WARNING: This contains spoilers for Bridgerton season 2.
After a first season in which she appeared in just one episode, Francesca Bridgerton — the sixth oldest child in the family — was also missing from most of Bridgerton season 2. It took a little over a year for the Netflix series to return, and very much like in season 1, Bridgerton season 2 also had to deal with comparisons and expectations regarding the source material. As expected, Bridgerton season 2 focused on the story of Anthony, Lady Violet's eldest son, following the conclusion of Daphne and Simon’s arc.
While each of the books, and by extension each of Bridgerton's seasons, is focused on one of the eight siblings, all of Lady Violet's children have at least a minimal subplot scattered throughout the main story. However, that wasn’t the case for Francesca Bridgerton on the show. On the contrary, the character barely appeared in Bridgerton's seasons 1 and 2.
Francesca Bridgerton's absence for most of Bridgerton season 2 had to do with the schedule of the actress portraying Francesca. Ruby Stoke. According to producer Chris Van Dusen, Ruby Stoke had to “come out due to reasons beyond their control” (via TVLine). At the same time that Bridgerton season 2 was shooting, Netflix's Lockwood & Co, a show in which Stoke has a leading role, was also being filmed. This was most likely the scheduling conflict that kept the actress from filming more scenes for Bridgerton season 2 and caused the show to sideline Francesca again. In terms of the story, there was no specific explanation for Francesca's absence, with the character simply missing from the story. Perhaps the moment in season 2 in which Francesca's absence was most felt was when the entire Bridgerton family gathered for a dance in episode 7, and Lady Violet's sixth daughter was nowhere to be seen.
It is frustrating that after Francesca's minimal role in Bridgerton season 1 — in that case probably more due to a creative decision — and the promise of more of her in season 2, the character has been sidelined once again. That said, at least this issue is occurring when Bridgerton is still far from adapting the sixth book, When He Was Wicked, in which Francesca takes the spotlight. As the sixth child of Lady Violet and given the tradition of the novels, Francesca would only have to become the focus of the show in a hypothetical Bridgerton season 6. As of now, Bridgerton has been renewed for seasons 3 and 4, but it's still a mystery whether the show will follow the exact same narrative structure as the Bridgerton books. If that's the case, then there's still time for Francesca to be better developed before hers and Michael Stirling’s story comes to TV screens.
Adapting a book series with a huge set of characters is no easy task, and Francesca's absence throughout Bridgerton season 2 is an example of that. Managing such a large cast is difficult for any show, especially when most characters have important arcs or at least subplots in the books as well as fans who want to see those things on the screen. It remains to be seen whether Bridgerton season 3 will make up for Francesca’s absence in seasons 1 and 2, and if it will start setting the character up for future major plots.