The third season of Bridgerton has already been fully released through Netflix. We finally saw the conclusion of the beautiful love story between Penelope Faetherington and Colin Bridgerton. Although there is still a long way to go to know what we will see in the next season, it seems that we already have a small idea about everything that is coming.
Bridgerton author teases that we could see a Queer couple in the next season
Suppose you have already seen the third season of Bridgerton. In that case, you may have noticed the brief introduction of one of the most important characters in the universe of the series: Michaela Stirling, who is the cousin of John Stirling, Francesca Bridgerton’s suitor. However, in the source material written by Julia Quinn, Michaela Stirling does not exist but is Michael Stirling.
Read also: Bridgerton Actress Demands More Nude Scenes to Teach the Public a Lesson
This represents one of the most radical changes in Bridgerton’s story for the small screen, as it means that we will finally see a Queer relationship within the show, as Francesca Bridgerton and Michael Stirling (or, in this case, Michaela) end up together in the books.
During the series, we could see the moment when Francesca Bridgerton and Michaela Stirling meet for the first time, the former being speechless when she sees how beautiful John Stirling’s cousin is. Although their interaction was brief, we can already preview a little of what we will see between these two characters based on the source material.
In the books, Michael Stirling is the cousin of John Stirling, Earl of Kilmartin, and although it is revealed that he has fallen in love at first sight with Francesca Bridgerton, he soon discovers that they will never be able to be together, as she is already engaged, unfortunately, to his cousin.
With a lot of pain, Michael Stirling decides to give his life to debauchery and decides to go abroad so as not to be close to the couple, because his heart would never bear it. However, he later returns and learns the sad news that his cousin, John Stirling, has passed away, so he is now the heir to the title of Earl of Kilmartin (which he never wanted to hold).
At the same time that he becomes a count, he will be Francesca Bridgerton’s support in her loss, and little by little they will begin to get closer, trying to bear the loss of a person who meant a lot in their lives and who is now no longer with them.
Well, it seems, in the series we could see a similar approach to this story, although with a woman in the character of Michaela Stirling. As expected, the comments from fans were not long in coming, however, Julia Quinn, the writer of the books, has finally given her position on the matter and, according to her, the series is in very good hands.
According to the writer, the first time they came up with the proposal of changing the gender of the character, she had some doubts, because she was very worried that the love between Francesca and Michael on screen would be downplayed, however, the Shondaland team finally assured her that things would not happen like this:
I was confident in Shondaland’s vision for Bridgerton, but I wanted to make sure we could stay true to the spirit of the book and the characters. (…) I made it clear that it was extremely important to me that Francesca’s undying love for John be shown on screen. When I wrote When He Was Wicked, I had to fight to get the first four chapters included, which established that love.
My editor was concerned that writing about Fran’s love for John would take away Michael’s role as the eventual romance novel hero. But I felt that if she didn’t show how deeply she loved John, and how deeply Michael, her cousin, loved him too, then her feelings of guilt about falling in love with each other after John’s death would be meaningless. He didn’t want to simply tell the reader that they loved him. I wanted the reader to feel it.
The author ends her statement by warning that the book When He Was Kicked is the most ‘tearful’ of the entire saga, so several hours of crying await us on screen.
