A Bridgerton Season 3 Fan Theory Thinks Eloise & Sophie Will Be Friends

It’s been a long wait for Bridgerton Season 3, and it will likely continue for some time, according to one cast member. Adjoa Andoh, who plays Lady Danbury, recently told Digital Spy that the next installment has “been in the can for a while,” and will be debuting next year.

Until then, fans have been busy theorizing — going off little more than set photos, vague plot teases, and, of course, their own imagination.

Now, a new Reddit theory suggests a promising development: Benedict’s love interest might be introduced in Season 3, even though this installment will be primarily devoted to #Polin (aka Penelope and Colin).

A New Friend Enters The Chat

User u/PhilosopherFancy3636 suggests that Sophie, Benedict’s love interest in the Bridgerton novels, could be Eloise’s maid in Season 3 — referencing a Netflix synopsis that says Eloise finds “a new friend in a very unlikely place.”

In Benedict’s book (mild spoilers ahead), he first encounters Sophie at a masquerade ball. u/PhilosopherFancy3636 proposes that “Eloise, having built a friendship with said maid, and tired of being alone at balls” may bring Sophie to a Bridgerton ball.

Or, the user offers, “the maid drops a comment that she'd like to know what a ball is like,” and Eloise obliges. Both scenarios, they write, end with Benedict falling in love.

Several fans voiced their support for the theory in the comments, with u/plumpoof writing that it would be “so sweet” for Eloise and Sophie to form a friendship first, since she and Benedict are so close themselves.

Sophie’s Sneaky Introduction

If you’re one to keep up with Bridgerton theories, you know fans have believed Sophie would be Eloise’s maid for a while now. It all goes back to the first episode of Season 2, in which Anthony said the house needed to hire a new helper for his little sister — one who’d be “even more strong-willed than the last.”

If the theories pan out, Bridgerton may have been quietly setting up Sophie’s introduction in the background. Season 3, then, would be the perfect time to bring her to the fore.

The Books Say...

As it turns out, there is some support for u/PhilosopherFancy3636’s theory in Benedict’s Bridgerton book, An Offer from a Gentleman. While Sophie doesn’t start out as Eloise’s friend or lady maid, she does work for the Bridgertons at one point.

While the order of events is different (in the book, Benedict offers Sophie the job after he’s already met her), the show has altered details of the Bridgerton timeline before — so this change wouldn’t be a huge stretch.