Note the episode title above. This whole show is about answering that question. Who is in charge? In society, the Old Money wants to stay in charge, but the New Money wants the same brass ring. Also, that same question can be asked in many a household that we see on THE GILDED AGE. As an example, I’ll ask you who you think is in charge of the Russell home. Is it Bertha or is it George? However, from what we have gathered of Season Three of this Julian Fellowes’ masterwork, that theme is the root theme of the show, but not the driving theme of the season. Love is the point to be made over the next eight weeks. Whether it is a love of power, money, and honor, or of a more romantic nature, we shall see.
Let’s begin with a bit of a recap of the Opera War we had in Season Two, then one more look at the Season Three trailer before we dive into the saga for another season.
The season opens with serious business and simple fun. We find George Russell and Mr. Clay, his secretary, scouting locales in Arizona for a section of a transcontinental railroad Russell is pitching. As for the fun, the house staff of the Russell’s and Van Rhijn’s are enjoying a snowball fight in the streets. The first home we get a glimpse into this season is that of Ada & Agnes. A bit of an upheaval in that household, if we recall. Agnes fell out of money, and the widowed Ada fell into it. We are quickly reminded that she is technically the mistress of the house, and that issue will surely cause a great comedic tete-a-tete between the ladies all season. It starts right off with Ada supporting a Temperance meeting in the house. It is a cause she feels strongly for, in honor of her late husband. Our young Peggy Scott will help with the meeting as well.
Across the street, while her husband is across the country, Bertha Russell is in her zone and doing her thing. She really is somebody now that the “opera war” went in her favor, and she is going to ride that momentum towards God knows what. Her children, Gladys and Larry, are up to their own devices as well. They slip out of the house to explore their romantic interests. Larry finds Marian Brookes, and Gladys seeks out Billy. Big problems loom for both Russell children. Poor Gladys wants to marry Billy, but her mother, we know, has other ideas. She wants Gladys to marry a Duke. And Larry is equally eager for something more with Marian, but she isn’t ready for such pursuits. She feels she is not quite ready after spurning her last beau. What luck these youngsters may have in these endeavors will surely be revealed.
Peggy is moving forward with writing her novel, but she is under the weather and hopefully nothing more than a cold. Aurora Fane is in the throes of a divorce she is resisting, and Oscar, having lost his honor & wealth, appears to have given up. Jack Trotter’s clock invention is going well, but he’s suspicious that Larry Russell is not including him in the potential investor meetings over the object. His chance is now or never to improve his station, and all are for his success. The clashes in the Van Rhijn and the Russel house add to some lovely humor in this episode and perhaps throughout the season. In the one, the house staff is confused about just who is the mistress of their house, Ada or Agnes. And in the other, little Gladys resists any notion of the Duke and hopes her father gets home in time to honor her wishes to wed Billy instead. Late at night, she packs a bag and flees in hopes of perhaps eloping with Billy.
That’s a quick overview of the first episode of the new season. Enjoy THE GILDED AGE.
