Bridgerton's showrunner, Jess Brownell, defended the timing of a beloved character's death in season 4 of the show's season 4 episode 7 of the season, stating that the character's loss drove the story forward. The death of John Stirling (Victor Alli), played by Hannah Dodd and Victor Alli, led to a significant shift in the story of Benedict Bridgerton (Luke Thompson), the second-born son of the high-ranking family and Sophie Beckett (Yerin Ha), a maid. Brownell explains that the loss allows both the matriarch of the Bridgerterton family, Violet (Ruth Gemmell), and Benedict to "see Benedict's situation with Sophie a little differently, a little more sympathetically," Brownell says. The showrunner knew that John's death would occur early on and that it was the right time to properly grieve him and allow for the development of Francesca's story.