‘Bridgerton’: 7 Francesca & Michaela Book Scenes We Must See in Season 5
What To Know
- Season 5 of Bridgerton will focus on Francesca and Michaela’s romance, adapting key scenes from Julia Quinn’s When He Was Wicked.
- Though some changes will likely be made due to Michaela’s gender swap, there are some pivotal moments from the book we want to see on screen.
- The book couple have a steamy cabin scene, moments of jealousy, and more standout interactions.
Bridgerton Season 5 can’t arrive fast enough. As fans of Julia Quinn’s When He Was Wicked, we’re eager to see Francesca (Hannah Dodd) and Michaela’s (Masali Baduza) romance on screen, especially after Season 4 started introducing elements of it. (The death of Victor Alli‘s John and Michaela running away were pulled straight from the book.)
Here’s what we know of Season 5’s plot so far: It picks up two years after Francesca loses her husband. She’s decided to reenter the marriage mart “for practical reasons.” John’s cousin, Michaela, returns to London to deal with the Kilmartin estate, upending Francesca’s plan. It sounds similar to the book’s plot, which we are so here for.
As a result, we’re optimistic that a good number of book scenes will make it into the show, though we know to expect some differences now that Michael has been gender-swapped to Michaela. Regardless, there are plenty of moments that could work regardless of Michael(a)’s gender. In fact, we think most of them will be enhanced now that Francesca’s love interest is a woman.
Without further ado, here’s every scene or element from When He Was Wicked that we’re hoping makes it into the adaptation. (Spoilers for Julia Quinn’s When He Was Wicked ahead.)
Michaela writes letters to Francesca from abroad
When Michael — we’ll refer to the character as Michael when referencing the book, FYI — flees to India to escape his feelings for Francesca, he writes letters to her. We get snippets from them at the start of several chapters. Francesca is unable to write back. We think that the letters would be a perfect way to begin the season, showing the passage of time and setting the angsty tone.
Michaela surprises Francesca upon her return
Michael, not knowing Francesca would be at the Kilmartin London house, makes himself at home in front of the fire. Francesca stumbles into the room and screams when she sees him. Of course, Michael clocks immediately that Francesca’s only wearing a nightgown and tries to avert his eyes. (Let’s go, tension!) They sit in front of the fire together and have their first conversation in four years.
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As they get over the awkwardness, Francesca admits that she didn’t write to Michael because she was angry at him for leaving. Francesca gets over it quickly — she’s just happy to have Michael back. (We wouldn’t be mad if show Francesca reams Michaela out a little more for abandoning her without a word. But we’re here for them making up quickly. There’s so much more angst left to go, anyway.)
Francesca watches over a sick Michaela
After his travels in India, Michael contracts malaria upon his return to London. In Chapter 8, Francesca is terrified when Michael falls ill, sitting by his bedside while he recovers. We’re suckers for the sick/comfort trope.
Michael gets sick again in Chapter 23, shortly after he’s married to Francesca. But even after they become husband and wife, Francesca still has yet to realize the depth of her feelings. Realizing she could lose Michael is what makes her understand just how much she loves him. It’s a pivotal scene that we can’t imagine not making it into the show.
Jealous Michaela
This one’s more a concept and less a specific scene, though there are a good number of instances where Michael can’t stand watching Francesca speak with suitors. On one occasion, it’s at her mother Violet’s birthday ball. The next morning, a suitor sends an enormous amount of flowers for Francesca, annoying Michael.
Francesca starts to pick up that something is different about their relationship, though she doesn’t know the extent of Michael’s feelings yet. Bridgerton famously does jealousy well, so we have high hopes for Michaela. (We’d be so here for an orchestral version of Olivia Rodrigo’s “jealousy, jealousy.”)
Michaela saves Francesca from unwanted advances
At another ball in Chapter 13, Michael hears Francesca scream from the garden. He rushes out to find her trapped against a tree by a suitor, who’s trying to kiss her. Michael sees red, pulling him off of Francesca and offering to kill him. (Which Francesca shuts down. A shame.) Francesca has never seen Michael so angry before. Knight-in-shining-armor moments know no gender, so we absolutely need this scene to make it in. Plus, when Francesca thanks Michael for his help later, she starts to realize she’s attracted to him. It bears repeating: We need this!
Colin clocking Michaela’s feelings for Francesca
In Chapter 12, Michael goes to the club to drown his sorrows about never being able to have Francesca. There, Colin joins him for a drink. He doesn’t waste time getting to the point: Colin tells Michael to marry Francesca, explaining that he’s a safe option for his sister. A few chapters later, when Francesca has returned to Scotland, Michael runs into Colin again at the club. Colin encourages Michael to follow Francesca there.
Obviously, Michaela wouldn’t be able to get into a men’s-only club in the show, so we’re not exactly sure how it would work. Also, we think it would make more sense for the bisexual Benedict to pick up on Michaela’s feelings over Colin at this point. Either way, we want one of Francesca’s siblings to play matchmaker in some way. It’s too cute!
The cabin scene
Whether you call this the rain scene or the cabin scene, readers know exactly what we’re talking about. We need the entire sequence, which starts in Chapter 18, in the show. Francesca is wracked with guilt over her desire for Michael, so she runs out into the Scottish Highlands. When it starts to rain, she gets stuck under a tree. Michael heads out on a horse to find her. (Masali Baduza wants to see Michaela on a horse, and we have to agree.)
When their horse goes lame, Michael and Francesca take shelter at their gardener’s empty cottage, which Baduza told Swooon she is hoping to film, too. They sit by the fire to dry off. One thing leads to another, and Francesca and Michael get frisky. Francesca even takes charge, if you catch our drift. It’s the spiciest scene in all of Bridgerton, so of course, we need to see it on screen.
Bonus: Francesca finds out about Eloise’s engagement
The timeline of Francesca’s love story overlaps with Eloise’s in To Sir Phillip, With Love. When Francesca finds out that Eloise is engaged to Phillip via letter, it inspires her to take the leap and marry Michael. In the show, we can totally see Eloise and Phillip’s correspondence and subsequent proposal play out across Season 5. After all, the bulk of their story occurs after they marry out of convenience. It would make total sense to have Eloise and Francesca’s marriages end Season 5.
What book scene are you most eager to see in the adaptation? Let us know in the comments below!
Bridgerton, Season 5, TBA 2027, Netflix
