Editor’s note: The below recap contains spoilers for The Gilded Age Season 3 premiere. Julian Fellowes’ historical dramas have been capturing audiences’ hearts for years, but the latest one, The Gilded Age, is finally back with its greatly anticipated third season. Exploring 1880s New York society and the clash between the old and new families that occurred in this era, the show has many memorable characters, from the aloof Agnes van Rhijn (Christine Baranski) to the ambitious Bertha Russell (Carrie Coon) and everyone in between. Season 2 left off with Agnes reliant on her sister, Ada (Cynthia Nixon), and her newly inherited fortune, their niece, Marian Brook (Louisa Jacobson), ending her engagement and seeming to start something with their neighbor, Larry Russell (Harry Richardson), and Bertha triumphing in the Opera War and eyeing an advantageous marriage for her daughter, Gladys (Taissa Farmiga). Season 3 picks up there with the episode “Who Is in Charge Here?” and despite the two-year wait, delivers on all the drama that fans have been missing in an eventful new chapter of this story.
George Russell Has a New Business Venture in ‘The Gilded Age’ Season 3

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The season opens with horses and a carriage in Morenci, Arizona, where George Russell (Morgan Spector) hopes to negotiate a new deal to make him even richer. While George has already been shown as a shrewd businessman, this endeavor represents a major risk. His grand plan is to create a cross-country railroad, but to do so, he needs land that currently holds mines. With his associate, Clay (Patrick Page), he strategizes to acquire the land he needs, but the miners are reluctant to sell. They know George will turn their land into something profitable and want a piece. Meeting him together, rather than letting him pick them off one by one, the miners hope to get in on the deal, which isn’t the easy answer George hoped for. After receiving an urgent message about a run on the Metropolitan National Bank, George rushes back to New York, leaving Clay to finish the negotiations under the threat of losing his job.
The Van Rhijns Deal With Major Change in ‘The Gilded Age’ Season 3 Premiere

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After Oscar (Blake Ritson) lost the family money last season, the van Rhijns are living off the surprise fortune Ada inherited from her late husband, Luke Forte (Robert Sean Leonard). However, it raises the question of which sister is in charge, as Agnes owns the house, but Ada pays the servants’ wages. Unfortunately, the servants are stuck in the middle, getting conflicting orders and unsure of who has authority. Bannister (Simon Jones) tries several times to ask, but gets nowhere in determining who is in charge of the house now. Ada takes her new position well, standing up to Agnes for her ideas, specifically her new cause: temperance. Ada hosts a meeting for the activist group that hopes to ban alcohol, and though Agnes vocally disapproves of Ada’s interest in the movement, Ada sticks to it. Meanwhile, Oscar is struggling in his new environment, having moved into his mother’s house after losing his position at the bank. When Oscar asks Ada for an allowance, she insists that she will make sure his needs are met, but if he wants more, he will have to work. Hoping to inspire Oscar, Ada invites Larry Russell to dine with them, though she doesn’t know that Larry and Marian are secretly courting. The dinner takes an awkward turn as Agnes berates Oscar for not having a job while also complaining that Marian has taken a new position at the Female Normal and High School, but when Marian calls out the double standard, Agnes brushes it off. That evening, Marian asks Oscar what he thought of the dinner, confirming that Ada’s plan failed, which leads Marian to wonder if he will try to marry for money yet again, though Oscar doesn’t seem hopeful now that he has little to offer.

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‘The Gilded Age’ Season 3 Explores Classism and Racism

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Beyond being caught between Agnes and Ada’s instructions, the servants have their own lives, especially the footman, Jack (Ben Ahlers), who continues working with Larry to sell his clock. Larry tells Jack that he’s lined up several meetings but intends to go to them alone, to Jack’s disappointment. Jack creates drawings for Larry to use in the meetings, but Larry doesn’t understand the technical elements of Jack’s invention. However, the biggest drama in Jack’s story is that while he meets with Larry, the Russell servants don’t want to serve him, but Larry insists. As he leaves, Adelheid (Erin Wilhelmi) accuses Jack of reaching above his station because of the confrontation, and though Jack defends his choices, her words bother him. Meanwhile, Peggy’s (Denée Benton) storyline once again shows racism at work. Peggy spends a night at her parents’ house, where she receives a letter from the editor of the Christian Recorder, who agrees to publish an excerpt from her novel. Rushing back to the van Rhijns’ house in the unseasonably late snow leads to Peggy getting sick. As she grows more ill, Agnes insists on calling a doctor, but much to Agnes’ dismay, the family doctor refuses to treat Peggy because of her race. With Agnes unable to bully him into doing so, the van Rhijns send an urgent message to Peggy’s parents.
‘The Gilded Age’ Season 3 Gives Aurora Fane a Tragic Story

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The Gilded Age highlights another social injustice of the time through Aurora Fane’s (Kelli O’Hara) story as her husband, Charles (Ward Horton), announces that he wants a divorce in order to marry his mistress, Elsa Lipton. While Aurora would have to bring the charge of infidelity for the divorce to happen, she refuses, knowing it will blow up her life and result in her being excluded from her social circle. Agnes confirms as much when Aurora explains her situation, saying she wouldn’t invite Aurora to parties after a divorce since she would be happier alone. Ada and Agnes encourage Aurora to save the marriage, though Charles is insistent enough that it seems impossible.
The Russells Fight Among Themselves in ‘The Gilded Age’ Season 3

The Russells’ storyline is all about marriage, as both Gladys and Larry sneak around behind Bertha’s back. Larry meets Marian, ready to get engaged himself, but on account of her past mistakes, Marian is more hesitant. Meanwhile, Gladys and Bertha have conflicting plans for the future. Gladys has fallen for Billy Carlton (Matt Walker), whom Larry helps her meet in secret. Gladys believes he is only waiting for George to return home so Billy can talk to him, but Bertha is plotting to settle an engagement between Gladys and Hector (Ben Lamb), the Duke of Buckingham. When Bertha announces Hector is returning, Gladys makes no secret of her distaste for him but uses Bertha’s schemes to get permission to go to the opera with Larry, where she plans to meet Billy. At the opera, Billy expresses concerns about Hector’s return, but Gladys is confident that her father will fight for her. Larry grows suspicious of Bertha after learning that she has been leaking information to the press, which intensifies the rumor of Gladys and Hector’s engagement. Privately, Larry asks Gladys if she has considered eloping, but Gladys still trusts George to help her. However, Bertha discovers Gladys’ plans when Mrs. Carlton (Victoria Clark) mentions them to her, believing the engagement to be as good as settled. Enraged, Bertha confronts Larry for helping Gladys, but Larry advocates for Gladys’s happiness. Convinced that she knows what’s best for her daughter, Bertha is unswayed. Gladys then goes to Bertha, arguing for the ability to choose her own husband, but Bertha has ambitions for Gladys that Gladys doesn’t share. Gladys storms out of Bertha’s room and proceeds to run away from home in the middle of the night. New episodes of The Gilded Age Season 3 premiere Sundays on HBO Max in the U.S.

The Gilded Age

The Gilded Age creates new conflict within its most prominent families, setting up a promising Season 3.

Release Date

January 24, 2022

Network

HBO

Directors

Deborah Kampmeier, Salli Richardson-Whitfield

Morgan Spector

George Russell

Pros & Cons

The Season 3 premiere builds off the earlier storylines, creating more drama for the characters.
Gladys’ character is allowed to flourish as she defies her mother.
Agnes and Ada’s new situation showcases a new dynamic between them, with Ada willing to defy Agnes.