Jess Brownell explains to "" that it was important viewers not only had time to fall in love with John and Francesca’s relationship this season, but to grieve him, too.

Bridgerton showrunner talks [SPOILER’s] tragic death: Grief ‘presents in so many different ways’

Jess Brownell explains to "" that it was important viewers not only had time to fall in love with John and Francesca's relationship this season, but to grieve him, too.

By Emlyn Travis

Emlyn Travis is a news writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2022. Her work has previously appeared on MTV News, Teen Vogue, and *NME*.

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February 26, 2026 8:00 p.m. ET

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Hannah Dodd as Francesca Bridgerton and Victor Alli as John Stirling in 'Bridgerton'. Credit:

Liam Daniel/Netflix

**This article contains spoilers for *Bridgerton* season 4, episode 7, "The Beyond." **

Goodbye, John Stirling. **

The moment that *Bridgerton* fans have been dreading happened in the sixth episode of season 4. After complaining of a headache, Victor Alli’s kindhearted character announced to his wife Francesca (Hannah Dodd) and cousin Michaela (Masali Baduza) that he was going to take a nap. However, when Francesca returned to their room later that evening, she discovered John dead in their bed.

While the moment may come as a massive shock to viewers, it’s one that had been in the works since the “beginning of the season 4 writers’ room,” showrunner and producer Jess Brownell tells *. *******

Hannah Dodd in 'Bridgerton'.

Liam Daniel/Netflix

“I think that when we thought about where in the timeline that story point should land, we wanted to do it at a point where we had enough time to really fall in love with Fran and John,” she says. “And give them space to fall in love with each other.”**

Still, it was paramount to Brownell that “we had enough time to properly grieve John,” too. **

“And so it felt like this landing at the end of the season — but not in the final episode — made a lot of sense,” she continues. “Because that way we could also create some space for things to get to a nice happy ending with Benedict and Sophie.”

The cast of 'Bridgerton'.

Liam Daniel/Netflix

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John’s funeral is instead held in the penultimate episode of the season, titled “The Beyond.” The tragic installment sees Francesca attempt to ignore facing her husband’s unexpected death by focusing solely on planning his funeral and trying to convince herself that she is pregnant with his child when she’s not. **

“The thing about grief is that it presents in so many different ways. There's no one way that it presents,” Brownell says. “So with Francesca it did feel right that — because she's the kind character who is separated from her internal self in a multitude of ways — she doesn't really like to look inwards at her difficult emotions.”**

As a result, the showrunner notes that it makes sense Francesca would “clutch to some type of delusion” in order to make herself feel better. “Something people might not realize watching the show is actually the way Fran grieved is really common in that era,” Brownell points out. “Generally, it wasn't very accepted for people to cry at funerals. In that era, it was kind of socially taboo to show any emotion at a funeral.”**

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It’s also why Francesca was particularly perplexed by Michaela’s unusual interest in throwing a celebration of life for John after the funeral.

“It would not be abnormal for Fran to think that Michaela's way of grieving seems kind of weird and scary, but that's what's exciting about the Michaela character is that she does march to the beat of her own drum and is a bit anachronistic in a certain way,” Brownell explains. “But I think characters like her have existed throughout time. They're sometimes just people who don't abide by the customs of the time or the place in which they live.” **

Masali Baduza in 'Bridgerton'.

Liam Daniel/Netflix

She adds, “So Michaela shakes everything up and I think all the characters are better for it in episode seven, because it does allow them to really find some joy and celebration for John's life.” **

Brownell also gives a special shout out to Baduza, who improvised the moment during the celebration where Michaela teaches everyone how to perform the stag dance.**

“In the script, it just says, ‘And now we dance,’ and then they start dancing," she recalls. "But our choreographer Jack Murphy, I think, taught them this stag dance and I think Masali, on set that day with our director, realized the character would need to explain to the other characters how to do the dance. So everything about her being like, ‘Now we do the stag! Now you put your arms like this! That's all Masali just improvising."

Brownell has already confirmed that Francesca will find love again, with her and Eloise's (Claudia Jessie) romances set to take center stage in season 5 or 6 of *Bridgerton. *However, the order of those stories is currently unknown.

When asked if Francesca's story is up next, Brownell replies, "I can't say. But I think this season we have made some progress on both Francesca and Eloise's arcs in a way that allows us to get closer to telling their stories in [seasons] five and six."

*Bridgerton* season 4 is streaming now on Netflix.

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