What Is Benedict's Sexual Identity After His Bridgerton Season 3 Arc?

Summary

• Bridgerton Season 3 departed from the Julia Quinn canon by devoting time to exploring Benedict's sexuality.
• The showrunner revealed details about how he might identify himself.
• His sexuality is sure to influence the love storyline dedicated to him in the future.

Whether you liked the new season of Bridgerton or not, it's pointless to deny that the writers have done a pretty good job of gradually revealing the characters and giving them interesting twists and turns that are different from the original book series written by Julia Quinn.

A number of intriguing storylines were provided for other characters, most notably Benedict Bridgerton (Luke Thompson), the second son of the family and the hero of the third novel, which may or may not be the source for Season 4. And of course, one of the main highlights of the story of an aspiring artist who isn't into the antics of London high society was his exploration of sexuality.

But now that we know that Mr. Bridgerton is ready to win the hearts of more than just women, the question is: what is Benedict's sexual orientation?

Benedict's Arc in Bridgerton's Season 3

In addition to Colin and Penelope's passionate relationship, Season 3 has also placed a heavy emphasis on the romantic storylines of the other two Bridgertons, Francesca (Hannah Dodd) and Benedict, and it appears that both storylines will involve non-heterosexual relationships in the future seasons. So while Francesca's current love interest is John Stirling (Victor Alli), there's a very strong possibility that she'll have an affair with his cousin Michaela (Masali Baduza).

In Benedict's case, however, his romantic entanglements with Lady Tilley Arnold (Hannah New) led to an exploration of his own boundaries and sexuality as she brought him closer to her other lover, Paul Suarez (Lucas Aurelio).

What Is His Sexual Identity in the Show?

Of course, there were no such notions as 'sexual identity' or 'gender' in the days of Byron and Keats, but despite the Regency setting, The Bridgertons is still a contemporary romance story, and in that context, it's interesting to see what fans can relate to Ben. This question was answered by showrunner Jess Brownell in a conversation with The Hollywood Reporter. Her words are quoted below:

'Benedict's sexual identity is not a fixed belief for him. In modern terms, he might be described as pansexual, someone for whom gender doesn't really matter. We've talked a lot about Benedict's fluidity since season one, and I know that it's something that people picked up on, and it's something that we wanted to make a stance on and make clear about the character. Because I do think that he's a character who would naturally be more about connection than he would be about gender.'

Exploring His Own Sexuality Will Set a Romantic Trajectory for S4

It remains unknown which of Quinn's novels will be adapted in Season 4. However, if what follows is indeed the third book, Ben's storyline will clearly differ in some way from the source material, in which his love story is reminiscent of Cinderella as he searches all over London for Sophie Beckett. But the decision to make Benedict pansexual not only emphasizes his unwillingness to conform to society, but will also allow him to be truly free and confident in himself.

'And in a bigger way, I think the threesome, or throuple, storyline for Benedict is about him learning to embrace his true self in the same way that Pen and Colin are embracing their true selves. Benedict has always been an unconventional character who lives a little bit outside of society in terms of his comfort. And so this season, Tilley is really helping him embrace who he really is and is teaching him how to own that and that's something that will carry forward for Benedict in future seasons.'

Source: The Hollywood Reporter.