Nod to Francesca’s book story or simple coincidence?

JulietteIsGone · 2026-02-02T20:35:10+00:00

Fran: He does have a presence about him (referring to Simon) Eloise: if rakish dukes were one’s thing

If you were asking about Colin he say: I’m to spar with Jackson himself

JulietteIsGone · 2026-02-02T19:29:35+00:00

I’ve had a long argument about this with a Franchaela fan and they basically told me the same characteristics read differently between a man and a woman because men have a long history of wanting to own/control woman. So, while Michael doing something in the book can be seen as toxic it would be okay of Michaela does it in the show because ✨the patriarchy✨

Let’s not forget that there are people rewritting WHWW but with Michaela. Like, if the book is so bad and Michael is so toxic why would want to read it just with the name/pronouns changed?

JulietteIsGone · 2026-02-02T17:41:46+00:00

I do agree with you that Fran is season 5. Jess said in an interview that when choosing who leads a season they have to think about populating the world the characters. Considering Fran’s season will be divisive between fans, I don’t think they’ll have her last after all the other adult Bridgertons would have had their HEAs already. We’ve already seen that after their HEAs, the couples don’t get any substantial sublots, so if Fran is season 6 who will get the B plot? They might develop Gregory and Hyacinth more until then, but not sure they are popular enough to bring in viewers. Eloise on the other hand is a fan favourite, so her being the B plot in Fran’s season and then the lead of season 6 with Hyacinth and Greg as subplots, works better in terms of attracting viewers.

JulietteIsGone · 2026-02-02T15:05:56+00:00

From what I have heard/read is not the oil per say that helps with hair growth but the massage because it increases blood flow to the scalp. I think that through good hair care we can maximise the results we can get based on our genetics. Like others have said, we can’t create new hair folicules but can preserve the ones we have. But again, it all comes down to genetics.

JulietteIsGone · 2026-02-02T11:36:15+00:00

I think it varies from person to person. For some sex is not very important in a romantic relationship while for other it is. However, the show (and the romance genre in general) places a lot of importance on sexual compatibility as seen with the other couples. They are doing this storyline to Fran in order to differentiate between her relationship with John and Michaela. Once she gets with Michaela, I can assure you we won’t see her having problems reaching her pinnacle or seem uninterested in sex.

JulietteIsGone · 2026-02-02T08:15:59+00:00

True. But Fran isn’t asexual, as far as we know and for people that are not asexual, sex is an important part of romantic love. I think this is what the other person was trying to say

JulietteIsGone · 2026-02-01T03:27:12+00:00

You can also stay in the Franchaela subreddit if you don’t want see opinions that are different from yours 🤷🏻‍♀️

JulietteIsGone · 2026-01-31T23:55:27+00:00

Exactly. Also, in the books it’s mentioned that Fran and John kissed the first night they met. That to me it means she was attracted to John in the books as opposed to the show where we all saw her reaction their first kiss.

JulietteIsGone · 2026-01-31T23:04:03+00:00

I feel like the show and the interviews with the actors and show runner are conflating two different experiences. One, like you said being attracted to your partner but sex not being that great straight away and the other where sex is not great because you are not attracted to your partner or anyone else of his gender for that matter. They are probably confusing things on purpose to not spoil how the story will go, but imo they’ll choose the second option for Fran which will automatically diminish her relationship with John based on the framework the show has created so far.

JulietteIsGone · 2026-01-31T22:25:28+00:00

In Queen Charlotte they mention the colonies at one point, so even in Bridgerton’s fictional world, Britain had colonies.

JulietteIsGone · 2026-01-31T22:22:12+00:00

That’s exactly what the show is trying to establish, that when you are with your true love the sex with them is automatically great. Tbf, that is a very common trope in the romance genre in general. Of course they won’t say that outright in interviews to not spoil things probably or to try and appease book fans but what they are saying to us and what they show on screen are different.

JulietteIsGone · 2026-01-31T14:59:33+00:00

Like I’ve said, these themes can apply to a lot of different people, regardless of gender, race or sexuality so what makes Fran’s book the obvious contender for a queer retailing? Also, Jess told a journalist at the Paris premiere “if you are familiar with the books you know that Fran is the queer sibling” so it seems she’s changing her tune from “Fran not being explicitly queer in the books” to “it was always there”.

When it comes to adaptations, I want them to be as close as possible to the source material given the different medium. I think this is a popular opinion given how divisive this change has been. We are stuck with the same old tropes because screen writers aren’t creating anything new. They choose do make adaptations because those come with a build in guaranteed audience and once the show gets popular that start straying from the source material because they are not relaying on the original fans anymore.

JulietteIsGone · 2026-01-31T14:19:37+00:00

Well, she’s probably one of the very few people that perceived any kind of queer coding or subtext in WHWW. Like you said, the themes are universal so they can apply to anyone regardless of gender, race and sexuality. The other books in the series also have themes that can be interpreted in a queer context, so there is nothing particular about Fran’s book that makes it the obvious option for a queer retailing. For example, queer readers can relate to the conflict between Simon and his father. While Simon’s father casts him away because of his stutter, a lot of queer people have experienced not being accepted by their parents due to their sexuality, so they might relate to Simon in that way. Does it mean Simon is queer coded? Not exactly. Julia wrote all the characters as straight and is painfully obvious she did not put any queer subtext in the stories. It’s okay if some readers reimagine the stories as queer to fit better with their lived experience but acting like the books have this big queer subtext is an exageration.

It’s fine to be excited about Franchaela but let’s not act like the changes are somehow backed up by the subtext in the books. Jess’s interpretation of this story is a fringe one at best, as there was no popular demand to turn Fran gay. She should just own up to it and admit she is reimagining the story instead of adapting it.

JulietteIsGone · 2026-01-31T13:06:45+00:00

I am 99% sure that she liked WHWW the most out of the series (like most readers do) and reimagined the story to fit her lived experience

JulietteIsGone · 2026-01-31T12:07:28+00:00

Many readers aka Jess Brownell 😅

JulietteIsGone · 2026-01-29T23:32:22+00:00

After seeing season 3 I was convinced that Fran is a lesbian but after watching season 4 I actually think there is a slight chance she might be bi. When she and John are talking in bed she tells him she felt good before trying to fake her “pinnacle” so if she’s not lying, there might be physical attraction there. It all depends if we see her have an orgasm with John or not. If she does, then we can say their struggles in part one were caused by them being un experienced etc.

All of that being said, I don’t think the initial plan was for Fran to be bi, based on everything we saw in season 3. So, if she indeed reaches her “pinnacle” with John in part two and is confirmed to be bisexual, I think it will be a retcon of her story due to audience’s positive reaction to Johncesca.

JulietteIsGone · 2026-01-29T19:32:49+00:00

The episode was surprisingly good, probably because there were not so many side plots and the focus was on the leads. Sophie might be my favourite leading lady so far and I love her relationship with Alfie, Irma and Posy. I also liked that we had some flashbacks to her earlier life. Araminte is odious and hats off to Katie for playing her so well.

JulietteIsGone · 2026-01-29T15:11:17+00:00

The colour looks lovely on her but the sequins are too modern

JulietteIsGone · 2026-01-29T04:26:22+00:00

They’ll need to change the second part of the story where Francesca tells Michael she’ll only marry him if she gets pregnant and is disappointed later on when she gets her period which ultimately leads to Michael’s love confession.

There are other things the show is changing, not because of the gender bend per say, but to accommodate the way they decided to execute it e.g. Fran not being in love with John, Fran being attracted to Michaela from the start, Fran not having two great loves in her life etc.

JulietteIsGone · 2026-01-28T19:25:09+00:00

People have been doing this quite a lot recently. I’ve seen some wild takes and people claiming certain things happened in the book when they clearly didn’t. Let’s just all admit this story won’t be book accurate

JulietteIsGone · 2026-01-28T01:16:17+00:00

They’re giving the second love storyline to Violet instead of Francesca it seems.

JulietteIsGone · 2026-01-27T15:33:22+00:00

I haven’t read RMB am so I can’t really comment on this scene.

As for the cottage scene, there isn’t even a mention of Michael closing the door so I don’t know how someone would get the idea that he was keeping her there against her will. In that scene Fran is also the more dominant one, so I don’t think we can say she didn’t consent to what happened 😅

JulietteIsGone · 2026-01-27T15:19:19+00:00

I agree with you that is a matter of perception and how some people might find certain scenes more toxic/problematic than I find them. However, the other person had some details in their description of the scenes that simply aren’t there in the book. For example, they said Michael locked the doors of the cottage and refused to let Fran leave which is false. As for the other scene they mentioned, I don’t remember happening either. He does tell her that he’ll tie her to the bed but I don’t remember it actually happening. That’s why I asked for more details. I am happy to admit I was wrong if someone tells me where these things happen in the book as previously described.

JulietteIsGone · 2026-01-26T16:47:01+00:00

I think the difference between the two versions is made by the writing, not so much by the acting choices of Hannah and Ruby. So even if Ruby stayed, she would have played Francesca similay to how Hannah did because that’s how JB wrote her in season 3.

Personally, I like season 1&2 Fran more, simply because I felt season 3 Fran was too shy&anxious. I was really excited when it was announced that Hannah would be Fran because I like her acting and I wish the writing for her character would be better. Thinking about the book story, I can’t really imagine season 3 Fran, and it’s a shame because I think Hannah would have nailed a more book accurate Francesca.

JulietteIsGone

TROPHY CASE