The Bridgerton backlash is ridiculous – Francesca is the perfect season 5 lead

When I first saw that Francesca (Hannah Dodd) and Michaela (Masali Baduza), were the season five Bridgerton leads, I was over the moon.

The rest of the Bridgerton so-called fandom quickly brought me back down to earth.

You simply need to do a cursory scroll on social media to come across swathes of horrified reaction that generally fall into two camps: devastation over Eloise’s story being pushed to another season or raging homophobes threatening to boycott the series for daring to include a sapphic romance.

The vast majority of heartbreak has focused on the supposed snubbing of Claudia Jessie’s character, Eloise, who has been dodging the marriage mart since the beginning. 

Although I certainly wouldn’t have objected to seeing her love story next, I think the anguish may be misplaced. 

Francesca’s storyline, including her marriage to John, introduction to Michaela and John’s subsequent death, has already been told across two seasons. Frankly, the seeds for their romance, unlike Eloise’s, are firmly planted. To drag it out over another season makes little sense. 

Although some fans argued, Francesca needs more time to grieve John, with a two-year skip confirmed, I can’t see how several more episodes of mourning would be fruitful.

What’s more, Eloise deserves the same progress and space for her love story to be established, like Francesca had. She’ll have ample opportunity in season five. I agree her character has somewhat stagnated in recent episodes, simply becoming a broken record of pushing against her mother’s marriage requests.

But this is not the first time the show has changed the timeline from the books, with Colin and Benedict being swapped around. This switch allowed development for Benedict’s character, and the resolution of Colin and Penelope’s romantic tension, not too dissimilar to Francesca and Michaela’s, so it certainly paid off. 

So, while it would be grand to see Eloise return to her actively rebellious roots – such as her sneaky visits to Theo – and campaigning for societal change (such as gay marriage), for me, adding more layers to her character, and building up to her relationship with Sir Phillip Crane – her love interest and later husband in the books, who we haven’t seen since season two.

With time to develop, Eloise’s moment in the spotlight will be even sweeter.  

If I had it my way, Eloise would be part of another women loving women storyline, but, hey, a girl can dream!

Not to mention, Bridgerton fans will be getting Eloise’s romance, so it’s certainly not the end of the world. 

I beg Eloise fans to put their righteous fury to the side and lessen the already boatload of angry comments Hannah Dodd and Masali Baduza will be facing.

A sad many comments online went along the lines of, ‘why can’t they just stick to the “tradition” of relationships in that period’ and ‘We do not have to make everything we watch gay’.

The Franchaela homophobia has been brewing in the fandom since Michaela was first introduced at the end of season three in 2024, with disproportionate amounts of outrage coloured by a helping of misogynoir.

LGBTQ+ characters have been part of the Bridgerton universe for quite some time, but always as a secondary (and male-centred) storyline, such as Benedict’s bisexuality and Brimsley and Reynold’s romance in the Queen Charlotte spin-off. 

In fact, the general reaction to these moments is overwhelmingly positive, which has made the anger towards Franchaela even more disheartening – and now, the furore seems to have reached a crescendo.

Among the outright bigotry, fans especially complained that giving Francesca a female love interest will undermine the infertility plotline she underwent in the book, When He Was Wicked. 

It seems a disingenuous complaint since this struggle has already been discussed, and it is point-blank ignorance to believe that it is not an issue a same-sex couple would also face. 

Especially given this is set in the 1800s, there’ll be an added layer of nuance to navigate as a couple without access to modern medical advancements, and as such gives opportunity for an even wider group of people to be represented. 

Not only could season five (and beyond) continue to explore Francesca’s feelings around not having children with John, but I’m hoping we’ll see her and Michaela have meaningful discussions around the relatable subjects of growing a family and the obstacles that can present. 

Also, I personally have never come across a mainstream show that has tackled a sapphic couple navigating this milestone in a relationship, so it feels like this representation will be groundbreaking. Ultimately, we have no clue of Brownell’s plans, so to assume this plotline will be abandoned seems unfair.

More frustrating still is that people are complaining about a storyline which does not even exist yet. People are rushing to condemn a series without giving it a chance first. 

It’s clear Bridgerton showrunner Jess Brownell was bracing for this and, in the press release, pre-emptively hit back against the homophobia.

In a statement yesterday, she wrote: ‘I want to state really plainly, there is no place for homophobia or racism or any form of bigotry in the Bridgerton world. Bridgerton is about love and inclusivity. Masali and Hannah and all of our cast and crew deserve nothing but positivity and love.’

Although this is not the first period drama to feature a relationship between two women (Ammonite, Portrait of a Lady on Fire and The Favourite spring to mind), it is by far the most mainstream, reaching audiences that don’t necessarily seek out LGBTQ+ stories on TV.

Bridgerton has always championed, and normalised, representation. Francesca and Michaela’s romance will only further inspire and help a whole generation of young queer women feel seen and heard. As a queer woman who treasures the sparse amounts of visibility we get on screen, even watching the teaser trailer made me feel emotional. 

In a landscape where the BBC is cancelling its biggest queer dating shows, the Pixar boss believes in rolling back LGBTQ+ representation, and Netflix itself has been slammed for axing sapphic shows such as One Day at a Time, this feels like a gold dust moment that we can’t squander.

So I implore all those complaining to give it a chance. And to those leading the backlash – take a hike.

Bridgerton seasons 1-4 are streaming on Netflix

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