Season 4 of Bridgerton introduces the newest Bridgerton: baby Edmund, the heir to the viscounty. Reunite with his parents, Season 2’s leads Kate (Simone Ashley) and Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey), in Season 4, Part 2, now streaming on Netflix. 

“They’re back, baby,” celebrates Bridgerton showrunner Jess Brownell. “They have been away in India having their first child.” Kate and Anthony first told Violet Bridgerton (Ruth Gemmell) and Lady Danbury (Adjoa Andoh) that they were expecting toward the end of Season 3. At that time, they decided to welcome their baby in Kate’s home country to properly introduce the infant to his culture.  

In Episode 6 of Season 4, Kate and Anthony, who sports a fetching new-dad beard, return to England with their baby. The couple rests in bed after their long voyage. The moment their child wakes, however, Anthony jumps right into action. “Straight to the pall mall pitch!” he exclaims. “What color mallet do you think he shall prefer?” Kate laughs, telling Anthony that she and Edmund aren’t leaving the bed anytime soon because “the journey back from India was arduous enough.” 

Later in the episode, Kate gathers with mother-in-law Violet and sisters-in-law Penelope (Nicola Coughlan), Eloise (Claudia Jessie), Francesca (Hannah Dodd), and Hyacinth (Florence Hunt) to catch up on the ton’s latest gossip. As they rehash old gripes about Cressida (Jessica Madsen), Kate steps in with more magnanimous advice. “Does every young woman not deserve a chance at reform? … Perhaps I’ve gone soft since becoming a mother,” she says, glowing with pride and joy. On cue, Edmund’s baby nurse carries him into the room to see his aunts and grandmother. 

Each family member greets the child in their own way: Violet beams upon seeing her grandson, and fellow new mother Penelope scoops Edmund into her arms. Francesca, meanwhile, thoughtfully ponders her newest nephew, and Eloise, rarely comfortable around children, offers a polite wave. 

Meanwhile, Lady Danbury finds Season 4’s leading man, Benedict (Luke Thompson), loitering just outside in the hallway. She asks whether his hesitance has to do with Edmund taking Benedict’s spot as the next in line for the family duties: “You have been put out to pasture by that small, wriggling child?” Benedict concurs, responding that he has quietly dreaded this moment — “meeting the infant that would make me purposeless” — his whole life. 

But Benedict is also struck with a different feeling. “Love?” Danbury offers. Benedict — who, at this point, is at odds with his mother over his romance with their maid Sophie Baek (Yerin Ha) — describes something more complicated. He feels love for Edmund but also envy — Edmund has united his family with joy at a time when Benedict’s love life is divisive. Benedict knows that if he were to have children with a maid turned mistress, they would not generate the same happiness for the Bridgertons. 

Because of the complications around Benedict and Sophie, there’s an extra layer to Kate and Anthony’s return. Violet has summoned her eldest son in the hopes that Anthony will talk some sense into Benedict. Over drinks at their favorite gentlemen’s club, Anthony confronts Benedict about his affair with Sophie, and the two embark on a typical sibling spar. 

“I had hoped I had not been dragged from my wife and child for such an act of foolishness,” Anthony says to Benedict before launching into a classic avalanche of older-brother advice. Anthony warns Benedict to be rational and end his dalliance before it wreaks havoc on his family’s reputation and his younger sisters’ marriage prospects. Benedict resents being bossed around by his brother: “I do not know my own mind, and I am not capable of difficulty,” he spits back sarcastically. “Thank the devil you returned, with a new heir no less. Congratulations, by the way.” 

Adorable Edmund, only a few months old, already has people talking at Bridgerton House. As Season 4 races toward its exciting culmination, both Anthony and Benedict learn there’s so much more to understand about family, duty, and love. Stay tuned for Season 5 of Bridgerton to learn what other Whistledown-worthy conversations the Bridgerton brood will inspire.

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