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It was the ballroom introduction heard 'round the ton as viewers met Michaela Stirling in the second half of Season 3. The character’s introduction to the Regency-era series may have seemed unexpected so soon after Francesca’s marriage — a quiet love story many fans were rooting for — but it also signaled the added promise of a main queer storyline in a future season. Fans of Julia Quinn’s romance series upon which the show is based knew Francesca Bridgerton’s Season 3 love story with the quietly endearing John Stirling was unlikely to be her happy ending.

If the show followed the progression of the books, Stirling would die and Francesca would fall for his cousin, Michael Stirling. By gender-flipping the character in the new season, gave fans Michaela and the promise of a queer romance. While the change has roused online debate, especially for devotees of the books, the sparks that flew at first sight between Francesca and Michaela were exciting for fan Samantha Williams.



Despite the popularity of the Netflix series, the 24-year-old had been hesitant to stream it because she assumed that, as a queer woman, she wouldn’t see herself reflected onscreen. “In a time where it is still really common to see shows with LGBT representation, especially sapphic representation, canceled, and where books with LGBT representation are being banned across the country — coupled with heightened anti-LGBT legislation and rhetoric — it is really affirming and wonderful to see.

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