Bridgerton Season 3, in my opinion, was one of the weakest seasons of the show. The best season is still the first fight me 🙂 But despite my issues with this season, one of the standout characters for me was Francesca Bridgerton.
I’ll admit, coming into Season 3, I was not a fan of Penelope, and to be honest, I never really cared about her as a character or her relationship with Colin. And after watching the season, my opinion hasn’t changed much. However, while the main romance didn’t get my attention, Francesca’s storyline did.
As someone who is introverted and often feels like the black sheep in my own family, I could related to Francesca. Her quiet love story with John Stirling stood out because it wasn’t built on grand, dramatic gestures, heated arguments, or over-the-top declarations. It felt normal, steady, and deeply intimate in a way that was refreshing to see. I also loved how Francesca’s journey taught Violet Bridgerton a new perspective on love, how love can be quieter but just as meaningful.
……………………………………………………..…Until the final episode of Season 3 ruined it.
I will cover two aspects of Francesca’s story:
- How her relationship with John Stirling differs between the books and the show.
- How the show’s changes impact Francesca’s future storyline and why I believe they were unnecessary.
John Stirling – They did you so dirty
First, let’s talk about how Francesca and John’s love story unfolded in the show versus the books because in the adaptation, they had to fight to get married.
One of the biggest problems with Bridgerton Season 3 was the season being released in two parts. In the first half, Francesca believes that a quiet, steady love is what she wants that it’s the healthiest kind of relationship for her. And we, as the audience, are shown exactly that. Her relationship with John is sweet, comfortable, and deeply fulfilling in a way that feels different from the other, more dramatic love stories in the show. Viewers (myself included) became invested in a romantic trope we don’t often see in Bridgerton, and even Violet seemed to support their relationship.
But then, in the second half, everything changes. Suddenly, Violet contradicts herself, claiming that she and Edmund felt an immediate spark the first time they met and that real love should leave you speechless. Now, she doesn’t approve of Francesca’s choice to marry John. And worse, Francesca herself begins to doubt everything despite having spent the entire season fighting for this exact love.
The frustrating part is that up until this point, the show never framed Francesca’s desire for a quiet love as anything other than her personal preference. There was no indication that her feelings for John were due to her sexuality or inexperience. Instead, the story made it clear that Francesca was simply different from her family and had different romantic preferences. So for the show to turn around in the final episode and imply that actually, quiet love isn’t real love that you need an instant, dramatic spark to truly be in love completely undermines everything that was built up.
Up until Episode 8, Francesca’s arc was one of the most satisfying parts of the season. Her romance with John was refreshing, and I loved the contrast it provided to the loud, passionate romances we’re used to seeing, which in season 3 was Penelope and Collin. I loved that Violet got to witness firsthand that love doesn’t always look the same for everyone. But then, the show threw all of that away.
By the final episode, the message shifts from “quiet love is just as meaningful as love at first sight or explosive love” to “no, actually, Violet was right all along; quiet love doesn’t exist.” Francesca isn’t just deeply fond of John she’s suddenly not attracted to him at all, because only the bold, extroverted love stories are worthy of romance.
Why?
Why couldn’t they give her both a calm, steady love that also had moments of excitement without diminishing either?
Nothing in Francesca’s storyline up to this point suggested she wasn’t attracted to John. The show tries to retroactively insert this idea by making her wedding kiss underwhelming, only for her to be immediately stunned and fall at first sight by Michaela. It feels like the show built up this refreshing take on love just to take it away last moment, for me it was insulting.
Even worse, compared to the books, the show creates an unnecessary love triangle (again). In the books, Francesca and John had a loving, fulfilling marriage, which made her later story even more impactful. But in the show, they weaken Francesca and John’s bond by making her unsure of their love during their own wedding. And the biggest change? In the books, it’s Michael who falls for Francesca at the wedding not the other way around. This already shifts the entire foundation of her future storyline, making her eventual love story with Michael(a) feel far less meaningful.
I don’t mind Michaela’s inclusion as much as some others do, but I do hate that Francesca’s story was rewritten to reinforce the idea that love has to be grand and dramatic to be real. It’s an insult to everything the first half of the season built up and a huge disservice to both Francesca and John.
Michael(a) Stirling – Was this really needed
I don’t fully understand why the show felt the need to change Francesca’s storyline, considering that her book arc is already one of the strongest in the entire Bridgerton series. Even if it was to make Francesca queer, why couldn’t they keep the depth and importance of her love story with John the same?
What annoys me the most is that John and Francesca’s beautiful love story is now erased because of how Michaela was introduced. John, in the books, is exactly what Francesca needs. She loves him wholeheartedly, and his loss is devastating. A major part of her arc is the guilt she feels when she begins to love again—learning that it’s okay to move forward, that her life isn’t over, and that love after loss is possible. That depth, that grief, that emotional weight it’s what made her story so compelling in the first place.
The change in the show completely undermines that. Instead of Francesca being deeply in love with her husband and later struggling with the idea of falling for someone else, it now appears that she was never truly in love with John to begin with. And that’s heartbreaking not in a tragic way, it feels like what made her story so powerful isn’t there anymore. Which has still ruined what their relationship was meant to represent.
Another major issue is that in the books, Francesca doesn’t even think about loving someone else until she has fully grieved John. That’s what makes her romance with Michael so meaningful it’s not about her discovering she was never in love with John, but about her realising that she can love again even after the loss of her husband; a theme that Violet’s arc is focused on this season. The way the show is setting this up completely changes that emotional journey.
So i’ll address the elephant in the room, another key part of Francesca’s story is fertility. In the books, having an heir is an important part of her story. Francesca’s struggle with fertility and her want to have a child is very important to her storyline.
But with the gender swap of Michael to Michaela, this entire theme is now erased. I’m not sure how the show replaces this major part of her arc, its kinda a hard situation to go around.
Also, Michael’s internal struggle his guilt over loving Francesca despite being married to John, his imposter syndrome, and the weight of essentially stealing his cousin’s life is such a crucial part of his character. And it carries more weight with Michael then it would with Michaela.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Bridgerton Season 3 attempted to explore the complexities of love and identity through Francesca’s story, the showrunners’ choices weakens her character. By downplaying her relationship with John Stirling and adding unnecessary drama with Michaela, the narrative loss sight of the themes love, loss, and personal growth that made the book ‘When He Was Wicked‘ so beloved by the readers. There is a chance to explore Francesca’s journey and her queer identity, but it feels like a missed opportunity to show that love can be both quiet and heartfelt, beyond traditional expectations. Moving forward, it is important for the creators of Bridgerton to find a way to represent characters authentically without sacrificing their integrity and emotional depth. Only then can they capture the true essence of what makes these love stories compelling, regardless of their form.
Whimsy Express 
Leave a comment