Dearest gentle reader, this is your warning that this article contains huge spoilers for Bridgerton season four part two.
The ton has been hit with the most devastating twist so far, but despite the heartbreak, Hannah Dodd confessed it was actually one of her favourite scenes to film.
‘Are people gonna be upset if we do say [that] scene?’ the actress laughed when Metro asked about their favourite memory on set.
If you’re a fan of the books, you’ll already know what we’re hinting at. If not and you’re yet to watch this season, look away now (but come back once the tears have stopped).
Yes, Hannah and on-screen husband Victor Alli, both 30, actually had the most fun while filming John’s death scene.
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The duo brutally laughed as they reflected on the moment our TV editor Sabrina Barr described as an ‘earth-shattering gut punch’.
John’s death is a sudden one, with no preparation other than his complaints about a headache and needing to go for a lie down.
He leaves his wife, looking back one last time to take in her happily speaking with his cousin Michaela, never to wake up again.
Francesca is the one to discover his body in a heartwrenching scene, which Hannah admitted was just ‘too serious’ to film.
‘I think sometimes, as people, if things get a bit too serious, we go, “ahh, I can’t engage with these big feelings”,’ she shared. ‘You [Victor] were like, jumping up and down on the bed.’
Victor apparently was ‘doing forward rolls’ between takes, clearly full of energy as, for most of the scene, he was just lying down in what Hannah praised as ‘incredible work’.
Laughing, Hannah revealed he had stood behind the camera whispering at her to cry while filming her close-ups.
‘Come on, the man’s just died, cry!’ Victor teased, with his on-screen wife adding they ‘got a bit silly’ that day.
Thankfully, the pair managed to hold it together while cameras were rolling, with the third youngest Bridgerton sister left devastated at the sudden and unexpected loss.
The Earl of Kilmartin met and married Francesca in season three, in a romance very different to the passion-led intensity of her siblings’ courtships.
Victor revealed that their wedding scene had also been one of his all-time favourites to film, prompting ‘awws’ from Hannah.
‘It was one of those moments, where it’s like, wow, that’s really, really lovely,’the Death on the Nile actor shared.
Having made his debut in the ton last season, Victor was under no illusions about John’s fate, stumbling across the death in his research before his chemistry read.
‘I went in and kind of had to forget it,’ he explained. ‘And I was like, I don’t want to think about that but it’s part of the story.
‘You see Edmund’s death, their father, and how it happened, but now they’re really showing it on screen. It’s part of life, and I think it’s good that they show the realities of these things.’
His co-star Masali Baduza, who plays John’s cousin Michaela, said her character had ‘lost her other half’.
‘It was quite hard,’ she shared. ‘But I think most of all, I mean, we’re just all gonna miss Victor so much.’
Hannah agreed: ‘You’ve got to give him his flowers, because he’s created a character that’s in like, 10 pages of the book. He’s given absolute life and brought so much to the show.’
‘Stop it!’ interrupted Victor, clearly a little humbled by his co-star’s praise as they protested it is ‘a sad day’.
How have fans reacted to John’s death?
Fans have clearly felt the same as the cast about his exit, with eager viewers taking to X to mourn the late Earl’s loss.
‘I’ve never sobbed at Bridgerton the way I’m sobbing at John’s funeral like I’m actually there,’ wrote colbridgey. ‘This is horrible I’m so sad we’re not going to see him again.’
‘Oh JOHN I knew it was coming but still…. 😭😭😭,’ shared Coolcatdizi as beingamaguire added: ‘JOHN COME BACK RIGHT NOW 😭’.
‘The last moment of John’s life, he saw Michaela and Francesca happy and united, it was what he wished. I wanna cry,’ shared Hcsiequake.
The bubbling relationship between Francesca and Michaela has loomed over the Kilmartin marriage but the actors insisted the love was truly there.
Victor said: ‘Love is such a broad thing, and it’s different for everyone, and it’s okay to experience love differently. In our case, it’s not as flamboyant and big and huge and intense, but that’s okay, and it’s still love, but just a different version of it.’
Hannah agreed: ‘Just because it’s quieter, and we’re doing a storyline where they’re working on something, it doesn’t actually reflect a lack of anything within their relationship.’
When asked if this storyline had changed their outlook on love, she added: ‘I hope that audiences are open to lots of different types of love and see that it can look different.
‘What’s really nice about the show is that we celebrate all kinds of love, regardless of what that looks like.’
Bridgerton’s latest season is available to watch now on Netflix.
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