Bridgerton season 4 spoilers ahead.
Well, what a season finale THAT was. Francesca's husband John Stirling, one of our favourite Bridgerton characters, died; Michaela departed (to whereabouts unknown) after Francesca asked her to stay and keep her company following John’s death; and formerly wedding-averse Eloise mic dropped that actually, she quite enjoys weddings after all. Could we see her tie the knot next season? It was a dramatic season finale, to say the least.
There's so much to consider, but mostly, we're focused on the show's writers killing off one of Bridgerton's darlings — John Stirling. Throughout season four, everything was going brilliantly for the character. He and his love Francesca (Hannah Dodd), were closer than ever, and were even getting along with John's chaotic cousin (we've all got one), Michaela Stirling (Masali Baduza). However, the good times sadly came to an end, and John met his demise, apparently passing away while napping before dinner, devastating Francesca, who finds him unresponsive.
But the major plot point left us wondering: what caused him to pass away? Below, we share the insider info you need to know about one of season 4's biggest moments.
How did John actually die in Bridgerton season 4?
“It was an aneurysm,” Victor Alli, who plays John Stirling, explained to Netflix's Tudum. Eagle-eyed viewers will have noticed that John had been complaining of headaches throughout the season. Thankfully, one of our favourite characters in the show received a good send-off, with most main characters paying their respects.
One thing you might not have noticed about the funeral was that Victor Alli was there in person — he told production staff that he wanted to be part of the funeral scene to say goodbye to his character. He created a plan with Bridgerton second assistant director, Alexandra Beahan, to get on set: “She was like, ‘Come on this day, that time,’ ” Alli recalls. He arrived wearing a caftan and almost immediately bumped into co-star Luke Newton. Beahan managed to hide Alli before his cover was blown.
Showrunner Jess Brownell answers all your burning questions and reveals plenty of intel on season five.
Unsurprisingly, John Stirling's untimely death rocks the world of Bridgerton — and actually causes a lot of the main characters to make major life decisions. Benedict (Luke Thompson) finally proposes to the maid Sophie Baek (Yerin Ha), following a lot of ‘will they, won’t they'. Violet (Ruth Gemmell) decides she actually doesn't want to marry Lord Marcus Anderson (Daniel Francis) after all. And Hyacinth (Florence Hunt) rethinks how she feels about romance after all. It all leaves a lot of room for exciting plot lines in season five.
What's next for Francesca?
John Stirling's immediate family, including wife Francesca and cousin Michaela, approach his death in completely different ways — Francesca, stoic as ever, throws herself into her hostess duties, making sure everyone around her is accommodated, whereas Michaela, used to Scottish customs, is disturbed by the “morbid” and “orderly” reactions of London’s aristocracy and can barely rein in her emotions. Fans have said it's nice to see this softer side of Michaela.
With season four wrapped, we're looking ahead to the next highly-anticipated season. Did you catch the extra post-credits scene at the end? Not only does it offer a very cute button on the end of Benedict and Sophie's story, but it also contains a few subtle hints about what's coming next. And, honestly, we've already got serious Bridgerton withdrawal, so we'll take any hints we can get!
A detail even Lady Whistledown might have missed.
According to the extra scene, there's going to be wedding bells! About a minute into the clip, we catch a glimpse of a beautiful garden wedding, with Benedict (looking very dapper) waiting at the altar with his older brother and best man, Anthony. “I have some advice for you,” he says. “The wisest thing I can impart is never to listen to me again.” Anthony was famously very against the whole Benedict-marries-a-maid thing. “Father would be so proud of you,” he adds. “I know I am.”
We can barely wait!
