Exclusive Interview

‘Bridgerton’ Stars Dive Into Francesca & Michaela’s Feelings for Each Other in Season 4 (VIDEO)

Bridgerton Season 4 doesn’t just see Francesca (Hannah Dodd) and John (Victor Alli) get closer. When Michaela (Masali Baduza) returns to Mayfair, Francesca finds herself in the orbit of her husband’s cousin. Though the chaotic Michaela doesn’t gel with the orderly Francesca at first, they manage to strike up a friendship. (Warning: Spoilers for Part 2 of Bridgerton Season 4 and Julia Quinn’s When He Was Wicked ahead.)

“I remember in the script, I think the word ‘primal’ was used,” Dodd told Swooon of what draws the two characters to each other. “I think there is an instinctive thing there, but at the moment, Francesca’s not aware of anything. I think she just sees somebody who is so opposite to her and is messing things up that she’s worked so hard for. I think Francesca likes things very neat and tidy, and she’s in control of it, and she’s not in control of Michaela, and she can’t control Michaela.”

Michaela is a different story. Just a few paragraphs into Julia Quinn’s When He Was Wicked, which follows Francesca’s romance with Michael, who is gender-swapped in the show, readers find out that Michael fell in love with Francesca at first sight. They first meet at Francesca and John’s engagement party, two years before the events of the book. In Season 3, Francesca and Michaela are introduced shortly after the former marries John.

Baduza, who sat in a joint interview with her costar, confirmed she played Michaela like her book counterpart in that scene. However, she wouldn’t label what Michaela feels for Francesca as “love” from the outset. “I think Michaela’s so good at masking that it kind of sneaks out a little bit, but then the mask is back up because that’s literally her cousin’s wife,” she said. “So, yeah, for me personally, she was obsessed from the get-go.”

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As she gets to know Francesca throughout Season 4, Michaela’s feelings become deeper. “I think maybe infatuation at first sight and then really getting to know them over time makes you fall in love,” Baduza explained. “But again, [Michaela] has to hide all of these emotions. And there’s no one really for her to talk about this with, so it’s just an internal struggle that she’s going with. But yeah, it definitely grows over time. And even when she is, I think, frustrated with Fran, at the very bottom, there’s always love there.”

Even just as friends, Michaela challenges Francesca by bringing her out of her shell. “I think that opposites can attract, and I think there’s elements of Michaela that Francesca’s like, ‘I wish I could be more like that,” Dodd said, adding that Francesca is both amazed and frustrated by Michaela. “It’s quite confronting. I think it’s both all the time.”

Though she’s the life of the party, Michaela “deep down yearns for that acceptance” that Francesca has, according to Baduza. “I think Michaela also really admires Francesca’s stability, and her groundedness, and, yeah, I think you’re so right. I think she does crave that and would love to have that. Of course, she would love to settle down and be in love, and it’s just the rules of the time at this time really didn’t allow for that, so it is quite challenging.”

While Michaela’s extroverted personality is who she is, Dodd said that “there is stuff that Francesca can see” beyond that. “Like, let’s strip some of that way. Like, who are you when you don’t feel like you need to perform for everybody? And I think that will probably be quite challenging.
Let’s take the performance away. A lot of that is who she is, and we celebrate that, but I think, like, ‘Can you be still? And who are you when you’re by yourself, and you’re not having to try and be the life and soul of the party?” she explained. “I think that’s probably going to be something to explore.”

Another thing Dodd and Baduza’s characters will have to navigate is Michaela’s choice to leave Mayfair at the end of Season 4. Francesca asks the typically flighty Michaela to stick around after John’s death. She reaches for Michaela’s hand, confessing that she feels close to her. Michaela is the only one who understands Francesca’s grief,  but later departs without a word.

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“I think Michaela is going through a lot,”
Baduza explained. “I think she’s feeling a lot. Maybe the most intense feelings that she’s ever felt in her whole entire life, and I think that she just has to run away, that’s the way that she deals with anything that’s too much for her. That’s her coping mechanism, and also these feelings that are surfacing for Francesca, the slightest touch just sends her… She can’t think straight, so she just has to leave, and it’s very unfortunate that she does not tell Francesca that she’s leaving. But she’s got some s**t to figure out.”

What does Francesca need from Michaela to come back from that? “She’s been through so much at that point, and I think that was sort of her last bit of strength was going to be Michaela, which is a horrendous amount of pressure to put onto one person,” Dodd said.
”I hope that Francesca can also be understanding that Michaela’s also grieving. It’s not just about her grief; it’s about both of their grief, and people go through that differently. I hope that there is understanding from both of them, but I do think it should be acknowledged… We got some things to work out, definitely.”

Bridgerton, Season 4, Streaming Now, Netflix