As Francesca in 'Bridgerton,' Hannah Dodd faces grief: 'I had to stop myself from crying'
This is read by an automated voice. Please report any issues or inconsistencies here. This article contains spoilers for Season 4, Part 2 of Netflix’s "bridgerton. "
Casting and early auditions
Hannah Dodd, an English actress aged 30, recalled auditioning "quite intensely" for the first season of the period romance series, when she was up for the role of Daphne Bridgerton and ultimately lost the part to Phoebe Dynevor. A few years later Dodd said she was invited to film a self-tape for a "very secretive" project and did not realize at first that the project was "Bridgerton" again. "I had no idea it was 'Bridgerton' again, " Dodd said, speaking at London’s 180 House in mid-February.
How she learned the news
Dodd said several months went by before she learned the project was in fact "Bridgerton. " She described a moment of hesitation—"Part of me was like, 'Oh, do I want to go through that again?'"—but added, "I genuinely loved the material. A few days later I met with the team at Shondaland and a week after that I was at piano lessons. "
Showrunner reaction and context
Showrunner Jess Brownell spoke from Los Angeles about the casting process, saying, "We had seen hundreds of people and no one had felt quite right. We saw Hannah really late in the process and we instantly knew. She is such a subtle actor. She’s able to play shyness without seeming weak and you sense she has an inner strength that’s waiting to blossom, which was really necessary for a character who starts out in Season 3 as quite shy and reserved. But from this season and beyond, she’s a character who goes through quite a bit and is going to have a fierceness to her to survive it. " Brownell also discusses Season 3, the debate with Shonda Rhimes over Colin’s virginity, Julie Andrews’ fate as narrator and the visual changes coming to Season 4.
Replacing Ruby Stokes
Dodd was cast as Francesca Bridgerton for the third season, replacing Ruby Stokes, who had played the role in the first two seasons and departed due to scheduling issues. Dodd said she felt pressure joining the existing Bridgerton family: "Their chemistry was incredible and I could see from interviews that they seemed to absolutely love each other. I was like, 'Oh my God, how do I join that and make sure that I have that chemistry?' But the cast are so lovely and made me feel at home straight away. "
Where Francesca’s story comes from
The events surrounding Francesca in the first four seasons largely exist before those in Julia Quinn’s novel "When He Was Wicked, " known among fans as "Francesca’s book. " In Season 3, Francesca made her debut into the Ton and eventually found an unexpected connection with John Stirling, the Earl of Kilmartin, portrayed by Victor Alli. By the beginning of Season 4 the couple have married and settled down in his London home. In Part 2, John tragically dies. Dodd noted that almost all of Francesca’s story so far has been imagined by the show’s writers: "People who have read the books understand that none of what they’ve seen so far happens in the books. You don’t get to see her on the marriage mart. In Chapter 1 of her book, John dies and her story starts after that. " Brownell added, "John’s alive for about 10 pages of the book and then there’s a time jump, so we’re not spending a ton of time in what her immediate grief feels like. But it’s enough that we had some clues from Julia Quinn about how she might react. "
Sex scenes and critical reaction
The Sex Reviews column that evaluates sex scenes flagged a brief intimate moment between Francesca Bridgerton (Hannah Dodd) and her new husband, Lord John Stirling (Victor Alli), Earl of Kilmartin, as the first hot-and-heavy moment of Season 4, but judged it neither hot nor heavy. The column recapped the couple’s romance beginning in Season 3, noting two introverts bonded over reserved moments and that by the end of the last season they had married and moved to John’s native Scotland. Now back in London, the critics observed, only John seems to be truly enjoying their alone time. The brief scene begins with John on top of Francesca, slowly thrusting and moaning, while Francesca lies there with a pleasant, if uninspired, smile; for John the interaction reads as "very nice, " but for Francesca it appears run-of-the-mill.
Benedict and broader season notes
The review also covered other Season 4 storylines: Violet Bridgerton and her allergic-to-bees husband Edmund had eight children, named in alphabetical order; Benedict Bridgerton, played by Luke Thompson, is the second son, notable for aimlessness, while eldest son Anthony, played by Jonathan Bailey, is an exacting viscount. Benedict picks up painting and sketching then drops it, explores attraction to both men and women—an invention of the show not present in the Julia Quinn novels—and has been seen drinking late at night with a bohemian crowd. At the start of Season 4, Violet (Ruth Gemmell) is in despair over Benedict’s future and the Queen wants Benedict to marry. Benedict meets Sophie (Yerin Ha), a maid and the illegitimate child of a deceased lord, who sneaks into a masked ball in borrowed finery; they connect and are separated at midnight, and much of the season follows the logistics of reuniting them, Benedict learning Sophie’s backstory, and whether a marriage can work, raising the question of room for sex. The column noted previous ratings for sex scenes: Season 3 received a 4 of 10 and the Queen Charlotte spinoff a 3 of 10.
Throughout these developments, Dodd’s casting, the death of John Stirling, and critics’ assessments of intimacy scenes form a tightly linked set of creative choices in the latest instalment of the series.
