Is Benedict still bisexual in Bridgerton season 4?

It also made good on showrunner Jess Brownell’s promise to PRIDE that the show was about to become more inclusive — something that felt even more true when we got the tease that Francesca Bridgerton (Hannah Dodd) would have a sapphic love story of her own, and unlike Benedict, she would be the main event (this has been confirmed for season five).

However, when promotion for season four began, and it became clear that this season would center on Benedict and his love story with Sophie Baek (Yerin Ha), fans naturally worried that this would erase the same-sex attraction element of his bisexuality.

So, does it? Let’s talk about the first half of season four of Bridgerton (part two drops on Netflix February 26). The answer is simple — but how we feel about it is… complicated.

*Spoilers for season four, part one follow.*

Season four kicks off in media res with the social season in full swing. The staff of the Bridgerton's house hustle and bustle as they prepare to host the first season’s ball. The Queen is chomping at the bit for fresh gossip, and Benedict? He’s missing in action. His mother, Violet (Ruth Gemmell), hunts him down at his club, where he’s still in bed — with not one woman, but two — much to her horror.

Why this matters, beyond reminding us of Benedict’s rakish ways (before the love of his life inevitably transforms him — this is Bridgerton, after all), is that his taste for ménage à trois is still intact. Benedict remains Benedict — though, if we’re honest, that’s not exactly the kind of queer sex we want to see him enjoying. More importantly, this scene works in tandem with one that follows shortly after.

After promising his mother he’ll behave and arrive on time for the ball, Benedict returns to his club, where bacchanalia surround him. As he cuts through the crowd, he catches the eye of a handsome, bearded man who approaches him with a very specific brand of familiarity. The man is Louis (Sachin K. Sharma), and it’s clear the two are lovers — proof that Benedict’s bisexuality was never a fluke. Louis propositions him, and Benedict initially resists, worried about being late, but when Louis reminds him that “much merriment can be had in a rather short time,” Benedict is convinced, and the two passionately kiss in full view of the room.

Benedict isn’t just still bi — he’s out to his friends, or at least to those who share his sexually liberal tastes. Notably, all of this happens before the opening credits of season four even roll. The writers are making a statement: Benedict is still queer.

Which means, dear readers, that he can still be attracted to — and fall exclusively for — a woman, which he promptly does when he meets Sophie. What follows is yearning, social complications, chance encounters, and, yes, a very sexy stairwell scene. What doesn’t follow is Benedict having sex with another man — at least not in the first half of the season, and likely not in the second, though, admittedly, that remains to be seen.

So how do we feel about this? It’s complicated.

From the start of the season, the show has taken pains to show that Benedict’s attractions remain solidly queer. He is a bisexual man. There’s relief in knowing this remains intrinsic to who he is, regardless of who he ultimately falls in love with. And of course, bisexual people falling for opposite-sex partners is just as valid and just as true to the bisexual experience as falling for a same-sex or nonbinary partner.

Yet this depiction of his queerness, which began in the latter half of season three and effectively concludes in the season four premiere, feels brief. Thankfully, it’s free of shame or guilt on Benedict’s part — it’s clearly something he enjoys. However, aside from intimacy within the safety of the club, there’s no coming out. No reckoning. No celebration. At least not yet. Perhaps something like that will arrive alongside Francesca’s forthcoming romance with Michaela — we can hope. But as of now, it feels a bit too tidily tied up in a bow.

Ultimately — selfishly, perhaps — we wanted to see more of Benedict’s queer journey. More insight into how he understands himself. Who he sees himself as. The casualness of his queerness is, in some ways, refreshing; we’re certainly not lacking in stories of queer men tortured by internalized shame. And to call his instant, mad love for Sophie bi erasure is simply factually incorrect.

Still, it leaves unanswered questions. Could Benedict’s attraction to his male lovers have blossomed into love? Into a profound emotional connection and yearning? Or was it always purely sexual? It seems unlikely we’ll ever get those answers — and honestly, that stings.

That’s not to say we didn’t enjoy the first half of season four. Benedict and Sophie’s Cinderella-inspired love story heats up nicely by the end of this arc. Add to that Violet’s blooming later-in-life romance with Lord Marcus Anderson (Daniel Francis), and most exciting of all, Francesca’s impending romance with her husband John’s beautiful cousin, Michaela Stirling (Masali Baduza). While we’ve only seen a hint of that story so far — Michaela’s arrival and Francesca’s instant lesbian panic — the groundwork is being laid, and all signs point to truly steamy and emotionally resonant sapphic romance ahead. So, yes, there is still plenty for queer fans to swoon over.

Which is all to say, our love for Bridgerton and its libidinous citizens remains very much intact… even if Benedict likely won’t be kissing any more men.

Bridgerton season 4 , part 1 is now streaming on Netflix.