Francesca not orgasming with John IS a big deal
I know this has probably been discussed to death, but I genuinely find it bizarre how a large portion of the fandom shrugs it off.
At the end of the day, we’re watching a romance show — a historical romance, even if it has taken plenty of creative liberties. Every couple we’ve seen has had mind-blowing sex. It’s basically part of the show’s entire thing: true love = passion, chemistry and crazy sex. We’re supposed to lose ourselves in a fantasy where men pleasure women.
Then we get Francesca.
A woman who seems uninterested in men, looked disappointed after her wedding kiss, felt butterflies when she met Michaela, and now has bad sex with her husband.
Yet somehow the conclusion a lot of the fandom has reached is: “It’s a realistic representation of the orgasm gap 😍”, “Most women don’t come, this is so realistic!”, or “I feel so seen because I have bad sex with men too.”
But... this is a romance show.
If the writers deliberately chose to portray Francesca and John as sexually incompatible, then that is a narrative choice. Everything they do, especially when it comes to the relationships, is deliberate.
There’s a reason Penelope looked shocked at the mere thought of having an unfulfilling sex life. Within Bridgerton, sexual compatibility is clearly part of how romantic compatibility is portrayed.
Can you imagine if any of the other married Bridgerton couples had a bad sex life too? Would we really just shrug and call it “realistic representation”?