'Bridgerton' Benedict and Sophie actors tease what's coming in Season 4 Part 2

NEW YORK – It's Benedict's time to shine in Season 4 of the hit Netflix drama "Bridgerton." But will the second son of the late viscount actually settle down? Queen Charlotte names Benedict (Luke Thompson) the first male Diamond of the Season. But at his mother's masquerade ball, the Lady in Silver catches Benedict's eye. And thus the introduction begins to Sophie Baek (Yerin Ha).

The queen "likes change, but also she's quite scared of change," Thompson, 37, tells USA TODAY alongside his new costar Ha. "But when it comes to the gossip, I think she just wants a bit of a shake-up every time. So yeah, the first male diamond."

Thompson compares the queen to Benedict, a character who for seasons has shown glimpses of change only to continue marching to the beat of his own drum.

"The change is difficult, as in, like, I think he does start Season 4 very much where we left off with him," Thompson says with a laugh. Spoiler alert: In the season's first episode, we find Benedict in his bedroom at his mother's house with two women. Thompson references the "glow-up" that Colin (Luke Newton) experiences on-screen after his travels between Seasons 2 and 3. "Benedict comes back and he's exactly the same, and he's sort of stuck a little bit.

"Part of the fun and also the tension of the show is in some ways that aspect of himself really works well up to a point. But when it comes to the really serious and maybe more deep stuff, he falls short a little bit. It's going to take a while for him to be broken down."

The 'Bridgerton' leads met over tacos and 'a great hug'

Thompson and Ha first spoke on Zoom. A few weeks before production began on Season 4, the two met in person at showrunner Jess Brownell's house, where they shared tacos, a few laughs and what Ha describes as "a great hug." Both say they were initially nervous.

"You played me some 'Clair de lune,'" Ha, 28, recalls while mentioning the classical music piece, which Thompson played on Brownell's piano. "That was a moment where I was like: 'Oh, it's going to be easy. It's easy to fall in love."

Ha also found it easy to join in to the ensemble cast.

"It's the anticipation that's always worse than actually experiencing it, because I start to create ideas in my head what it could be like, or play out the worst-case scenarios," Ha says. "But I did hear from everyone, like from producers and stuff, that everyone is genuinely so lovely. The leads would reach out via text and just say that they're here for me. So it always felt like they were supportive of me coming into the cast."

"Having new people come in, it's what the show desperately needs," Thompson adds. "Because it means that every year it acquires a slightly different feel. So you want new blood."

It wasn't all smooth sailing for Ha. The actress recalls coming down with the flu before the final scene of Episode 4, forcing the shoot to be rescheduled.

"You worried you were going to catch on fire as well at one point?" Thompson asks Ha.

"Yeah, there were candles. I had a lot of hairspray. I thought my hair was going to catch on fire. It was just a lot going on."

What can viewers expect in the second half of 'Bridgerton' Season 4?

When Thompson and Ha sit down to chat, the two realize they have been living with Season 4 for so long, they're not even sure whether it's out yet. Suffice to say they've been keeping a few secrets for a while. But they're still game to tease what's ahead for the gentle readers.

"You've got this awful knot now that they've tied themselves in where you're like, 'How the hell are they going to find themselves back together?'" Thompson says. "They've completely misunderstood each other. But I think that's a big break as well. Maybe Benedict hasn't entertained the idea of losing Sophie, and so suddenly."

A major part of the tension between the two characters is the inequity in their societal roles: she's a maid, he's a nobleman. Yet the two are drawn to each other. How would the characters fare if they switched roles?

"I think she'd want equality," Ha says of Sophie. Meanwhile, Thompson believes Benedict could fit in "anywhere" but concedes that his identity as a nobleman makes him "blind to certain things."

"You are in part determined by that social structure," he says. "And that's the pain and the joy also of the whole season."