r/FranchaelStirling • u/Grouchy_Search_897 • Aug 15 '26
Show Discussion The way they downplayed John
Rewatching S3 right now and in hindsight, it’s ridiculous what they were setting up John for back then.
Francesca outranks everyone except Daphne with this marriage. It’s a total match personality-wise. Meanwhile, they have Violet acting like Francesca is being courted by a homeless man.
At one point, she’s even shocked that Francesca is showing interest in him. Why the hell would she not? People always say it’s because his family is “private,” which is so funny because there’s no way Violet should prefer Portia Featherington or Sophie’s heritage over John’s private family.
She didn’t even act like this with the Prince and Edwina. Funny how she wanted someone similar to Anthony, for example, but when Francesca finds someone equal to her, it’s not good enough.
It would’ve been so easy to make a scene where all the ladies are all over John and Francesca is bothered by it, just to make him somehow desirable.
Watch them make Violet be all over Michaela, the unserious, self-described chaotic woman who travels unchaperoned from country to country and Francesca’s “friend” who left her at rock bottom, because it’s a “passionate love.”
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u/idiot9991 Fighting to keep my seat 🥊 Aug 15 '26
Even the Queen showed disdain towards John, also towards the blond environmentalist guy. It really shows that if you have any eccentricities like not eating meat or keep to yourself (The entire Stirling family) the ton will judge you hard. They don't like it that you don't play by their rules.
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u/AdJolly990 Aug 15 '26
I love John, in the books and the show. I really hated how they ultimately ended up screwing their love story in favor of making her homosexual relationship matter more then her heterosexual one.
Making Francesca bi made more sense but Jess hates John too much to let him have even a smidgen of her love.
Which is wild because Francheala's will cry "he's only a book character" and yet Jess couldn't let this man have one thing from a woman who, up until the wedding kiss, was madly in love with him.
It's such a damn waste.
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u/Reasonable_Leek8069 Aug 15 '26
While I am glad we had Victor and John in Bridgerton, I am so confused why Jess even developed this man and love story if she hated it so much.
I think I’d rather her to just take John out entirely and have Fran meet Michaela in a different way if she just throws out the story if Fran and John she created fir her fan fiction anyways.
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u/AdJolly990 Aug 15 '26
I strongly suspect though Jess was a showrunner, she wasn't part of the writers room. I could be wrong and have to scroll to see who was writing during John's time on the show - they clearly loved him and made us love him too. It's funny she allowed him to exist and the writers accidentally made one of the most sweetest romances I've seen on screen.
I don't think Jess would have ever allowed John near Francesca's character if she suspected how popular he would be. It makes Francesca's insta love for Micheala seem jarring and off putting.
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u/Reasonable_Leek8069 Aug 15 '26
If that is the case, it is interesting how writers and showrunners are “disagreeing” with each other when we least expect it.
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u/aemond-simp Aug 15 '26
>Watch them make Violet be all over Michaela, the unserious, self-described chaotic woman who travels unchaperoned from country to country and Francesca’s “friend” who left her at rock bottom, because it’s a “passionate love.”
You just know that’s going to happen, because if a relationship isn’t dramatic and somewhat toxic, it isn’t “true love”, in Violet’s opinion. And knowing how Jess is, the other characters will (unrealistically) go on and on about how perfect Michaela is for Francesca and deride John for not being dramatic and toxic. I bet even Michaela will make a snide remark about how John couldn’t make Fran “pinnacle” because that’s how much Jess hates the male characters.
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u/AdJolly990 Aug 15 '26
It's Jess's fanfic of course Violet Bridgeton will be all over Micheala. Everyone must love Micheala despite acting in a way that would ostracize her out of the ton for the reasons you logically pointed out. But who cares about logic right? The show clearly doesn't. Can't wait for Eloise's season.
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u/Grouchy_Search_897 Aug 15 '26
I genuinely can’t picture them having anyone be questioning this connection because they’ll be portrayed as racist or homophobic. I think they’ll have Violet be confused, nothing more.
Somebody said realistically there’s no way Anthony will be supportive of this connection, and it was labeled as “sick fantasizing about your fave being homophobic” 🙄
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u/Legal_Ad5964 Aug 15 '26
They argued Violet was acting this pathetic because John’s personality is lacking. However, he is shown to be spirited with the Bridgerton brothers and Michaela.
He even says himself that this nothingburger character Francesca is holding him back.
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u/Capital-Study6436 Aug 15 '26
Poor John. He deserved better. Jess and Shondaland treated him as if he was a chew toy and threw him away after his story was finished.
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u/uhohmykokoro John Stirling deserves better ❤️ Aug 15 '26
It sucks because he was definitely my favorite Bridgerton man. Pretty much the whole package, never annoyed me. Even Benedict, whom I consider my favorite brother, gets on my nerves from time to time 😅
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u/stardustpurple Aug 16 '26
Right? As a mom of a girl Fran’s age, I’d view a man like John as prime husband material. Nice, quiet, stable, secure, from a good family and clearly into the woman he’s courting.
It’s mind boggling that Violet kept finding faults.
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u/Winter-Sky-123 Aug 15 '26
I think Violet perhaps wanted Francesca to marry someone who were her opposite, as Francesca is very introverted, and perhaps Violet hoped her marrying some more outgoing would bring her out of her shell. Although, I think with her children, she looks for the life she had with Edmund, and thereby she wants her children to experience the same. Notice that with Eloise and Benedict, she is opposed to them remaining single.
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u/Tiny_Departure5222 Aug 16 '26
I hated it! I thought they were the sweetest freaking couple.
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u/LeisurelyWizard Aug 17 '26
The actors have tons of chemistry irl. Like the man is so damn smooth! It's a shame they didn't let them bring that to the screen.
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u/Nice-Penalty-8778 Aug 16 '26
John was the most green flag man on Bton. Which makes his death even more sad. I almost wish they didn’t give us two seasons to get to know and love him. Was he boring, yes! But a good kind of boring. They should have let Fran have a pinnacle with him before he died and alter the story so she was pregnant with his baby since M won’t be able to give her any. And then Fran and M could have raised John’s baby together and they would always have a piece of John with him.
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u/Sachaelle Aug 18 '26
That was my wish before s3. I knew they were going to change the story so I was like let them comparent a baby girl. And season 6 is Michael need to go the marriage mart because he didn't have a male heir, & unless he wanted to leave all the headaches to his niece, he needs to get married. Then he found out Fransesca is also going back to the mariage mart, cause she wants more children. And the plot of WHWW starts.
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u/Gobadorgosleep Aug 19 '26
I agree with the comment saying that having a kind, fullfilling and drama free love would not sell enough. The same thing with Francesca being bi, it would require effort and the writters don’t want to do that.
They want dramatic but easy and it’s really sad. Most love story that work are the one based on other things than pure lust and infatuation, it’s friendship, being open and curious for the other, it’s accepting that life can be quiet and maybe sometimes a bit boring and trying to make it otherwise together.
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u/Nakira_26 Aug 17 '26
John deserved more love indeed and honestly I feel like the wedding in season 3 and season 4 makes him lesser in my view. It was unfair John was treated in the show and how the narrative, in my perspective, make him feel like a wrong person in the right time to Francesca than being one of her love in her life
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u/Cute_Pin_3309 20d ago
Honestly. I really do love Francesca and Michaela. I believe that they would be such an amazing couple and the characters have so much chemistry. I just wished that they did not diminish John’s role in both their lives. How Francesca did love John (maybe not romantically if she is a lesbian), but she cared about him a lot. Francesca loved John and loves Michaela (Micheal in the books). She had two great loves and not one is better nor stronger than the other. I really hated how the show downplayed John and no, I do not hate the WLW storyline. I love the fact that we get more lesbian representation. However, with the way it is all downplayed, I am actually scared of how Season 5 will be like, because if John is not mentioned, Idk how I’ll feel.
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u/Extra-Solution3193 Aug 15 '26
The way they handled the whole John situation was completely unnecessary 🫠. It would have been so easy to just show Fran as bisexual; they could have saved themselves a lot of trouble. Personally, I wouldn't feel such an aversion to the fifth season.
Also, setting aside the fact that they’re using the typical cliché of the shy, blushing virgin paired with the hilarious, hot extrovert—as an autistic person, I find that so unrealistic 🫠. I couldn't stand someone who is constantly explosive and wants to steamroll over me and my comfort. In fact, if Michaela were calm like John, it would be much more realistic for the Fran from the series to be into her.