[This story contains spoilers from the second episode of The Gilded Age season three.]
Stakes got a lot higher in The Gilded Age’s second episode of season three titled “What the Papers Say,” especially with Gladys (Taissa Farmiga). Bertha’s (Carrie Coon) intentions regarding matters of her daughter’s heart were far more covert in the first episode. Now there’s no question that Bertha intends for her daughter to become the Duchess of Buckingham. Never mind the fact that Gladys and Hector, the Duke of Buckingham (Ben Lamb) don’t even know each other. For her part, Gladys is confident her dad George (Morgan Spector) will straighten it all out when he returns home. Regardless of the outcome, the tension between George and Bertha is very palpable and that kind of tension doesn’t just disappear.
As Gladys heads toward marriage, preferably one of love, Aurora (Kelli O’Hara) continues to feel the fallout from her husband’s change of heart, keeping a much-needed spotlight on divorce. Meanwhile, Peggy’s (Denée Benton) health worsens. Sadly, her race affects the care she’s able to receive, which puts the times of a nation recently removed from slavery as law in context. Fortunately, there are also Black doctors. Dr. William Kirkland (Jordan Donica), who treats her, comes with an additional bonus as a potential love interest. Plus, Marian (Louisa Jacobson) and Larry (Harry Richardson), as shown in the premiere, are exploring a relationship. As The Gilded Age creator Julian Fellowes shared previously, power is the consistent theme of the season. And episode two outlined that even more clearly.
Sonja Warfield, who shapes this history-entrenched world alongside Fellowes, spoke with The Hollywood Reporter about episode two and answered questions about where George and Bertha’s battle over whom Gladys will wed might leave them. Peggy, she promised, was entering her long overdue “soft life era.” Meanwhile Warfield spoke about Marian and Larry’s evolving romance, addressed the clash between sisters Agnes (Christine Baranski) and Ada (Cynthia Nixon) now that the younger sister had come into her own money and explored the huge ways in which wealth and status differed in Europe and America, among other topics.
***
The first episode danced around it but in episode two, we now know what Bertha has really done. And because we know that she has promised her daughter Gladys’ hand-in-marriage to Hector, the Duke of Buckingham, the debate between whether to marry for love or status has come into play. Can you elaborate on what that means for the season and what that means for the Russell family?
Well, at the end of episode one, Bertha really lays it out to her daughter, telling her that, essentially, Gladys is an heiress for all intents and purposes by American standards, and so she can’t marry someone ordinary. If Bertha gets what she wants and Gladys is to wed the Duke, that will elevate her beyond any American standards of wealth, of class. And so that will always solidify their family’s place in history. George’s wealth doesn’t have the same gravitas of that Cornwall royalty title.
So let’s talk about the tension this creates between George and Bertha. They’re both very ambitious people, but I think in this storyline, this may be the only sphere in which a woman could truly be influential in this time, at this economic status.
Well, you remember George promised his daughter she could marry for love, and so now that puts him in direct odds with his wife. He’s caught between his wife and his daughter, and that’s certainly not a tenable place to be. It creates a lot of conflicts and complications with both relationships, and you’re going to see how that plays out within the family, within the marriage in George personally, and so this is something that kind of torments him.
Do you think Billy basically bows out from asking George to marry Gladys because he, more than Gladys, understands what her position is now?
I think Billy understands not necessarily what Gladys’ position is; Billy understands where he falls and Billy sees the power and influence George Russell wields. He’s from a family of means, but his family will never measure up to the Russells, and Billy Carlton wants to continue to succeed in business and in society. And [George Russell] is a force that he can’t come up against. It’s a no-win situation for him.
With Aurora’s storyline, we see what a woman can lose outside of marriage. Can you talk about that dynamic, particularly how fragile striving to marry for position can be?
Yes, women in the 1880s didn’t have any power, really, unless it was through their husband or their father. Unfortunately, I think, women, often back then [and some] still do internalize the patriarchy and the misogyny. So despite the fact that her husband was the one who was the adulterer, Aurora [is the one] who [will] be punished. So Aurora’s place in society is gone. Even her Aunt Agnes says you won’t be comfortable coming to dinner in groups anymore. She’s essentially going to be shunned because her husband decided he didn’t want to be in the marriage anymore. So Aurora is going to have to navigate this new life and new world, and we’ll see where it takes her. Will she ever be able to gain her place back in society? I think that is for us to discover as you watch the season unfold.
Speaking of a woman’s place in society, we’re seeing more of Peggy’s world, and we have an important new addition and introduction with Dr. William Kirkland. Why now? What are you setting in motion?
Well, I think it’s time Peggy entered her soft-life era. She’s been through a lot the last two seasons. I know I felt like that’s what that character wanted and needed. And the history of Newport and the Black elite in Newport, we learned about that community. What’s interesting about Newport is that because it’s so small, both the Black and white population lived in close proximity to each other. Schools were integrated. Some spaces were integrated. Don’t get me wrong, there was still a lot of discrimination and degradation. But there were generations of freed Black people who were there, this Black elite community and so we wanted to show that while there was this ostentatious world of New York society going to their homes in Newport, at the same time, there was a Black elite community in Newport.
And this is not necessarily a world in which Peggy and her family have been, right?
Well, ironically, she does have some family on her mother’s side. She has a cousin who resides in Newport. They have visited that cousin and spent some time there, but not an enormous amount of time.
We are seeing a spark between Peggy and Dr. Kirkland, right? So now she may have a good reason to go back.
Yes, yes, it is a spark. And it’s one that I think was a long time coming,
Peggy meets Dr. Kirkland because she gets ill. But Peggy’s illness also reminds people that, yes, there’s still discrimination. Although you see Peggy and her family doing these fabulous things, they still have to contend with prejudice.
Absolutely, the doctor won’t even see her.
Why was it important to remind the audience of that?
Because I think what we’ve created in the Brook [now Forte] van Rhijn house is an anomaly, and so I wanted to remind the audience that, while Peggy is on 61st Street and living there and working there and accepted by everyone in the home saving Armstrong, that’s not true once she steps out of that house.
We also see the progression of Marian Brook and Larry Russell’s relationship. Can you talk a little bit about that?
There’s always been a little bit of an attraction, and they have been friends. At the end of last season, they share that kiss and that romantic moment. So we’ll see that relationship build throughout the season. We’ll see where it takes them. We’ll see how his family is accepting of Marian and how Marian’s accepts Larry or not. And I think it’s a sweet it’s a sweet romance, and I have high hopes for them, and we’ll see what happens.
Cynthia Nixon and Christine Baranski in The Gilded Age season three.
HBO
Comment on the power struggle between Agnes and Ada.
I love to put characters under pressure and see how they react, especially when dynamics change. And this is a very big dynamic shift. You know Ada was empowered through love with her deceased husband. She has a voice that she never had and so now, with this new position and money, we will see how she’ll use her voice and how she and Agnes will both continue to fight for power. The whole show is about power, and so this is the microcosm of the power shift in the Brook house.
And we see George is making a huge power move now.
Yeah, he is, and he continues to. With big risk comes big reward, so we’ll see if he gets his reward.
Or if he’s ruined everything?
That’s part of it. Everything is a gamble.
Even though he made this promise to his daughter, given where he’s trying to go, you would think that him and Bertha might be more in sync with her move for Gladys.
He did tell his daughter he would let her marry for love. He married Bertha because he loved her. He allows Bertha to take over the social side of the family, but this is different because this isn’t a party or a ball. This is a commitment for the rest of his daughter’s life, and she wouldn’t be able to live in America anymore.
So does this show that, for George, there is something greater than his ambition?
Absolutely. His love for his children, for his wife or his family. Both George and Bertha are ambitious and both are ruthless, and they’ve been on the same track thus far, and so now we’ll see what happens when their interests diverge.
We also saw Oscar reunite with his friend John.
He and John are very close friends, and Oscar’s in trouble, and I’m grateful he has his friend to help.
Also, we see that Jack’s clock is ticking further along.
He is [aiming for] the great American success story. You know coming from nothing and creating something and hopefully changing his life.
It also sets up the dynamic of what makes America different from Europe.
Absolutely. Because in Europe, he would have a life of service, and his children would have a life of service, and it would be difficult to break out of that place in the world, his place in society. And in America, you’ve gotta pull yourself up by your bootstraps. You can invent things, great things, and see where it takes you.
***
New episodes of The Gilded Age’s third season premiered June 22 and continue weekly through Aug. 10, streaming on HBO Max.