In Bridgerton Season 4 Part 1, many viewers were confused by one major thing. Benedict still cannot recognise that the Lady in Silver, whom he met at Violet Bridgerton's masquerade ball, is actually Sophie. The two of them have been close many times after that night. They have spoken for long hours. They have even lived under the same roof for a short while. Yet Benedict cannot bring himself to connect the masked woman from the ball with the young maid working in his family's home. It has surprised audiences because his feelings for both women seem deep and sincere. Now, the actor who plays Benedict, Luke Thompson, and showrunner Jess Brownell have explained why this happens.Sophie Baek, played by Yerin Ha, is the illegitimate daughter of an Earl, who works as an overburdened servant. At the beginning of the season, she gets to the ball, where she will meet Benedict, by wearing a silver mask that conceals all of her identity. Once she meets him, they feel an instant connection. But she leaves before midnight, which puts him in a position where he is left to wonder who she is. After the ball, he continues to think about that moment while searching for her over the following days.Then, he runs into her again, but this time, not knowing that it is her. Shortly after, he saves her and another woman from a couple of drunken men at another party, which leads to Sophie spending more time with Benedict and his family. To many viewers of Bridgerton, it seems strange that during all of the time they spend together, he still has not yet realised that she is the very same woman he danced with at the ball. According to actor Luke Thompson, the problem lies with Benedict's mind and his personality.Why can't Benedict Bridgerton put the two identities together?Luke Thompson told Entertainment Weekly that Benedict Bridgerton's struggle comes from the way he separates fantasy from real life. According to him, Benedict has always kept his dreams and his daily life in different spaces. The Lady in Silver represents the ideal world he longs for, one full of magic and beauty."It's sort of unexpected. You're like, 'Surely he can see!' But then we're all blind, do you know what I mean? We all go and do things for years, or don't think to do things for years, or aren't aware of things for ages, and then suddenly the penny drops…. We all have blind spots, and there's Benedict’s."Sophie, as he knows her in his daily life, represents something more grounded and complicated. Benedict lacks the ability to distinguish between his fantasy and reality, and would therefore like the two things kept separate because combining them creates confusion and, for him, something frightening. He sees falling in love as requiring him to accept both parts of someone, and he does not see himself as being able to do that just yet.There was also an additional comment made by Thompson regarding an actor and how the character has the unique perspective of not being able to recognise someone else's face, despite having spent time with Sophie many times. View this post on Instagram Instagram PostThompson went on to say how people have difficulty noticing things that are happening around them. There is a flaw inherent to everyone; the inability to recognise something, and realising that time has gone by in a forgotten context, which actually contributed to the respective inability to identify the person one has been so close to. Benedict's inability to discover Sophie's identity is part of that human flaw.There is no doubt that many will find Benedict's eventual revelation shocking. It does add another level of depth to his character arc, as he, too, has many emotional scars.How does Regency society shape Benedict's blind spot in Bridgerton?Showrunner Jess Brownell shared another reason for Benedict's confusion. She said that the strict class system of the Regency era creates a mental block for him. In that time, it was seen as impossible that a maid could attend a grand ball meant for upper-class families. Because of this mindset, Benedict cannot even imagine that Sophie and the Lady in Silver are the same woman. Brownell said that from Benedict's point of view, the two identities "are a logical impossibility.""In that day and age, there was just no way that a gentleman would expect a maid to have been at a ball."This also shapes Benedict's actions later, including his offer for Sophie to become his mistress. It is not romantic, and it is not what Sophie deserves, but it shows how trapped he feels within the rules of the society he grew up in. Brownell explained that Benedict has a major moment of realisation in Bridgerton season 4, part 1, episode 4. During a scene where he briefly thinks Miss Hollis might be the Lady in Silver, he sees Sophie enter the room. In that moment, he realises he is far more drawn to Sophie than the fantasy woman he has been chasing.Still, the full truth remains hidden from him. With Sophie's former household now living next door and new tensions rising, the second part of the season will show whether Benedict can finally piece everything together. Bridgerton Season 4 Part 2 arrives on February 26 on Netflix.