Yerin Ha and Luke Thompson Break Down the Bridgerton Bathtub Scene — yerin ha on two very different sex scenes

yerin ha and Luke Thompson have spoken about two intimate, very different sex scenes that close out Bridgerton Season 4 Part 2. The pair described how the episodes land emotionally: an urgent bedroom encounter and a finale bathtub moment that serves as a turning point for Sophie and Benedict.

Spoiler warning for Part 2

SPOILER ALERT: The back half of Season 4 contains two key moments between Benedict Bridgerton (Luke Thompson) and Sophie Baek (Yerin Ha). After a slow-burn start to Season 4 in Part 1, Part 2 "makes up for lost time" with those deeply intimate scenes, which play out in the latter half of the season.

Episode 5: urgent bedroom encounter

The first scene arrives at the end of Episode 5, described as the opening installment of the back half of the season, when Sophie and Benedict "give in to their lust for each other and have sex in his bedroom despite their fears of being caught and her concerns about getting pregnant. " Set to a Vitamin String Quartet cover of Teddy Swims’ "Lose Control, " the moment is framed as giving into the "bad idea" they had begun at the end of Part 1, before Benedict’s "mistress" proposal got in the way.

Ha described the differences in pacing: "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 added that 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. "

Episode 8: bathtub finale, non‑penetrative

The second intimate moment arrives in Episode 8, the Season 4 finale, and is pulled directly from Julia Quinn’s novel "An Offer From a Gentleman. " Set to Strings From Paris’ rendition of Camila Cabello’s "Never Be the Same, " the bathtub scene contains no penetrative sex. Instead, Benedict cleans Sophie and "pleasures her intimately without intercourse, " a choice made to honor Sophie’s continuing fear of pregnancy and the couple’s effort to secure a future together now that they have his family’s approval and must still contend with society.

Ha said of the bathtub moment: "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. "

On the tub logistics: 'It was so slippery'

Both scenes were coordinated with intimacy coordinator Lizzy Talbot. The bathtub moment involved practical challenges: "That bathtub was also very long, and I have short legs, " Ha said with a laugh. "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. " One headline framed that practical difficulty bluntly: "It Was So Slippery. "

Staying true to the characters

Thompson played down added pressure to "nail" the tub scene for book fans, saying: "No, there were loads of scenes that are from the book that actually make it into the show this season so it just became one other of those scenes that you have to do. 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?"

Ha emphasized the performers’ responsibility to the characters rather than to fan expectation: "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. " Thompson added: "You have to take that thing and put it at bay a little bit. "

Why the bathtub matters for Sophie

Radio Times coverage noted the bathtub scene follows a period when Sophie has endured "trouble and anguish, " and that it functions as a turning point for the couple’s dynamic. Ha said: "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. " Thompson added a symbolic reading: "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. "

Outside notes and reactions

Early viewers noticed the tub moment when the Season 4 Part 2 trailer dropped, with eagle-eyed viewers flagging what looked like the anticipated tub scene and ultimately being proven right when it appears in the latter half of the season. Separately, a profile passage praised Ha personally: "[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. " The context also referenced Beautycon as "a global platform that brings together beauty enthusiasts, brands, and industry leaders to explore the latest trends, innovations, and conversations shaping the future of beauty, " and described "a community celebrating Black voices, Black art, and Black folx" with Latines "learning, remembering, healing, and finding joy in our diverse stories. "

yerin ha and Luke Thompson’s comments together underline that the two sex scenes in Season 4 Part 2 were handled with distinct intentions: one urgent and equal, the other more poetic, caretaking and symbolic, and both choreographed with professional intimacy support.