Bridgerton author Julia Quinn is sending fans a warning message that the tears might be flowing before season 4 comes to a close.
“I can just say, get your tissues ready, because it’s rough,” Quinn exclusively told Us Weekly of the events that transpire in part 2 of the Netflix series. “When I visited the set, they were filming scenes and I saw a scene that was — at the same time incredibly joyful and just heart wrenching — so, yeah, you’re gonna need tissues for part 2.”
Eagle-eyed fans began speculating that there could be a major character death after a teaser for the second half of the season showed Violet Bridgerton (Ruth Gemmell) dressed in all black attire — sparking rumors of a potential funeral. While it’s unclear whose death or funeral viewers might potentially see play out, fans have pointed to a couple characters as options.
Readers of Quinn’s book To Sir Phillip, With Love know that Eloise’s love story with Phillip (Chris Fulton) begins after Marina’s (Ruby Barker) untimely death. But it’s also possible that Francesca’s (Hannah Dodd) husband, John (Victor Alli), could end up dead as Quinn’s When He Was Wicked centers around the pair’s marriage — and the Bridgerton sibling’s journey to find love again with John’s cousin Michael. (The series notably introduced Masali Baduza’s character Michaela instead of Michael in the season 3 finale.)
“I just remember when they introduced John last season, and he was so awesome. I was just like, ‘Oh.’ Because in the books, you don’t get to know him as well as the show. And I was like, ‘You’re just making it so much worse,’” Quinn told Us regarding if and when John’s time comes. “He’s so wonderful.”
Aside from the potential onscreen death, fans have also weighed in on several moments from the first half of season 4 — which begins with Benedict’s (Luke Thompson) Cinderella-inspired meet-cute with maid Sophie (Yerin Ha). Despite Benedict’s social class preventing him from marrying Sophie, he begins to fall in love with her and ultimately asks her to be his mistress.
Quinn, meanwhile, wanted to make sure that viewers of the series — which takes place in the Regency era of England — were aware of how unusual it would be for someone of Benedict’s rank to ask for Sophie’s hand in marriage.
“It wasn’t so much a scene,” Quinn told Us when asked whether there was anything from the books that she wanted included in season 4. “It’s just saying, ‘You have to make sure that viewers understand how unprecedented it would be for him to offer her marriage.’”
“That’s something I just said, ‘You need to make sure they understand this, because it’s going to seem really awful,’” Quinn continued of Benedict’s offer to Sophie. “And so that’s why I’m always telling people, ‘Hey, the big deal is not that he does this, not that he asked her to be his mistress, because that’s what would happen.’”
Quinn noted that Benedict’s controversial question is a “huge part” of her third book, An Offer From a Gentleman.
“I mean, the characters do — I don’t know if I call them stupid things — but they don’t always make the right choice right away, or they don’t always make the bold choice right away, and they have to learn,” she explained to Us. “And again, I don’t want to have perfect people. I want them to grow and learn, and so that’s why they do some of the things they do.”
As fans await to find out how Benedict and Sophie’s love story plays out in part 2, Quinn is launching her JQ Editions to recommend similar historical romance novels.
“I get so many readers who want to know, like, ‘What do I read after Bridgerton?’ And, ‘I’m new to historical romance, and what should I read?’ And now I can be like, ‘This. This is what you should read. These are my very favorite books,’” she shared. “I do recommend books on social media. But this one it’s going to be six books a year to start out. So these are the top, these are the very, very best. This is me saying, ‘This is the one you should read and I’m mailing it to your house.’”
The famed author is also partnering with Spotify to promote the streamer’s first-of-its-kind Page Match, where readers can connect physical and e-books to audiobooks on Spotify with a single scan.
“My jaw dropped,” Quinn said of seeing the feature for the first time. “I know so many people who have one book that they read and one book that they listen to because they read in bed and they listen to things at the gym. And now, with the Page Match, you can go back and forth seamlessly. You can stay with one book, which I think is incredible for people like me, who don’t split their attention very well.”
Season 4 of Bridgerton part 1 can be streamed on Netflix now. The show returns for part 2 on Thursday, February 26. All of the Bridgerton audiobooks are available in Spotify Premium.
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