‘Bridgerton’ Recap, Season 4, Episode 7: ‘The Beyond’

If you are anything like me, you also went through a box of tissues during this episode while being faintly baffled that Bridgerton, of all things, got you feeling so emotional. If that’s not the case, well, I don’t know how to help you, but enjoy this recap all the same!

Let me begin with a hearty round of applause for Hannah Dodd, who I think crushes throughout this entire episode. Opening the episode are the staff preparing the house for the mourning period: The black curtains go up, trinkets are removed, mirrors are covered, and John and Francesca’s portrait is veiled. We then cut to Fran in her mourning attire, eyes filled with tears, face drawn and pale. Ugh, I am hurting for her! And Michaela too! When Fran finds her on the floor, holding a pillow with tears streaming down her face before the funeral? Whew, lord, this is all too much, and we’re just getting started!

At the funeral, Benedict takes Anthony’s place for the eulogy. Look, I know the lack of Kate and Anthony is killing everyone who is #online, and I get it; I love them too! But the show is not about them anymore, nor is it about Colin and Pen, nor Daphne and Simon. (Remember them??) Benedict is the main character this season and thus, he is doing the main-character stuff! Sophie is in attendance, and narratively he needs to be giving this speech about losing a friend so the emotional torment can be turned up to a hundred. If Anthony were here, Benedict would not be the brother who has to step up, and then he would have nothing to do, and we’d be bored. Instead, we get Benedict trying desperately to hold himself together for his family while also having his entire heart broken. That’s narrative tension, baby!

This devastating loss also creates some space in the narrative for Sophie to win over Francesca, firmly cementing that she belongs with this family. The Bridgertons host the reception, something Fran can barely restrain herself from apologizing to her mother-in-law for. Unsurprisingly, no one is mad at her about it, and the reception is quite lovely! The reception line and the many, many condolences from friends and family start to get to Fran, and after a near breakdown about biscuits, Sophie sees the panic welling up in her eyes. She cleverly insists that Fran’s hair needs a touch-up and gives her a minute alone to take a breath. Fran is so grateful, and even more so when Sophie confesses that at her own father’s funeral, she wanted to yeet a tray of pickled salmon across the room. He hated pickled salmon, and she was furious that someone dared to have it there on that day of all days. She got over it once she realized that we all know a different version of a person, and maybe someone thought that was the best way to honor him. For Sophie, she tries to emulate his logical mind, and to honor her mother, she wears her necklace … WAIT A TICK, where is her necklace?

Sadly, there is no time to begin a necklace search because someone needs more mint for the refreshments! And of course, Benedict is standing outside despite the cold air. “I merely wanted to feel something other than despair, so … I chose cold.” It’s not helping, and neither is Sophie’s sympathy. The boy is simply too emotionally raw to have Sophie comfort him; her light arm touch pretty much sends him into outer space. He is very visibly trying to fight tears as he insists Sophie go inside, and, oh, it’s fine that she’s still planning on leaving, it’s not killing him at all, don’t worry! He hits her with a “best of luck,” which is never not going to be a wild thing to say to someone whom you have literally been inside. “I am trying desperately to be strong for my family, for Francesca, on this dreadful day, and if you stay, I am afraid I will not be able to hold it together.” Oooof, this emotional torment hits so good! Having managed to get that out, the best he can do turn around and not look at Sophie as she says good-bye.

As if that weren’t enough torment, Benedict is also tasked with dealing with all the paperwork that deals with a lord’s death. Violet comes to thank him for all that he is doing for his sister and brings up Sophie within about three seconds of speaking to him. Benedict does not have it in him to hear yet another lecture about how foolish he is being, and he pops off. All his damn life, his mother has begged him to find a love match and told him it was the most important thing, and it scared him so much that he ran from it. And now that he’s found it, he is supposed to give up the woman he loves because of class? Would Violet have done that if Edmund were poor? Violet, bless her, hears almost nothing that he says apart from that he loves Sophie. Real love? This is a horse of a different color!

… Almost. Violet stumbles upon Sophie in the parlor, searching desperately for her necklace. After dancing around the subject for so long, Violet comes out and confesses that she knows about Sophie and Benedict’s relationship. She couldn’t fire Sophie for it, because, well, she likes her too much! So much, in fact, that she tries to get Sophie to confess to some secret noble background. “You are the sort of woman I would like for my son,” she says, trailing off sadly. “If I were not a maid,” Sophie finishes the thought for her. Tough! Stuff!

Benedict’s brotherly duties are not limited to paperwork; he also has to deal with a slimy dude from Parliament who is not played by Timothy Spall but is certainly someone with huge Spall energy. It’s very important, you see, that the laws of succession are followed to the letter! Earlier in the episode, Fran had already confessed to Penelope and Eloise that her courses stopped a few days ago, so she is happy to volunteer that she is indeed with child, so no worry about that! Slimeball has other ideas, though, and insists that Francesca is to be examined by a doctor to confirm this joyful news. It’s a heartbreaking scene seeing Fran lying in bed trying to get through this new invasion with tears in her eyes. What got me the most, actually, was Eloise holding her hand and trying not to cry herself. Ugh, the emotions in this episode are killing me! When the exam concludes, we see the doctor shaking his head in the corner. Fran is not pregnant, and my heart breaks for her all over again. Also, not to be rude, but like … what exactly is he looking for up there? A full fetus? This does not feel like science to me!

Lo, my heart keeps breaking for Fran! She doesn’t want to sleep in the room that she shared with John, she doesn’t want tea, and she certainly doesn’t want to listen to her mother’s understanding anymore. Emmy for Hannah Dodd for this scene, in my humble opinion! Francesca tells her mother that they are not the same, despite their shared widow status. Violet has eight children, “eight … pieces of your husband to remember him by. Eight times you did your wifely duty and gave Father the gift of children, and what did I give John? Nothing!” The thing about grief is that you cannot suppress it forever! Francesca keeps sobbing, exclaiming that she has nothing as she falls to the ground. Violet throws her arms around her. I was emotional enough, and then we cut to Michaela listening and crying outside? MY GOD, CAN I BREATHE FOR A SECOND?

No! I cannot! Because the minute Violet gets home and contemplates her marriage portrait, Mrs. Wilson reminds her that the only thing her children need from her is her love. Naturally, it’s time to find Benedict and demand a strong drink. She’s been thinking about love and life and how short our lives really are. She apologizes for not understanding that Benedict’s love for Sophie was so real and warns him that starting a life with someone from a different class is going to be hard. Truly, I was like, All right, Violet is coming around!, right up until she says that there is one huge sacrifice he will have to make: his family. She goes into even more detail about how hard it will be for him. Despite his assurances to Sophie, Violet quickly reminds him that this will not mean he can pop back and forth from the country to London. He will be shunned, and his family will have to shun him too. They can write, maybe, but probably not until everyone has gotten married, and he’ll miss birthdays and weddings. Finally, Benedict is like, I got it, thanks! It’s no big, she doesn’t want me! “Oh, I very much doubt that is the case if you asked her to marry you,” Violet replies. Both Benedict and I are like, Come again?! Did you not just finish telling him this would ruin his life??? Yes, she did, but he is right; she has always wanted her children to find love, and if he has found it, he really should go after it. Still, she cautions him to think very carefully, reminding him that not only will he have to live with it forever, their whole family will. Kinda getting mixed messages here, Mama!

While the Bridgertons have been mourning, Araminta has been busy watching their house from her windows and snarking about not getting invited to the reception. Also, she’s set on getting Rosamund married off to Lord Stotter and sending Sophie to the clink. She’s a very busy woman, and she hasn’t got all day! (It won’t cost much … just your voice!) Araminta sets up a trap to confirm Sophie is at Bridgerton House, leaving Posy alone at home while she and Rosamund hit the modiste. She tells her daughter that she is going to the justice to get Sophie arrested, then leaves Varley in charge so she can track where she goes. Posy is smarter than that and straight-up takes to the window to warn her favorite sister. The bad news continues for Sophie, who has just learned that the new Lady Penwood hired someone else in her place. She does have a job offer to go to the Americas, and with this new information, she has no choice but to take it. Unfortch, Araminta has gotten the goods out of Posy after a mostly genuine heart-to-heart. The thing is, pretty much every woman in this society has reason to be a bitch, and Araminta’s is that she’s a single mother trying to keep her daughters safe and her husbands keep dying. I do feel for her, but I know once Posy confesses that there is no need to throw Sophie in the slammer because she’s leaving for the Americas that something is going down.

Over at Kilmartin House, Francesca and Michaela haven’t been having the easiest time supporting each other through their grief. Michaela hates the ways that society makes them grieve and tries to suggest a smaller gathering that is more about dancing and celebrating life. That’s what John would want; it’s the Scottish way, after all. Fran doesn’t want to hear it as she is trying to convince herself that doing all the right things means she is fine and handling it well. After her breakdown with Violet, Fran comes to Michaela to admit that she is not having a good time, despite all her proper ways. She wants to try grieving Michaela’s way.

At said small gathering, Michaela thanks the guests for coming and encourages everyone to share a bit about John and how much he was loved. It’s warm and comforting, and watching her siblings and friends talk about John gives Fran a space to finally say something about how she is feeling. Despite her adorably awkward start, she manages a beautiful speech. “The good that John brought to my life, that bond, that understanding, that love, far outweighs any pain I feel right now. I would not change it for anything.” Ugh, the way her voice breaks when she says “to my husband.” Actress! To keep things from getting too sad, Michaela teaches the room the Highland Fling, a dance that gave us one of Sex and the City’s most iconic lines (Charlotte: “For something called a fling, it looks like a lot of work!” Bunny: “That’s what I used to tell Trey about you!”) It is also a dance I “learned” on an exchange trip to Scotland in high school hours before getting blackout drunk and losing my iPod Mini in a park. #TheMoreYouKnow. Everyone is laughing and dancing, and the love in the room is too much for Benedict. He pulls Violet aside and says there is something he must handle, and she tells him that her mother’s ring is waiting for him at his desk.

Also waiting for him on his bedroom floor: a silver necklace with an amethyst pendant. Despite the fact that he has been locked and loaded on ladies’ mouths for months, it is the necklace that finally makes the connection for him. He tears apart his desk, looking for the earlier sketches he did of the Lady in Silver. It’s the same damn necklace! Up to her room he sprints, only to find it empty. But what’s that in this drawer? Could it be? A silver glove! He races to find the staff, begging that they tell him where she is. Hazel is the only one who knows that Sophie is no longer going to Penwood House; she is taking off for the Americas! At dawn, no less! Once again, I have to ask about the size and layout of this goddamned house because Sophie is in fact right outside, and I will not believe how long it takes Benedict to get there without literally seeing floor plans. He does not make it in time, and Araminta finally gets her wish. She accosts Sophie in the street with the constable right behind her. She accuses Sophie of stealing shoe clips and impersonating nobility, and despite Sophie’s protests, she is tossed in the back of the wagon, Roxie Hart style. Starting with a funeral and ending with the clink? Tough episode!

• I have NOT given Violet and Lord Anderson’s courtship the respect it deserves! Violet has been doing nothing but stressing about the fact that she is getting her back broke by this absolute hottie, to the point where he assures her that they don’t even need to talk about marriage. Violet hears “I don’t want to marry you” from this, but, of course, when she presses him on it, Lord Anderson is like, No, you just low-key lost your mind anytime I brought up our situation, so I thought this would be better? He does love her, and he wants to marry her. Violet is overcome and agrees that they should wed, despite the fact that she is unable to say she loves him. They agree to put their happy news on the back burner while Francesca is grieving as Lady Danbury is the only other person who knows.

• Lady Danbury and the queen are trying to figure out how to get through Lady Danbury’s last fortnight in London. Mostly that means the queen is complaining about how much she hates when a good thing changes, so much so that Agatha has to level with her and hit her with a “Charlotte.” She’s not leaving forever; she just needs a break, and they’ll still be friends! Still, I think Queen Charlotte will be taking her displeasure out on various countries’ bonbons for a bit longer.