Editor’s note: The below interview contains spoilers for the Bridgerton Season 3 finale.

The Big Picture

Even Luke Thompson is uncertain about Benedict’s future plot in Season 4.
Benedict’s journey of self-discovery highlights his reluctance towards commitment.
Benedict’s evolving perspective on relationships and romance reflects
Bridgerton
‘s modern twist on historical themes.

Dearest gentle reader, with the final stretch of episodes from Bridgerton Season 3 now released, we can finally delve into all the delicious drama that high society has been dealing with. At the top of the list, of course, is Penelope Featherington’s (Nicola Coughlan) decision to reveal herself as popular gossip columnist Lady Whistledown. We were also treated to not just one Bridgerton wedding this season, but two, thanks to Penelope and Colin’s church nuptials (Luke Newton) as well as Francesca Bridgerton (Hannah Dodd) and John Stirling (Victor Alli) getting hitched, albeit in a much more intimate ceremony. Amid so many happy endings for certain Bridgerton couples — Anthony (Jonathan Bailey) and Kate (Simone Ashley) are headed to India, while Francesca and John are going to Scotland with Eloise (Claudia Jessie) in tow — some characters are still a bit adrift. Case in point: while Benedict (Luke Thompson) experienced some personal, private revelations about himself and his interests this time around, it seems he’s not that eager to be tied down by romance any time soon.

Ahead of the premiere of Bridgerton Season 3 Part 2, Collider had the opportunity to speak with Thompson about the trajectory of Benedict’s storyline. Over the course of the interview, which you can read below, Thompson delves into as much as he can say about Season 4 (including whether or not he’s the lead) before reflecting on Benedict’s biggest Season 3 moments. How does his brief situationship with Lady Tilley Arnold (Hannah New) and Paul (Lucas Aurelio) impact not only his perspective on his own sexuality but also the possibility of a future romance? How is Benedict going to cope with most of his siblings venturing off to different corners of the globe after Season 3?

Bridgerton Set in the glamorous world of Regency London, the Bridgerton family maneuvers through the opulent and treacherous landscape of high society. Daphne Bridgerton, the family’s eldest daughter, enters the marriage market, sparking a whirlwind romance with the enigmatic Duke of Hastings.Release Date December 25, 2020 Creator Chris Van Dusen Main Genre Drama Seasons 3 Studio Netflix Expand

Luke Thompson Can Neither Confirm nor Deny Your ‘Bridgerton’ Season 4 Theories
Image via Netflix

COLLIDER: I’m sure my ears are not going to be the only ones that prick up when Eloise mentions the masquerade ball, which Bridgerton fans know is an important storyline. Did you know that the show would be moving in this direction with Benedict in Season 4?

LUKE THOMPSON: The honest answer, sad to disappoint you, is that I actually don’t know. Obviously, that is a nice allusion to the books, but the pleasure of watching this show, I think, for a lot of people, is the dialogue between the books and the show and the fact that they are two different things. So yes, absolutely a masquerade ball is mentioned, but they’ve changed the books before. We’re still very much in Season 3 land. I don’t have those conversations in advance. I think that would be something for the writers at this stage.

So you don’t yet know if Benedict is going to find his love story next season?

THOMPSON: No, I don’t know.

Fair enough. Benedict’s really been on quite a journey of self-discovery — not just in Season 3, but from the beginning. What has the biggest change been for him in terms of where he is now, the point that he reaches at the end of Season 3, compared to the man he was at the beginning?

THOMPSON: I think the biggest change, weirdly, is right at the end of the whole storyline, when he and Tilley sit down and Tilley has that conversation with him. What’s really driven Benedict since Season 1 is running away or eschewing rules and conventions. That’s a very young thing to do, and it’s a very lovely quality. It’s what makes him good company, hopefully, that he’s curious and exploratory and just interested in finding out who he is rather than trying to establish who he is.

There’s something about anyone maturing — that it actually is good to, at some point, settle on something that you want or really make a choice. That’s something that clearly Benedict really finds difficult, but there’s anxiety around putting down any roots or becoming tied to something or something serious. It’s funny, it makes me think a little bit [about] when he says to Eloise that love is not finite in this season — but actually in a strange way, in terms of his journey, part of growing up is establishing what you want, and you can’t just keep on discovering forever.

In that conversation with Tilley, she brings up the fact that the ton is insular and sheltered and everybody dances with each other and marries each other, and no one really ever thinks to look outside. Is that the show dropping hints that Benedict really might be one of the first people to venture outside that social circle for love?

THOMPSON: Sure. Yeah, who knows? It’s what takes precedence, isn’t it? It’s being aware of that structure, but then also wanting to find yourself or discover yourself first before trying to please everyone else and please the structure that’s in place.

Luke Thompson Calls Benedict’s Coming Out a “Lovely Extension” of His ‘Bridgerton’ Journey

In past seasons, it’s been hinted that Benedict has had an interest in not just women but has also considered the possibility of being with a man. He has this realization for himself, decides to see what happens, and realizes that, as he says, he has a lot of love to give, and it doesn’t matter if it’s Pete or Petunia. I think of it like that line in Schitt’s Creek — he likes the wine, not the label.

THOMPSON: That’s a really good way of describing it.

I was wondering what your reaction was to reading all of this in the script. Was it exciting to finally have it confirmed more explicitly for his character?

THOMPSON: Rather than a break with what’s happened before, a real revelation, it feels like a really lovely extension and continuation of what Benedict’s been going through. What I found really refreshing is that, rather than it be a story of angst and repression and doubt and all about “who am I and what am I, and I need to decide,” it’s actually explored. What makes Benedict slightly striking, particularly as a male character, is this sense of curiosity and exploring without thinking of it having a huge impact on who he is.

It’s a classic example of how Bridgerton is able to, in some ways, break that period drama mold and make it feel a bit more modern, but also hint at the fact that actually, in those times, yes, it was extremely repressive to be anything but the norm. At the same time, sex was sex, and it didn’t have a huge impact on people’s sense of identity. I guess if you have to put a modern term on it, something along the lines of pansexuality is probably in the right ball game. But what’s lovely is that, as it’s explored in the show, it’s almost about label-lessness as well, while simultaneously hinting at something that happened historically.

We forget that people haven’t just only just started exploring non-monogamous relationships. That happened a long time before and has always been happening because we’re humans, and we’ve always been restless, and we’ve always had doubts, and we’ve always wanted to escape what the norms are and try and find ourselves outside them or within them. It’s one of those moments that really feels like Bridgerton at its best, in terms of its ability to juggle something more modern, something more alluding, something more historical, and also just tapping into something that’s just basically human.

What kind of makes it more than just sex is that Benedict walks away from it with almost a new or changed perspective on romance and what he is looking for at this particular time. What do you think he learns about himself through that being with the two of them?

THOMPSON: It’s coming to terms with this idea of who someone is and how someone thinks being as appealing and attractive as their gender or their sex. With Paul and with Tilley, they are two characters that think in a very particular way that really appeals to Benedict and that Benedict is attracted to. Even if he doesn’t quite have the words to explain it or explore it yet, there’s a sense of that hitting home somewhere that that’s maybe always been slightly the case. It’s about an attitude or a way of thinking as much as it’s about gender or sex.

Luke Thompson Reflects on What’s Next for Benedict Bridgerton
Image via Netflix

In terms of where we find the family at the end of Season 3, it really feels like everybody is splitting up and diverging toward their own stories. Colin’s married. Anthony and Kate are going to India. Eloise is going to Scotland with Francesca and the Stirlings. Where do you think that leaves Benedict in terms of his feelings about being separated from a lot of his siblings? What do you think his mindset is really going to be in terms of everyone branching out and doing their own thing?

THOMPSON: It’s funny, isn’t it? Someone was saying the other day that both Colin and Anthony had a heartbreak, essentially, that then triggered the next stage or that process of maturing. It’s something outside of themselves, whereas actually what’s interesting about Benedict is that it’s not about traveling all over the world. There’s something inside him that he has to work out.

When you say all that stuff about it, it actually makes me feel a bit sad in a way, because you’re right. The family has been such a tight unit, and now they’re slowly finding their way outside of the structure, in the same way that Eloise says, “I’ve now lost a brother and my best friend in one fell swoop.” There’s something really poignant about that, but also confronting. Benedict is extremely close with Eloise and that’s a lovely thing, but you’re going to have to not hold on so tight to that if you are going to make space for something else. There’s a point where you can’t be this unit forever, and the whole point of growing up is to create your own unit, and suddenly you scatter, and there’s something poignant about that but also really relatable. It’s very easy to key into that sort of feeling. “What do I do? Everyone else is doing their thing, so what am I going to do?”

Looking ahead to Season 4, what do you hope to get to show audiences about Benedict that we haven’t really gotten to see yet?

THOMPSON: It is part of the fun of playing a character like that for years. You get to slowly build a sense of the person and then find the bits where they’re suddenly very different from how you usually see them. You’ve never seen Benedict lose his shit or get completely vulnerable with someone. It’d be really interesting to see where the cracks are, because Benedict, as a character, there’s something a bit Teflon-like about him. Nothing bothers him. He’s sort of carefree and is very happy-go-lucky and go-with-the-flow. Isn’t it amazing to be able to find, eventually, moments where a character like that does lose control or has a problem? What’s attractive is the idea of shattering this nice, polished character that he is and that he’s very adept at projecting.

Bridgerton Season 3 is available to stream on Netflix in the U.S.

Watch on Netflix