After a wait that felt like a lifetime, Bridgerton season 4 made its premiere on Netflix, with the first part of the season dropping on Jan. 29. (The second half arrives on Feb. 26.) Naturally, fans won’t be waiting more than a second to dive right in and see how Benedict and Sophie’s love story comes to life onscreen, but the season packed in a few more surprises along the way.
In each season, there’s inevitably a few words that are a bit confusing to the modern ear. The characters tend to refer to certain things, actions, or even people using terminology that we wouldn’t use today, like “rake” or “make haste.” But in season 4, Francesca uses a word, that we admittedly know very well, to describe a particular moment in the bedroom, giving it a whole new meaning.
What does pinnacle mean in Bridgerton season 4?
While having sex with her husband John, Francesca doesn’t particularly seem to be enjoying herself and it comes to her attention that she hasn’t reached “the pinnacle.” Given the context clues, most viewers have probably come to the conclusion that pinnacle is Bridgerton’s way of talking about sexual climax and orgasms. Bridgerton has now changed the word pinnacle forever.
Warning: Minor spoilers ahead from Bridgerton season 4 part 1.
The series has previously used pinnacle to describe the climax of sexual intimacy, even as early as in season 1 when Simon uses the word while speaking with Daphne about the act. His use of the word differs slightly in the context that it’s used by Francesca and the women she speaks to about it in season 4, but it’s still meant as a proper stand-in for the words we would use now.
It’s unclear whether “pinnacle” would have actually been used as a slang term back in that era, but it’s not too far of a leap to imagine that those in the Regency era would. You also likely won’t find “pinnacle” used with this definition in Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton book series, as it’s a unique addition to the Netflix original series for Francesca’s upcoming storyline.
Francesca becomes troubled when she realizes she hasn’t reached pinnacle in the bedroom with her husband. When she asks Penelope about it in confidence, she learns that Penelope has in fact achieved that moment of pleasure with Colin. Francesca also asks her mother to explain what “pinnacle” means even further. Upon understanding, she fakes it, which John immediately notices.
Of course, what we as the viewers know that Francesca doesn’t is that she likely hasn’t reached “pinnacle” with John because she isn’t sexually attracted to him. Last season, it was revealed that Francesca’s main love interest from her book, Michael, had been gender-flipped to a woman named Michaela. She feels sparks with Michaela, and she feels them again when she returns in episode 4.
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