Bridgerton may have featured its most shocking death yet in the second part of its fourth season, released Thursday.
*Warning — Major spoilers for Bridgerton season four, part two ahead*
At the beginning of episode six, everything finally seems to be going right for introverted couple Lord John Stirling and his wife Lady Francesca Stirling (née Bridgerton), following a series of challenges earlier in the season.
John heads upstairs for a nap before dinner. But when Francesca tries to rouse him, he is unresponsive. The horror dawns quickly: he has died in his sleep.
“I wanted to fall off a horse,” actor Victor Alli told Netflix’s Tudum publication of his character’s untimely demise.
In the show, John’s cause of death is unclear; however, Alli revealed that it was an aneurysm, which was confirmed to him by the Bridgerton creative team during production.
In the books on which the Netflix show is based, author Julia Quinn confirms that John died of a ruptured cerebral aneurysm.
A cerebral aneurysm (also called a brain aneurysm) is a weak or thin spot in a blood vessel in the brain that balloons out and fills with blood. A rupture leads to bleeding in the brain, which can be followed by unconsciousness, coma, and death.
Quinn adds that “Nothing could have been done to save him” and that due to the medical knowledge at the time, “John’s death would have remained a mystery to those who loved him. All Francesca would ever know was that her husband had a headache, lay down, and died.”
John’s death is followed by an emotional funeral scene, and a grieving Francesca (played by Hannah Dodd) is thrust into hostess duties.
“Portraying Francesca’s stoicism terrified me at first because I didn’t want it to look like she didn’t care,” Dodd told Tudum. “But I do think that’s a really realistic look at how people react. It’s so painful and raw, but you have things you have to focus on.”
After the final scenes of season four, Bridgerton paid tribute to the real-life deaths of two crew members.
A dedication title card shown before the credits rolled read: “In loving memory of Nicholas Braimbridge, Tony Cooper.”
Braimbridge was a scenic artist who worked on both the show and its spin-off, Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story. Meanwhile, Cooper served as a unit driver transporting cast, crew, equipment, and more around the set to various filming locations.
Bridgerton season four is streaming now on Netflix.
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