Spoilers for the Season 3 finale of Bridgerton are ahead! Read with caution if you aren’t caught up!

Well, my dearest readers, another season has come to an end, and the wait to see which Bridgerton character leads the next installment of the beloved Regency romance begins. However, while there’s no official confirmation about which sibling will be taking center stage in Season 4, there were three lines of dialogue in the Season 3 finale that heavily allude to who is next. And, ladies and gentlemen, I’m pleased to report that these lines of dialogue have fully convinced me that Luke Thompson’s Benedict Bridgerton will finally be leading a season of Bridgerton.

So, without further ado, get your notepads and Netflix subscriptions ready, because I’m about to lay out these lines and why they prove that our boy Benedict will be leading Season 4 of Bridgerton.

(Image credit: Netflix)

“It feels right now that the next thing I might learn may change me entirely.”

During Benedict and Eloises’ annual chat on the swings, they discussed their futures and how confused they were about what they learned and what will come next.

Benedict had just broken things off with Lady Tilley Arnold, noting that he wasn’t ready to fully commit yet and he’s still finding himself. That journey of self-discovery that really kicked into high gear this season was in full force by the finale, and his awareness of it and willingness to accept it feels like a sign that we’ll be focusing more on him next season.

That was then emphasized when he said the line above about how whatever is next might “change” him “entirely.”

Every season of Bridgerton features its leads facing a romance that changes them entirely, and it feels like it’s Benedict’s time. He’s watched three of his other siblings (Daphne, Anthony and Colin) fall in love and marry. While he is a free spirit and wants to stay that way, I could also feel a longing in his voice that he wants something like they have.

As we’ve spoken about before, the problem with Benedict’s story recently is how stuck he feels. The boy has been running in circles, and now it finally seems like he’s ready to leap forward into the unknown and meet his person.

While the next two lines we talk about further solidify this sibling’s place as the lead (hopefully), it was this moment specifically where I 100% believed he’d be the subject of Season 4. I truly think the next time we see Benedict and Eolise on these swings he will have learned something that changes him forever, and it will be because of whatever he learned during his season.

(Image credit: Liam Daniel/Netflix)

“Do you think Mama would ever let me miss her masquerade ball?”

Those who are fans of the Bridgerton books are very aware that in An Offer From a Gentleman, Benedict meets his love interest Sophie at the Bridgerton’s masquerade ball. So you better believe all the alarms were going off in fans’ heads when this conversation went down between the second eldest brother and his younger sister:

Eloise: Do you think Mama would ever let me miss her masquerade ball?

Benedict: Hmmm, I suppose not. I will be there. Hiding out behind a mask, avoiding eligible ladies like the plague.

This is not a drill ladies and gents! That seemed like the most obvious hint ever!

Why would they mention that ball that Benedict and Sophie meet at, if he’s not the focus of the next season? In my humble opinion, to tease such a big event like that and not have it in the next installment feels criminal.

Over the last three seasons, we’ve seen Benedict explore his sexuality and have brief flings with various people. However, his relationship with Tilley and Paul seems to be a turning point for him, and as he told Eolise, whatever he learns next “will change him entirely.”

If that next thing is meeting Sophie at his mother’s ball, that will change him entirely, because he’ll actually want to dance with her and not avoid her. And eventually, he’ll stop zooming around ballrooms and avoiding ladies, and he’ll fall in love with her.

That one mention of the masquerade ball really got me hyped up, and it’s safe to say that I’ll be royally disappointed if it doesn’t happen in Season 4.

(Image credit: Netflix)

“It is time now to look toward the future, whatever it may bring.”

If those first two lines weren’t enough to convince you, the one-two punch of this Lady Whistledown quote and the framing of the shot it happened during should.

After speaking with Eolise about the ball and watching her head away to go with Francesca, Benedict stands alone in the hallway as the gossip columnist explains in the voice-over that it is “time now to look toward the future.”

Literally, the only person standing in the frame as that’s said is Mr. Benedict Bridgerton. The future is his, he’s been talking A LOT about what is to come, and it’s his time.

We’ve been waiting patiently — well, maybe not patiently, but we’ve been waiting. Bridgerton abandoned book order and gave us Colin and Penelope’s story early, that’s great, I loved it. However, it’s time for Luke Thompson’s Bridgerton to get his love story. Benedict has kind of been floundering for a while now, and he deserves to find true love and satisfaction.

The showrunner teased that more adventures are coming for Benedict, and not only does Whistledown’s line allude to that, it fully implies – at least to me – that this won’t be a mere adventure, it will be the greatest story of the Bridgerton boy’s life.

So, now the wait begins for Season 4 of Bridgerton, and hopefully, the book-to-screen adaptation of Benedict’s lovely love story. Eventually, we’ll get official confirmation about who this installment will be about. However, these three lines speak volumes, and I fully believe we will be seeing Benedict leading the Bridgerton cast next season.