Why 'Bridgerton' Is Changing Benedict's Love Interest Sophie’s Last Name

Bridgerton has finally found their Sophie, but fans can still expect season 4 to feature some major changes from the book.

After Netflix confirmed on Wednesday, September 11, that Yerin Ha has been cast as Benedict’s (Luke Thompson) love interest, the actress explained why her character’s last name would be changed from Beckett to Baek.

“A name is the first bit of identity that you share with the world, and that’s why changing a name can be so powerful,” Ha, 29, told Netflix’s Tudum about how Baek is a Korean surname that honors her culture. “To make Sophie’s name fit someone who looks like me is really empowering.”

Ha expressed her gratitude to showrunner Jess Brownell.

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“All credit to Jess Brownell,” she continued. “It’s a really nice way for me to feel like the role is fit for me, rather than me having to fit a certain mold. It’s amazing what it can do just in a psychological sense. So it means a lot that Jess did that for me.”

Based on Julia Quinn‘s book series, season 4 of Bridgerton follows Benedict’s love story with Sophie from the third novel titled An Offer From a Gentleman. As some fans know, Benedict’s world gets turned upside down when he crosses paths with a mysterious woman in a Cinderella-inspired meet cute.

Benedict’s personal life has already been the focus throughout the show — including season 3 when he realized his fluid sexuality. Despite Benedict having a personal awakening after engaging in a threesome, fans should still expect him to find love with Sophie.

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“I think we’re going to continue on the storyline of Benedict learning exactly how he wants to exist in the world,” Brownell told The Hollywood Reporter in June. “I think Benedict is someone who experiences a lot of breadths in his life in terms of a million different experiences, but he’s never really committed to anything. I think what he’s starting to realize is that he also craves depth, and so Benedict reconciling breadth with depth is something we’re going to dive into pretty deeply in future seasons.”

Thompson, 36, has also reflected on Benedict’s journey to find his purpose.

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“He seems to approach his feelings in a spirit of curiosity. There’s very little angst about it. It’s refreshing to see someone tackle that side of themselves without anxiety about who they are and what it means,” the actor told Bustle that same month. “Male sexuality, particularly, can feel boxy in the way that it’s explored. Let’s be clear, it was an extremely repressive period.”

He continued: “By our modern terms, the closest [descriptor] would be something along the lines of pansexuality — being attracted to the way that someone thinks and feels, regardless of gender. That’s a word that could be used. But what’s refreshing about it, certainly in the way that it’s being discovered at the moment, is that there is a sense of labelless-ness about it.”

Bridgerton is currently streaming on Netflix.