Bridgerton fans may be disappointed by the change in Francesca’s storyline, but author Julia Quinn is not.
During the session 3 End of Bridgertonthe blow Netflix The series revealed a major change from the books by introducing Francesca Bridgerton’s (Hannah Dodd) future love interest as Michaela Stirling (Masali Baduza) instead of Michael, as in the books. In response to fan uproar over the gender swap, Quinn is defending the decision.
“Dear readers,” Quinn, 54, began in a lengthy post on Instagram on Tuesday. “Many Bridgerton fans expressed their surprise and, for some, disappointment at the twist at the end of Bridgerton Season 3 – that Michael Stirling, with whom Francesca eventually falls in love When he was badit would be Michaela.”
She acknowledged that the gender swap is a big change, writing, “Anyone who has seen an interview with me in the last four years knows that I am deeply committed to the Bridgerton the world becomes more diverse and inclusive as stories move from book to screen. But changing a main character’s gender is a big change.”
When showrunner Jess Brownell approached Quinn with the idea of turning Michael — who Francesca marries after the death of her husband, John (Victor Alli) — into Michaela, Quinn said she didn’t make the decision lightly.
“I trust Shondaland’s vision for Bridgerton, but I wanted to make sure we could stay true to the spirit of the book and the characters,” she explained. “Jess and I talked about this a lot. One more time. I made it clear that it was extremely important to me that Francesca’s enduring love for John be shown on screen.”
She added: “When I wrote When he was bad In fact, I had to fight to get the first four chapters, which establish this love, included. My editor was worried that writing about Fran’s love for John would diminish Michael’s role as the eventual hero of the novel. But I felt that if I didn’t show how deeply she loved John, and how deeply Michael, her cousin, loved him too, then their feelings of guilt about falling in love with each other after John’s death wouldn’t make sense. I didn’t want to just tell the reader that they loved him, I wanted them to feel it.”
Despite Quinn’s emphasis on “Francesca’s abiding love for John being shown on screen,” this is a big factor in why fans were upset by Michaela’s introduction. When John introduces his cousin to Francesca on the show, she is visibly shocked by his beauty and speechless. Fans online commented that Francesca apparently 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 he is confident that Francesca’s season will be as good as the others, if not better.
“Honestly, it might be even more impactful since John is spending so much more time on screen than he ever did on the page, and I think it’s fair to say that we’ve all fallen a little in love with him. ,” she wrote. “I’m grateful for his understanding and moved by his deep commitment to the characters in Bridgerton world.”
But she also asked, “I ask that you grant me and the Shondaland team a little faith as we move forward.”
Many fans are not satisfied with Quinn’s response. The top comment on Quinn’s post was brutally critical of the author’s decision, stating that she is “completely SOLD OUT as a writer” and allowed the show’s staff to “butcher” her work. The lengthy review racked up more than 10,500 likes.
“I read all 8 Bridgerton books and every other book you’ve written and it’s incredibly sad,” read part of the top comment. “I’m all for gays, but completely changing Michael’s gender to be ‘edgy’ and ‘cool’ doesn’t make sense in the dated time 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 base the show on the books and call it Bridgerton? It should be called something else because something else is exactly what Shonda did.”
While some fans felt that Quinn unfairly compromised the storyline for the sake of diversity and inclusion, others wrote about how on-screen representation is so important for queer youth.
The gender swap also raises questions about how other aspects of Francesca’s story might change. For example, in the books, Michael inherits the Kilmartin estate after John’s death, which Michaela, in theory, cannot do because she is a woman. Francesca also enters the marriage scene after John’s death because she wants a child, which she biologically cannot have with Michaela.
In any case, Bridgerton Season 4 it will certainly be as hot as the others. Nicola Coughlan It is Luke Newtonseason debuted the longest sex scene to date.
Coughlan previously revealed that she wanted to be “very naked” on the show. When it came time to film the sexy scenes, things got so intense that Coughlan and Newton broke a piece of furniture. Photographing the moments with your real life friend, Coughlan told ET“It’s scary going in, but luckily we have a really good relationship so we can talk about it and laugh about it when we need to.”
Seasons 1-3 of Bridgerton they are now streaming on Netflix.
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