'Bridgerton' Season 4, Episode 7 Recap: Sophie And Benedict's Happy Ending Is Threatened

Benedict's big decision to make will affect all the Bridgertons.

Violet (Ruth Gemmell) and Benedict (Luke Thompson) argue about his interest in Sophie (Yerin Ha), and Benedict straight up calls his mother a hypocrite; she's spent their entire lives saying love is the most important part of a relationship, but now that he's fallen in love, she's suddenly more concerned with society's rules.

And considering Benedict is crashing out and Francesca is grieving, Violet and Marcus (Daniel Francis) agree to keep their engagement a secret.

Violet finally gets honest with Benedict, saying the decision to marry Sophie is up to him, but the whole family will have to deal with the consequences. Because of the class difference, he'd have to permanently move to the countryside and wouldn't be a part of the family or society in the way he's always known.

Hyacinth finally agrees with Eloise — and Eloise regrets it.

While Violet is helping her two of her middle children, Eloise (Claudia Jessie) is seeing another side to Hyacinth (Florence Hunt), who's been obsessing over romance for weeks. After a successful ball, the youngest Bridgerton is suddenly uninterested in finding a match.

But it goes deeper than that: she's terrified to fall in love if her husband could simply be taken away the way John and her father were, and she's determined to stay single to avoid the heartbreak. And when she thanks Eloise for the genius advice, you can see El consider that maybe she steered her little sister wrong.

Francesca finally loses control in 'Bridgerton' season 4, episode 7.

After trying and failing to get pregnant in the past, Francesca declares she's with child, but a representative from the House of Lords says she must undergo an examination to prove it. It's clear Francesca feels uncomfortable with the whole conversation and Benedict steps up to defend her with an authority he's never exhibited before. Of course, his frustration is exacerbated by the rules and regulations of society currently keeping him from Sophie, but I digress. It's very satisfying to see him step into this protector/father figure role, and I hope we see more of this in the future!

Unfortunately, the examination reveals Francesca is not actually with child — and that revelation sends her over the edge. She's riddled with grief, and the guilt that she couldn't do the one thing she feels like she was supposed to, and has a total meltdown in her mother's arms.

Posy and Sophie still have each other.

Araminta (Katie Leung) is dead set on making a match for Rosamund, and is still determined to find and punish Sophie. Of course, Posy knows exactly where her sister is and sets out for Bridgerton house to warn her that Araminta's coming. I really love the relationship between these two sisters, and I need more of them in season 5!

But Sophie and Benedict's happy ending is threatened at the last second.

Francesca and Michaela do end up crafting a celebration of life for John, full of stories and dancing. It's incredibly therapeutic for both the characters and viewers, and in the middle of the celebration, Sophie leaves for her secret new job in America...but is intercepted and arrested for stealing Araminta's shoe clips.

When Benedict finds Sophie's necklace and FINALLY realizes she's been the Lady in Silver all along, he runs after her — and is seconds too late.