This New Bridgerton Clue Hints At Eloise & Phillip’s Romance

Benedict and Sophie’s love story will take center stage in Bridgerton Season 4. But as fans know, the Regency romance likes to plant seeds for future installments, and a new official photo has fans theorizing about Eloise, in particular.

Though Season 4 is still in production, Netflix has released several first-look photos to keep fans fed. On March 28, a snap of Eloise and Penelope caused a stir online.

At first, the image doesn’t seem too unusual. It depicts Eloise and Penelope — not only besties, but sisters-in-law! — each holding a book, happily chatting mid-promenade.

As showrunner Jess Brownell told Entertainment Weekly, the pair is “more bonded than ever” in Season 4. “Their trials and tribulations last season have added new depth to their friendship, and we’re excited for viewers to see how their relationship looks now that they’ve each grown up a little,” she said.

But there may be even more to the sweet photo than meets the eye. In a viral Reddit post, one Bridgerton fan noted that Eloise’s dress seems quite tree-like. “Eloise has a dress that looks like the rings inside a tree,” they wrote. “Trees make paper. Paper that she will be writing on this season to Phillip! BOOM!”

“Phillip” refers to Sir Phillip Crane, Eloise’s love interest from the Bridgerton books. (Spoilers ahead for the book To Sir Phillip, With Love.) Fans have already met him on the show, but the pair only begin writing to each other — and ultimately pursue a relationship — after the passing of his wife, Marina.

Eloise’s Love Story

While some commenters joked that the theory was “swiftie level clowning,” others saw merit in the observation. In addition to the paper connection behind #Philoise’s correspondence, Phillip is also a botanist, as several fans pointed out. In fact, he prepares willow bark (!!) tea in one pivotal scene from To Sir Phillip, With Love.

This wouldn’t be the first time the Bridgerton creative team has used costumes to tease an upcoming love story. In 2022, costume designer Sophie Canale confirmed to People that Penelope’s green dress in Season 2 was an intentional nod to the fact that she and Colin would be the focus of Season 3.

“That’s useful as a tool to know where your characters are going,” Canale said of costuming details. So who knows? Perhaps Eloise’s bark-like dress is another Easter egg, and her correspondence with Phillip will begin in Season 4.