Bridgerton Season 4 Under Fire For Including A Lake Scene Without A Sopping White Shirt

EFFIE BATEMAN | Lifestyle | CONTACT

Fans of Bridgerton were left irate this week after it was revealed that although season four will include a lake scene, there isn’t a single sopping white shirt in sight.

For period drama lovers, the sopping white shirt is almost a character in its own right.

Always worn by a handsome, dark-featured man, it has made iconic appearances in multiple films and TV shows, from the 1995 Pride and Prejudice to 2008’s Lost in Austen, and even Bridgerton Season Two.

Interestingly, this author must sadly report that the infamous Colin Firth lake scene, where he supposedly emerges from the water in a wet shirt, is actually a Mandela effect.

Many who grew up watching the 1995 masterpiece recall Mr. Darcy rising from the lake in a sopping white shirt, but in reality, he is only shown swimming and later walking around in a shirt that is slightly damp, at most.

The confusion likely stems from Lost in Austen, where Elliot Cowen’s Mr. Darcy is seen emerging from the water.

Or because Colin Firth seems to have a propensity for watery mishaps, such as the scene in Love Actually, where he dives into a lake to pick up loose papers of the book he's been writing, and the fountain fight in Bridget Jones: Edge of Reason.

There is also the unforgettable scene in the original Bridget Jones, where Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant) falls into a lake during a canoe scene, while Colin Firth's character, also named Darcy, looks on.

You can see why this is all so confusing.

Nonetheless, after revisiting the season four trailer before tonight's two episode drop, fans were left disappointed when they realised that although Benedict Bridgerton does emerge from a lake, it’s more Daniel Craig in ‘Casino Royale’ style than the regency filth they've come to expect.

There have now been calls for Shonda Rimes to reshoot the scene, and give Benedict Bridgerton lovers the sopping white shirt scene they deserve.

More to come.