Bridgerton's Michaela Stirling introduction brings unexpected twist for Francesca's love story

19 June 2024, 14:22 | Updated: 19 June 2024, 14:42

Netflix bosses address a huge change in ending for Francesca Bridgerton as they change book storyline.

Bridgerton season 3 excitement may be dwindling after they premiered four new episodes but the easter eggs they dropped for future seasons have not gone unnoticed by fans, particularly the one regarding Francesca Bridgerton.

For those who are huge followers of the Julia Quinn books and the Netflix series itself, they would have noticed the introduction of Michaela Stirling, a very short clip at the end of the Featherington ball, actually spells out a shock plot twist for Francesca and her future love story.

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In the book, When He Was Wicked, Francesca, played by actress Hannah Dodd, is widowed by her husband just two years into their marriage after John falls ill.

Once she has grieved, Francesca returns to the Ton ready to find her second husband, who in the book is John's cousin Michael. But after being introduced to a cousin Michaela instead, we now know her future love interest will be female.

In an unexpected plot twist, the short clip revealed that Francesca's second relationship will now be queer signalling a major departure from the books.

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Of course, such a change has been met with equal amounts of joy and backlash but show runner Jess Brownell has been quick to justify the move made by producer Shonda Rhimes and approved by author Julia.

Speaking to Teen Vogue, she explained: "The fact of the matter is, the fan base is not a monolith, and you're never going to please every single side of the fan base.

"In, for example, deciding to tell a queer story with Francesca, I spoke with Julia Quinn, I got her blessing."

Addressing the upset around the removal of Michael's character altogether, she added: "We talked about the fact that with almost any single book, there would be a side of the fandom that would be disheartened to see their favourite characters changed."

Jess also added this was a great chance to include a character and story queer fans could resonate with.

For her, Francesca's love story was the perfect opportunity to introduce such a story line as she feels "different but doesn't know why".

She also confirmed this Bridgerton season would bring lots of joy and happiness with a great ending for Francesca.

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