Bridgerton’s Season 4 Sets Up a Surprising Season 5 Lead

When Eloise Bridgerton returned from Scotland in Bridgerton Season 4, she had a certain knowing smile that usually only happens when women in the ton get married. Only, for her, it was the opposite. During her mother’s masquerade ball, she made a startling declaration to best friend Penelope Bridgerton — she was now, officially, “on the shelf.”

In Regency terms, this classifies Eloise as an official spinster, and while you might think 20 is a bit young for that, she was actually pretty old to be unmarried within the context of that time. While she seems pretty elated by the status, a lot of evidence points to her being the next lead in Bridgerton’s Season 5.

We already know this: Bridgerton has been renewed for two more seasons, and showrunner Jess Brownell has confirmed that Francesca and Eloise’s stories are next. As for the order, she’s kept it schtum — but if you were paying close attention to Season 4, you would have seen a subtle shift in Eloise that puts her in the perfect position to fall in love. 

Eloise’s Evolved Perspective on Love and Marriage

First and foremost, one thing I want to note is that, in terms of book order, Eloise’s is next. While Shonda Rhimes and Co. swapped the order of books in the past, this was because the Lady Whistledown drama necessitated it. Along with everything else that happened in Season 4, Eloise getting her time to shine feels like the most logical next step.

But logic isn’t the only reason why I think this — as I mentioned, we see her views on marriage and love change this season.

She says this herself while visiting the new Lady Penwood, who is none other than her frenemy Cressida Cowper. While she is initially there to distract Cressida so that Sophie can sneak off to find her father’s will, the two actually end up having a pretty insightful conversation about love and marriage. When Cressida tells her that love “has the power to change one’s life,” Eloise responds, “Yes, I am starting to see that.” This throwaway comment is really indicative of how Eloise is changing, perhaps after witnessing so many of her siblings finding much-sought-after love matches. It’s a slow process, sure, but it’s happening.

To avoid the marriage mart, Eloise agrees to help chaperone sister Hyacinth’s finishing classes. However, she spends most of the season mocking her sister’s more traditional interests and outlook on life, to the point where a disappointed Hyacinth bans her from her lessons altogether. While things were tense between the sisters for a while, Eloise eventually won back her favour after sneaking her into a ball. 

But the stand-out moment is when Hyacinth, haunted by John Stirling’s sudden death, decides to delay her debut and avoid love (and the possibility of heartbreak) altogether. It is Eloise who encourages her to believe in love again, noting how, without marriage, the Bridgerton brood never would have existed. She even goes as far as to say that marriage has certain “advantages,” which is something Season 1 Eloise would never have said.

Finally, during Benedict and Sophie’s wedding, Eloise admits that, to the astonishment of those around her, she does “love a wedding” — although she clarifies that this is only as an attendee. While she might not be making her wedding vision board just yet, the fact that Eloise is actually embracing the idea of wedding ceremonies shows a clear change in her values. Again, Season 1 Eloise would never say something like that in a million years — and, let’s be honest, nor would the Eloise at the beginning of Season 4.

Is Bridgerton Season 4 a Turning Point for Eloise?

Ultimately, I believe Eloise will be the next sibling to marry because, by the end of Season 4, she is at a crossroads. Her brother Benedict went from being a notorious rake to being happily married, meaning that she’s effectively lost her partner in crime.

“They allow each other to avoid that whole difficult process of falling in love and getting married, and they think, 'That would be truly awful, it's everything we hate!' And that's great; it deepens their relationship,” Benedict actor Luke Thompson said in an exclusive JustWatch interview.

“But it’s funny because in a way, it’s like they’re holding each other back,” he added. “During the scenes where they’re talking on the swing, they’re nurturing and cradling the idea of ​​their own unhappiness, in a way. They’re talking about the things that bother them and the things that make them sad. And it’s good to have those kinds of affinities in the family, but sometimes it can prevent us from moving forward and starting the next chapter of our lives.”

Without that shared distaste for marriage with both Benedict and Penelope, with nobody keeping her company as she tries to evade tradition, Eloise isn’t just stunted — she’s alone. Life is going on around her, and yet she remains static. However, as Season 4 demonstrates, something has changed inside Eloise — it just remains to be seen whether these internal changes will translate into external action. 

Individually, these clues might not look like a lot, but when we add them together, they paint a pretty clear picture. Marriage is coming for Eloise, but it might not be the looming threat she thinks it is.