
But it was the introduction of Ha as Benedict’s mysterious love interest Sophie Baek that kept season 4 from being just a bridge between the love stories of the eldest siblings and those of the younger generations, as the show marks the halfway point of its eight-season plan to explore the works of romance author Julia Quinn.
Ha (best known until “Bridgerton,” for her work on Paramount+’s “Halo” and HBO Max’s “Dune: Prophecy”) brings a reality to “Bridgerton” that I didn’t know I needed until she showed up. We watch “Bridgerton” (or at least I do) for a wonderful, sexy, light-hearted escape from our regularly scheduled programming. But Ha’s performance got me out of that in the best way possible and warrants a Primetime Emmy acting nod — while the show is big on nominations for below-the-line work, only Regé-Jean Page has earned an acting nomination, and that was in 2021 for season 1.
Of course, executive producer Shonda Rhimes and “Bridgerton” showrunner Jess Brownell gave Ha a lot to work with in the character of Sophie — she’s the illegitimate daughter of an earl and a maid. But after Sophie’s father dies, she is forced by her evil stepmother and stepsisters to become a maid herself. Despite her lot in life, Sophie is highly educated, speaks fluent French and carries herself with dignified nobility.
Sophie’s entrance takes the “Bridgerton” plot to the next level with a vulnerable top-to-bottom storyline that forces the Bridgerton clan (and by extension, the audience) to check their privilege.
Ha’s performance sees Sophie evolve from a working-class woman with a messy origin, ready to be rescued by a Bridgerton boy, to a character who challenges Benedict’s carefree life and the comfort of the “Bridgerton” audience, which is used to being invested in the shallower affairs of the elite.
She expertly plays her way through two intimate scenes between Sophie and Benedict, each with
dramatically different tones – one frenetic and rushed, the other slow and focused on non-penetrative sex – and manages to balance the show’s signature steamy atmosphere with the underlying fear of unwanted pregnancy in the 19th century.
The ‘Cinderella’-‘Bridgerton’ mashup delivers a slow-burn romance, nothing new for the series, but this one mixes class and socio-economic issues.
Sophie and Benedict meet when she secretly attends a masquerade ball with the help of her ministry colleagues. She wins Benedict’s heart at the ball with her intelligence, humor and convictions.
But instead of Sophie becoming the manic Regency-era pixie dream girl able to tame the free-spirited artist Benedict, Ha makes her a delicately sharp character who pushes back on Benedict’s criticism.
of other women’s attempts to become husbands. Sophie chastises him for downplaying the plight of this
women, whose entire future is determined by securing a match that will keep them from spinsterhood,
public shame, poverty and every other unfortunate fate faced by the women of the time who cannot or do not want to secure a competition – even the aristocratic women.
When Benedict finally discovers the identity of this mysterious woman, the world of “Bridgerton” is broken open in a way that no other romantic revelation has yet known. Ha’s portrayal of Sophie has brought a downward perspective with genuine depth to a show that has remained largely superficial in recent years.
the conflicts of the past seasons. Ha’s performance was not only impressive for the season, it also set a new bar for the series.
