This would be a massive red flag.

Even though Bridgerton season 3 hasn’t been released yet, fans are already excited to find out who will be the next lead of the show. With filming rumored to begin on June 10, the public will likely find out the details either right before or right after the premiere of part 2. However, many have already made up their minds.

Since the order of Julia Quinn’s novels on which the show is based suggested Benedict Bridgerton as the third sibling, but Shondaland and Netflix decided to skip him, many fans believe that the next season must be his. If not, the studio will face a huge backlash. But if it is, season 3 is off to a rocky start.

Who Is Playing Sophie Beckett on Bridgerton

Since each season follows the love story of one of the Bridgerton siblings, they take a lot of inspiration from the original source. From entire scenes to lines of dialogue or specific themes, the showrunners make sure to leave enough easter eggs throughout the episodes for book readers to figure out.

But they also make enough changes. For example, Benedict’s storyline in Season 3 is a major plot change, as neither book has a character named Lady Tilley Arnold. Portrayed by Hannah New, she’s a newcomer to the Bridgerton universe, and the one who seems to have piqued the interest of the second Bridgerton son.

Though many are disappointed to see Benedict’s storyline reduced to yet another fling, there is a far worse prospect, as some fans fear that the widowed Lady Tilley may be related to Benedict’s book love interest, Sophie Beckett, who at the beginning of the book serves as a maid in the house of a wealthy but cruel widow.

Though Sophie Beckett hasn’t been officially cast yet, and there are no sources confirming Benedict as the lead in season 4, Lady Tilley fits the vibe of her possible book counterpart. However, the mere thought of a romantic lead being intimate with the perpetrator of his endgame is enough to make fans’ stomachs turn.

Hopefully, the introduction of an assertive widow is just an attempt to distract fans to set up a truly magical introduction for Sophie Beckett, one of the most beloved characters in the entire book franchise. So far, Lasy Tilley Arnold hasn’t given viewers a single reason to believe that she’s a villain of the story, so this could all be nothing more than speculation.

But things can still change. Bridgerton season 3 part 2 premieres on June 13, so be sure to tune in to Netflix to be the first to find out where this season of the show takes the characters.