Who Is in Charge Here?

Andddddd, we are back Ladies and Gentlemen another Gilded Age Recap; season 3 E1 this time. Two years later that is 🙄. Nonetheless, I am super stoked. 

Now let’s start (if you remember), with my Season 3 predictions from the last post. Then we can tick them off and see if I have prophetic giftings, as we go along the episode recap. 

I predicted that:

1. Larry and Marian would start their courtship, keeping it a secret for a while.
2. Marian would integrate well into the Rusell family with some reservations from Aunt Agnes and Lady Russell.
3. An exciting and promising start for Peggy as an independent writer. And a possible love match this season would be on the way.
4. A depressive Oscar would muster up the energy for vengeance.
5. A self-loathing Aunt Agnes due to her demoted position from the mistress of the house, would give in to sulking and passive-aggressive commentary.
6. Young John would establish himself in society, moving above his rank, and having a new mentor and partner in Larry.
7. Marian would become a certified teacher at one of the black schools and the talk of her class and society because of the taboo and race-relative nature of the endeavor.

Okay, let’s dive in!

Opening Scenes

The opening scene is of Mr. Russell and his secretary Richard Clay on a work trip for the railroad business. Then it transitioned into another scene where the servants of both the van Rhijn and Russell households are having snowball fights. The weather, but more specifically, the length of winter that year, seems to be a topic of frequent discussion. The topic of weather seemed a bit of a boring filler topic to be mentioned but my spidey senses are tingling, and I wonder if the writers will try to tie in the cold weather into some major event or cause and effect of something down the line. Who knows.. anyways.

The butler of the van Rhijn house (Bannister) lets some of the in-house business slip to the Russell butler (Jack Gilpin) when Jack inquires about the busyness outside of the house. Bannister mentions that there is to be a temperance meeting, and based on Jack’s intonation, he seems shocked that Mrs. van Rhijn would be involved in any cause; let alone that of temperance (alcohol prohibition). 

Aunt Agnes Has Been Demoted

This re-introduces the topic of a shift of status and finances from the end of last season; when Bannister corrects him saying that it was a cause of Mistress Forte’s not of van Rhign’s. The use of mistress confuses him, as everyone knows the older sister (Agnes) has been the one heading the household. Finally, Bannister confirms that they’ve had some “changes.”

We get hit with the first passive-aggressive comment from Ms. van Rhijn, as is her nature. Referencing the fact that she doesn’t even know if she can call her house hers, with the recent shift.

She wants her younger sister to cancel the meeting, but Ada tells her she wants to support causes close to her heart, to honor the memory of her late husband whose life work was to support the people around him through clergyship. They go back and forth about this a bit until Ada makes an emotional declaration that being committed to charity work is the only thing that can help contain her grief. I am seeing a more back-boned presence coming from Ada, indicative of the growth she’s had as a woman after marriage and the death of her beloved, to be able to stand up to her older sister. I am lookingforward to seeing her continued evolution throughout the season.

An attempt at Arranged Marriage..But are Two Elopements on way?

Across the street, Mrs. Russell is flustered over the impending arrival of the Duke, whom she is blatantly trying to set Gladys up with. Gladys on the other hand has been secretly meeting up with her love interest Billy, chaperoned and handed off by Larry her supportive brother. Billy seems pretty eager to ask for her hand and speak with her father. They profess their love for each other.

And tick mark #2! ✅ Larry asks if he will see Marian at the opera and she says it’s too soon for them to be seen in public together since she called off her engagement with Mr. Dashel; just as I thought! She mentions she’s failed at love twice and doesn’t want the early exposure. To me as a viewer and a fan, I agree with this sentiment. I believe it is quite discerning of her to hold off on the public displays, in fear of scrutiny and judgment of her as a young woman. Marian, I’m sure she doesn’t want to come off as a flighty character (she is anything but), although in life, as we know people tend to use your misfortunes against you.

The scenes with Mr. Russell and his secretary, make me feel like I’m in the viral “I’m just a girl” reels. I am so sorry to the people interested in the business affairs haha but I have no clue what they are even talking about.

Mrs. Russell seems to uphold the belief that a woman has a ‘ripening age’ for marriage.

When Gladys crashes out a few scenes later, she argues that her mother married for love, so why can’t she? Mrs. Russell’s response: ‘I was nothing special.’ In other words, she could afford to marry for love because she came from nothing, but her daughter, raised with status and privilege, must marry for more than just affection. Hmm… an interesting perspective. What do you all think about that? If you were a lady of the time, would you prioritize love, status, or a combination of both when choosing a suitor? Be honest—is love enough? Or is it simply not good enough

Word on the street is that Mr. Billy, her suitor, seems innocent enough, but perhaps a bit too eager and pushy when it comes to the idea of marrying her. When they meet at the opera, he urges her to speak to her mother first, which feels somewhat out of place given the customs of the time. Why not ask for her hand properly through her father instead? Is this a subtle form of manipulation? Perhaps he assumes Mrs. Russell is just an ordinary woman who might be easier to win over, or even someone who could put in a good word for him; rather than facing the more daunting, intentional, and manly task of having a direct one-on-one conversation with her father.

Meanwhile, the temperance meeting plays out with an almost comedic undertone. The speaker seems ready to damn anyone to hell for so much as sipping alcohol, while Marian and Young John look around awkwardly, showing both their confusion and disagreement.

Big Revelation

The big shocker is Aurora being completely blindsided by her husband’s admission of an affair. What I find most egregious is his attempt to pressure her into filing for divorce, as if that would give him a clean way out of the marriage. I did not see this coming! Out of everyone in their circle, this couple always seemed the most mild-mannered and agreeable. Charles Fane always came across as an attentive and reasonable husband. It makes me wonder, could this be driven by the pressure of not having an heir? Not that that’s any justification for betrayal or breaking his vows.

Oscar is such a leech, suggestively asking if his aunt might give him an allowance. He refuses to be a man and take the initiative to build something for himself, whether that’s through networking into a trade or generating ideas that could lead to income. He’s only interested in being an opportunist, a socialite, and a slave to his fleshly desires.

The Family Dinner

I was happy to see Larry invited to dinner, giving Marian the chance to spend more time with him. He’s already showing real support for her and her career aspirations, like when he squeezes her hand under the table to comfort her after Agnes scolds her for taking a real job, since, in her eyes, a lady shouldn’t be working. It’s a stark contrast to Mr. Dashell, who seemed to merely tolerate, or perhaps be infatuated with, Marian’s ambitions, without truly seeing her beyond the so-called ‘weakness’ of her sex.

Larry admits to Gladys that he enjoyed the evening at Marian’s but says the aunts will never make a worker out of Oscar. Gladys is relieved she didn’t fall prey to Oscar’s advances or the trap of marriage. Meanwhile, Oscar insists he’s different, that he was born to be rich. I guess that means he doesn’t need to work, but rather to be a man of leisure, however taboo that sounds. Larry encourages Gladys to elope, and she reveals she knows about his relationship with Marian, showing their affection isn’t as well concealed as they think. Meanwhile, Peggy seems to be shipping Larry and Marian, she openly admits she likes him for her.

The Setup Scenes for Next Episode

The servants are already starting to show disdain toward Young John as he climbs the ranks. Even the girl he’s interested in is throwing subtle shade. I don’t see them lasting long. She tells him that Larry is playing him for a fool. What do you guys think? Larry usually strikes me as pretty emotionally intelligent, so I was genuinely surprised that he didn’t let Young John accompany him to the conference to display the clock, considering it was a design Larry didn’t even create himself. It felt…off. It made me question his character a bit, even though I still love him.

The episode ended with two major bombshells. First, tying back to the brutal cold weather I mentioned earlier—Peggy is deathly ill, likely a consequence of the frigid temperatures. Second, Gladys escapes her home in the middle of the night after the explosive fight with her mother.

Let’s see how this all unfolds as the season progresses. Drop your thoughts and comments below. What would you rate this episode?