“Bridgerton” Season 4 Part 2: A Beloved Character's Sudden Death Changes Everything

Julia MooreThu, February 26, 2026 at 2:58 PM UTC

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Florence Hunt as Hyacinth Bridgerton, Hannah Dodd as Francesca Bridgerton, Luke Thompson as Benedict Bridgerton, Claudia Jessie as Eloise Bridgerton, Will Tilston as Gregory Bridgerton, Victor Alli as Lord John Stirling, Ruth Gemmell as Lady Violet Bridgerton in "Bridgerton" season 4Credit: Liam Daniel/Netflix

Warning: This post contains spoilers for Bridgerton season 4, part 2.

Part 2 of Bridgerton season 4 premiered on Netflix on Feb. 26

The new batch of episodes saw a beloved character die, leading to heartbreak and grief for the whole Bridgerton family

Season 4 follows the love story between Benedict (Luke Thompson) and Sophie Baek (Yerin Ha)

Part 2 of Bridgerton season 4 took a truly heartbreaking turn.

In episode 7, John Stirling (Victor Alli), who married Francesca Bridgerton (Hannah Dodd) in season 3, died in his sleep, leaving Francesca and the whole Bridgerton family, as well as John's cousin Michaela (Masali Baduza), overwhelmed with grief.

A widowed Francesca tried to keep her calm facade from slipping. She channeled her grief into planning his memorial and handling John's estate. She also poured much of her energy into hoping she was pregnant, though an invasive exam revealed that she, sadly, was not.

Dodd, 30, tells PEOPLE she was with her costar, Alli, when they got the scripts for the episode, "and I was literally in tears."

They've both "known from the beginning" what John's fate would be — in Julia Quinn's novel, When He Was Wicked, John dies just shy of his second anniversary with Francesca, who later falls in love with his cousin, Michael, who was gender-swapped to be Michaela in the series.

Victor Alli as Lord John Stirling, Hannah Dodd as Francesca Bridgerton in "Bridgerton" season 4Credit: Liam Daniel/Netflix

"We didn't know when it was going to happen," Dodd says. "Even last season, we were like, 'It could happen this season.'"

When season 4 came around, they got a heads up: "We did know it was going to happen this season," she says.

Both Alli and Dodd joined the show in season 3. Dodd took over for Ruby Stokes, who played Francesca in the first two seasons.

Alli, 30, first learned that his character dies on "the day of my chemistry read, when I went to see Hannah," he tells PEOPLE.

"I was like, 'I should do some more research on the character.' I was like, 'Oh, that's what happens,'" he says. "And then I was like, 'Cool.' I had to [try to] forget about it and just get on with the scene."

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Despite knowing his run on the series would be short, he says he was "excited" about John's story.

"It's a nice journey and a nice character arc, and so I was more excited to be joining the ton and exploring this story," he says.

Hannah Dodd as Francesca Bridgerton, Victor Alli as John Stirling, Masali Baduza as Michaela in "Bridgerton" season 4Credit: Liam Daniel/Netflix

"But I think towards the end of shooting season 4, I was like, 'Oh, man, this is emotional,' " he admits. "It's one of those things. It's like you die, and it's like, 'Oh, man.' It's pretty emotional. But, yeah, it was fun doing it anyway and doing the show, so I'm really grateful."

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Showrunner Jess Brownell tells PEOPLE that it was "important to me that Victor knew very clearly what his timeline was, so he didn't get surprise killed off."

Introducing John and Francesca's romance in season 3 and having them get married that same season was intentional, she says, because John's death in season 4 is "something we knew really early on."

"We felt like it was the right timeline to allow us to really get to know Francesca and John as a couple, but also to allow ourselves enough time to properly grieve John," Brownell says.

Victor Alli as John Stirling, Masali Baduza as Michaela in "Bridgerton" season 4Credit: Liam Daniel/Netflix

Brownell has confirmed that the next two seasons of Bridgerton will follow Francesca and Eloise (Claudia Jessie), though she did not confirm which sister will be first to step into the lead role. Given the timing of John's death — and Michaela abandoning Francesca at the end of season 4 despite her pleas for her to stay amidst their grief — it's unclear whether Francesca's story will be the focus of season 5 or not.

While Eloise's book, To Sir Phillip, With Love, is technically next in order, the show already changed the timelines slightly by having Colin and Penelope's story as season 3, when their book is fourth in Quinn's series.

Part 2 of Bridgerton season 4 is now streaming.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”