Because of its genre, Bridgerton guarantees each season will bring happiness to the couple at its center, but one line in Bridgerton season 3 also foreshadowed the biggest tragedy yet to come in the Netflix series. Following the pattern established since Bridgerton season 1, season 3 focused on Colin and Penelope’s romance while furthering the storylines of some Bridgerton siblings and other ton members alike. This intensified Bridgerton season 3’s book differences, as key events in season 3 embodied the message of the original material from Julia Quinn’s books and introduced storylines tackled only many books after Romancing Mr. Bridgerton.

The change couldn’t be more evident than with Francesca’s story, whose presentation to the queen put her front and center in Bridgerton season 3. While that was also true for Eloise in Bridgerton season 2, Francesca finding companionship and love with John Stirling right after her debut made her the first Bridgerton to find a partner and marry in a Bridgerton season whose focus wasn’t on her but another sibling. Such a development marked a big change from the past, setting up Francesca’s eventful book story in a future season and even referencing Bridgerton’s biggest tragedy in a blink-and-you-miss-it sentence.

Bridgerton Season 3 Hinted At The Next Tragedy

Its Season Finale Included A Very Foreboding Sentence During John & Francesca’s Wedding

Bridgerton season 3 established Francesca and John’s bond as one unlike any other, making a point to show their relationship as valid and fulfilling even if it didn’t include the drama Simon and Daphne, Anthony and Kate, Colin and Penelope all had to overcome. Developing feelings for each other was easy for Francesca and John, even if Francesca had nonetheless to fight for that union, as Violet didn’t fully understand it. With their marriage, John and Francesca seemed to have overcome the worst, but their book story includes one of Bridgerton’s biggest tragedies, and season 3’s finale hinted at that.

John and Francesca’s private wedding in Bridgerton season 3, episode 8, “Into the Light” was a wholesome affair, but it also included an unusually loaded look at John as the celebrant said, “May you now live together in holy matrimony until your dying breath.” While the sentence could easily be overlooked by viewers unaware of their book story, Bridgerton book readers were reminded of the tragic ending of Francesca and John’s story by it. Indeed, Francesca is left widowed merely two years after marrying John in When He Was Wicked, and Bridgerton season 3 hinted at that with that sentence.

The celebrant’s words during John and Francesca’s wedding in Bridgerton season 3’s finale hint at John’s death earlier than expected as it happens in Francesca’s book, When He Was Wicked .

John’s death happened suddenly and unexpectedly in When He Was Wicked’s second chapter, right after the introduction of the story’s central characters. What his death provoked in both Francesca and Michael strongly shaped how their stories continued in the book, as the guilt Francesca and Michael felt due to developing feelings for each other stemmed from how much they loved John, too. This indissolubly links the tragedy of John’s death to When He Was Wicked‘s romance, making Francesca the only Bridgerton to face such adversity and to remarry in the books.

John’s Death Mirrors Francesca’s Father’s

It Is Just As Unexpected & Relatively Unexplained

John’s sudden death in When He Was Wicked also mirrors the fate of Francesca’s father, Edmund Bridgerton. Bridgerton season 3’s part 1 already hinted at that when it showed Francesca pensively looking at her mother and father’s portrait in the living room, but Francesca’s book story cements her as the one most similar to Violet among her siblings for how their fates tragically link them. Indeed, like Edmund’s death is brought upon by a bee sting, John’s death is caused by a ruptured cerebral aneurysm in When He Was Wicked, making both deaths unpredictable and happening too soon.

The similarities between Edmund’s story and John’s don’t stop at that, as the medical knowledge of Regency England also guaranteed their families wouldn’t have known the real reasons for their deaths. While they understood that Edmund died after a bee sting and John did so after an explosive headache, Violet and Francesca didn’t know what specifically caused their sad fates, potentially making their coming to terms with their deaths more difficult.

Violet never remarried in the books and only considered opening her heart to someone new decades after Edmund’s death in Bridgerton season 3. However, Francesca’s story led her on a different path altogether in When He Was Wicked. Although Francesca was in mourning for four years, she ended up falling in love with Michael after that, eventually marrying again and keeping the Kilmartin line going by having two children with Michael, as told in The Bridgertons: Happily Ever After.

John’s Death Will Completely Change Francesca’s Future

It Upends Her Season 3’s Ending Plans & Book Story

Image via Netflix

Given John’s introduction in season 3, Bridgerton season 4 will likely continue to tell his and Francesca’s story, even more so if it focuses on another Bridgerton sibling, as that would make it possible to give even more insights into John and Francesca’s love before John’s untimely death. However, John’s death will undoubtedly and drastically change Francesca’s future, as she expected to discover herself away from her family by Bridgerton season 3’s ending, but her relatively near future has insurmountable grief in store for her.

Francesca’s struggles with infertility are a big part of her story in When He Was Wicked. This is a problem for her both with John and Michael, even if she eventually gives birth to two children with the latter. Bridgerton season 3 genderswapping Michael and presenting Michaela Stirling as John’s cousin hints at her future story providing long-awaited LGBTQ+ representation, but it also greatly changes her book story, as it’s unlikely she and Michaela can marry after falling for one another.

Despite that, Francesca’s Bridgerton season can nonetheless offer Francesca happiness and kids were she to have children with John, and then fall in love with Michaela after John’s death. This would guarantee a Kilmartin line like in the books and also let Francesca and Michaela happily live away from society and in love in Scotland, upgrading Francesca’s Bridgerton book story while honoring its themes.

Bridgerton season 3 is streaming in its entirety on Netflix.