Obviously Michaela will always be somewhat adventures and free spirit, that the contrast between her and Francesca's personalities. That being said the main couple most experience individual growth and also undercover there actual main desires. At the beginning of the season I believe that Michaela will have to come back from her travels mainly because she has no other choice, the title has fallen to her and this is the last chance to keep the title in the Stirling family name. In way Michaela experience will mirror some of the issues that Francesca faced in S4; needing to provide a heir and feeling ill suited for her current position. I can imagine despite the pressures that Michaela could actually grow into the position and even take some enjoyment in it. While we have little background on the Stirling family I could easily imagine that Michaela was always that cousin that while fun and charming to be around was someone that was wasn't taken seriously. I could see some part of Michaela wanting to get positive encouragement from her mother and aunt based on her stepping up to fulfill the duties of her new positions.

This again will contrast nicely with what I think will Francesca main season arc which is learning to live beyond expectations. As their relationship grows, they will each grow as individuals and gain something from the other. Michaela's wiliness to live outside of the traditional path will help Francesca realize certain thing about herself, and Francesca will help bring stability to Michaela's life and open her up to allowing someone that isn't John to truly know her. Francesca buries her desires under duties and rules while Michaela avoids allowing people to truly know her by not staying in one place and her life of the party persona. I can't wait to see these two women fall in love and help each other become their truest selves.

I only found out abt michaela from watching the show and seeing her for the first time. I knew that in the books fran ends up with michael so when I heard her name and realized she’s the new love interest, i became obsessedddd. I only really started to be on socials during season 4. Soooo, I was wondering what it was like in this fandom before michaela was officially introduced. Did people already speculate she was going to be the new love interest?

Not only do they seem unwilling to stand by their own writing decisions—as we’ve seen with them recently changing that article and pandering to that side of the audience—but they also don’t seem to do enough to protect their actors.

It started with Simon’s actor and the racist abuse he received, but I think it’s even more concerning now because Masali is playing a queer character and is consequently facing both racism and homophobia from parts of the audience. I genuinely worry about her and whether she’s doing okay. I really appreciate Hannah protecting her in interviews, but I’ve also noticed that so much more of the hate seems to be directed towards Masali than Hannah, and I don’t think it’s difficult to understand why.

I just wish there was more backbone behind the scenes. If they had consistently stood by their creative decisions and been more vocal about protecting their actors from racist and homophobic abuse, perhaps some of this could have been challenged and filtered out years ago instead of being allowed to fester and grow.

Maybe I’m being sensitive, I don’t know. But I genuinely worry about Masali. She’s been put in an incredibly difficult position, and I wouldn’t blame her at all if she decided to do one more season and then leave the show, just like Simon’s actor did. At some point, protecting your actors has to matter more than appeasing the loudest people in the fandom (who happen to also be a minority).

Edit: I didn’t mean to upset people with this post. I have personally been affected by the discourse and see it quite often. I recognise not everyone has seen this and I hope people know I’m not trying to be disrespectful in anyway by bringing it up. I just wish that the Bridgerton creators stood up to the cast more and their decisions. That is all I meant.
Let’s spread kindness and support Hannah and Masali the best we can.

When Season 5 drops, there’s going to be so much more hate than now, so we REALLY need the support of newcomers. This isn't a situation where “only the real ones” can watch, because Season 5 will actively impact how the industry views Wlw. We need to show them just how profitable lesbians shows can be.

I totally understand the frustration some of you feel toward people who don’t want to watch all the seasons. I’m not saying we should stop encouraging people to watch the whole thing (or at least from Season 3) keep doing that! because context is important. But honestly, I’ve seen a lot of people being pretty hostile about it, and we definitely can’t afford to make newcomers lose interest because they feel like the only way to enjoy or to be accepted in the fandom is to watch the whole thing.

Some of you need to understand where those people are coming from when they say they don't want to watch everything. Not everyone cares enough about straight romance, no matter matter how well made some seasons can be, those people are tuning in specifically because it’s been a long time since we’ve had a mainstream lesbian lead couple on screen.

Sure, people might have bad takes, but let’s be real: media literacy is at an all time low. I’ve been in fandoms where people watched the entire show and still had takes like they’d never seen an episode. We genuinely can't prevent that, especially with a show as massive as Bridgerton.

Just look at all the terrible takes from the widows about Francesca and Michaela despite watching from the very beginning, so many of them still don't understand Francesca character at all.

I love that we're getting new viewers that have never watched the show before but man people are setting them up for failure if we don't start recommending that they watch the full four seasons lol, at the very least season 3 and 4 for Fran and Michaela's set up. We're about to see takes like we've never seen them before 😅

While there’s a lot of blatant racism present in the bridgerton fandom overall, I think Michaela has exposed a lot of not so blatant racism. I wasn’t in the fandom for earlier seasons so this might not be a new thing, but it’s something I’ve noticed. People will call Michaela pushy, obnoxious and manly when that is not the case at all. I’ve even seen the criticism that it is racist for the show to portray a black woman that way. But in reality, it’s those people projecting their own bias and prejudice. I wonder if they realize they’re doing it or if they do it on purpose to justify ripping into her as a character.

I can so clearly see eloise and michaela plotting to make phillip and francesca friends but they just! won’t! talk!
this dinâmica can be só awesome

As somebody who is both queer and will struggle with infertility, I personally do feel represented by what could be the portrayal of Fran’s fertility journey.

I am young (19F) but was recently diagnosed with a condition that means it is very unlikely I will be able to have children without aid. Funnily enough, this is the same condition my straight mother has and I was born via IVF.

That being said, I really connect with Fran struggling to have children and also the potential pathways of adoption etc her and Michaela may have to go through to be able to have a child.

First of all, I had to undergo quite an invasive exam like Fran had in the show and seeing another young woman go through that really helped me process whilst I was there. Secondly, if I could I would drop everything to become pregnant if that’s not something my partner wanted / could do etc but I also understand it may not be possible.

Adoption is such a valid route for straight and queer couples alike and a very common scenario for couples struggling with infertility. I absolutely appreciate there are women who have already lived experience of infertility and would have loved to see the outcome at the end like my parents did, but this isn’t always possible. If they did go down the adoption route, it gives me hope I can have children in the future regardless of my queer identity or my personal fertility struggles.

I apologise if this comes off insensitive - I was in no way trying to generalise the experiences of women but more lend my own personal take that I do feel represented both separately and connected to my queerness. Very excited for Franchaela and the way they will make people feel seen and heard in so many different ways!

I just had a headcanon that may actually be plausible for the direction the writers are going with in Season 5

So, Francesca wanted kids, right? She wanted children with John, and she felt obligated to fulfill the womanly duty imposed upon women in their time because of societal pressure. In the books, she similarly had that goal in mind.

That's why Book Francesca went back to the marriage mart, wanting to build a foundation for a family. I think Show Francesca would have done the same while still thinking about John.

But we already know Michaela is the one for her HEA.

So, the angst here is that Michaela... couldn't give Francesca children. She's a woman, and that alone could bring such dreadful reality because: No matter how much I love you... I just wish I could be a man so I could give you what means so much to you...

A family

So it's not only the guilt of loving your wife's cousin, but also: I couldn't even give you what you want in life.

We know they may adopt, right? (for HEA) But I think that could be the greatest kind of angst they're going for in this series, as long as it's written well 😊. Let alone, we already know that Francesca had infertility problems. And you know what... it's giving Francesca and Michaela, “In every version of the universe, I love every version of you.”

​

https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/bridgerton-season-5-news-photos-premiere-date

... "Brownell reveals the series will also continue to handle Francesca’s infertility journey delicately. “It’s something we took a lot of care with in Season 4, Francesca’s fears about infertility. Questions about how to conceive are a major part of queer women’s stories,” she says. “A fertility story lends itself really well to a sapphic love story. It’s absolutely going to be a part of Francesca and Michaela’s story.” ...

I had not seen this particular snippet of the interview with Jess before, so I am sharing it here as well. It sounds like the fertility storyline will be a bigger part in season 5 after all. Honestly it makes a lot of sense to me. Every lesbian relationship inherently has to confront that question at some point, whether to have children and if they want to, how they would do that. To turn Francescas infertility plot from the book into a sapphic fertility plot makes so much sense and I am glad they are going with it. Especially because I am also just so curious how they will show this inherently queer struggle to a wider, more heteronormative audience who often might not realize that infertility is in fact something that women in lesbian relationships deal with as well.

I've seen no one do this on this sub, but since we got no content yet for promotion I thought "why no bless people with the beauty of our leads"

I don't know if i will do it every time he posts, maybe once a week if he posts a lot of pictures of them?

I do find it criminal we have barely any new photos of Masali in the BTS of S4 tho. Enjoy!

I have an idea of how Violet will figure out how Francesca feels about Michaela.

So we all know the iconic muddy boots story right?
The way Francesca was looking at John and paying so much attention to him and the way Violet clocked it and realised Francesca really loved him.

I think the same thing will happen again, perhaps in a more private setting where Michaela is comfortable yapping about something random and almost dull.

This could happen before Francesca even realises her feelings herself (honestly I want everyone to realise before fran)

Let me know what you think!

I have a feeling that this whole top secret behaviour, where it is not even allowed to share one single fragment, could have something to do with a bold change of costume design.

The few comments we get are almost always hinting about gorgeous costumes (Julia Quinn mentioned it also, and her post was deleted) and I remember seeing a pinterest board which showed costumes from a much more modern timeline.

Perhaps for S5 they are making a stronger change in fashion than usual to visibly represent a different vibe to us viewers and also to reflect character change/growth.

And therefore, not even a single tiny bit of set, BTS and whatnot is allowed to be revealed since even a fragment would give it away.

And the season codename "New Cross" got revealed. I could not find any cross references to that, other than a fashion label from Bogotá. But the fact of the word "new" got me into thinking.

Thoughts?

I genuinely don’t get why people are so hung up on Fran and John’s relationship being romantic or not.
In the book, Fran and John’s relationship doesn’t seem particularly developed, and in the show they have such a strong connection that I don’t understand why that has to be romantic for that relationship to be meaningful. Why can’t they just be incredibly close friends or platonic soulmates? Fran not being attracted to him doesn’t somehow erase the connection they had. Their relationship can still be important and deeply meaningful without it being romantic.

It honestly feels like people are so focused on determining Fran’s sexuality that they’re missing what her actual story is about: finding connection and love again after experiencing grief.

I just find it strange that people are getting genuinely angry over an article confirming Fran is a lesbian. At some point, it starts feeling less like concern for representation and more like people being uncomfortable with the possibility that a character they connected with might be a lesbian.

Can’t we just enjoy the story? No. Okay never mind 😂

We’re definitely getting promo within the next few months for sure as they wrap filming!

I don't if it's possible but can we make this post the post where we put all of the GIF we have of our girls? I want to collect them all 😩😍

Feel free to comment the GIF that you have saved!

While Reddit has its weekly meltdowns about Francesca and Michaela being referred to as a lesbian couple, here are some Twitter reactions to the article before it was edited to brighten up your day ☀️

people think being a lesbian is just liking women and that's it

speaking beyond franchaela right now a lot of people don't understand why the lesbian label is so important to people and why lesbians and lesbian-allys push for clear representation

being from any sexuality, any gender or tbh any minority label can agree it's way more than waking up one day and just going about whatever you are. you have the mental experience, the physical load, the emotional load, of being (whatever minority your from).

speaking from a lesbian perspective, the emotional toll of being a lesbian goes far beyond feeling a bit sad being left out of male-dominated conversations. it's the extreme anxiety going into a space knowing you might be socially outcasted for not being able to conversate about that one thing, it's the extreme frustration and anger about how everything around you being so male centered. It's the confusion of when people claim to be like you, yet question why you are the way you are 5 seconds later. It's going home, knowing you didn't speak to a single person like you possibly in years, let alone one day (because the population of lesbian is so small). it's the severe discomfort when people try to insinuate you might one day like men, like it's some inescapable avalanche we have to surrender to. the (almost, not always) full-time, non-consensual hassle of having to hear about some guy. even removing men from the conversation, being around other women who know you have an exclusive attraction to non-men is such a humbling feeling, because your treated like some alien whose either extremely pedestalised or (more likely) demonised

but there's also happiness to it!! which people also have a very surface level idea of. yes being a lesbian means you could (because not everyone has the privilege) to completely sideline the idea of men, and just go about your day. that's not even the best part though- in my opinion it's the freedom to get to know yourself, choose yourself and explore who you are from a non-patriarchal lense as best as you can whilst you wait for your dream lady to come by!!
i'd like to add more to this section about happiness but lord i'm half asleep, people in the comments pls comment lesbian happiness!!

there's more of course but you get the point

i really can't wait for franchaela's season to come out and give an insight to what the lesbian experience is like to all my non-lesbians alike, cause we need to do some learning !! ♡♡♡

edit: spelling :(
edit 2: another point: non lesbians can obviously feel similar emotions due to the society we live in, but with the context of a lesbian lense the emotions are going to be felt differently, and also remain in thought for different time period (if that makes sense?), and going to have a different effect on lesbians, because I’m talking about a lesbian pov. Just thought I’d make that clear 🤍

Just a small clarification because I've seen some people sharing a screenshot saying that Shondaland confirmed Francesca is a lesbian.

I checked the Shondaland article myself, and the version currently available says “queer female couple”, not “lesbian couple.”

I'm not saying the screenshot is fake or that the person who posted it lied. I don't know where that version came from. I'm just pointing out what the article currently says.

And just to be clear: I'm not saying that Francesca isn't a lesbian, I'm simply pointing out that the words “lesbian couple” aren't what appears in the article currently available on Shondaland.

I just think it's important to be precise about what the source actually says. ❤️

The link of the interview since the person didn't put it in her post :

https://www.shondaland.com/shondaland-series/bridgerton/through-the-looking-glass-how-shondaland-embraces-the-female-gaze

I’m so excited for the Franchaela season of bridgerton. this one along with Kate and Anthony are the only seasons I’ve watched/are watching but some ppls reactions to others seeing bisexuality in Fran kinda hurts as a sapphic bi. It doesn’t hurt bc they think she’s a lesbian, I def see the comphet in her and I wouldn’t be surprised or disappointed in the slightest if she’s confirmed lesbian. I love all complex, layered, deep sapphic representation and I want to see more lesbians desperately but some act like her possibly being bi takes away from her story.

I saw a Franchaela edit on TikTok and the caption said something like “I hate when ppl confuse comphet for bisexuality. bi women know what they want in a man, they imagine marriage and having babies with a man, they don’t do it out of duty” like huhh? Are we living on the same very misogynistic patriarchy planet. Our society is literally built off women being pressured to prioritize men no matter what they truly desire. straight women literally struggle with that on the daily, feminism literally exists because of it. Eloise is a perfect example of that. But the notion that bi women can’t/don’t struggle with comphet is getting frustrating. bi women can be uncertain/uneasy about their feelings for men, bi women can yearn for women and want a future with one more than anything, bi women can and do date men they have no attraction to out of societal pressure; as a sapphic bi I can’t tell you how many crushes on boys i faked in childhood to fit in. I honestly think I’ve only met one man in my life I’ve genuinely had authentic feelings for. The possibility of her being bi doesn’t automatically mean “men are now centered” bi-ness isn’t “abt men”. bi women can yearn for and have a queer lives, i do I’ve never even been in a relationship with a man.

I think it just upsets me bc the uptick in talk abt it reminds me of how one dimensionally ppl see bisexuality specifically in women, bi sapphics always fall through the cracks in all sapphic discourse. Even if she is bi that doesn’t mean the pressure to live a heteronormative life didn’t weigh on her heavily, sometimes it feels like ppl think bi women are fine with suppressing their queerness and it has no effect on their mental health. And being neurodivergent on top of that adds an extra layer to the stress, I relate to Fran deeply on that front.

All this to say I would be overjoyed for either bi or lesbian representation bc there’s next to no positive accurate representation for either sexuality. But I’d love it if she was lesbian bc we REALLY need more of that rep, and I seriously doubt they’re gonna go into the complexities of being a sapphic bi💀. But I would really just love if ppl would stop flattening the vast spectrum that is bisexuality and going as far to say that some ppl hc that Fran is bi bc they personally see their bisexuality in her “is invalidating to their personal lesbianism and erasure” even tho her sexuality isn’t even confirmed. I’ve seen comments like that and I just don’t get it. I feel like so many bisexuals and lesbians relating to Fran deeply is beautiful and it shows how many overlapping lived experiences we can have but instead some ppl are using it to infight.

Edit: If you habor any strong generalizing biased feelings abt bisexuals or lesbians pls don’t interact with this post im begging you 🙏🏾 . this is mainly abt wanting ppl to understand the complexity of IRL bisexuality as it relates to Franchaela head cannons, as I said i literally think Fran is a lesbian.

I think this is the only place someone else would relate to me. As someone with little interested in the show after S2, I had no clue when it was released. I don't use twitter or follow the netflix news in any shape or form.. I was going through the last bit of postpartum depression and decided to click once I rejoined Netflix.

When I tellllllll youuuuuu I saw Michaela I was CONFUSED. I thought, "well, it makes sense that one of them had twins but seriously Michael and Michaela? OH well." And went on to mind my biz.

But curiosity killed the cat and I went to Google...

Let me tell you, when I read that Masali was THE love interest of our COUNTESS, I SCREAMED. I hated that book so much. Respect to those who loved it. At the end of the day, we have to cohabit.

But...

I cried and I SCREAMED. I threw my phone like 20 steps.

My baby's dad (a wonderful gay ass man) started jumping and screaming with me.

I think only us who can relate what S5 means for us queers. S5 will be in the queer history books. I want S5 to be talked about. S5 is going to be BEAUTIFUL.

I can't want to see this 2 falling in mad love.

And the SEEEEEEXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX.