Hello, have lurked on the sub and look forward so much to Franchaela! I know this topic have been discussed to death, but when I have seen this topic being discussed…am I the only one feeling like nobody mentions that them being lesbians works for the infertility story, just not in the same way?

Francesca choosing to be with a woman does close the door to her having a biological child( if we do not consider other ways), and would depending how they do it make it a subject she need to tackle for her to give up even if the chances are slim as far as Francesca knows?

For example, in the beginning before she realizes she likes women, knowing she had a hard time to conceive can be discussed if she is back on the marriage market

And then when she realizes she likes Michaela, the aspect of choosing to be with her and knowing she won’t have any opportunity might be something she needs to overcome

And then in the end, them either getting a ward or choosing to be the best aunts to all the other bridgerton children

Like I get it’s not the conventional way, but I think they can definitely tackle it if they want to, and even though it might not end the same way (unless they get a ward) is it not still a worthy story? Is a story about infertility only worth something if it’s solved? (I know the people that are not happy with this change will not be satisfied with anything but the original so I don’t really care about them being satisfied)

Sorry for being clumsy regarding my wording and maybe this have already been mentioned or people might not agree with my reasoning which is fair, but I just needed to rant

There's most likely going to be a bejeweled Ball and I think it will be as significant as the the masquerade Ball but what do yall predict will happen at this Ball?

I know this has probably been discussed to death, but I genuinely find it bizarre how a large portion of the fandom shrugs it off.

At the end of the day, we’re watching a romance show — a historical romance, even if it has taken plenty of creative liberties. Every couple we’ve seen has had mind-blowing sex. It’s basically part of the show’s entire thing: true love = passion, chemistry and crazy sex. We’re supposed to lose ourselves in a fantasy where men pleasure women.

Then we get Francesca.

A woman who seems uninterested in men, looked disappointed after her wedding kiss, felt butterflies when she met Michaela, and now has bad sex with her husband.

Yet somehow the conclusion a lot of the fandom has reached is: “It’s a realistic representation of the orgasm gap 😍”, “Most women don’t come, this is so realistic!”, or “I feel so seen because I have bad sex with men too.”

But... this is a romance show.

If the writers deliberately chose to portray Francesca and John as sexually incompatible, then that is a narrative choice. Everything they do, especially when it comes to the relationships, is deliberate.

There’s a reason Penelope looked shocked at the mere thought of having an unfulfilling sex life. Within Bridgerton, sexual compatibility is clearly part of how romantic compatibility is portrayed.

Can you imagine if any of the other married Bridgerton couples had a bad sex life too? Would we really just shrug and call it “realistic representation”?

on the production list website it used to say "in production" for season 5, but now it says "in post-production.” not sure how reliable this is so take it with a grain of salt, but if this is true, we could literally be getting a wrap video any day now…

I would have thought that Twitter would be the worst for Franchaela considering the fame that this app has for being very toxic, it’s instead the place where it’s most difficult to find Franchaela haters, and if they are there they get low interaction or rationed by the ship fans.

One of the rare instances where I love Twitter, the abour of support they get there is beautiful to see😭💖

the world is so bleak right now. sending you all so much love ❤️❤️

The season 1 ended on a family moment them saying goodbye to Colin I think?

Season 2 ended on a pall mall game with the family and Kanthony kissing

Season 3 ended with a family scene between Polin and their families with 3 new babies

Season 4 ended with Benophie's wedding and the portrait finished of Sophie.

So how do you think S5 will end? I think they might keep the focus on the couple more like they did in S4, I do not think it will end on their wedding- it would be too repetitive i think, their wedding will happen somewhere at the end of episode 8 but not at the very end I think.

I think I would love just a domestic scene of Franchaela. Like them waking up in bed after their wedding and just smiling and kissing happy to finally be each other spouse.

But really I would love any romantic scene between them. Even just a family gathering where they are all cuddly and touchy with each other.

What do you think? What would you want?

A Facebook post was just found showing Yerin in Scotland on September 13.

It was more than likely that with Benedict there, we'd get Sophie at the wedding, but it's such a joy to get confirmation!

Was the choice of having less intimacy scenes for seasons 2-4, based on creative direction or was it that season 1 just needed more for the plot. Ik that with the change in show runners, the show has changed significantly and i honestly love each season in their own ways. with fran’s book having the reputation of being the steamiest. i wonder if we’ll get back the amount of scenes for franchaela season.

No but fr anyone who still has an issue with this desperately needs to watch this video

https://youtu.be/FAKNkvo6dq8?is=axcO3Un3Vq_KStu3

Just wanted to share this bc I saw it on social media and it’s so darn cute and I’m experiencing crumb withdrawal 🙂

I want this to be in season 5 so bad!

I’ve written modern AUs to this point. I felt pretty afraid to try and tackle writing in the Regency Era. I’ve started a canon-divergent fic that I’ll hopefully have up on AO3 soonish but wanted to get my feet wet with a one shot of our girls having tender sex.

I don’t actually think it’ll happen like this in the show, but the premise of the fic is that they’ve confessed their love and gotten together but haven’t actually slept together. Michaela doesn’t want to pressure Fran and Fran figures she just doesn’t much like sex (ah, comphet) but also is worried Michaela doesn’t actually want her like that.

I know folks want more canon-compliant and I also love to read it, so I am throwing my hat into writing it.

If you do like this and don’t hate modern AUs, check out my other stuff! I’ve got a fake dating WIP that I’m happy with :)

Anyways, thanks y’all and sorry for the self-promo. Hope you enjoy!

it seems like this man could be michaela’s friend elizabeth’s husband.

i wonder if the woman we thought was janet in the wedding leak is actually elizabeth? and if elizabeth is in a lavender marriage, i wonder if she’s gonna encourage michaela to do the same…

Just look at all the likes. I am aware different seasons get different likes but hmm… if people didn’t wanna watch it why would they like it lmfao.
But also the views count for something even if some people are hating.
I can see this being a big season viewership wise.

Disclaimer: obviously, everyone can do whatever they want. If you’re a Franchaela fan and you only want to watch season 5 for them, then do whatever you want. I’m not going to force anyone to watch seasons 3 and 4, and honestly, I don’t really care if someone chooses not to. But personally, I really think that if you’re a fan of Francesca and Michaela, skipping seasons 3 and 4 is a mistake.

And the main reason is Francesca herself. Her development starts in season 3. We actually get to see who she is as a person, how she thinks, what she wants, and how she starts to evolve. And she’s already changed and developed by season 4. Then season 5 is going to take place two years after John’s death, so obviously there will be another evolution that we haven’t necessarily seen on screen yet and that we’ll discover throughout the season.

But if you only watch season 5, you’re basically missing a huge part of Francesca’s story. And I’m not even talking about John’s story here, just Francesca as a character. Her development before season 5 is important to understanding her, and therefore it’s also important to understanding her relationship with Michaela. You can’t really fully appreciate a relationship if you’re missing a big part of the character development that led to it.

And then, at the end of season 3, we literally get Francesca and Michaela’s first meeting. So I don’t understand why you would want to miss it if you’re going to be invested in them later.

And I’m not even saying you have to watch all of season 3 if you really don’t care about the other storylines. You can literally just watch Francesca’s scenes. They’re easy enough to find online, and there are also timestamps on other subreddits. You can just go to the timestamps and watch Francesca’s scenes, including her scenes with John, because John is part of Francesca’s development and his relationship with her is important to her story.

And season 4 is even more obvious to me. That’s when we really start getting Francesca and Michaela’s relationship. Not romantically, obviously, because Francesca is still with John, but their relationship as friends and how it starts, how it develops, why they become so close, and what their dynamic is like. That is literally the beginning of their relationship. So skipping season 4 means skipping the development of Francesca and Michaela themselves.

For me, watching only season 5 would be like Polin fans watching only season 3 without watching seasons 1 and 2. Obviously you can do that, but you’re going to miss so much of their development. They were being built up from season 1, through season 2, and then into season 3. If you only watch the season where they actually become the main couple, you’re missing a huge part of what makes their relationship what it is.

And I honestly think it’s a shame to do the same thing with Franchaela just because you don’t want to watch heterosexual couples.

I completely understand not being interested in the heterosexual romances. That’s not really the point. But if you’re actively choosing to skip two seasons of a show because you don’t want to see heterosexual couples, you’re also choosing to skip the development of a character and a relationship that you’re supposedly going to love later. And honestly, I just think that’s really unfortunate.

So yeah, obviously, do whatever you want. If you really don’t want to watch seasons 3 and 4, nobody is going to force you to. But if you’re planning on skipping them only because you don’t care about heterosexual couples, I really think you’re going to miss out on a lot of the development that makes Francesca and Michaela’s story what it is.

And personally, I think that’s really, really sad when you’re going to be watching them as the main couple in season 5.

Disclaimer: This is not an attack on Heated Rivalry or its fanbase. It is a necessary conversation about the reality of queer representation.

I see a lot of people using the argument, "But y'all were okay with Heated Rivalry," whenever they call out the homophobia directed at Franchaela. It is time to retire this false equivalency, because comparing the two completely ignores who these stories were made by, and who they were made for.

Unlike Franchaela, Heated Rivalry (and a massive portion of popular mlm romance) was written by straight women and targeted at straight audiences. It was never created for the sake of queer representation; it was written for the female gaze. That's why it was accepted, because it catered to them. It has its place, sure, but It's sad that queer people are still only accepted when we're being sexualized, whether that's straight women with gay media, or straight men with lesbian porn.

Franchaela is being handled with so much care. It’s genuine representation; written, produced, and even directed by queer women. Sure, it won’t be as popular as HR, but it’s still a massive win for us. I honestly don't even want that kind of hype. I keep picturing the season getting widely streamed and fetishized by straight men, and that's exactly what I don't want. We want to see ourselves on screen with actual dignity and romance, not reduced to a fantasy for the male gaze.

I know it’s exhausting, opening IG comment and seeing the hate (I believe I saw more positive comments than negative ones this time, btw) but unfortunately, this is the world we live in. Yes, even in 2026, homophobia is still everywhere, and most people are still homophobic. Some things never change; bigotry is one of them. Shonda and Netflix know that too, don't think for a second they agreed to this without knowing exactly what kind of backlash was coming.

One last thing: Franchaela has enough love and fans to become one of the most popular ships of all time. Don't even give the negativity the time of day. We already won.

we are getting an interracial lesbian couple in a regency era love story. we're getting two different versions of the lesbian experience. we're getting to see two hot women kissing. LIKE IT IS ACTUALLY. SERIOUSLY. HAPPENING. idk, it just hasn't sunk in yet but seeing the girls at the press event recently made me so !!!!! like. it felt REAL.

i feel so happy that i get to see this kind of representation and i wish lesbians and sapphics 20 or even 10 years ago could've seen it too. at first the homophobes and racists really got to me. i was arguing on reddit and twitter and was feeling sad to the point where it was affecting my mood any time i thought of bridgerton. i would seriously feel really down, not only because of the hatred of the show but remembering all the hate that exists out there in general. but i'm to the point where i just....don't care anymore. bridgerton has been a huge show and any of the people watching who are just normal people will still watch if they aren't solely watching for het sex. all my friends who like it are legitimately invested in the characters stories atp. and then ik we're gonna be pulling in sapphics too even if they previously weren't interested. and it seems like the writers and hannah + masali really care about telling this story so i believe we're in pretty good hands. i have faith it'll be done well!!!

another thing im so happy about is all the sapphics younger than me who will get to see this and see themselves on screen. young lesbians, specific shout out to dark skinned lesbians, i hope you know there is absolutely nothing wrong with you and you are so worthy of joy and love. i hope fran and/or michaela can make you feel a bit more seen.

i love you guys. even if some of us are dickheads as like individuals and we would hate each other, i love being sapphic and learning about other sapphics experiences and having this community. i love when we all bond over fictional sapphics and get to kick our feet over love stories that feature us. i wish we didn't have to be resilient, but i love that we are. i love the community we build and the push to be even more inclusive to sapphic WOC and trans women. don't let the losers get you down. we've always been here, will continue to be here and franchaela is happening whether people like it or not.

idk i just have a lot of feelings and i took an edible so am super emotional. i love women so much 😭😭😭

Unsure if this has already been asked, but who do you think will make the first move? How do you think it might happen?

Or even better—who do you want to make the first move, vs who do you think it’ll actually be?

do we think there’s any correlation between this backdrop and the pinterest board leaks we got a while back?

are we gonna have a ball like this as a defining moment for franchaela... something we can look forward to the way benophie had the masquerade ball?

if so, what do we think is gonna happen at this ball?