Bridgerton’s Season 4 Part 2 leans into pop covers while Francesca chases a ‘pinnacle’
bridgerton’s fourth season, part two is now streaming, finishing Benedict Bridgerton and Sophie Baek’s fairy-tale ending while advancing Francesca’s personal quest to understand female pleasure — a plotline that repeatedly uses the odd euphemism “pinnacle. ”
Bridgerton leans into pop covers
Warning: Spoilers ahead for season four, part two of Bridgerton. The final four episodes stitch key emotional beats with classical covers of contemporary pop songs, scoring scenes from Hyacinth Bridgerton’s recital to Benedict and Sophie’s public first dance. A classical spin on Charli XCX’s “360” accompanies Hyacinth’s recital in episode five, and a cover of Billie Eilish’s “Birds of a Feather” plays as Penelope Bridgerton writes a Lady Whistledown column in the same episode.
Song cues that mark turning points
The episode-five recital threads several plot moves: Hyacinth (Florence Hunt) is disappointed by the boys, Gregory Bridgerton (Will Tilston) takes a liking to one girl and later tells Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton), “I think I may be in love. ” Benedict (Luke Thompson) and Sophie (Yerin Ha) share a private moment after the recital when Benedict confesses he loves her; Sophie finally replies “I love you, ” and they have sex for the first time as a cover of Teddy Swims’ “Lose Control” plays.
Francesca’s ‘pinnacle’ and the show’s language choices
Hannah Dodd, who plays Francesca, said, “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve said the word ‘pinnacle’ in the last year of my life, ” as the sixth Bridgerton sibling sets out to learn about sex after marrying John Stirling. Newly wed to the Earl of Kilmartin, played by Victor Alli, Francesca realizes she is ignorant about what happens in a four-poster bed and resolves to discover the secrets of sex from her married friends and family.
Showrunner Jess Brownell confirms the production researched which term to use and that “a thesaurus helped. ” Brownell adds that the team felt “orgasm” wasn’t a word used in that time period; the series, based on the books by Julia Quinn and produced by Shondaland, is set during Britain’s Regency era, the early 19th century. “Pinnacle” was eventually chosen for its obscurity and comic effect.
Historical echoes and euphemisms
Novelist and historian of sex Jessica Cale says “pinnacle” isn’t quite historically accurate but is “very effective. ” Cale points out that one common historical euphemism is “the crisis. ” The Oxford English Dictionary dates use of the word “orgasm” to the late 1600s and cites its first appearance in medical literature by physician George Thompson in 1671, though it was typically clinical in use. Cale references the 18th-century erotic fiction Fanny Hill (Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure) by John Cleland, published in parts during the late 1740s, which uses phrases such as “the point, ” “the critical period, ” “the die-away moment, ” and “the critical ecstasy, the melting flow, into which nature, spent with an excess of pleasure, dissolves and dies away. ”
Scenes, songs and a looming turn
Other musical choices frame personal beats: a classical rendition of The Cars’ “Just What I Need” plays as guests arrive at a ball hosted by Cressida (Jessica Madsen), who returns as the new Lady Penwood. John Stirling (Victor Alli) pulls Francesca (Hannah Dodd) away from that ball for a private moment in the gardens as a cover of Sting’s “Fields of Gold” plays; John looks at the moon, holds Francesca and tells her she’s “the perfect wife” and will be “the perfect mother when the time is right. ” The line reads grimly familiar for readers of the books, since John’s unfortunate death is coming.
The finale uses a cover of Camila Cabello’s “Never Be the Same” during a steamy bathtub scene in which Sophie reminds Benedict she cannot risk another pregnancy scare, so he instead pleasures her. A Lord Huron cover accompanies Sophie and Benedict’s first public dance as a couple while Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel) and Lady Danbury (Adjoa Andoh) share an emotional moment; Queen Charlotte tells Lady Danbury, holding her hand, “We have such fun together. ”
Bridgerton season four, part two is now streaming on Netflix. Hannah Dodd is expected to take a larger role in a future season.
