Yerin Ha Breaks Down Bridgerton Bathtub Scene: yerin ha on the Slippery Shoot
yerin ha and Luke Thompson have detailed the show’s most talked-about intimate moments in season 4 part 2, including a bathtub scene the pair called physically challenging. The actors described how the two very different sex scenes — one urgent and bedroom-bound, the other a quieter bathtub moment — serve distinct roles in Sophie and Benedict’s story.
Two intimate scenes, different purpose
The back half of season 4 delivers two deeply intimate but very different sex scenes between Benedict Bridgerton (Luke Thompson) and Sophie Baek (Yerin Ha). The first occurs at the end of Episode 5, the opening installment of the back half of the season, when Sophie and Benedict give in to their lust in his bedroom despite fears of being caught and Sophie’s concerns about getting pregnant. The second arrives in Episode 8, the season 4 finale, as a bathtub scene that follows Sophie’s recent trouble and anguish and acts as a turning point for their dynamic.
How the bedroom scene works
The bedroom scene was intentionally urgent. Ha said, "I feel like the pacing of it definitely felt completely different when we were doing it. I think one is urgent, and one is a little bit more taking care of and taken care of, actually. " She explained that Sophie’s self-autonomy played into staging: "Sophie knows how to undress herself, because she’s a person who would know that. She doesn’t need help, there’s a lot of self-autonomy there. " The scene, set to a Vitamin String Quartet cover of Teddy Swims’ "Lose Control, " is about giving into the bad idea they started at the end of Part 1, before Benedict’s "mistress" proposal got in the way.
Yerin Ha on the bathtub moment
The finale’s bathtub scene is drawn from Julia Quinn’s book An Offer From a Gentleman and intentionally avoids penetrative sex. Instead, Benedict cleans Sophie and pleasures her intimately without intercourse, honoring Sophie’s fear of getting pregnant while the two desperately try to ensure they can end up together now that they have his family’s approval and still face society’s barriers. Ha said of that scene: "I think it’s the first time that Sophie feels taken care of. She’s spent so much of her life giving to other people and taking care of other people. It’s the first time that she actually gets to let her hair down and actually be taken care of and I think that’s really beautiful and poetic. Also, the first time that she can just enjoy being in the company of somebody else. " She added more broadly about the bathtub: "With the bathtub scene, I think it was also about, like, what does Sophie enjoy? What does giving pleasure mean, and what does receiving pleasure mean? And actually giving can also be a sense of self-pleasure as well. But also in that one, I felt like it was a lot about her taking charge when she feels like it, but then also being able to be happy with the surrender of receiving. " The bathtub scene is set to Strings From Paris’ rendition of Camila Cabello’s "Never Be the Same. "
Luke Thompson on adaptation choices
Thompson noted that many scenes from the book make it into the show this season and that the bathtub scene became "one other of those scenes that you have to do. " He said, "It’s funny, isn’t it? A lot of that stuff is just design. I remember walking into Benedict’s bedroom in the cottage and being like, ‘Oh, this is exactly how I pictured it’. That’s nice for the fans but we just have to get on with it, don’t we?" He emphasized perspective on fan expectation: "You have to take that thing and put it at bay a little bit. " On the scene’s symbolism he added, "It’s like their little bubble, isn’t it? They have that nice line all the way right back in season 1 where it’s all about water, it’s like ‘You always like shallow waters … will you wade out deep with me?’. I just find it nice, like symbolically, that they end up in a little bath together. "
On-set logistics and support
Both intimate scenes were staged in collaboration with intimacy coordinator Lizzy Talbot, who assisted Thompson and Ha in pretending to have sex in a giant bathtub of sloshing water. Ha described practical challenges with a laugh: "That bathtub was also very long, and I have short legs. So there was a lot of logistics, like, which arm am I gonna make sure that I hang on to so I don’t slip and go under the water? But Lizzy Talbot is great for that. She’s the best intimacy coordinator. And, yeah, bathtub sex scenes are not as glamorous as you may see it in the end. "
Other context from recent coverage
Coverage around these scenes included a clear spoiler warning for season 4 part 2 and noted that many book fans were waiting to see how Julia Quinn’s novel material would be adapted. The new episodes explore the fallout of Benedict’s mistress proposition to Sophie, their recognition of their feelings for one another, and their growing connection. Commentary around the adaptation emphasized staying "true to the story": "And stay true to the story. I think, as nice as it is for fans to be so excited to see a certain scene, that’s not our job. Our job is to be as honest and truthful to what these characters need at that time and share the love. But yeah, we’re not there to please people, we’re actually there to take them on a different journey perhaps and surprise them! And entertain them perhaps in a different way. "
Additional interview material touched on Ha’s hopes for Benedict and Sophie’s future children and her conversations with showrunner Jess Brownell, but the full details of those remarks are unclear in the provided context. The coverage also included a line praising Ha: "[Yerin is] just a good person, as well as being wildly talented, and I do think that's rare. I think that combo is not often felt. " Separate lines in recent material described community missions: "A community celebrating Black voices, Black art, and Black folx, " and "Latines learning, remembering, healing, and finding joy in our diverse stories. " Another line stated, "A global beauty platform brings together beauty enthusiasts, brands, and industry leaders to explore the latest trends, innovations, and conversations shaping the future of beauty. "
Both actors framed the intimate work as serving character truth rather than fan service, and highlighted the choreography, design and practical care involved in bringing those moments to screen.
