T-minus eight days until the premiere of season four of Bridgerton on Netflix. The new season centers on second son Benedict, and introduces his love interest, Sophie, who is played by Aussie Korean actress Yerin Ha.

Benedict and Sophie’s story is a dreamy Cinderella tale complicated by factors of class and legitimacy. I have been trying—emphasis on TRYING—to rewatch Bridgerton in the run-up to season four, and I am not going to lie, it’s slow going. Every season gets worse, with increasing amounts of stuff just that happens for the sake of happening, with no real regard to how it impacts larger character arcs or development. I am pretty worried about season four at this point, but whatever issues may arise, they shall not be deemed Yerin Ha’s fault. She is CHARMING.

Ha covers InStyle ahead of her Bridgerton debut, a kind of meet-and-greet moment as Bridgerton press enters high gear. Ha has appeared in high-profile shows before, notably Halo, but there is no question this is her biggest role on the international stage. Bridgerton is a monster hit for Netflix, previous seasons have launched gigging actors into the stratosphere (whether they can stay there is another issue). But while Luke Thompson, the actor who portrays Benedict, has historically been one of the most shy Bridgerton cast members, Ha seems ready to meet her moment.

Yerin Ha is carrying the weight of being the show’s first East Asian leading character. There have been East Asian members of the ton peppered throughout the show, but Sophie, whose surname was changed from “Beckett” to “Baek” to acknowledge Ha’s Korean heritage, is the first to stand center stage. On playing Sophie Ha says:

“There are certain similarities in the way that I live my life. […] It's like you're constantly having to prove yourself, and you do have to sometimes work hard or voice yourself louder to be seen or heard. And in terms of that frustration, I think it's maybe those similarities that I tried to bring to Sophie, rather than just a cultural thing.” 

It’s not just her heritage that sets Sophie apart, though. She will be the first working class character to feature in main storylines. We’ve seen a bit of the lower classes via assorted servants, Eloise’s pseudo-political trifle of the week, and the socially ascendant Mondrich family, but we haven’t really focused on someone who actually has to work for a living in Bridgerton. I am very interested to see how they play Sophie’s daily life against Benedict’s life of indolence, coming from a world in which he is actively discouraged from working for his living. I am scared of how Bridgerton will handle class issues, given how clumsily they handle race and sexism, but am still holding out hope they won’t ruin what is a fun and spicy book in the series (An Offer from a Gentleman, in case you want to read it).

I’m always rooting for Bridgerton because I love the books, several of which are perennial rainy-day re-reads, even if I’m losing faith in the TV writers to really understand what people love about the books—I think the worst thing that happened to Bridgerton was being nominated for Emmys in the drama categories—which are escapist romantic fantasy, not increasingly tortured family dramas. (Francesca’s story is the closest to real drama the Bridgerton books get and oh boy, am I worried about her!)

I’m also rooting for season four because Benedict and Sophie’s story is one of the few Bridgerton books that touches on deeper themes and challenges the characters’ world views (especially Benedict’s). And I’m definitely rooting for Yerin Ha to emerge as the next Bridgerton bright light. Whatever happens with season four, it seems like they nailed casting Yerin Ha as Sophie.

Click here to see the full feature in InStyle and to see more from their shoot.

Yerin Ha featured in Instyle

Photo credits: Charlotte Hadden/InStyle

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