A blunder in Bridgerton season four makes Francesca’s pregnancy storyline even more confusing

There was a lot of plot packed into the last two episodes of Bridgerton season four. The characters were unsure of whether Francesca was pregnant or not, and plenty of viewers were still confused by this at the end of the show. There’s a silly blunder in Bridgerton which makes Francesca’s pregnancy storyline even harder to follow.

So, in Bridgerton season four episode seven, Walter Dundas – that guy whose job is to spout exposition about titles – visits Francesca. He insists Francesca undergoes some examination to determine whether she is pregnant, and whether the Earldom of Kilmartin could pass to her future child or not. We see Francesca cry, and a doctor hover over her. There isn’t any dialogue in the scene.

This guy
(Image via Netflix)

Later on, Francesca and Violet have a conversation, and it seems Francesca now doesn’t think she’s pregnant. But it makes no sense how the characters could have reached this conclusion.

Although it’s not really explained in the show, it seems the doctor is looking for Chadwick’s sign – which is pretty much the only pregnancy test used by doctors in 19th century England. The doctor would be looking for a change in colour in the mucous membranes.

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However, it seems unlikely the doctor would have been able to see this in a half-lit room. And, Chadwick’s sign is only noticeable when somebody has been pregnant for two months. This doesn’t add up with the timeline of season four. The biggest blunder of all is that a doctor didn’t identify this until 1836, and the research wasn’t published in English medical journals or really discussed among doctors until 1886. Season four of Bridgerton is (approximately) set in 1816.

I doubt this doctor would pass GCSE biology
(Image via Netflix)

So, a Regency-era doctor wouldn’t have been able to determine if Francesca was pregnant in this way. This whole part of the plot makes no sense.

This part of the plot was added to the show by Netflix. In the book series, it is a lot clearer what happens. Francesca does get pregnant before John dies, but has a miscarriage.

Bridgerton is available on Netflix now. For all the latest Netflix news and drops, like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook.