Diksha Sundriyal
A terrible tragedy befalls Francesca in the fourth season of Netflix’s ‘Bridgerton.’ She found the love of her life in the third season when she married John Stirling, aka Lord Kilmartin. A brief courtship led to a wedding, and they both happily moved to his home in Scotland. However, becoming a part of his family led Francesca to meet John’s cousin, Michaela, and right in their first interaction, it became clear that the Bridgerton sibling is smitten with her husband’s cousin. Perhaps it is this attraction or the completely different energy that Michaela brings to the room that forces Francesca away from her. In the fourth season, they finally set aside their differences and are brought together by a shared loss. But just when Francesca thinks she can rely on Michaela, she unceremoniously leaves, giving no explanation for her departure. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Michaela’s Departure is Driven by Love and Guilt
Francesca’s storyline in ‘Bridgerton’ is borrowed from Julia Quinn’s novel, ‘When He Was Wicked,’ which follows her romance with Michael Stirling, John’s cousin, a few years after John’s death. In the book, Michael and Francesca are introduced at her and John’s engagement party, and she falls in love with him at first sight. However, there is no chance for him to pursue her because she is his cousin’s wife, so for the most part, he stays away from her. Some time later, when John dies, the Kilmartin estate is passed down to Michael, since John doesn’t have any heirs. This brings him back in Francesca’s orbit, and he realises that time and distance have done nothing to dilute his love for her.
A major conflict in the story is focused on Michael’s guilt. Becoming Lord Kilmartin and desiring Francesca makes it look like he’d been vying for what John had, and now that he is dead, Michael gets to live the life his cousin was supposed to have. Still, that doesn’t prevent him from pursuing Francesca, especially once she decides to return to the marriage mart, and eventually, they get married. The show changes things up by gender-swapping Michael to Michaela, but her being John’s cousin still remains a point of conflict. At the end of Season 3, when they are introduced to each other, we see Francesca getting smitten with Michaela, but in the fourth season, the dynamic starts to shift as the duo becomes more friendly.
Following John’s death, Francesca finds a kindred spirit in Michaela, believing her to be the only person who can truly understand what it’s like to lose John. Due to this, she asks Michaela to stay with her for a bit longer. Though Michaela agrees, it later turns out that she has left London the same night without any explanation. This hurts Francesca, who thought she and Michaela were in this together, but what she doesn’t realise is that Michaela has started falling for her. If things weren’t already complicated with Francesca being married to John, they become even more so after his death, which throws Michaela into a spiral of guilt for eyeing her cousin’s widow while grieving for him at the same time.
Had there been no attraction between them, Michaela would likely have stayed. However, when Francesca thanks her and holds her hand, she realises that the attraction will only deepen from here, and it becomes too much for her to be in the same room as John’s widow while wanting her. So, to save herself the heartbreak and embarrassment (especially since she doesn’t have a clue that Francesca’s feelings have been developing along the same lines), Michaela does exactly what Michael did in the books. She leaves, putting a great distance between herself and Francesca, hoping that it will crush or, at least, mellow her feelings. However, as it eventually becomes evident, she turns out to be wrong, as she and Francesca are bound to end up together.
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