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Bridgerton season 4 spoilers ahead.
When you think about Bridgerton, certain images immediately come to mind; frills, ballrooms, and dashing Bridgerton brothers are probably already swimming before your eyes. Oh yes, and plenty of sex. After all, the show is practically synonymous with period-drama passion—let’s be honest, a lot of us are really in it for the bodice-ripping and garter-tearing, all set to string covers of 21st-century pop bangers. But this season Bridgerton is tackling a less sexy side of sex: the orgasm gap. It seems that not every faux Regency-era sex session is a passionate, string-accompanied affair!
Francesca (Hannah Dodd), the sixth Bridgerton sibling, quietly tied the knot with John Stirling (Victor Alli) at the end of season 3. Their courtship was tender, quiet, subdued—and hardly full of the passion and yearning that Bridgerton has become known for. In season 4, we get a peek inside the Stirling bedroom. And unfortunately, their friendly, pleasant sort of love translates into what appears to be a friendly, pleasant sort of sex life.
First, we see them getting it on—very quietly and carefully. As John rolls to the other side of the bed, he reveals Francesca looking—well, unmoved by the whole thing. (The fact that she is super into his cousin Michaela (Masali Badusa) may have a little something to do with it, but that’s a story for another season.)
It is only when Francesca speaks to Nicola Coughlan’s Penelope (who is apparently having a whole lot of wild, orgasm-filled sex with her new husband, Colin, played by Luke Newton) that she begins to realize something may be missing from her own love life. Namely, something called a pinnacle.
In her first conversation with John about it, she tries to gently bring it up, but when he asks her if she is achieving her pinnacle, she can’t help but reply quickly, “Yes, of course.”
She soon learns that this pinnacle is thought to be linked to success at getting pregnant. So, naturally, she starts to worry even more.
She tries to amp up the heat with her husband, practically pouncing on him at tea time. But this isn’t really their style, and it leads to a painfully awkward, confronting conversation. John, to his credit, seems eager to help his wife feel comfortable. He approaches the topic of her “unexpected visit” later, sounding more like a Gen Z boy who’s been to therapy than a Regency-era man. “If you should like to be more expressive together, I should be happy to comply,” he says.
And so they agree to work on it. However, it doesn’t exactly go well and ends up with Francesca giving her best Sally Albright impression and faking an orgasm. John once again whips out some impressive therapy-speak and tells her kindly, “You do not have to perform for my sake.”
After Bridgerton, The Summer I Turned Pretty, and Heated Rivalry, I’ll never look at stairwells the same.
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She finally confesses: “I have not ever, and I am starting to think it is why we are not yet with child. Forgive me, I do not know what is wrong with me.”
John continues to be nothing but understanding. “Whatever you wish for in life, I will always endeavour to give it to you. Children, pinnacles,” he says soothingly. “But I also hope you know you are just right as you are and we are just right as we are, right now."
And there we leave it. For now.
Bridgerton may be set in the Regency era, but Francesca’s dilemma feels eerily contemporary. According to recent research from the UK, only 30% of women claim they orgasm every time they have sex. After all, we may talk about sex more then we’ve done in the past, but the orgasm gap remains shrouded in stigma. Actually admitting you might not be reaching the your pinnacle still feels like a taboo subject.
“For a long time, female pleasure has been treated as something that should just happen if you’re with the right person,” explains anxiety and relationship therapist Shelly Dar. “When it doesn’t, many women assume something is wrong with them rather than questioning the situation, the pace, or the lack of communication.”
Dodd, as Francesca, captures just how isolating it can be. How it can feel as though everyone else is doing it right while you are failing. Panic, self-doubt, and embarrassment set in.
Adds Dar, “There’s also still a strong cultural script that centers penetration and male pleasure. That leaves many women feeling confused or embarrassed when their bodies don’t respond in the way they think they’re supposed to. Shame grows in the gap between expectation and reality.”
Bridgerton also captures just how hard it can be to actually bring it up, whether it be with friends, family, your partner—or even in your own mind. Francesca would rather fake it than delve too deeply.
“It can feel exposing on several levels. With friends, there’s often fear of comparison or feeling abnormal. With partners, many women worry about hurting feelings, sounding demanding, or upsetting the balance in the relationship,” Dar says.
“A lot of women have learned that being easygoing and desirable is safer than being honest about their needs. Staying quiet can feel less risky than opening a conversation that might feel awkward or vulnerable.”
Ultimately, as real as Bridgerton may get with Francesca’s feelings, it is still a fantasy. It’s a version of Regency-era London where the clothes are always pristine, the hair is always flawless, the men are always yearning, and the sex is always good. Or, when it isn’t, where your partner is faultlessly gentle and delicate and open and kind about it all.
Of course, in reality John probably wouldn’t be spewing therapist-approved words of encouragement at Francesca. But in a world where the orgasm gap still comes with a huge amount of stigma, isn’t it nice to see an example of how it could go?
“Television shapes expectations as much as it reflects reality,” Dar says. “While Bridgerton isn’t aiming for realism, it shows what intimacy can look like when curiosity and care are present instead of pressure or silence.”
Even if it’s all very gentle and open and un-Regency, it offers a rare glimpse of how couples could approach these vulnerable, difficult conversations.
“Many people have never seen examples of sexual communication that are gentle and nonjudgmental. Showing supportive responses helps challenge the idea that women should simply endure discomfort or stay quiet, and instead suggests that pleasure is something worth slowing down for and talking about,” Dar says. “From a therapeutic point of view, that kind of representation is quietly powerful.”
We’ll have to wait until part 2 of season 4 drops next month to find out if Francesca ever achieves her pinnacle with John—but based on how Bridgerton is going so far, I think it’s safe (and not too spoilery) to say she’ll have a little more success with a certain cousin. In the meantime, I can only applaud the show for reminding us that even in a fantasy, sex isn't always straightforward—and that that is nothing to be ashamed of.
This article first appeared on Glamour UK.
