WARNING: THIS STORY CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR JULIA QUINN’S NOVELS.
Bridgerton season four has now concluded on Netflix with the final four episodes unveiling some significant revelations for many of the characters, from Francesca (portrayed by Hannah Dodd) to Sophie Baek (Yerin Ha). The final Bridgerton episodes also posed numerous questions ahead of the fifth season, which is already in progress.
The creators of the series have already confirmed that season five will follow either Francesca or Eloise Bridgerton (Claudia Jessie), and fans are eager to learn more about how their love stories unfold in Quinn’s novels. Francesca’s story is narrated in When He Was Wicked, whilst Eloise’s unfolds in To Sir Phillip, With Love.
Bridgerton showrunner Jess Brownell confirmed to Swooon that Eloise will end up with Phillip Crane (Chris Fulton) in the show, instead of her hinted love interest, print shop worker Theo. She stated: “I think we are interested in honouring the love interest from Eloise’s book.
“I can dispel, she’s not ending up with Theo. She’s ending up with the love interest from her book. What exactly [Eloise’s season] looks like, I don’t want to speak too much on because I want to keep it focused on Luke and Yerin for now.”
In the Netflix adaptation, Phillip is married to Marina Thompson (Ruby Barker), whom Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) began to develop feelings for when she came to reside with the Featheringtons in season one. So how do Eloise and Phillip end up together?
Marina, a distant cousin of the Featheringtons, has a tragic storyline in the books, having fallen into a severe depression. After giving birth to her twins, Oliver and Amanda, she battled with her postpartum mental health. Postpartum depression was not acknowledged at the time and was therefore not treated and Marina continued to decline. She would often remain confined to her room and would not emerge for days at a time.
She found some solace in her children, but lacked the energy to care for them. Despite Phillip’s attempts to help her, her mental health continued to worsen. Not knowing how else to assist his wife, Phillip turned his focus to his children and his work. Eight years after their marriage, Phillip saw Marina walking towards a nearby lake and realised she was attempting to drown herself.
He was able to rescue her before she could carry it out, but she ended up developing lung fever as a consequence of the freezing cold water. She died three days later. Following Marina’s death, Phillip went on to marry Eloise after they became pen pals. He admitted he felt trapped in his previous marriage due to Marina’s depression.
Eloise provided him with solace, stating that Marina was not a happy child and had likely been battling depression for most of her life. In reality, Marina actress Ruby Barker has been candid about her own experience being hospitalised due to her mental health.
In 2022, she shared an update with her social media followers from the hospital where she had been undergoing treatment, stating: “I just want to be honest with everybody, I have been struggling. So, I’m in the hospital at the minute, I’m gonna get discharged soon and hopefully get to continue with my life and I’m gonna take a little bit of a break from myself.
“And I want to encourage others, if you are struggling, please do yourself a favour. Take a break, stop being so hard on yourself. And people used to always tell me not to be so hard on myself, and I never really, really knew what that meant.” She proceeded to express gratitude to Netflix and Bridgerton creator Shona Rhimes for “giving me an opportunity, for saving me”.
Bridgerton season 4 is available on Netflix.
Read more on Manchester Evening News
