Bridgerton Season 4 delivered the emotional gut punch fans of Julia Quinn’s novels have been anticipating, but perhaps not when they expected it. In a departure from the book timeline, the Netflix series has already tackled a major death that sets it up for Season 5, leaving viewers wondering which Bridgerton sibling will finally get their moment in the sun.
Jess Brownell on if Season 5 will be about Francesca’s story
Episode 6 of Bridgerton Season 4 gave out the heartbreaking moment book readers knew was coming: John Stirling, Francesca’s kind and gentle husband, dies unexpectedly after complaining of a headache. Francesca later discovers him in their bed, a scene that sets up a major narrative shift for her character.
According to showrunner and producer Jess Brownell, this wasn’t a decision made lightly. “I think that when we thought about where in the timeline that story point should land, we wanted to do it at a point where we had enough time to really fall in love with Fran and John,” she told Entertainment Weekly.
Brownell has previously confirmed that Francesca will have another romantic relationship in the future, with her romance and Eloise’s both positioned to be the main stars in either Bridgerton Season 5 or 6. But when asked directly if Francesca is next, the showrunner remains tight-lipped. “I can’t say. But I think this season we have made some progress on both Francesca and Eloise’s arcs in a way that allows us to get closer to telling their stories in [seasons] five and six.”
This translates into how the placement in episode six, rather than the Bridgerton finale, was intentional. “And so it felt like this landing at the end of the season – but not in the final episode – made a lot of sense,” Brownell quipped. “Because that way we could also create some space for things to get to a nice happy ending with Benedict and Sophie.”
Fans will now have to keep watching to see which sister’s journey unfolds first when Bridgerton returns for Season 5 or so.
Originally reported by Devanshi Basu on ComingSoon.
