The Gilded Age is like the Downton Abbey of America. Set in the titular time period, the show tells the story of a bunch of families living in New York’s most expensive neighborhood and competing to be the most poncy family there. While shows such as Bridgerton and even The Buccaneers focus more on young lovers, which we all love, The Gilded Age is more focused on those approaching middle age trying to stay relevant in society. It’s an intriguing game of politics, not just between the men who believe they are doing all the work to keep society afloat, but also the women who have such a key role to play. It’s fascinating, really, but more importantly, the show also focuses on the Black community and how they fought for their place at this time of the “new,” too. With that said, though, let’s jump straight into the recap. I’m going to try to split things up based on the most important families to make this recap easier to follow.
How Do The Van Rhijns Survive Going Broke?
The show begins with a woman named Marian Brook moving to New York after being orphaned following the death of her father. She’s moving to the house of his two sisters, Agnes Van Rhijn and Ada Brook. On the way, she meets a Black woman named Peggy Scott at the railway station. During a brawl, Marian accidentally rips Peggy’s dress and has her purse stolen. This is where their friendship really begins, because Peggy offers Marian money for a ticket to New York. Marian doesn’t know what she’s walking into but learns soon enough that her Aunt Agnes is quite a stern warden. Agnes doesn’t appreciate what her brother did with their family money, so she directs that distaste at Marian at first, too. Of course, she later starts to grow very fond of her, even though she doesn’t ever make it seem like it. On the other hand, Ada’s the kinder of the two, but she’s unmarried and so doesn’t really have a rightful place in society, eh? Agnes continues to put Ada down throughout the show because she wants her to stay by her side, and she doesn’t want her to lose her innocence because that would mean she’d know how much she’s missing out on, living with her sister.
Oscar’s boyfriend leaves him because he needs to pursue a “regular” life, which John Adams doesn’t want. Oscar first goes after Gladys but fails in his plans. Later, he meets a woman named Maud Beaton, a perfect scapegoat, or so he thinks. The problem is that Beaton is a thief, and nobody knows where she came from. She cheats Oscar into giving away a ton of his money, nearly his mom’s entire fortune, except for the house, so Agnes believes they’re going to have to move out and now live poor lives. But there’s a surprise waiting for her.
At this age, Ada ends up falling in love with a reverend and agrees to marry him despite knowing that Agnes will be entirely against it. What she doesn’t know is that Agnes’ anger comes from the fear of losing her only friend. Already, everything in society has changed, and she doesn’t want to lose her only friend so late in life. But it seems like Agnes’ prayers are answered; pardon my morbidity, but Ada’s husband, Luke, soon gets cancer and dies. But there is a silver lining, because not only does he leave Ada with fond memories, allowing her to feel, even if briefly, like the rest of the women around her, he also leaves behind a massive fortune for her.
So, at the end of season 2, Ada becomes the head of the house, because she’ll be the one signing the checks, but Agnes should be delighted she gets to keep her house and her status because anything else would be quite the shame.
Who Will Marian Choose?
Marian has suitors aplenty, despite her being new to the place and not having much to offer. However, she’s got much bigger plans for herself. Marian wants to do something humanitarian and be of use to the world. Despite Agnes’ disapproval of it, Marian teaches watercolor painting at St. Mary’s in the second season. But before that, she meets Tom Raikes, a lawyer who follows her to New York because of some stuff connected to her father. However, Agnes doesn’t approve of him. I think you could say she was quite right, too, because he chooses another, more well-established young woman in New York society, despite claiming he loves Marian dearly. Up next comes her cousin, Dashiell, a widower with a child. Marian happens to be teaching at the child’s school, and after much time spent together and a very public proposal, Marian believes she has to say yes to him because he’s wealthy and the perfect partner she could hope for; however, she doesn’t really love him, and he’s still stuck on his dead wife. The only reason he wants to marry her is because his daughter loves her. Fortunately, Marian makes the right call and decides against the marriage, because the two of them want different things in life. This leaves room for Marian’s best suitor yet, none other than Larry Russell, her very dear friend. Now, Larry has had his own issues, falling in love with a much older woman and his mum sending her away, but I quite like the idea of these two.
What Happens With Peggy?
Peggy’s a very ambitious young woman of color. She’s hoping to make a name for herself as a published Black female writer. Peggy shows Agnes that she has skills that are well suited to secretary work, and Agnes takes her on immediately, but she also tells her that she must go meet her family because she will not keep a runaway in her house. Her father doesn’t approve of her choices, but not only when it comes to her career. She also gets to publish under her own name in The New York Globe, run by T. Thomas Fortune. Peggy had a husband and a son, but because the man was uneducated and beneath her, Peggy’s father pretended the child had died at birth and gave him away. When Peggy goes searching for the kid herself, she learns he’s still around, but by the time she gets to him, he dies of scarlet fever. Peggy and her mother are furious at her father for a long time before they finally forgive him. But she chooses to go back to her job at Agnes’ because she can’t be in the same house as her father.
Peggy and Fortune get caught in a tussle in Tuskegee, where they go to write an important story about equal rights. However, while being stuck in fear in the middle of nowhere, almost lynched by the White people of the South, Fortune and Peggy share a kiss. But Fortune is a married man, and even if their bond is strong, Peggy realizes later that despite all the potential she’s got at the Globe, she must leave.
How Do The Russells Win Over Society?
A big part of The Gilded Age is the old money vs. new money dynamic. The Russells are the family that we’re introduced to with new money, wealth that largely comes from the railway business. The family that’s initially shunned by everybody because how can they defy tradition, and nobody new can truly be rich, yes? But the Russells time and again prove that they’re above everybody else because they have more money, and George Russell knows how to manage it. But this is not to say that his wife is any less ambitious. She’s keen to entertain all of New York in her fancy marble house, which happens to be the largest on the block. The people around George try to sabotage his work, but he comes back stronger with legal help, while at the same time intimidating everyone around him. People suffer such massive losses that one man ends up killing himself, too, but George does not back down.
Bertha’s maid, Turner, is a sharp one and thinks she can make her way into the Russell life by seducing George. She even gets into his bed, but George dismisses her, telling her to never bring it up again. But Turner is fired because Marian is sent by Agnes to tell Bertha that she was seen talking to a rich lord. This man happens to be Oscar, but Marian is discreet about it, though Bertha figures out who it is. However, much later, Turner comes back as Mrs. Winterton, the wife of a wealthy old man. When Russell invites the Wintertons to a dinner, the former maid tells Bertha about an affair she had with her husband. While this is not true at all, Bertha is hurt by the fact that George hid what Turner did from her. She feels more humiliated by his actions than by what Turner has told her.
Oscar sets his eyes on Gladys Russell because he thinks she’s his innocent ticket out of a difficult life ahead of him. He’s gay, but also the sole heir to his family fortune. However, George wants a love match for his daughter, so he dismisses Oscar. Later, Gladys meets a man named Bill Carlton, whom she starts to fancy, but Bertha doesn’t seem to be interested in giving her a love match, despite her dad’s position. She’s got something much bigger planned.
On the other hand, George gets stuck in a union strike for workers who want 8 hours of work and 8 hours of rest. He’s adamant, just like everybody else in his own class, to keep things as they are, but he visits the leader’s home and sees that his kid is going to join work soon. So, when he sees the guns pointed at the union workers, he realizes that all these people have kids to care for and chooses to tell his side to stand down, saving the union but also giving in to their demands, making him a public enemy amongst the elite.
Now Larry’s about to embark on a new journey with Oscar’s footman, John Trotter, who happens to have patented a new technology related to clocks. All of the Van Rhijn household support John’s endeavors, but we’ll have to see how things turn out for Larry. Wealth can be dangerous. But I do think Larry’s a good person, and he did bring up the fact that it was a woman, Emily Roebling, who was the real mastermind behind the Brooklyn Bridge.
Bertha and Mrs. Aster are frenemies like no other. Mrs. Astor seems to act like the leader of the old money gang, so Bertha has to do what she can to get her to accept the Russells in society. She uses her daughter to get to her, but when it comes time for the competition between the Academy of Music and the Metropolitan Opera House, the two give it all they’ve got by using Mr. McAllister, the middleman, to their advantage. But eventually, Russell wins because it seems Bertha sells Gladys off to the Duke to have him come to her booth at the Metropolitan opening. Of course, I don’t mean actually sell, but I’m pretty sure some sort of deal has been made. Additionally, it’s the new Met that gets a massive audience and the old Academy left to look like a morgue, making the Russells the true victors.
