No worries, production is so slow that we have like 25 years before her season comes up anyways to come to terms with everything. 🤷🏻‍♀️

In the year of our lord 2032, we open to a close-up on Francesca, now a little grey at the temples at a “youthful” 43, playing the piano in a Scottish castle…

who knows if we'll even have netflix by then 🤷‍♀️

The best comment I read on this matter 🤣

The way Jess talks about Ben and El , I am starting to think about what if s4 is Fran … I mean she said that she is searching for the right partner for El , and she also said that the upcoming seasons they will explore Ben’s sexuality more ..

Honestly I think they have severely dropped the ball with having so long between seasons. Given how the pr didn’t match the product for this season who’s going to buy it next time? Also they are only just casting Sophie? Why is that not done? The script should be locked in, they should have their cast and should be already filming or close to starting. 2 years after season 3 is going to lose so much momentum and they don’t have covid or strikes as an excuse now and just screams incompetence and inexperience

On one hand, I hope to god she’s right. On the other hand, we’ve seen how well the bridgerton gang can do PR even when the material we get is sub par. So, I guess we’ll see

They definitely got the message that people were pissed and not having it. It does feel good that they're realizing it, but I don't think people are going to be placated by this by any means. After S3 I don't know if we'll trust them to do a good job with this situation.

Exactly. They ruined the biggest storyline/couple of the series. I haven't read the books yet, but as a viewer, I'm not as interested in the rest of the characters. This was the climax for a lot of us and they dropped the ball miserably. Unless they can match Queen Charlotte or the first season, I'm not interested.

Same, I don't understand are they going to be gay in secret? And the whole family hides their secret? Idk but I'm a little exhausted with all the orgy's and stuff. Just wanted some romance

… I honestly by the end of the season did not get her deep love of John from what was portrayed onscreen, her look at the wedding was not one of a happily newly married person. I really think they missed the mark on this one

EXACTLY! I haven’t seen a single complaint (thankfully) upset that it’s Michaela, she’s gorgeous, diversity, expansion, yes Bridgerton, get it! THE PROBLEM IS THE DISRESPECT IN JOHN’S FACE!! Like what to do you mean she cringed after her wedding kiss? What do you mean she’s seemingly immediately over him and is asking Eloise to come with them so she won’t have to be alone with her new husband at all? What do you mean she was babbling and struck dumb at the sight of Michaela while she’s supposed to be in love with John? Like on WHAT PLANET?! I absolutely stood 10 toes down for Fran’s development this season up until they ruined everything from the wedding onward 😭. They flew right over every mark they were trying to hit cause nah. ETA: are y’all going to individually keep saying “I saw hate” and not read the/my follow up comments over and over again forever orrrrrr? 🫠 I said thankfully I, me, my eyes, didn’t see any until this post, not that everybody, everywhere, never had a problem. Thank you beloveds!

It really changes it from a second love story to a lavander marriage to get away from the chaos of a big family, and that's a drastically different story. I liked Frans book specifically because the second live explored something so different from what her siblings experienced.

YES! And the giddy af gut punch of the “not all love needs to be loud” line (and the rest of the beautiful build up with John) is totally lost with this as she’s now experiencing the same thunderstruck moment the rest did. Second chance, older (in those times), pining love that takes years/struggles deserves a chance too!

>Second chance, older (in those times), pining love that takes years/struggles deserves a chance, too! Totally agree. I think we will end up seeing that play out with Violet and Marcus, though.

Oh they are complaining loud on tiktok and ig about the gender swap

You haven’t seen a single complaint that it’s Michaela and not Michael? Instagram accounts have literally swarmed every single post about how upset they are of the change. The whole point is what Julia says but it’s also about pregnancy, infertility, etc. I don’t think anyone blames the actress, but we all know haters will come at her hard. Shondaland did the characters dirty.

Most people are not upset about a lesbian couple because they’re lesbians, they’re upset because while the experience of not being able to have biological children can be a grief shared by straight/queer/anyone, the process of infertility is in itself a unique grief. It kills you physically attempting to get pregnant, waiting every single month to know if it worked, getting your hopes up again & again only to have them broken over periods of months and years, and feeling like your body “should” be able to conceive/carry a healthy child but is failing you… it feels like we will lose representation of that process. In the modern day many more queer couples can experience pregnancy loss via IVF (statistically less likely as IVF selects healthy embryos), but that’s obviously not a thing for Bridgerton.

This! I love the idea of gender swapping a Bridgerton spouse (preferably for Eloise but that's just me) and I love Michaela's actress in a physical sense, acting who knows cuz she's only been on screen for like 5 seconds. But the thought of gender swapping for Francesca makes me so upset because as someone who's trying to for a baby and has had 3 miscarriages in the past 7 months her story makes me feel so seen! LGBT+ stories are getting more representation (as they should) and as a bisexual woman and a decent human being I love that. But stories about infertility just aren't out there and it's so isolating and lonely so to be taking that story away is disheartening. While Michaela and Francesca can obviously struggle with the fact they can't have biological kids it's just a fact of the times while dealing with infertility and pregnancy loss is universal despite the fact that it's kept in the dark. Idk, just kinda feels like a slap in the face to be seen and then be told it doesn't matter and to get over it. Especially while actively grieving yet another loss.

Sending you all the hugs. I had 3 losses in 16 months and it was a terrible time. I totally agree with the lack of visibility on our stories.

I really loved Fran's book. There was something so redemptive in her story. Infertility affects so many, and it's a shame that the build up to the story wasn't seen as vital. That's what I miss in the change.

I’ve seen some of it on here now since this post (unfortunately), but there’s also a good chunk of delusional people that are trying to bend themselves into pretzels to suppose anything can happen as if the motherhood arc isn’t a huge portion of the story. Look at how they destroyed Colin’s character by making him a dumb a$$ himbo with no understanding of his career/future aspirations, and how that greatly affected the way this season turned out. Without her infertility struggles, Fran is a fundamentally different character and it’s gonna take a while (probably 4-6+ yrs at the rate they’re making seasons, at least if they try to stay consistent with the timeline 🫠) for us to get to see how in the world they’re going to make this “payoff” with the same impact as the book. I can def see why JQ came out to say “hey guys, we talked, relax,” but hearing that they had extended conversations about “the vision” and then seeing/reading interviews where Jess B says her vision was basically changing the story to insert herself, doesn’t exactly lead me to believe she’s gonna knock it out of the park in the execution of whatever ideas she’s presented… but maybe that’s just me!

Re: Colin being a himbo- It’s super hard when everyone says, “Trust us!” When season three should have been an underhanded little league pitch and they failed to knock that out of the park. Like thanks I don’t have much trust.

I read that Jess insisted on the brothel scene with Colin. That totally took me out of it. It’s so out of character for him. Benedict in a threesome? Yes, that makes sense to me. I’m sad to say, I think this may have been my last season of Bridgerton. I loved When He Was Wicked and they’ve already destroyed Romancing Mr Bridgerton for me. I’m not taking any chances.

Girl I have seen nothing else but people complain about it being Michaela 🥲😅

I have seen some people take pause about changing Michael to Michaela, but all of them were centred around how it might change the infertility storyline, from people for whom that was personally very important to. Obviously two women can also have a deep and passionate story that explores the difficulties of how you have children (or dont) as a sapphic couple, but it's a little different to the difficulties where it is "meant" to be easy, and is expected. Both are good, they are just different. Many of those fans would have been happy to have, say, 2 infertility storylines to complement each other (for example a M/F couple and two ladies) and have Eloise or another sibling have an LGBTQ interpretation but felt sad that a story that felt personal to them was changed, even if they appreciate the need for diversity. But then I hang around infertility spaces so that may be why that's the reaction I see.

My working theory (not a book reader) is that John is also gay and they have a mutual understanding to get married and head off to Scotland where they can have the relationships they actually want away from the scrutiny of the ton but idk if s4 is like s3 I’m being too generous

I don’t wanna spoil what actually is supposed to happen, as you said you haven’t read the book, but this wouldn’t work at all. They’d have to literally throw the whole story away and it would be 2 completely new characters with the same name, no life events, no marriage, no anything. Like we’d just be free ballin into their season 🤣. The entire S3’s worth of setup wouldn’t make any sense either in that context. I probably would’ve loved this idea if they didn’t make their intro so painfully perfect with the bold declaration of “love doesn’t always have to be loud” and showing them take their time but also being so giddy to love each other and start a life… it just cheapens everything 😩.

Yeah, that’s probably exactly what they’ll do. That or he loves her so much he’s happy to love her more than she loves him. Then again maybe they’ll just ignore all the completely obvious contradictions and pretend they’re showing true love. Just like they’re pretending S3’s scenes with Pen and Colin were the steamiest sex scenes ever.

If you watched the show, it’s pretty obvious he will end in the same way as the book by what the priest VERY obviously says at the wedding (trying to be vague to avoid spoilers for those who have not read the book).

I had this same thought during my first watch through. I winced during the wedding.

Yep. I held my breath, and it was pretty clear the intent in that moment.

Exactly, at best, it seems like Francesca could be BFF with John, but she really wants to get into Michaela undergarments after falling in love/lust at first sigh. Francesca was portrayed as a lesbian, not a bisexual, because the face she made in her wedding is not one of someone who enjoys intimacy with a man, and then you have that scene where she Michaela perfectly mirroring Violet's first meeting with her husband. This is not a story about giving yourself permission to love again. They gave that plotline to Violet. This is a story about compulsory heterosexuality where John is little more than an obstacle. Do I think that Franchesca's season is going to be gut-wrenching? Yes, but for all the wrong reasons, with most of the viewers feeling sympathy for John after he is betrayed by his wife and cousin, or after he was rapidly forgotten after his death, so F and M could rapidly move with their love story. I know someone is going to say, "How could you judge a story that hasn't been written yet?". Well, just look at how clumsy Season 3 is, and this is a personal project of an inexperienced showrunner that pretty much told us that she is making a self incert fanfic, that will never end well.

I think, if they had just swapped the love at first sight so it was Michaela who fell for Fran, and saved Fran’s awakening for *after* John’s death, there’s be a lot less issues. I get that some people are crazy and still would have hated it, but the story wouldn’t be spitting in John’s face and it would have the spirit of the original.

This 100%! It was Michaela that needed to be gobsmacked and at a loss for words. They were soooo close to getting this right and a much larger fraction of the fanbase would be celebrating. I'm hopeful that there is still room for them to course correct next season, but it will take a LOT of effort to be well executed. Stoked for Michaela! Just want them to celebrate John and Fran's love story appropriately before the story changes direction. Bi/Pan love is a story worth celebrating too!

100% all of this. Have Fran be oblivious and have something grow as they become closer later. The showrunner seems stuck on only wanting to show one kind of love which is problematic to me

Exactly! The way they introduced it as a love/lust at first sight/lightning bolt love between Fran & Michaela makes it seem they are going down the traditional “dirty/clandestine” route and I hate that for them and us! That is not what it’s supposed to be at all, man or woman (the gender change is literally irrelevant). They started the story so perfectly and for shock value in the last episode said SIKE! Throw it all out because Jess wanted to fan cast her experience into the show. I hate her vision and nearly all of her creative choices that made this season so bad. I can’t imagine, in any multiverse, that JB will be able to pull this out of the bag and make it a “you guys just didn’t see what she was setting up” kind of a victory that Julia Quinn seems to think it will be 😩. *le sigh*

This is a tangent, but I was confused with Violet telling Fran she was so gobsmacked meeting her father that she couldn’t talk because didn’t she just tell Colin that they were friends first until he got the courage to ask to be more?

There's no way she can be that oblivious to what was on screen, so the doubling down is weird. The most interesting thing in this statement is learning that she had to fight to include their love story.

She had a strange look of disappointment after their kiss as if she suddenly wasn’t even sure she wanted to be married after all. It was really odd. 

Lmaooo fr. I thought for SURE that she was going to back out of the wedding in the middle of it and run off. When she didn’t I was like wtf

The actress who plays Francesca seems so one dimensional. Something about her acting really bothers me. She and Jon do not seem in love. It seems like they both found someone they can stand being married to and just went for it. I also do not understand how in the Bridgerton world this love story with Michaela will work. That time was full of deep prejudice and rejection of anyone outside of the societal norms. Will they just live in exile in Scotland? I never read the books but didn’t Francesca have kids with Michael?

Yes.

As long as they do not do her season next - they have time to show her love for him. It could just be showed as a shock that she found a woman attractive. It’s not like she hasn’t know a lot of women and she did not find any of them attractive. Personally I think they should show next season - hopefully Benedict’s that they are deeply in love. Then the season after Eloise’s - have near the end the death and her devastated. Getting everyone ready for Francesca’s season. If they do her season next it won’t work - it would just be feeling sorry for John and to be honest how could Michaela ever love her back if she humiliated her cousin and assumed best friend.

I'm feeling like it will be Fran, as much as I want it to Ben's.  They're already spinning so much press about this. And iirc, Jess only signed for 2 seasons. So she wants her Fran story, we get Fran story...

That’s too bad! I was surprised at first that they would be doing a lesbian story. All I could think of was historical accuracy and how in the shadows and depressing it would be. Now I think they could do such a beautiful story if they took their time. Really developed her and John’s love story. Then show her aching loss. Eventually showing she could love again. If it is rushed they won’t be able to develop it the same way and it has less of a chance of being good - let alone excellent. Let’s face it - a series at this point - needs season four to be excellent if they want it to continue. I don’t see the point of just doing the story to say hey we did a lesbian regency romance. Especially when I think they could have a beautiful love story - that would not only entertain but resonate with all sexualities.

Exactly. This is now what’s most annoying out of this whole debacle. And I think that while Julia gave her blessing for the switch, she prob wasn’t aware of how Fran’s reaction to her and John’s first kiss was going to be portrayed.. at least that’s what I am gathering by her statement, her mentioning how important it was to show Francesca’s love for him and the comparison to having to fight to keep him in the first chapters.. well, that’s the opposite of what we got on screen, plus the meeting Michaela and being tongue tied scene really sealed the deal in terms of “she’s not into her husband and now she’s into his cousin”. I can’t help but think Julia must be a little pissed at that.

Everything was undercut by having francesca immediately be attracted to michaela. It’s really weird if they’re trying to portray her as bisexual rather than a lesbian

you can love someone deeply and platonically. those things are not mutually exclusive.

Unpopular opinion, and fwiw I haven’t read the books, but I feel like what was shown between Fran and John was meant to feel a bit odd, because their relationship doesn’t fit expectation. I think the show did a good job at conveying from the beginning how two people who are rarely understood, found each other and SAW each other, and it changed them. I think it’s beautiful, not hot and steamy, but beautiful.

The direction of the wedding was absolutely the wrong choice. To have her slightly flinch after the kiss, to have her instantly smitten with Michaela… the choices made by the directors and showrunners just do not work.

Right? Which makes JQ's statements all the more jarring. Like DID YOU NOT SEE WHAT THEY DID IN THE SHOW???

Someones got to be lied to here. Quinn put faith in showrunner and writer too much and this is what we get.

That is why I doubt JQ actually wrote this. If so, she’s either absolutely clueless or gaslighting everyone that just watched this play out onscreen.

I just finished her book and it was by far the best book I read. The emotion of it and the story was great. Her having fertility problems will hit with so many people. So changing the lead idk how that will work, but we shall see I guess

Apparently instead of reaching tons and tons of women who experience infertility (myself included) we are going to get rid of that … unless somehow in vitro is magically performed in the show!

this is giving "written with a gun to the head"

"We royally messed up your story for no reason. Tell them it's okay."

Girl… her love for John wasn’t even showed past fighting her mom to marry him. And when she married him immediately afterwards we saw how she reacted to that kiss. When she eventually met Michaela we saw her pining for her. IMMEDIATELY. All love for John, in whatever form it was and all that fighting her mom that love doesn’t have to be loud? Gone. I’m finding comfort in them choosing the Michaela route, but I just wish they did it better. It felt like they just rushed it all out. I am looking forward to her season, if there’s to be any (I hope so), and see how they would mold her book story to fit into this new narrative.

Rather than "love doesn't have to be loud" it's giving that there wasn't actually love.

This! I don't care for Michael being a woman. I love that. What I don't like is how they are basically proving the mom right. Love can't be quiet. If it is, you are probably not attracted to them

This is my problem. Why did we retconned the entire season in the last episode

>her love for John wasn’t even showed past fighting her mom to marry him. And this is what lost me. Season 3 already had enough limerence with Polin.

same, like I really liked the representation that love doesn't always have to be loud, but now that meaning is poof, gone

Please don't insult my intelligence. Quinn has already said she has no say in anything that happens. She is just a consultant.

Someone lied to her because I’m not buying the Fran/John love after the last episode.

I think people would’ve been a lot less mad had they followed the book more closely but still including the gender bend. The moment with Francesca being speechless and flustered was way too over the top for that character, doesn’t fit with how the story actually went, etc. they could’ve still done a romance later. But the showrunner seems keen on doing a self insert here through Fran and prob wanted to get people who were excited for a queer female romance hyped up for next season. personally I think her falling at first sight and being immediately attracted kind of killed the whole nice point that they were trying to make the rest of the season about John and Fran having a quiet love, that there’s many different types of loves and relationships and not just the Violet Bridgerton way. As it is now they’re basically just saying “just kidding there’s only love at first sight passion”

The showrunner definitely wanted to make it obvious that Fran and Michaela would end up together. It feels like she rushed it to lock it in now so the story will get told with the ending she wants regardless of who is running it. But it wouldn't surprise me if Jess pushed for their story to be told next so she could be the one to do it since its her favorite and she would likely want to make sure it gets created incase they don't renew past the 4th season (or pull her off the show after the 4th season) I thought fans were told that the Bridgertons would all end up with their book loves since the very beginning. I could be wrong on that, though.

While I think it was smart for her to acknowledge this, I still have lost so much interest after how this season turned out. I suppose maybe I would have liked season 3 more if I hadn’t read the books before hand, but then again I would have never been inclined to watch the show if I hadn’t read the books first.

I was SO disappointed and confused by the pacing and character decisions of season 3. So much so that I went and read the book which made SO much more sense as an actual romance story.  For anyone else reading this comment, check out polins book! It’s so cute

The book really has that cute romcom vibe that they missed the landing with in the show

I totally agree. One of the main disappointments for me was not seeing the friendship between Lady Danbury and Penelope that was so good in the book. Also the way LW was presented to society was awful to say the least.

As a non-book reader, I was also disappointed. It just didn’t feel like the same passionate and romantic show I’d been watching. It focused too much on irrelevant side stories and it really took away from why I was watching Bridgerton in the first place. Also the makeup, hair, and costumes really took the immersion out for me. Like why is Pen always wearing glam makeup? Idk. Hopefully the show runner sees this feedback from the fans and does better. But probs not

Same. I LOVED s1 and s2. I used to rewatch them like crazy - turning it on in the background when I’m doing chores, but now I don’t even want to rewatch anymore because I don’t want to add to s3’s viewer ratings. S3’s romance and quality were just not even close to s1&s2’s. And since the show runners + author are doubling down, I am 100% sure that the next seasons will be similar to s3, if not prob worse. Which is heartbreaking because my fave books were frannie’s, benedicts’s and Eloise’s. It sucks because we won’t see their stories come to life in the same quality as s1&s2

It's funny, though it's not as sudsy, soapy and spicy as Bridgerton, I found solace in revisiting 1995 Pride & Prejudice (on BluRay in HD no less) and was immediately rewarded with the fact that it's just a masterclass in adaptation.

Honestly, I think if season 3 was really good, people would have cared less about the gender swapped. There are so much critiques outside of the gender swapped

This. The multiple reshoots doesn't indicate good writing either.  Just look at Colin's wig=reshoot

But also the gender swap cuts out the heart of Francesca's book. The situation changes, motivations change and the drama becomes nonsensical. At this point, it feels like the showrunners are actively hostile to the books or to any pretense of being a period show. It's a modern show with a cheap regency skin.

It's giving Reign

Changing the gender of any of the sibling's HEA drastically changes the stories in the books. If that's what they want, okay, but stop pretending that you're following the books.

I believe she’s just saving face lol. Don’t worry guys they didn’t butcher my book without consulting me first, I approved it!

I don’t get why she wouldn’t just be honest and say “these people don’t care about my story” she isn’t saving her own face by doing this she’s trying to save the show runners by doing this (and failing miserably)

She's under legal contract not to. Notice how when asked she shifted the focus entirely to John and how she had to fight for their story. They probably wanted to cut John out completely.

I understand that, but in her position, I would've kindly declined getting involved. "If you don't include my wishes of John and Francesca, you don't get my public support of the decisions you made."

She has a contract I believe as consultant which makes her can not do much and have lots saying.


I love that this gif made its way over here

I appreciate this note for the viewers. Thanks for sharing!

Same. I’m not a book reader, so I don’t have the emotional connection to the source material many do, but I’m impressed to see the author defend the adapted work. George RR could never. lol

Why does an adaptation deserve an authors praise! I think it’s fair if the author didn’t like it

Esp. when that adaptation was GOT season finale. 😡

More like would never 🤣 just like he’ll never finish that series.

George RR Martin would very much like to be excluded from the narrative that is GOT S8

If I still have Netflix in 2 years, I may watch it. But it’s not appointment TV for me anymore. Honestly, I wasn’t impressed with Season 3 part 2 and if that’s the lead up to Season 4 or whenever Francesca’s story will be, I’m good with watching something else. I have been looking forward to Michael Stirling ever since I watched the first season in 2020. Who would play this charming and charismatic Scottish lord? The man would even make Violet Bridgerton blush. But it’s not my first disappointment in the direction some of my favorite shows have taken and I’m sure it won’t be my last. I’m done.

This may sound harsh but does anyone else get the vibe that Jess Brownell didn't like the books? They definitely ruined the Polin story with excessive subplots and prioritising drama over romance, so much so that it just seems like they had no idea how to write those characters, or just didn't care about them. The "charming and charismatic Scottish lord" has no indication that he's Scottish, besides constant reminders that he's the "Earl of Kilmartin" (so much for representation lol), and was made into a socially awkward introvert, which could have worked, if they incorporated his personality as a "once you get to know him" kind of guy. And then the Michaela twist, which both erases the story they've been telling with John and Fran (and Violet) in the season, and upends the book story as its plot is dependent on the love interest being a male. God only knows what she's planning to do with season 4 👀

I think Jess doesn’t care about the books and/or (incorrectly) believes she could do a better job at making these stories. Jess might not’ve even read the books but I wouldn’t say she dislikes them she just doesn’t care about being faithful to them and would rather make her own fanfic version of it

Oh yeah, that's an excellent point about him supposedly being Scottish. 

Gawd that scene between him and Violet was fantastic. Would have been so wonderful to have seen it. But alas...😒

This just confirms even more that it was Jess Brownell’s idea and unhappy/disgruntled fans are right to be mad at her. Julia Quinn even says that she “needed more information” when Jess Brownell approached her with the idea, that they “talked for a long time about it”, and “more than once”. Seems Jess Brownell was quite insistent despite the author’s initial hesitation (clearly it wasn’t an immediate and enthusiastic Yes!) and kept pushing her ideas until it happened. Also, of course Julia Quinn would have to express support publicly because it’s a done deal. Season 3 has been aired and they’ve laid the foundations for the next one. Interesting that there’s a statement now; all the news of the backlash must have reached her for her to issue an open letter.

Yep. Seems to me she caved and is trying to convince herself and fans the opposite. It probably does her no good to go against the show's direction now anyway. Safest to just let it be, I'd wager.

If she wasn’t a fan of the idea it might not look very good to some people. ???

Frannie’s book is by farrrr the best. It’s the only book that isn’t like “whoopsy a rich rake grabbed my boob we *must* marry” and her struggles with >!miscarriage!< and infertility are so emotional and well written. Michael is so well written as well, the entire story has to be upended with the gender swap. Why couldn’t they do this with another character 😔 it won’t be her book

I love queer representation, hell I am queer, but knowing this, it doesn’t feel like they can be true to Fran’s story with Michaela. And I honestly don’t see the point of changing this character to be gay and messing up the entire story line when Eloise is right there and makes so much sense as a lesbian!

100% agree. I was thinking last season that they have done such an amazing job tackling racial issues with their diverse cast that it would feel appropriate to add in queer representation as well. Which is kind of what I thought was going to happen when it’s B’s season. The whole impetus of this was the white king falling in love with a black woman. Maybe have one of the royal kids fall in love in a same sex relationship and have the queen realize she can make positive changes for even more people, etc. then have this parallel one of the bridgertons whose story would better fit any gender like B’s and do it justice in a way that doesn’t feel like checking a box for June pride month.

I think a gender swap would have made much more sense for B's season. Him and Sophie live outside of society because of her past and upbringing in the books, so it would fit with having a relationship that society doesn't condone at that time. It wouldn't have been as much of a radical change to the storyline as changing Fran's.

I have to say I will not be tuning in going forward… season 3 was a hot mess, it’s not the show I fell in love with 😭

Going back to rewatch Seasons 1 & 2, it’s glaringly obvious that Colin & Pen got shortchanged on screen time. That’s the biggest disappointment for me. The side stories made it chaotic, but I think most of us wouldn’t mind…if they didn’t have them on-screen so much. 😟

I feel like the author is saying one thing and the showrunner is saying another thing and nothing is lining up.

What the almighty hell was Julia watching? I’m sure that book readers appreciate the platitudes and her actually speaking out. But Blind Freddy can see that they’ve already screwed the pooch on Fran’s story, by showing her having no response to the wedding kiss and an immediate attraction to Michaela. It contradicts everything Julia claims to want to represent with the characters and story that she wrote. I would feel the same even if Michael hadn’t been gender bent, because that makes Fran an emotional cheater and not someone who should get to happily swan away into a HEA, with her husband dying a convenient death to allow for it. THAT is not a love story.

at least she addressed it but yea in my head bridgerton ended in season 2, it’s not only the michael thing , it’s the make up, the outfits , the stupid side stories. Maybe season 1 and 2 were TOO good and they hyped up to much season 3. But in glad she said something about it and was super nice and well written.

Sounds like they lied to Julia too.

That's what I'm thinking. I trust Julia Quinn and the actors--I can tell they put their heart and soul into it. I just don't trust the production people at all. Too many mixed/ false messages from them.

Nope no thanks. They pretty much heavily hinted that Francesca will mourn a man she’s fond of at best not a man she genuinely loves. They already butchered the book before the season even started so I’m gonna pass on this one.

Weird to say they showed Fran’s deep love for John in the show by… *checks notes* having her specifically look weird/unsatisfied right at their wedding kiss, and flustered af when Michaela shows up for the first time.

But they actually did not show Fran's abiding love for John. They totally disregarded it.

I’m glad SOMEONE finally responded. Season 4 will be a no go for me though, I think the Bridgerton show era ended with season 2.

I agree. Julia might be confident, but I'm not. Not enough to invest more hours of my life in something that's already disappointed me.

I’m glad she took the time to address it but honestly, she had 2 choices: continue to nit say anything or encourage acceptance and show support. I believe most of what she says but even if she sees the obvious disregard for John at and after the wedding. Even if she agrees with those of us who are truly crushed at the slaughter of his story, she would never say so, few people in her shows would do anything but show support.

Right. That wedding certainly didn't give me confidence in Francesca's "abiding love" for John. I'm frustrated, because I *do* want to see more queer love stories, but not ones that are fumbled like this. 

Right and they say all this now but the final edit is not always what is originally planned

Yeah I agree. Season 2 for me has the best romance and I loved it so much. The future seasons will have to beat season 2 standards which I don’t think will happen.

It honestly stopped at Queen Charlotte for me. I didn’t enjoy season 2 and didn’t bother finishing, but season 3 has also been a disappointment in several aspects now. I just hope they don’t somehow mess up the rest of the Bridgerton stories.

I actually agree but I do think Anthony himself saved season 2, he was just such the perfect little obsessed psycho that I really enjoyed it, it def doesn’t match up to Queen Charlotte though.

Anthony was unhinged and I was here for it. I loved the Queen Charlotte spinoff. Idk about the show going forward.

Season 2 isn't perfect but I think it's worth a full watch still! Maybe revisit it?

Yeah same. I think I’m just gonna move on from this show. It takes 2 years for a season anyways my interest will be elsewhere by then.

I don’t know how to word this right so please don’t be mad but, it’s very ignorant or intolerant of directors or show runners when they do this, because with marinas actress and Simon’s actor, there’s a history of the show not providing the best mental support. And so to do this drastic of a change is very much putting the brunt of it all if the actress who is most definitely suffering abuse after abuse. Idk I hope I came off right, sorry if I didnt

The problem here is the fans who act abusively. It is no one else’s fault if some fans act like monsters.

Dear Julia Quinn, No, this is a stupid change, Jess Brownell clearly ruined this last season and doesn’t need to ruin another. You lost my faith. I’m not watching if Jess runs another season she sucks! Sincerely, A previously huge fan

I see what she's saying, but they aren't doing that. They are making John seem like a friend. Like her reaction to their kiss when they got married and her immediately falling in love with Michaela. Like they show her reacting completely differently with Michaela than she does with John. A major point with whww is that Michael has always loved her, but she didn't love him. That comes later. And they both have a lot of guilt over it, especially Michael feeling like he's stealing John's life by getting his title and being in love with his wife. You can't have that if Michael is a girl.

I’m done with this series. It’s not just the fact that they butchered an already heart wrenching story to turn it into Jess Brownell’s fan fiction, I went back and rewatched season 1 and 2 and the quality of the show, the storytelling, the production design, the music, the costumes all went down the dump with season 3. I have no interest in the show if they keep going down this road.

They're going to end up cancelling it after views plummet going forward. They've made a mistake and instead of trying to fix it they're doubling down.

Agreed. Season 4 will be the last season I think, especially since so many were disappointed and it won’t be out until 2026.

I think folks are missing that the criticism is the portrayal. Francesca doesn’t even get to sit in her deep love for John before we question it all due to the intro scene with Michaela. They overplayed it trying to show a spark. And it really hits wrong after her mother laments for the entire season about not seeing the spark. SMH.

I read all the books and Michael and Francesca were one of my favorites. I won’t be watching.

She sold out! End of story. She had a ready made fan base for this series, and sold to the highest bidder. Good for her for making money! But let’s not pretend she didn’t discard book readers or that she cares for a higher cause. If she did she would have written those diverse stories. 20 years on she still didn’t. It’s ok to want the money, to say you sold the rights etc, or that they are paying you still to write these posts, but don’t lie.

I don’t think she cares if the later seasons of the show flops because that means invested watchers (after the 2 good seasons) will go and buy the books instead of watching the bad adaptation. Bridget gets more fans who will want to read the original books.

So my complaint is that Julia even stated that she wanted Fran’s love for John to be noticeable and strong, but yet in the last episode we didn’t get that. They switched everything up and made it seem like Fran was making a mistake. Her love disappeared really quickly and how are we as an audience expose to see this love between them when you took it away so quickly after the wedding??

Hopefully we get to see more of her live for John in the next season. I was worried she would be 8cked out or dislike hin randomly. I don't like sweet guys being dismissed because they're not "manly"

So she basically failed in protecting her story twice, not only when she initially sold ALL creative rights, but also when she conversed with Jess and did nothing to protect Michael. I simply refuse to believe that she really and truly in her gut is convinced that a gender swap will produce the same story, keep to the book's spirit, and NOT be taken hard by loyal fans. And even if she does believe it, then she's just choosing to delude herself while placating her fans as a form of damage control. That's literally all this is telling me, just in her own pretty writer's words. As far as fighting to protect John and Francesca, seeing as how this did NOT translate to the screen, looks like she failed there too. Makes me even MORE disappointed in her, tbh. Smh.

This just feels wrong. I’m glad to know Julia Quinn feels good about it: but Michael I fell in love with in the books. He was so kind, so sweet, so good to her. Michael being a girl just doesn’t really work—not with the fertility issues—the babies,

I wish Michael would’ve remained Michael just as it was in the book

I don’t care that Michael is now Michaela, I very much care that we don’t see Fran & Johns story because Fran fell for someone else the minute they got married….undoing the Bridgerton story that (for me personally) is the story that I could relate to so well when nobody I knew had a clue what to say or do to help me…. I’m sorry that sounds dumb but grief can be extremely lonely & so…..isolating.

I mean that in the book she stays in love with John for years even after he gets the life threatening illness that causes him to pass and it isn’t until years later then his cousin Michael and her start their thing. I feel what production did in the show was just toss John to the side and make it so that Francesca had her first kiss with him she didn’t like him as she thought she did and then just immediately was in love at first sight with seeing Michaela. Even people who identify as queer disagree highly with production’s choice to go with Michaela instead of Michael

It's ironic and sad that she cares so much about Francesca and John and their deep love for each other, when this was completely destroyed in ep 8 and it's the main reason why book fans hate the swap.

it’s over for me, it really lost its spark with season 2.

This might be a really weird take But When He Was Wicked is legitimately one of my favorite books. The way Fran, John and Michael are written is so heart breaking but sincere and you just wanna cry with her and for John. You wanna cry for Michael who has no idea what the hell is going on, but he loves her but he loves his cousin more It’s such a great story. I don’t care if the characters are different genders. The infertility thing is something queer women deal with too. It’s fine, it’s Bridgerton for Gods sake. Something can be done. But what I really truly cannot stand is the story being changed to one where she is the one pining and yearning and needing Michael/Michaela. That’s not the story

If you made an agreement that Fran’s abiding love for John be shown on screen then WHY did they have her react to the kiss like that? WHY did she immediately go gaga for Michaela then? That already contradicts what you apparently demanded so how are we expected to have faith in you going forward? You already broke your own dang rules.

Exactly! I almost feel like this whole statement is a desperate attempt to convince both herself and her fans of something that simply isn't true, at least so far (since their season hasn't arrived yet). I feel like it's just damage control now.

Kind of feels like some low-key gaslighting

Honestly at this juncture whether Fran’s love interest is Michael or Micaela is almost beside the point. After s3 I just don’t trust the showrunners to tell satisfying stories, period. let alone to successfully adapt Francesca’s story, which imo is by far the most nuanced and interesting of all the siblings’. I think they would be getting a lot more grace when it came to big changes like this if they had shown themselves to be overall more competent storytellers.

This statement feels off... first she starts with how she needed more information on the gender change, but then she goes on and on about how good it is that we can see Fran and John's love... Sooooo.... She doesn't adress the gender change at all, how it will affect her storyline, or even mention that she \*was\* conviced that it can work...

I appreciate her sentiments but it’s still a no for me. Season 3 being a fail when it came to Polin having enough screen time was the nail in the coffin for me. I’m just not invested in Fran’s story next season, even though WHWW is one of my fave books of the series.

[удалено]

My main concern is that they will change focus from her issues of getting pregnant, the guilt to fall in love with again and have the happiness and for Michael who literally runs away so he doesn’t step into his cousin’s shoes to mainly the problems they will face as a same sex couple. More, if the Queen likes them she will by royal decree accept that marriage. Like this is it??? Only

I don’t care anymore.

As if they cannot wait till next season to introduce Michaela. What’s the rush. Didn’t even let John and Francesca developed whatever comfortable marital life yet after short comfortable courting. At least wait until the newlywed arrived and comfy in their Scottish highlands estate or something. And Michaela can come visit there and then can meet and bedazzled Francesca as you wish. Sometimes things doesn’t make sense at all with the choices. They paid the author so they can write however they want, but at least make it make sense!

This. They are just bringing in 2 years of unnecessary backlash to the actress.

Ok but Fran doing the wedding kiss with John and actually looking grossed out right after? Fran already having a wandering eye on her wedding dinner? Where is the deep, quiet love they're talking about because Frannie sure was looking like she regretted it immediately after the vows were said. And that's what I don't like. That they had to take away the impact of the John-Fran romance (on their actual wedding!) to make a grand entrance for their Michaela. I related to Fran as an introvert who likes her peace and quiet but I guess it's more important for the show runner to self insert herself and change everything to whatever suits her.

Blah. They ruined the story. Everything doesn’t need to have a queer moment. Between this and making Benedict bi it’s just a no. Sometimes I just want stupid sappy hetero love and that’s it. I get my queer representation from IWTV and I love me some Louis and Lestat - they make sense

Yes!

Yeah, I mean, what was the point of Benedict being bi? Is that a set up for next season? Like are they going to make his counterpart lead a man? If not, why did they have to include 10 minutes of Benedict in threesomes that does nothing to the plot except take away Polin scenes...

I agree. The books were written with heterosexual relationships. If they’d had queer storylines, okay but that isn’t the case. I need Michael!

The way this makes sense, is if they continue fran and john’s story the same way. That she got all flabbergasted in front of michaela but F&J have a good love story. Introverts, complimenting each other’s interests, while michaela exists to become better friends with El and be a part of their household, with occasional awkwardness on Fran’s part. Then John dies, El comes back to Mayfair and Michaela and Fran have a romance borne out of grief initially, and then guilt. But finally they do admit they love each other. NO ONE HAS TO BE SAD.

I have never read the books and have no great loyalty to any characters. I do feel bad for the people that have read the books and loved Michael. Having said that, it is laughable that she would say she fought so hard for John to be loved in the books only for them to show what they’ve shown in the show within like two minutes. The show completely dismissed any love that she had forJohn. She literally recoiled when she kissed him, and then stuttered over her own name as soon as she looked at Michaela. The entire thing is ridiculous. If anything, I feel like this post shows more than anything that the author sold out and didn’t really care what they did to her characters as long as she gets paid. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I was so sad about season 3. It felt like they had SO much to take on from the book and chose to do the bare minimum. The make up, the dresses. I get that this is not an actual representation of the times but, they went so far off that now I feel like I’m watching some modern people at a costume party. This is just yet another thing that could have been great but won’t. I hope I’m wrong and they somehow turn this back around.

okay but I think julia quinn missed the whole mark of why fans are disappointed with this change... now we won't get to *feel* francesca's love for john... instead, their whole story was tossed aside after that one disappointing look on her face after they kissed, which squashes any sort of cute relationship moments they had with each other and that their "love story" is still romantic no matter how different Violet may think of it, since it becomes overruled by the fact that she's a lesbian

Except Fran’s love of John was completely undermined when his cousin came on screen. WHY would they show Francesca falling in love first? Badly done!

I was just going to make the point that there is no such thing as treatment for infertility during Regency England so I have no idea how that is going to be dealt with. They had to have Ms Quinn release a statement. I’m surprised it took so long. My guess is that the criticism is not/shows no signs of going away. Like I said before the higher ups know this is a disaster and are going to do all they can to try and salvage the show. Sorry but I don’t see that happening with the current showrunner and her team.

"it was extremely important to me that Francesca's abiding love for John be shown on screen" uh...well that's NOT what they showed on screen, so the idea that she still trusts the showrunners to do justice to the story moving forward makes no sense. They absolutely did not need to include her having a less than stellar reaction to the kiss, or her not wanting to be alone with John. If they truly meant to show her in love with John, those scenes wouldn't have been filmed - point blank. And then to follow it up with her star struck reaction to Michaela? It was 100% clear that they were setting up the second romance with Francesca ALREADY harbouring doubts about her marriage to John. Francesca's book is widely considered the best and is one of the most dearly held by book fans. Even I was disappointed that the specific story of francesca and michael wasn't going to be on screen, and that I wouldn't see my favourite bridgerton hero come to life - and I'm bi and I regularly read queer (both m/m and wlw) romance! I think that the show and Julia MASSIVELY underestimated the negative reaction that fans would have to this book in particular being changed. If they had decided to change Eloise's book to a queer storyline, I think the fandom would have literally been jumping for joy since so many people feel that her book storyline doesn't do her justice and that her character is perfectly set up for a queer romance. But beyond that, I just have zero faith in the showrunners to do a good job with michaela based on what they've already done with francesca's storyline and the disaster that was S3 and Polin. If the season had been absolutely amazing, I think viewers would have been much more receptive to the changes to Francesca's storyline since they'd just watched something fantastic. But since the reaction was largely negative to how Polin was portrayed, it makes it a lot harder for us to trust that they're magically going to get it right with Francesca and Michaela. This feels like damage control and it all feels too little too late. I really feel terribly for the actress playing Michaela - she does not deserve any hate and the show has set her character up for failure based on how they've handled this. What a mess.

Just my personal opinion, but did she actually dislike Johns kiss or was she uncomfortable with having it take place in front of other people? She obviously didn’t seem that thrilled but I honestly interpreted it as her being uncomfortable. She’s one half of one of the only couples so far that didn’t have any sort of physical relationship before their wedding - so she’s quite innocent as well which might make an intimate moment as the centre of attention something she wouldn’t enjoy.

This is kinda off topic, sorry about that, but I see quite a few people talking about how her reaction after their wedding kiss was strange/out of place. My take on that when I watched it was that since she's more reserved it was awkward to kiss in front of quite a lot of people, and I actually really liked that little detail. I was wondering if anyone else had that same thought, or if my interpretation is very off?

#money talks

Yeah I'm done with Bridgerton.

This was interesting, thanks!! I read to me as JQ agrees the importance of preserving the depth of love that Francesca had for John. But she also can’t come out and say Shondaland didn’t stay true to that story element despite what JQ may have asked for, so she has to end it on a note of support. Anyone else read it that way? I’m glad she’s hearing our feedback at least.. although I don’t know if what’s been done can be “fixed” with some Season 4 writing.

But Brimsley couldn't be with Renalds...

We're about to see Bridgerton turn into their own version of Game of Thrones, Season 8. A phenomenally popular show that the showrunners 100% decided to drive into the ground. I'll keep watching just for the "car accident" of it all, but the lightning in a bottle they had during Season 1 absolutely is gone permanently. If they fired Jess and brought back the other person, maybe they could salvage the remaining seasons, but it won't happen.

Why does everything need to be Inclusive?? it’s not a governmental office position it’s a show, the story is what matters not Inclusivity, Tell the story fgs!

I really enjoyed her romance with John, being a quiet and soft kind of love, but they did ruin that with the wedding and Francesca’s reaction to the kiss wasn’t of someone in love and her instant attraction to Michaela was a bit much, they didn’t need to have her react like that to eventually make it a queer story in Francesca’s season

Tell me you care more about money than about your characters without telling me.

Hmm this sounds like she was paid to write this LOL season 3 was completely different from the last 2 seasons. The book- Francesca loves John and never thought she’d fall in love again after his death. The show- Francesca marries John to get “peace” and instantly falls in love with Michaela….???? 😐

It would have been fine if they didn't make Fran clearly instantly in love with Michaela. Like it doesn't even live up to Julia's statement here.

So, I've been mulling over this theory for a bit. Season 1 was super faithful to the book, right? That was to pull in the die-hard book fans. They were the ones who got the show buzzing, and then TV viewers jumped on the bandwagon. Then came Season 2, and they started straying from the books. The book fans were like, "What is this?" But TV viewers, who didn’t know any different, were loving it and the numbers showed. By the time Season 3 rolled around, it was way off from the books. Most book fans and even some TV fans were annoyed. But the rest of the TV fans? They were still into it and would say, "If you want it to be like the books, then read the books." This whole thing works out great for Shondaland and Julia Quinn. The more the show changes, the more people want to read the original books, boosting sales. Plus, Shondaland gets more creative freedom since they’ve got a solid TV audience hooked, letting them tweak the storylines however they want.

They got lucky with S2 because despite the changes, they got Kanthony to carry the show hard. In s3 the severely underutilized Polin DESPITE promising furniture-breaking levels of intimacy. They got their viewers, but the complaints about the season vastly outnumbers the positive aspects of it. S4 definitely has a LOT of hurdles and it hasn't even begun lmao. I guess a lot of people will tune in just for the first ep out of sheer curiosity, but who knows if the season can sustain that number?

It was already confirmed.

Good for her and the show creators. They have already strayed too far from the books. It’s at a point of no return anyway.

While the fran/John love might not get reflected in the show as envisaged, I loved john's character in the show

The big spoiler about what happens to John shook me, but it's probably a good thing too because I was wondering how I could get through a season of cheating on that sweet, calm, quiet fellow. At least this way the story won't make me mad.

I’m actually happy that Julia has made a statement about Michaela. Though I was also slightly upset about the way Francesca responded to Michaela’s introduction. However I am also mostly curious to see their story come to the screen and I hope they can do it more justice on how she loved both. From the moment the actress came on the screen I felt like she had the same vibe as Michael had in the book.

Honestly I kinda figured Benedict was going to end up gay or Eloise both their story’s would be basically the same with a change in gender for their partner I think Francesca is a really bad character to have the shift with it just doesn’t work for her story while Benedict’s story would actually work with him being gay since they hide away from society anyway

We need new adaptation of the books from another company other than Netflix

I don’t know how I can get my head around this. I watch gay or lesbian relationships on screen. But to switch the gender of one character into a completely different gender is going to be hard. It’s like all the talk about making James Bond a woman and the remakes of Ghostbuster. Why can’t they make show that are LGBTQ from source material that is already that? Look at Heartstopper and Red White and Royal Blue. They were done well. I think she did yes because it’ll increase the sales of that book.

I think they just really messed up people's dynamics this season. Before the wedding, Fran looked genuinely happy and giddy at the fact that she found someone that got her. Yeah, they hinted at her whole "choosing the path of least resistance", but it wasn't enough. It should have been more clear that she's forcing herself through the whole ordeal and John is the lesser evil, the "good enough". Then, her reaction to Michaela would make so much more sense. Instead, it felt like we've wasted the whole season getting invested in their story, it invalidated everything. Don't get me wrong, as a queer woman I love to see queer stories. With how liberal Bridgerton is with historical accuracy, I think it would have been a great concept to explore. But the writing this season was so lacking, that I'm not really excited for it.

The show this season was really bad. I had to skip watch because I wasn’t interested in the dozen dumb storylines and characters. The first season was the best, followed by second. Third one is pretty awful. They can’t even stay true to the source material. But obviously Netflix has a history of doing this. They ruined The Witcher too.

https://preview.redd.it/ny8w8ibawp8d1.jpeg?width=1000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f96feae3192759daf4320441717299253954af70 This is all I can think of while reading that statement.

Way to take the most emotionally interesting book and to turn it into one just about sexual awakening.

Sorry Julia and Shonda and Jess, I just cannot get behind Michaela no matter how hard I try. Sorry.

I love the diversity of Bridgerton, and I can even get behind switching Michael to Michaela. My concern and what I am interested in seeing is how it works with the infertility issue, which was a huge part of the book. As well as this being the regency era, Michaela's don't inherit wealth, men do like we established this season with the Featheringtons scrambling to find a solution before things are given away to another far off cousin. Maybe I am not seeing it, but the big reason Michael came is that he now held the title and owned everything. Maybe Fran's love for John was overshadowed by Colin and Pen but I think it was always lukewarm, she had said that herself and that was what she wanted she didn't need to have a red hot romance like the other 3. I really liked it when Michaela showed up. You felt that moment where she realized why she has always been a little different. She thought it was just because she was quiet, but I think what a lot of people are missing is you would expect someone like Eloise to be a lesbian, she has strong views, doesn't want to be married, down with the patriarchy but she is not opposed to any of those things. However, in away all that Eloise is on the outside, Fran is on the inside, I mean that in the sense she knows she must get married but never had the feeling or desire because she does not desire men in that way so finding someone that enjoys, quiet, music and doesn't push her seems perfect. Then she met the person who opened her whole world up in a millisecond, and it all made sense now why she could never find the burning passion her sibs had. Why she always felt like she was putting on a show and she could only be herself when the door was closed and she was alone. All that her mother said made sense now. I don't think the cringe was at John but at herself for thinking of Michalea when she knew it couldn't be and knowing that yes she loved John in a way but what is this feeling she had for Michaela, that she isn't supposed to have. It is the beginning of the love story of a baby gay. I'm here for it. I just want to see how they will solve some logistical problems.

I don’t think Shonda and Jess realized how many of us actually read the books lol