I Don't Know How I Feel About This Bridgerton Book Departure Ahead Of Season 5

Spoilers for Bridgerton Season 4, Part 2 can be found throughout this article, and this is just a fact, not a Lady Whistledown scoop.

Like many of you dear readers, I binge-watched all of Bridgerton Season 4, Part 2 over the weekend after Netflix split the season up. One thing about the new episodes really stood out to me, and it wasn’t just the shock of the show bringing John’s death into the series this quickly. Instead, it was one major departure the show made from Julia Quinn’s original book series.

If you haven’t read Francesca’s book, When He Was Wicked, you may not know that in that version, Francesca (Hannah Dodd) was finally pregnant with John’s child, but suffered a miscarriage after a few weeks. In the show, the moment was played out more tragically, and in my opinion, horrifically. Francesca believed she was pregnant when John died, and an inheritance representative forces her to have an exam to prove it.

What the many, many people in the room at the time of the exam did find out was that Francesca was never pregnant, and showrunner Jess Brownell told Swoon they ultimately made a big change from the books because it was simply “too morbid.”

Francesca’s storyline has already been changed greatly from the books. She’s been a consistent presence on the show over the last couple of seasons, and it was big news when John’s cousin, who is Michael in the books, showed up on the scene and was instead a female named Michaela. Thus, quietly setting up an LGBTQ storyline on the series.. This caused considerable uproar at the time.

Some of the beats of the book have still been similar. In the show, Francesca has lost John early in her marriage, which is consistent with the books. And Michaela did flee after John’s death (in the books it was to India, but we’ll have to wait and see on Netflix). A lot of the show has been changed, however.

I’m conflicted about whether or not I love this particular swap the show has made to Francesca’s storyline. If she’d actually had a baby heir that would have been a massive departure from the books, and I’m happy the show didn’t go in that direction. However, I’ve always thought Francesca’s vulnerable grieving state and her potential love interest fleeing were the two key points leading to the conflict in her book.

Not having to deal with the grief of the loss of a child on top of the grief of losing one’s husband will doubtless make it easier for Bridgerton to move the storyline forward, so I get it. Truly. I just don’t know if that uncomfortable scene where she was examined was a better substitute or not, and I’m not sure how the show will make Michaela fleeing feel as meaningful as it does in the book series given the show's context.

We don’t know yet which Bridgerton family member will be spotlighted when the series returns to the Netflix schedule; however, CinemaBlend’s own Riley Utley firmly believes it will be Eloise. It makes sense. That would give more time for Francesca’s story to develop and for her to have a proper mourning period for John while Michaela is away, too. We’ll doubtless know more soon. For now, you can catch the most recent episodes with a Netflix subscription.