Whereas “Bridgerton” Season 3, Part 2 teased a blossoming romance for a couple of the Bridgerton siblings — including Francesca — Eloise’s future leaves a lot more to be discovered, and showrunner Jess Brownell prefers it that way.
In the Season 3 finale, which is now streaming on Netflix, Eloise (Claudia Jessie) asked to tag along with Francesca (Hannah Dodd) and her husband John Stirling (Victor Alli) to Scotland, telling her sister she wished to live outside the “tiny bubble” of the ton and “have some adventures.” In discovering her pursuit to change the world, Eloise told Francesca she “cannot change the world without seeing it.”
“I think where she’s at right now, she’s just not that interested in romance,” Brownell told TheWrap. “She really cares about her family relationships and she really cares about her friendships, and I think she still has some room for growth.”
However, Brownell didn’t rule out a potential romantic interest in Eloise’s future, pointing to her attraction to printer’s assistant Theo (Calam Lynch) in Season 2. The showrunner noted that she has always thought of the pair’s relationship as a “cerebral connection.”
“I think it’s absolutely possible that she’s going to open up to love in the future, but we have a little bit more we want to do with her before she’s ready for that,” Brownell said.
Eloise’s newfound friendship with former antagonist Cressida (Jessica Madsen) has also sparked speculation among fans this season, with some making fan edits imagining a queer relationship between the pair. While Brownell said speculation of a romantic connection between Eloise and Cressida was not “necessarily what [the team] intended,” she understands why people have read into it.
“They have a beautiful friendship and I do think that female friendship gets really underplayed on television, so when you do have these nice moments of female friendship, it’s just such a delight to see,” Brownell said. “I think it’s also a reflection of how hungry audiences have been to see queer relationships and queer stories on ‘Bridgerton,’ so I’m really proud to be exploring that territory with Benedict and Francesca.”
With well-established marriages alongside budding relationships all across the series, Brownell thinks it’s “wonderful to have a character who just isn’t interested in that right now.” “Hopefully a lot of people see themselves in that not everyone puts such an importance on romantic relationships,” she said.
Jessie, who plays Eloise, previously admitted there’s much more to “experiment” with her character, telling TheWrap at the “Bridgerton” Season 3 premiere, “What’s good about Eloise is that there is loads of room for her to play.”
“I don’t think Shondaland would ever ignore romance or anything, but there is room for Eloise to go in a bit of a different journey,” Jessie said. “The good thing about the books is we have this beautiful foundation, but Shondaland has always kept it fresh by adding in new things here and there.”
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