#probably in part because bwwm romances just aren't that novel to me anymore

[danykindaforgotaboutdre]

How I would approach Franchaela if I were in the writer's room

It's not going to be the same story as the books, none of the seasons have been, but I think it still has the potential to be great. Unlike others, I really loved s3 (aside from a couple of gripes) in fact, I think most offline people enjoyed it, so I'm not super worried about where the show is heading. It's never been prestige television, just a fun, frothy romance.

If I were to write Francesca's story I would do it this way.

Have Francesca and John settle into a happy and loving marriage that lasts the entirety of s4, alongside her friendship with Michaela. I don't want Francesca to entertain what her feelings might be outside of admiration and maybe a desire to be more like her. It doesn't have to ruin her story with John unless they want it to, and giving that much power to a minute or so of screentime feels like a mistake.

Francesca's season isn't happening until about 2030 so there is a lot of time to flesh out this storyline in a satisfying way if the show is lucky enough to last that long (and considering it will be one of the few certified hits left on Netflix once Stranger Things ends and the cast is more or less rotating, I can see it sustaining itself all 8 seasons unless something drastic happens). I think it shouldn't even enter her mind that she might be queer until after John is already gone. In this time period I think it's realistic that it just wouldn't dawn on her fully.

John dies at the end of s4 or the beginning of s5 (I think I'd prefer the latter), a heartbroken Francesca leans on Michaela for support, but Michaela starts to lose trust in herself so she leaves like in the books. I'm all for army nurse Michaela, bring on the badassery. She'll replace the hole in my heart that Claire Fraser left when Outlander got too cool with slavery for my liking. End tangent.

In s6, after a time jump, Francesca decides to remarry due to her desire for children, Michaela returns, perhaps for some unrelated reason, or perhaps because Francesca reaches out to her hoping to reconnect and garner support in her search for a husband. Francesca's feelings start to come to the surface but she denies them, setting her sights on a man instead, but she is unable to connect with him due to her feelings for Michaela, which she finally acts on mid s6. Considering Michaela can not give her a child I suspect they'd both feel a great deal of angst over this, but decide to commit to each other anyway.

The two women begin to bond with an orphan that they later take in, the kid can be present for the whole season or the latter half.

They can also kill John off at the end of s4 and have the time jump take place between s4 and s5 since they sort of play fast and loose with the timeline anyway and every season is separated by two years. That way Francesca's search for a husband and burgeoning feelings for Michaela can occur alongside Eloise's season, and s6 can be exclusively belong to Francesca, Michaela and their adoption of a child.

As much as I liked the book I think some very good drama can be mined from Francesca's queer awakening and am looking forward to what they do with it. Also, Violet's acceptance of quiet love very much could have been for herself as much as Francesca, seeing as she's pursuing a new romance that is simply nice and uncomplicated compared to what she had with Edmund. But again, time will tell. The story doesn’t have to play out exactly in this way for me to enjoy it, I’m excited to see what they cook up regardless.