Francesca Bridgerton and Lord John Stirling have an effortless connection in Bridgerton season 3, which makes some bookish fans feel melancholy.
Francesca (Hannah Dodd) enters the marriage market in season 3, which debuted on Netflix on Thursday, May 16, and quickly finds herself drawn to introverted John, the Earl of Kilmartin (Victor Alli).
Francesca is the star of Julia Quinn’s sixth book in her Bridgerton series, When He Was Wicked. Ahead of the novel’s story line, Francesca married John Stirling in 1820 and moved into his ancestral home in Kilmartin, Scotland. John ultimately died young two years later, and his earldom was passed onto his cousin Michael Stirling, who crushed on Francesca when they met during her wedding weekend. He didn’t act on his feelings out of family loyalty.
Seeing Francesca and John’s courtship on screen, however, hit differently for a selection of When He Was Wicked readers.
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“I don’t think I’ll ever get over Francesca Bridgerton or John Stirling, the way the two introverts found each other,” one X user wrote. “Also I’m not gonna get over the fact that I’m falling in love with him and shipping them knowing how their story will end.”
Another noted, “If there is another change from the books I would want John Stirling to remain alive so their love story continues. Francesca & John’s first meet has been the sweetest in the series. Add that he had the music changed to her liking.”
Other fans compared Francesca and John’s full relationship timeline to several of Taylor Swift‘s more devastating songs from her latest album, The Tortured Poets Department, specifically calling out “The Prophecy,” which has already been used as the soundtrack for numerous fan edits.
“Hand on the throttle / Thought I caught lightning in a bottle / Oh, but it’s gone again,” Swift, 34, sings. “And it was written / I got cursed like Eve got bitten / Oh, was it punishment?”
She continues, “I guess a lesser woman would’ve lost hope / A greater woman wouldn’t beg / But I looked to the sky and said, ‘Please, I’ve been on my knees / Change the prophecy / Don’t want money / Just someone who wants my company.”
The fans specifically used the track to align with Francesca’s life as a young widow after John’s death before she eventually connects with Michael.
Other viewers thought Swift’s “loml,” another TTPD ballad, better fit Francesca.
“If you know it in one glimpse, it’s legendary / You and I go from one kiss to getting married,” Swift sings, later adding, “You talked me under the table / Talking rings and talking cradles / I wish I could un-recall / How we almost had it all.”
It is currently unknown how far season 3 will go into Francesca and John’s love story or if Dodd will lead season 4. Netflix has already renewed the show for another season, and scripts are completed, but the new leading couple has not been revealed. If it is Francesca’s chance in the spotlight, then it is likely that Alli’s John will make an appearance in some regard.
Bridgerton season 3 is currently streaming on Netflix, with the remaining four episodes dropping on June 13.
