Diksha Sundriyal
The third season of Netflix’s ‘Bridgerton’ brings more Bridgerton siblings into the fore while the focus continues to be on Colin and Penelope’s love story. The sibling that takes the second lead is Francesca, who gets her own love story and gets a happy ending by the end of the season. Surprisingly, the season delivers two weddings, with Francesca’s being one of them. However, marriage doesn’t mean that we won’t be seeing more of Francesca. In fact, this is just the beginning of what is going to be a very bumpy romance for the sixth Bridgerton. What makes it even more interesting is how the show sets up her same-sex romance. BOOK SPOILERS AHEAD
Bridgerton Makes a Major Change in Francesca’s Storyline
Those familiar with Julia Quinn’s books will know that Francesca is the only Bridgerton to marry twice. Her arc is covered in the sixth book, ‘When He Was Wicked’. By the time we reach it, Francesca is already married to John, and it is on her wedding day that she meets his cousin, Michael, who instantly falls in love with her but cannot do anything about it for obvious reasons. And then John dies, Francesca is bereft, and Michael’s feelings for her start to torment him. This marks the beginning of his turbulent romance with Francesca.
The show covers Francesca and John’s storyline in the third season, and so far, things are on track with how the events unfold in the books. Even John’s cousin is introduced in the final episode, but the twist is that it’s not Michael; it’s Michaela. The show takes the audience by surprise, even the fans who are familiar with the storyline, and makes it clear that they plan to incorporate queer romance in the future seasons, one of whom will eventually focus on Francesca and Michaela.
So far, for the Bridgerton siblings, who have received their own seasons, the show has stayed true to the books. Several changes have been made in the plot and the characters, but the love interest and the endgame have been the same as Julia Quinn wrote in her books. However, with the evolving storylines of the siblings, some of which have diverged pretty heavily from the books, the show is ready to carve its own path, and the show’s creators have made their interest in exploring the sexuality of one or more Bridgerton sibling more openly, something that Quinn has also supported. While none of the siblings is queer in the books, the author doesn’t find it necessary that it should be so in the show as well.
With the introduction of Michaela Stirling, it’s clear that we will have a lesbian romance whenever Francesca gets her time in the spotlight. If one had any doubts about Francesca and Michaela’s future romance, the show quashes that with the way the duo interacts with each other for the first time. When John introduces his cousin, Francesca is visibly flustered. She is immediately taken by Michaela and stutters her own introduction. The expression on her face is a mix of curiosity and concern: curiosity to know the woman in front of her and concern because this curiosity is not the same as what she had when she first met John.
With Michaela moving to Scotland with John and Francesca, accompanied by Eloise, the show has already laid the foundation for Francesca and Michaela’s relationship. They will be in close quarters, secluded from the rest of the ton in the solitude that John’s estate provides. It will be a great time for the duo to get to know each other and develop feelings, even if they are conflicting due to Francesca’s marriage to John at the time. It is also curious how Michaela seems to be the very thing Violet wanted for her daughter. The Bridgerton matriarch believed that Francesca was too shy and needed someone to bring her out of her shell, instead of John, who is too much like her daughter. Michaela, on the other hand, immediately comes across as energetic and vibrant, and someone placed incredibly well to break Francesca’s walls and show her all the possibilities the world holds.
Read More: Bridgerton: Is Benedict Gay or Bisexual?
