With great pomp and splendor, the final episode of The Gilded Age season 3 has graced us, and how. Episode 8 is a rollercoaster of emotion that ties together a lot of the stories we’ve seen go haywire in this season. Even the title of the episode, “My Mind Is Made Up,” makes perfect sense, seeing how the show ends. Also, yes, of course, the final episode ends with a grand ball with stunning visuals and gowns to make the whole thing worthwhile. I do think that one sequence in the Kirkland ball was my favorite, though; it genuinely put a massive smile on my face. The final episode truly shows the transformation of upper-class society from old to new. Not only do we see Mrs. Russell put in all the effort she can to make a change, but we also see this change in many obstinate characters, who were born into privilege. With that said, though, let’s jump straight into episode 8.
Spoiler Alert
Who Saves George?
The Gilded Age episode 8 begins with George being brought back home after he was shot. The family has no choice but to keep everything hush-hush, but the one good thing is that William is just next door to meet Peggy after learning some grave news about her. Bertha doesn’t care that he’s colored, and calls for him immediately. I’m not going to lie, I did have a hard time watching Kirkland pull out the bullet just like that, and Marian is so brave for staying put. Bertha makes sure the police are kept away for the time being, and Marian only shows up because she asks Peggy if she can take Kirkland’s bag to the Russells so she can be with Larry. She then takes on the role of nurse and aids Kirkland in the makeshift surgery. Fortunately, it all works out well, and we have nothing to worry about for the time being (phew).
The next morning, their regular doctor shows up and is shocked to see a colored man treating his patient. This could be a very dangerous game, but William, being a student from Harvard, has done a fine job, which even this very old White doctor can’t deny. Bertha thanks William and asks for his discretion, while Larry shows up early in the morning, after receiving the note very late. After checking on his father, Larry has a word with Marian and thanks her for what she did. She tells him that he should know that she’d do anything for him and his family, but he’s still troubled by the fact that she called off their wedding. Marian has her reasons to be distrustful, but now Larry worries she’ll leave him at every wrong turn, so he doesn’t know what to do. Ironically, now that Bertha’s seen Marian in action, she’s eager to have her become a part of the family. She finally sees her through Larry’s eyes and invites her to the ball. But Marian thinks Larry wouldn’t want her there, seeing how uncomfortable he’s been since he saw her in the house. Of course, this isn’t the best time to be discussing this, considering George’s near-death experience. On the other hand, Hector has decided to make sure Sarah has a house of her own, which means she will no longer be managing their place, and they will finally get to be Duke and Duchess for real.
Meanwhile, Ada tries to talk to Marian about her situation with Larry and can’t help but notice how heartbroken she is, while Agnes is happy they’ve cut ties (uff, this woman). At the same time, a private investigation begins into who might’ve tried to have George killed, but just as with me, everybody’s first guess is Clay, which makes me wonder if it was someone else. But despite all the tension, George tells Bertha to host the ball anyway, because it would damage their reputation if she didn’t. Plus, they don’t want anyone to know what’s happened with George.
What Happens With Peggy?
At the Scotts, Peggy relays the whole situation to her mother, who is delighted to hear that William was at the Van Rhijns, specifically to see Peggy. The two women think he was there to propose, but unfortunately, the mood immediately sours when he shows up to talk to Peggy and confronts her about her baby. Peggy decides immediately that this means he doesn’t want her anymore, especially because he leaves without saying much. However, William is just unhappy that he didn’t get to know all of this from Peggy herself. Plus, he knows his mother never liked her and probably made the story sound much worse than it actually was. Anyway, Peggy’s not to blame here; her father is. Also, love how far the relationship between Peggy and her mom has come.
Sometime later, while Peggy’s mom is getting the final adjustments done for her ball gown, Mrs. Kirkland tries to belittle her by implying that Peggy shouldn’t even come to the ball, considering what William has learned about her. But Peggy’s mother can’t stand to see her daughter insulted (I do love a good mom-daughter pairing, and we get a couple in this episode). She defends her daughter, saying she’s done nothing wrong, and Mrs. Kirkland would be mistaken to make decisions on her son’s behalf. But if he doesn’t want her anymore, it means he was never deserving of her to begin with. At the same time, George calls William home and gives him a hefty price for saving his life. Despite missing a lot of the stuff you’re supposed to do to treat a gunshot wound, William did what he could to save George. William is shocked to see what’s in the envelope, but George reminds him that he would’ve been persecuted if George had died on his account.
Finally, William and his parents have a word before the ball, and it’s his father who gets in the way of his mother overstepping. She’s shocked by the idea that he isn’t on her side in this, but Mr. Kirkland knows that William is in love with Peggy, and he deserves to be happy. Before leaving, he has a word with his son alone and tells him that the marriage is between him and the woman he loves, not their parents (wow). At the ball, William asks Peggy’s dad for permission to marry his daughter, and then he proposes to Peggy at the center of the dance floor. Oh, how delightful. We really needed to see this girl happy!
What Happens After The Ball?
At the opera, Oscar gets hold of Mrs. Winterton (i.e., Bertha’s old lady’s maid) and talks to her about managing her finances, considering she’s recently been widowed. Oscar realizes there’s a bigger opportunity here, and with Adams gone, he must figure out a way to move on with his life. He plans to have a lavender marriage with Enid and tells her about it later at the ball, which he made sure she’d get into thanks to a deal with Bertha. This episode certainly feels like an episode of deals. Which brings me to Bertha’s biggest commitment to change. She decides that she’s going to invite both Fisher and Astor’s daughter because she’s done with the shunning of divorced women from society. It’s a brave call for sure, but it would mark a significant change in American society, and she’d be a pioneer. Of course, Lina is dead set against it, even if her daughter is keen to go and clear her name.
On the other hand, if you remember a Mrs. Foster from episode 7, Agnes was also unwilling to talk to her because, apparently, she assumed the woman was asking her for donations. However, Ada has learned that, because of her family history, Mrs. Foster wants Agnes to become the VP of the New York Heritage Society. It seems it was Ada who wrote back to Mrs. Foster and got her to come see Agnes during a busy dinner schedule. Agnes asks Mrs. Foster to come see her and discuss details later, after they’ve returned from Newport. When they sit for dinner after this, Agnes tells Ada to sit at the head of the table because she runs the place now. I guess she’s finally realized it’s time to pass the baton on and give her sister a chance. At the same time, Bridget visits John at his new place, and he asks her to sit at the table with him as a guest of the master. He tells her he feels safe with her there, which is absolutely adorable, and they talk for a bit. If these two don’t end up married, I don’t know if I’ll be able to continue watching this show.
At the Russells’, Gladys and Hector finally arrive, and the former is delighted to see Adelheid there to look after her. She can go back with her if she’d like. At the same time, Ada suggests that the four women, i.e., the two sisters, Marian and Aurora, can all go to the ball together, and what do you know, Agnes agrees. Man, all this woman cares about is honor.
The one person Bertha’s waiting for at the ball is Mrs. Astor, because of the whole book situation, but more importantly, she’s invited her divorced daughter, which Lina believes is an embarrassment to all the women there. But her daughter is much more courageous than she is and shows up alone until Lina decides to choose her daughter’s happiness over society and shows up, even if it means accepting defeat in front of Bertha. Oh, that necklace is stunning. A little later, George shows up at the ball too, and the Russells hold up a single front, just as Bertha would want. Also, George tells Larry that he shouldn’t let small misunderstandings come in the way of something big; he does love Marian, and he should work things out.
At the end of The Gilded Age episode 8, it’s not entirely certain that Larry and Marian are going to get married, but they’ve both forgiven each other, and there is still lots of love between them, so for now, they share a dance. But on the other hand, the Russell household is grim because George is going back to the club. The unfortunate truth is, despite seeing Gladys happy with Hector, George feels he’s wronged her (good dad behavior), so this has strained his marriage deeply. Maybe things will improve later, but for the time being, George isn’t happy to be around Bertha. However, the worst thing is that George leaves before Gladys can tell him that she’s going to have a baby and is genuinely delighted about it. Ah, but what will Bertha do?
