WARNING: This article contains spoilers from \u201cBridgerton\u201d Season 4, Vol. 2, now streaming on Netflix.<\/p>\n
Dearest gentle reader, death has come to the ton.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The death of a major character in \u201cBridgerton\u201d Season 4<\/a> is setting the scene for the next season of the hit Netflix series.<\/p>\n At the end of the sixth episode, Francesca Bridgerton\u2019s (Hannah Dodd) husband, John Stirling (Victor Alli), tells her that he\u2019s going to go lie down for a nap. When she asks if he\u2019s feeling well, he assures her \u201conly a small headache\u201d and asks her to wake him up later.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cBridgerton\u201d Season 4 kills off John Stirling (Victor Alli, pictured above). LIAM DANIEL\/NETFLIX<\/p>\n \u201cBridgerton\u201d Season 4 is about Sophie and Benedict (actors Yerin Ha and Luke Thompson seen above in the show). LIAM DANIEL\/NETFLIX<\/p>\n Upon discovering him dead, Francesca screams as his visiting cousin, Michaela (Masali Baduza), rushes in to help.<\/p>\n Each season of Shonda Rhimes\u2019 romance series follows a different member of the Bridgerton family as they find love in regency era England.\u00a0<\/p>\n Though they have yet to announce whose leading the fifth season of \u201cBridgerton,\u201d John\u2019s death \u2014 which is a major plot point in the books \u2014 suggests Francesca may take center stage.<\/p>\n John\u2019s cousin Michaela (Masali Baduza) is there to help Francesca (Hannah Dodd). The pair are seen together in the show. LIAM DANIEL\/NETFLIX<\/p>\n Francesca, pictured above, heartbreakingly loses her husband in Season 4 of \u201cBridgerton.\u201d \u00a9Netflix\/Courtesy Everett Collection<\/p>\n Season 4, meanwhile, follows the Cinderella-esque love story of maid Sophie Baek (Yerin Ha) and Benedict Bridgerton (Luke Thompson).<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n However, the plot also takes a detour into Francesca\u2019s tragedy, including a funeral for her husband.<\/p>\n This season marks the first major \u201cBridgerton\u201d on-screen death. The family\u2019s father died before the events of the show began, though we see a flashback during Season 2.<\/p>\n Following John\u2019s death, everyone worries about Francesca, as she manically throws herself into hostess duties, fussing over details that don\u2019t matter, like the food.\u00a0<\/p>\n Benedict (Luke Thompson), pictured on the right with other Bridgerton family members, gives a speech on behalf of his family, at the funeral. \u00a9Netflix\/Courtesy Everett Collection<\/p>\n Francesca, Dodd seen above, also believes she\u2019s pregnant, only to heartbreakingly be told she\u2019s not. LIAM DANIEL\/NETFLIX<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tWant more celebrity and pop culture news?\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tStart your day with Page Six Daily.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Benedict gives a speech at the funeral, saying, \u201cWhat makes this death so difficult to bear is not just its suddenness, but the fact that he was a good man, one of the best of us. Always guided by an unshakable sense of integrity, his devotion to his family, to his seat in Parliament, and most especially to my sister, Francesca.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Sophie bonds with her future sister-in-law, since she lost a close family member too \u2013 her father. She recalls worrying about the food at his funeral, too, and advises Francesca, \u201cthe best any of us can do is honor the memories of those we\u2019ve loved, and let them live on through us.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n John\u2019s death isn\u2019t Franceca\u2019s only heartbreak in Season 4. Immediately following his passing, she\u2019s also happy to discover that she\u2019s pregnant, though later on learns she\u2019s not expecting.<\/p>\n Sophie, pictured above in Season 4, tries to give comfort to Francesca, her future sister-in-law. LIAM DANIEL\/NETFLIX<\/p>\n Sophie and Benedict, together above, are at the center of \u201cBridgerton\u201d Season 4, although it takes a detour into Francesca\u2019s tragedy. LIAM DANIEL\/NETFLIX<\/p>\n In Francesca\u2019s Julia Quinn book<\/a>, \u201cWhen He Was Wicked,\u201d<\/a> John dies of an aneurysm and Francesca ultimately ends up with his cousin, Michael. <\/p>\n The show has gender-flipped Michael, changing the character into Michaela, who will be the love interest for that season.<\/p>\n