Warning: This post contains spoilers for Bridgerton season 4, part 1.

Just as Francesca and John are hitting their stride as newlyweds in Bridgerton season 4, John’s disruptive cousin, Michaela, arrives to complicate things once more.

The calm, quiet pair hit a few bumps in the road in part 1 of season 4, as Francesca (Hannah Dodd) challenged herself to be vulnerable with her husband (Victor Alli) about their sex life and her satisfaction.

The first installment of season 4, which premiered Thursday, Jan. 29, on Netflix, left off with a big cliffhanger for Francesca, as Michaela (Masali Baduza) arrived unannounced to her and John’s home in London.

“There’s conflict there, there’s tension,” Dodd, 30, tells PEOPLE of Michaela’s surprise arrival. “Which is so exciting, and I think that’s where a great story has come out of.”

Michaela is “not an easy presence for Francesca to be around,” as Dodd explains. “Michaela is a tornado and she makes Francesca uncomfortable — there’s something about her energy.”

Francesca, too, is bothered by the dynamic between her husband and his cousin. “The whole thing… Francesca’s very inhibited by rules of society, and the expectations she puts on herself, the expectations society puts on her, and she lives her life in this way — very structured — and Michaela is the opposite.”

“I think that push and pull of them is just something that is really confronting for Francesca,” she says.

Within that tension, though, is a lot of fun for Dodd, Alli, 30, and Baduza, 28. “I think it’s great, though, it’s a great dynamic,” Dodd says. “And having them all under one roof is really exciting, and I’m excited for people to see part 2.”

As Luke Newton sees it, Francesca and Michaela are “two people [who] need to meet another person that’s going to bring the opposites of [them]. This person needs a bit more of this, and this person needs a bit more of this.”

Baduza’s arrival at the end of season 3 marked a departure from the book series. In Francesca’s book, When He Was Wicked, she falls in love with John’s cousin Michael after John dies, and author Julia Quinn wrote in an Instagram post when the gender-swap was revealed that she is “deeply committed to the Bridgerton world becoming more diverse and inclusive as the stories move from book to screen.”

Quinn said she and showrunner Jess Brownell “talked for a long time” before deciding on the gender-swap, as she promised, “We are going to end up with two stories, one on page and one on screen, and they will both be beautiful and moving.”

Alli told PEOPLE he thought the decision to gender-swap Michaela was “really cool.“

“I was told that they’re going to switch up a bit before we did any of that filming, and it was quite nice. It was really pleasant to sort of read that introduction,” he said. “I’m really glad and I was really excited.”

Part 1 of Bridgerton season 4 is now streaming on Netflix. Part 2 premieres Feb. 26.