Bridgerton Fans Slam Netflix for Making This One Change from Book in Season 3

The second part of Season 3 of Bridgerton has finally dropped. However, the new chapter has taken a strange turn from the beginning. First, Bridgerton changed showrunners, with Jess Brownell replacing Chris Van Dusen. Fans didn't appreciate the change and thought it had a major impact on the authenticity of the show.

Erotic scenes, bright romantic stories and drama are the main reasons why people watch Bridgerton. But the writers seem to have forgotten this in Season 3 and decided to return the viewers to a boring, imperfect reality.

Bridgerton has never been historically accurate, but it had its own style. The girls' dresses were embellished with embroidery, lace, and expensive fabrics. Season 3 has become noticeably cheaper in this regard, with the women walking around in simple dresses and shoes with rhinestones, translucent gloves, and bright makeup.

Fans Are Infuriated by Michael/Michaela Change

But one change angered a large part of Bridgerton fans the most, especially those who read Julia Quinn's books. And that change was Michaela Stirling.

“Every single pairing will get their book canon endgame and what do we Fran/Michael stans get? We get one half of our ship erased and our book ruined completely,” Reddit user mclloysjoey wrote.

Warning: The following text contains spoilers for future seasons of Bridgerton.

When He Was Wicked Original Story

According to the book When He Was Wicked, Francesca falls in love with John Stirling, Earl of Kilmartin. They are both introverts, so they quickly find a common language. But two years after their wedding, John suddenly dies of a brain injury.

The widowed young woman seeks solace with her late husband's brother, Michael, a womanizer. While John was still alive, he and Francesca became friends, and the new Earl of Kilmartin was secretly in love with her.

Michaela Storyline Totally Breaks the Book's Narrative

At the end of the third season, Michaela Stirling suddenly appears instead of Michael, which means that the producers decided to move away from the usual path. Most likely, in the following seasons we will see Francesca exploring herself and her new side of sexuality.

As showrunner Jess Brownell admitted, Francesca has always felt different from everyone else. Quinn had spoken about her being an introvert, but the writers felt that many in the queer community could relate to this, which is where the idea of turning Michael into Michaela came from.

However, fans were extremely upset by this change — especially since the book dedicated to Francesca, When He Was Wicked, became the most beloved of the series for many readers.

Moreover, when Francesca and Michaela meet for the first time, we see a clear indication that Fran immediately has feelings for her husband's sister, while in the book the woman was faithful to the Earl of Kilmartin until his death.

It seems that the writers of the show put themselves in an unenviable position — many viewers even refused to watch the future season dedicated to Francesca's story. However, it is important to remember one thing: the actors who play Francesca, John and Michaela — Hannah Dodd, Victor Alli and Masali Baduza — should not be blamed for the decisions of the writers and showrunners.