[Spoilers for Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy ahead.]
It's time to check in with Bridget Jones (Renée Zellweger) once again with Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy (now streaming on Peacock). A lot has changed since we last saw her. In 2016's Bridget Jones's Baby, Bridget welcomes a child with her on-and-off boyfriend Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) and finds out that he is, in fact, the father of her baby rather than her one-night stand, Jack (Patrick Dempsey). At the end of that movie, Bridget and Mark get married. Woohoo! After three movies, the two were finally together for good. A satisfying trilogy!
You can understand, then, that when the trailer for the fourth film, Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, was released, fans were preeeeetty upset that it revealed Mark died four years earlier. (He was killed while on the job as a international human rights lawyer, btw.) The movie would be about Bridget being a widow, adjusting to life as a single mom, and romancing new men — just like the novel it's adapted from by Helen Fielding.
So, how do things end up for Bridget this time? In this "one last chapter", as the trailer notes? Here's how it all shakes out for Bridget, her kids Billy (Casper Knopf) and Mabel (Mila Jankovic) — that's right, there's more than one Bridget Jones baby — and her new love interests.
What happens with Bridget and Leo Woodall's character?
The titular "boy" in Mad About the Boy is Roxster, who is played by Leo Woodall. He and Bridget have a meet-cute at the park where he works as a ranger. He then finds her on Tinder, they begin a flirtation over text, and then embark in a passionate relationship. Well, until he drunkenly admits that he does think their age-gap is an issue. He's 29; she's in her fifties.
Roxster then ghosts Bridget — not cool, Roxster! — before later returning to tell her he's in love with her, age gap be damned! Too late, bro. Bridget might still be bumbling, but she's more mature than she once was and isn't desperate for a man. She has no issue kindly turning down his offer to reconcile.
What happens with Bridget and Chiwetel Ejiofor's character?
While Bridget and Roxster are having their fun, she's also regularly having awkward encounters with her son Billy's science teacher, Mr. Walliker, played by Chiwetel Ejiofor. While Bridget believes in the magic of the universe, Mr. Walliker views everything very logically, putting them at odds in their outlook.
Eventually, the two bond in a deeper way when Bridget serves as a chaperone on a school field trip following her breakup with Roxster. On the surface level, she also very much approves when she sees Mr. Walliker with his shirt off after a surprise rainstorm.
Mr. Walliker bonds with Billy and encourages him to honor his late father in the school's Christmas recital. After the tearjerking concert, Bridget thanks Mr. Walliker for his help with Billy. Seeing Billy sing made her realize that she and her kids are going to be okay without Mark, while continuing to keep his memory alive.
Bridget invites Mr. Walliker to meet up at a bar with her and her friends. He shows up, but through a window she sees him decide to not actually come inside. So, Bridget chases him down the street — in the snow, as is her way — and he confesses that he has feelings for her, but was scared it wasn't the right time to tell her. She kisses him. He tells her that she should probably start calling him Scott. We have a first name, people!
That's it?
Not quite. We flash forward to New Year's Eve, one year later. All of Bridget's family and friends, including Scott, are partying at Bridget's house, and Scott's clearly become close with her loved ones. After the party, Bridget, Billy, and Mabel see an owl that is clearly meant to be a sign from Mark. Scott also sees it, and realizes that there is some mysterious magic in the universe.
Finally — and mirroring a scene from the beginning of the movie in which Bridget can't zip her dress alone — Scott helps Bridget unzip her party dress. She's no longer alone, but still has Mark in her thoughts. The end.
Not so fast. What about Hugh Grant?
Well, we couldn't finish up the Bridget Jones series without finding out what happens with Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant), right? He and Bridget went from dating in the first movie to her realizing that the womanizer with the dirty mouth makes for a better friend than romantic partner. He's now "Uncle Daniel" to her kids, and he has a teenage kid of his own, Enzo, who he hasn't seen in years. At the New Year's Eve party, it's revealed that Daniel and Enzo have reunited... and that Enzo takes after his dad when it comes to flirting.
Is this really it for Bridget Jones?
Yeah, 24 years after the original movie was released, it does sound like this is the end of the road. Maybe. Probably. As mentioned above, the trailer for the movie calls this the "last chapter." Plus, the end credits feature a slideshow of moments from the first three movies that feel like a sendoff. That said, it sounds like maybe the door is slightly open.
"I’m always saying, 'Right, that’s the last one. I’ve had enough,'" Fielding, who also co-wrote the movies, told Variety. "So I do like to be dramatic. But this book started as not a 'Bridget' book, so I never really know what’s going to happen ... The only thing I do know is there’s nothing cynical about this movie. This is not a reboot to make money. This is a story that just grew, like stories do with novelists. So I would only ever do it if it’s that, not just because. It’s got to mean something."
