Bridgerton will seemingly show a major character death before season 4 comes to an end — but who should fans be worried about not making it?
The hit Netflix series returned on Thursday, January 29, with part 1 but the trailer for the rest of the season caused concern when viewers noticed several characters dressed in black attire. It remains unclear whose funeral the others could potentially attend since there are several options.
While John (Victor Alli) is the most reasonable conclusion based on Francesca’s (Hannah Dodd) story. Julia Quinn‘s When He Was Wicked is focused on Francesca’s marriage to now-husband John before his shocking death. Francesca would then go on to find love again with John’s cousin Michael. The series, however, swapped Michael out for Michaela (Masali Baduza), during the season 3 finale.
If Francesca is next season’s lead then John’s death would have to happen before that. But there is also the chance that Eloise’s (Claudia Jessie) turn is sooner — and Quinn’s To Sir Phillip, With Love hinges on Marina’s (Ruby Barker) death. Following Marina’s death, Eloise gets in touch with Phillip (Chris Fulton), which kickstarts their romance.
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Other options include Queen Charlotte’s (Golda Rosheuvel) husband, King George (James Fleet), whom she mentioned earlier this season. Historically, however, Charlotte’s death would be coming up in the next few years, which could get moved up.
After Bridgerton’s third season concluded in June 2024, showrunner Jess Brownell was asked about the show currently being set shortly before Queen Charlotte’s death in 1818 — months before the birth of her granddaughter a.k.a the future Queen Victoria.
“I worship Golda Rosheuvel and I think she’s so fantastic in her role. Shonda [Rhimes] and I, internally, have just decided that we’re in an alternate dimension,” Brownell told TVLine about why viewers don’t have to worry about Charlotte being killed off.
Brownell specifically pointed to the moment when the queen and Lady Danbury (Adjoa Andoh) “worked together to make society more inclusive” as the point that created the alternate universe.
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“That’s where we went into another timeline,” she explained. “There’s potential that in this timeline, Queen Charlotte could live forever.”
The monarch has been featured front and center on Bridgerton since the show debuted in 2020. The fan-favorite character later received a prequel series of her own, which introduced the young Queen Charlotte’s (India Amarteifio) rise to prominence and power after she exchanged vows with King George III (Corey Mylchreest).
In addition to exploring the characters originally brought to life by Rosheuvel and Fleet, who played present-day King George, Queen Charlotte also focused on young Lady Danbury (Arsema Thomas) and Violet Bridgerton (Connie Jenkins-Greig).
Season 4 of Bridgerton returns for part 2 on Thursday, February 26.
