Dearest gentle reader, I may not be Lady Whistledown, but I am an author who knows all of the gossip and news and I am delighted to let you all know that season 5 of Bridgerton has been announced! On March 24, the Bridgerton social media platforms made a post showing which Bridgerton will be starring in the next season stating “Do not fret, dearest readers, for a certain countess shall find love again … Bridgerton Season 5 is now in production.” Although I was hoping for an Eloise story for season five, I am excited to see that Francesca will finally get the happy ending that she deserves after everything that she went through in season four. There are a lot of opinions and thoughts about this upcoming season that definitely need to be discussed because there are so many conversations that are happening on social media about this announcement, with so many different changes to the show that aren’t originally from the book series.
As someone among many others who have not read the books but is obsessed with the show, I never know what to expect when it comes to what is going to happen which I feel makes it much more exciting for me to watch. However, I definitely will have to invest in reading the book series eventually because I never realized what big changes that the show is making from what is in the books. I did know for sure that they switched some of the siblings series since Benedict was technically supposed to be season three and Colin was supposed to be season four. What I didn’t expect from Bridgerton was that they completely switched the gender of one of the main characters that is supposed to be in Francesca’s story. After doing research, I learned that John’s cousin, Michaela, is supposed to technically be Michael and that they were supposed to get together. Now it all makes sense on why they kept pushing Michaela into the series and into having a good relationship with Francesca before John passed away. Even with switching the character’s gender for the show, I never did expect to see Francesca fall in love with her late husband’s cousin, so I am definitely invested with how this story is going to go.
Now of course there is a ton of buzz on social media right now about how Bridgerton approaches making Francesca’s story come to life. I’ve noticed that people that haven’t read the book are just very excited about Francesca’s story finally coming to light. However, there are a lot of people that are mad about season five and are actually saying that they’re going to skip watching season five when it comes out. Some people are mad because of the gender switch from Micheal to Michaela being Francesca’s love interest, and with them two being the first LGBTQ+ couple in the show. Personally, I didn’t expect this approach because of the time period the show is set in and that was a time where it was hard for the LGBTQ+ to actually be accepted by everyone, but I am very interested and curious about how the show is going to make this work, based on the timeline in the show. The main issue that people are having with the upcoming season though is that they wanted Eloise to be season five because they feel like Francesca’s story has been going on since season two, and not to mention, they are rushing her story when she has just lost her husband. I do have to agree because I was very shocked that it is Francesca’s story that is coming up and I believe they could have given her at least one more season to grieve, and I am still shocked that they are making her be with her late husband’s cousin. But at the end of the day, Francesca’s story was going to happen no matter what season it was going to be. The audience just has to watch Francesca’s story and be a little more patient for Eloise’s story to come, which most likely could happen in season six.
As much as I can’t wait to see Francesca’s story unfold, there is so much more that I want to see with this new season. First things first, I definitely want to see more of all of the characters with their relationships – especially with Anthony and Kate since we didn’t get them as much in season four – and more of Benedict and Sophie’s relationship. I hope we get to see Violet and Marcus’s relationship blossom and let them get the happy ending that they both deserve. I hope the show will give Daphne some acknowledgement that she still exists in the series because I feel like the show just completely forgot about her, even though we all know the situation about why Daphne or Simon hasn’t been in the show. Most importantly, we need to see who is Lady Whistledown now because I’m confused about how they made Penelope stop being Lady Whistledown and now there is someone trying to take her place!
Overall, I do have many different feelings and more thoughts about what season five is going to bring us. All I know is that this season is probably going to be one of the most anticipated seasons of the whole show, and there is going to be a lot with what the season is going to give us. I am invested and will be patiently waiting for these next two or three years for this season to come out and see what Francesca’s story holds and will give us. I guess we’ll have to wait for more teasers, trailers, and news about this season to come out to see what season five of Bridgerton has to bring us. And so, dear reader, as whispers of what is to come grow ever louder, one cannot help but wonder what new scandals and romances await in the next season of Bridgerton. Until next time, dear reader. Yours truly, Lady Whistledown – or should I say, Kaylah.