Bridgerton season four, part two was many things: a Cinderella retelling, an excuse to play a string cover of Charli XCX’s “360” on repeat, and, importantly, our first real taste of the show’s sapphic regency romance.
Thankfully, showrunner Jess Brownell had the common sense to recognize that, in a family of eight kids, there’s no possible way that all of them would be Kinsey Scale zeroes. Season three ended with not one, but two queer sibling reveals. Although fans had speculated for years that bohemian older brother Benedict Bridgerton (Luke Thompson) was bisexual before the show finally confirmed it, the second was a welcome surprise. Shortly after marrying fellow introvert husband John Stirling (Victor Ali), Francesca Bridgerton (Hannah Dodd) immediately grew flustered upon meeting John’s cousin, Michaela Stirling (Masali Baduza).
In the original Bridgerton books, a widowed Francesca eventually falls in love with John’s cousin and best friend, Michael. Following John’s devastating, unexpected death and Michaela’s reintroduction in the second half of season four, there’s a solid chance that the show’s first-ever queer season could be up next.
Because each season adapts one of the eight Bridgertons’ love stories, there are, in theory, four seasons left of the show for siblings Eloise, Francesca, Gregory, and Hyacinth. Since the show has officially been renewed for two more seasons and the two youngest Bridgertons are still attending middle school dance-style “recitals,” either Eloise or Francesca is poised to become season five’s leading lady. Shondaland, if you’re somehow reading this, please give the people Franchaela ASAP!
Season four spent so much time setting up Francesca and Michaela’s friendship-turned-burgeoning situationship that, at the end of the day, carrying straight into their love story makes the most sense. After initially resenting Michaela’s sudden reappearance, Francesca admits that, in all her worries about being the perfect new wife to John, she resents Michaela’s free-spirited confidence. The two have only just begun appreciating each other’s quirks when the pesky “headache” that John has been dealing with proves fatal (this is the show that once killed a major character via bee sting). As Francesca and Michaela bond over their shared grief and begin to forge a true opposites-attract partnership, the weight of it all proves to be too much for Michaela. She flees London as the season ends, seemingly struck by guilt over her feelings towards her beloved cousin’s widow.
“Please, Bridgerton, give us all the treat of digging into ye old dyke drama.”
