The actors also tell TheWrap about that staggering ask that brings Sophie back to her childhood traumas The post ‘Bridgerton’ Stars Yerin Ha and Luke Thompson Talk Benedict and Sophie’s Fairytale Meeting and That Staircase Scene appeared first on TheWrap.
Note: This story contains spoilers from “Bridgerton” Season 4 Part 1.
“Bridgerton” Season 4 returns with a love story that is quite literally pulled out of a fairytale as Luke Thompson’s Benedict Bridgerton meets an alluring lady in silver in Yerin Ha’s Sophie during his mother’s masquerade ball, only for her to flee at midnight to return to her duties as a housemaid.
Prior to Sophie’s “Cinderella” exit, the pair escaped the noise of the ball to a vine-covered gazebo, where they played what Ha calls a “get to know me game,” though, of course, Sophie is anything but forthcoming about her identity. Their playful flirtation quickly turns into a romantic moment as Benedict teaches his mystery woman how to dance before sharing a kiss.
“I don’t even remember thinking — I just remember just doing it. I just thought it was so beautifully written,” Thompson told TheWrap, noting the scene was much longer than the typical “shorter pulse or tempo” interactions found in “Bridgerton.” “It feels right for the characters, because actually Benedict, himself, is quite … fast paced, [and has a] ‘on to the next’ sort of energy, but actually to have one really hold his gaze for a bit and really interrogate him, it’s cool.”
While Benedict doesn’t learn the identity of his lady in silver — or even her first name — the pair meet again under less romantic circumstances as Benedict helps her out of a dangerous situation, whisking her away to My Cottage, where the pair get to know each other with their identities in the open, for the most part. It isn’t until they’re back in London, with Sophie working as a lady’s maid at Bridgerton House, that they finally give in to their desires in a steamy moment in the stairwell, connecting their upstairs and downstairs lives.
“They’ve had this beautiful experience at the masquerade ball, unbeknown to Benedict, and also at My Cottage, and suddenly they find themselves in a really difficult context, where suddenly it feels like everything’s different,” Thompson said. “It’s a very cleverly written moment to have this moment where they just come and meet at the middle, and … all that pent up energy and desire as well just suddenly comes out.”
Thompson noted the intimacy scene felt “full of meaning,” rather than feeling “tokenistic.” Ha echoed Thompson’s sentiments, noting “Bridgerton intimacy scenes never feel like they’re there just for their sake, it actually is to drive a story.”
“The whole thing of Benedict coming downstairs and Sophie coming upstairs and meeting in the middle, it’s like an explosion of motion in that in that staircase,” Ha said.
Ha also applauded intimacy coordinator Lizzy Talbot for crafting the framework for the scene, as well as Thompson for making it as comfortable as possible. “It really is easy when you trust someone, and I trust Luke a lot,” she said. “It just felt like within the frame, we were still able to play and be spontaneous together.”
Their steamy moment is interrupted, however, when Benedict asks Sophie to be his mistress, which prompts Sophie to immediately pull back and retreat without a word. Her response catches Benedict off guard, with Thompson noting “he is probably is like, ‘that didn’t go as I planned’ … he’s confused by it. He doesn’t know what’s gone on with Sophie.”
“I think because it was an explosion of pent up energy, Sophie really forgot her station, almost in a way, and by him asking that question, the walls immediately come back up, even though throughout the first part, they were slowly coming down, and then with that … they’re back up again, if not higher,” Ha said, noting the ask takes her back to traumatic memories of her childhood and her father. “She is, I think, very hurt by it.”
While Benedict and Sophie seem as far apart as possible as Part 1 leaves off, by nature of “Bridgerton’s” fairytales, the audience knows they will eventually find their way back together, but it’s an uphill battle for the couple, with Ha noting “even when I was reading the scripts, I was like, ‘I don’t know what’s going to happen.'”
“That’s part of the fun of a show like ‘Bridgeton,’ is that, yes … there is an expectation [that they’ll get back together], but actually part of the fun of the writing is … like escapology, getting the knot as complicated, as intractable as possible,” Thompson said. “You have to believe that, ‘oh, God, is this going to be okay?'”
“Bridgerton” Season 4 Part 1 is now streaming on Netflix. Part 2 premieres Feb. 26.
The post ‘Bridgerton’ Stars Yerin Ha and Luke Thompson Talk Benedict and Sophie’s Fairytale Meeting and That Staircase Scene appeared first on TheWrap.
