Luke Thompson's Benedict Won't Lead Bridgerton Season 4 After All: Here's Why

It's possible that Benedict Bridgerton's romance will not take center stage in Bridgerton's Season 4. Julia Quinn's website has Eloise's love interest, Sir Philip Crane (you've met him, he's the nice one with the outrageous mutton chops) listed before Sophie Beckett, who fans know from the book series as Benedict's One True Love.

Now, before you go around looting and smashing windows, you should know that this is mostly conjecture at this point.

But the fact that Philip Crane has already appeared in two seasons, while Sophie has yet to make an entrance, does suggest that he and Eloise might be up first. And don't get me wrong – we're all for seeing the #Philoise romance play out, especially if he shaves those mutton chops (we will NOT be able to take him seriously otherwise).

But… but… BENEDICT! Must we really wait to watch his love story?

In the books, your favorite Bridgerton brother falls in love at first sight with a mysterious masked woman at a ball. She disappears, in a very Cinderella fashion. He pines, in a very handsome fashion.

When two years later Benedict rescues a maid from the dastardly clutches of her evil master, he has no idea (oh, fiction! How I love your tropes) that this is the very woman that he swore to marry one day… and Sophie, knowing that a Bridgerton could never marry a maid, keeps silent. Then they stare at each other a bunch, and he swims shirtless in a pond, and then they kiss, and at one point Sophie ends up in jail because of her evil stepmother, and all of it is pretty great.

The Benedict/Sophie story is sweet and funny and deals with an unusual romance for the series: one in which the characters love each other from the moment they meet, but are kept apart because of their differing social statuses.

Fans expected that the Netflix Bridgerton series would follow the order of Julia Quinn's books, which meant that we were hoping to meet Sophie Beckett in Season 3. However, we now know that the upcoming year is going to be all about Colin and Penelope. That was hard enough to bear… but now to hear that we might not even get #benophie in Season 4?

Time to start smashing windows.