Francesca Bridgerton's future love interest was introduced as Michaela instead of Michael at the end of 'Bridgerton' season 3.
Bridgerton fans may be disappointed about Francesca's storyline change, but author Julia Quinn isn't.
During the season 3 finale of Bridgerton, the hit Netflix series revealed a huge change from the books by introducing the future love interest of Francesca Bridgerton (Hannah Dodd) as Michaela Stirling (Masali Baduza) instead of Michael, like in the books. In response to fan uproar over the gender swapping, Quinn is defending the decision.
"Dear readers," Quinn, 54, began in a lengthy post on Instagram on Tuesday. "Many Bridgerton fans have expressed their surprise, and for some, disappointment in the twist at the end of Bridgerton Season 3 – that Michael Stirling, with whom Francesca eventually falls in love in When He Was Wicked, would instead be Michaela."
She acknowledged that gender swapping is a major change, writing, "Anyone who has seen an interview with me from the past four years knows that I am deeply committed to the Bridgerton world becoming more diverse and inclusive as the stories move from book to screen. But switching the gender of a major character is a huge change."
When showrunner Jess Brownell approached Quinn with the idea of turning Michael -- whom Francesca marries after the death of her husband, John (Victor Alli) -- into Michaela, Quinn said she didn't take the decision lightly.
"I trust Shondaland's vision for Bridgerton, but I wanted to be sure that we could remain true to the spirit of the book and of the characters," she explained. "Jess and I talked for a long time about it. More than once. I made it clear that it was extremely important to me that Francesca's abiding love for John be shown on screen."
She added, "When I wrote When He Was Wicked I actually had to fight to have the first four chapters, which established that love, to be included. My publisher was worried that writing about Fran's love for John would take away from Michael's role as the eventual romance novel hero. But I felt that if I didn't show how deeply she loved John, and how deeply Michael, his cousin, also loved him, then their feelings of guilt at falling in love with each other after John's death made no sense. I didn't want to just tell the reader that they loved him, I wanted them to feel it."
Despite Quinn's emphasis of "Francesca's abiding love for John be shown on screen," that's a big factor of why fans were upset at the introduction of Michaela. When John introduces his cousin to Francesca in the show, she was visibly stunned by her beauty and at a loss for words. Fans online have commented that Francesca seemingly falling in love at first sight with Michaela completely underscores her love for John. In the books, she has eyes for no one except John until his death.
Quinn said she's confident that Francesca's season will be equally good as the others, if not better.
"Honestly, it may pack even more of a punch, since John is getting a lot more time on the screen than he ever did on the page, and I think it's fair to say we've all fallen a little bit in love with him," she wrote. "I am grateful for your understanding and touched by your deep commitment to the characters of the Bridgerton world."
But she also urged, "I ask that you grant me and the Shondaland team some faith as we move forward."
Many fans aren't happy with Quinn's response. The top comment under Quinn's post was brutally critical of the author's decision, stating she has "completely SOLD OUT as a writer" and allowed the show team to "butcher" her work. The lengthy critique amassed more than 10,500 likes.
"I've read all 8 Bridgerton books and all of the other books you've written and this is so incredibly sad," part of the top comment read. "I'm all for gay people but completely changing the gender of Michael to be 'edgy' and 'cool' makes no sense in the dated period in which these stories take place. You’re taking a good story and turning it into something else. If that's the case, why even base the show after the books and call it Bridgerton? It should be called something else because something else is exactly what Shonda has done."
While some fans feel that Quinn has unfairly compromised the storyline for the sake of diversity and inclusion, others wrote about how on-screen representation is so important for young, queer people.
The gender swap also raises questions for how other aspects of Francesca's storyline might change. For example, in the books, Michael inherits the Kilmartin estate after John's death, which Michaela in theory can't do because she's a woman. Francesca also enters the marriage scene after John's death because she wants a child, which she can't biologically have with Michaela.
In any case, Bridgerton season 4 will surely be as steamy as the others. Nicola Coughlan and Luke Newton's season debuted the longest sex scene yet.
Coughlan previously revealed that she wanted to be "very naked" on the show. When it came time to shoot the sexy scenes, things got so intense that Coughlan and Newton broke a piece of furniture. Shooting the moments with her real-life pal, Coughlan told ET, "It's scary going in, but then, thankfully, we have a really good relationship, so we can talk about it, and we can laugh about it when we need to."
Seasons 1-3 of Bridgerton are now streaming on Netflix.
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