‘The Gilded Age’ season finale: debutante ball drama & an elopement scandal

Spoilers for The Gilded Age.

I did something I haven’t done since Game of Thrones was on: I stayed up to watch must-see TV, namely the season finale of The Gilded Age, my new favorite show. Everyone is right: the stakes are absolutely zero. Don’t go into the series with the belief that there will be a historically accurate dramatization of what life was truly like for all people – or even just rich people – during this time period. It is all froth and gorgeous costumes and debutante drama and Christine Baranski getting the best lines.

The season finale episode was called “Let the Tournament Begin.” The storylines came together, predictably, around Poor Gladys Russell’s debutante ball and whether her friend Carrie Astor (of the Astor clan) would be allowed to dance at the ball, given that Carrie’s mother snubbed Mrs. Russell yet again. It was all glorious and I actually loved how Mrs. Russell handled it. One of my biggest dreams for Season 2 is that Mrs. Russell takes her daughter to a proper hair stylist though. Poor Gladys.

Another storyline culmination was that Marian Brook plotted to run off and elope with Mr. Raikes, who was all easy charm and boring, boring, boring. The fact that Marian has more chemistry with the very married Mr. Russell Senior has not escaped me, nor has it escaped me that the junior Mr. Russell (Larry) is a lowkey hottie. Anyway, Mr. Raikes was an utter dud of course, but at least Marian found out when she could still do some damage control AND before Aunt Agnes/Christine Baranski found out. I don’t even want to get into poor Peggy’s storyline! It’s so frustrating to me to think that a successful, wealthy man would have his daughter’s marriage annulled and give her baby up for adoption. It’s insane.

Julian Fellowes spoke to Deadline about the season finale and what to expect for season 2, and I found his comments on Marian’s love drama interesting: “We’re never going to tell you what we’re going to do next year, but yes, I do feel sorry for Marian. What I think is interesting about Mr. Raikes is that, for all her snobbery, Agnes saw through him. Agnes knew he had a different agenda and that in the end, he would be seduced by New York. That was exactly what Marian refused to see. So I hope there’s a lesson in there for someone that it isn’t always the sympathetic people who give the right advice.”

I agree 100% with Fellowes? While I like that Marian makes attempts to be a more modern person, the sad truth is that she could learn a lot from Aunt Agnes, and I think it would show a great deal of character development if, in the next season, Marian would acknowledge that to Agnes. To say “you were right about Mr. Raikes in the end, you saw it and I didn’t.” I’m genuinely excited to see where the Marian character goes. I’m not excited to see what they do with Peggy though, because they’re foreshadowing a lot of suffering as she and Mama Scott go out in search of this baby.

Photos courtesy of The Gilded Age’s Instagram.

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69 Responses to “‘The Gilded Age’ season finale: debutante ball drama & an elopement scandal”

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  1. Traci says:

    Everyone and their mama saw that Raikes was a POS. Marian is irritating beyond measure. 🙄

    • sunny says:

      His name literally was RAKE! I saw some people on twitter who were surprised and I was shocked because they have been telegraphing his ambitions all season. Like girl, read the room.

      Julian Fellows is not subtle. In the finale, he had Maran reading a Henry James book. Like all the lols.

    • Lauren says:

      It’s in his name. Raikes was a rake.

      Marian is annoying, I agree. She needs to do more.

      • Tanguerita says:

        Alternative suggestion – she should do much less. Like, her disappearing from the show altogether would make the latter much more entertaining.

      • Bettyrose says:

        That’s the thing about the writing on the show. No subtlety. Raikes. FFS.

    • Haylie says:

      Yup. No decent man of that time would pressure a woman into an elopement that would ruin her in society. Even Mrs. Chamberlain could see that Raikes was a grifter.

      • CC says:

        The elopement plot was a real wet firecracker. I kept waiting for Marian to get angry about having been used – or for Agnes to find out. Fizzled into a dud.

      • BothSidesNow says:

        See, now all this time I thought he was genuine. I feel like an idiot!! I am also 60 and I didn’t have him pegged like the rest of you. But I wish that Marian had reacted, just had a reaction of some sort!! No woman, then or now, would have just walked off without eviscerating a man for THAT!!!

    • Hannah says:

      When your mum is Meryl Streep, do you still have to actually have any talent or flair for acting? Genuine question. I found her absolutely 1 dimensional and about as deep as a puddle of water 🤷🏼‍♀️

      • Tanguerita says:

        it breaks my heart how bad an actress she is. Her older sisters are both quite decent, but Louisa has absolutely not talent.

      • Southern Fried says:

        Marian. Horrible. So wooden. So irritating. That’s not acting. Kept waiting for her to (oops) walk out in front of a carriage. Or fly into a murderous rage at the ball and go to jail. Anything to get rid of her.

      • minx says:

        I think all of Streep’s daughters need to find another line of work. None of them are that talented.

      • WiththeAmerican says:

        Last night I gave alternative line readings to DH to demonstrate that it was her acting, not the writing.

        She could have sounded bitter and angry at any point after he jilted her, but instead we got cold butter and flat affect with pretend tears doing a lot of work.

        I feel bad for her with a mom like MS, but then, don’t go into acting. Meryl can do more with a look than Louisa did the entire episode. She doesn’t bring anything to the character. What is Marian feeling? Nothing? A little sad but over it now? Really? The same woman who was going to elope has no fire?

        Ugh.

      • BothSidesNow says:

        I started rewatching Out Of Africa last night and Meryl is one of the greatest actors of all times! Her ability to maintain her dialect, similar to Sophie’s Choice, is a talent that many cannot pull off. The Streep daughters, this one at least, should find some other profession. She has been in one movie that I have found, just one!! And here she is up against Baranski, Lane and the others. Such terrible nepotism in Hollywood. She is ill suited for this show and this profession. She is bland toast, and I hate to criticize but she doesn’t have “it” like others do!

      • pollyv says:

        I had no idea Marian is MS’s daughter, lol. She is the weak link in the cast. I also find annoying the simpering character played by Cynthia Nixon and her teeth drive me crazy.

    • Bettyrose says:

      Yup. I’d love if they’d write this character off the show. They wrote her as though she’s a 12 year old imp just discovering the world, but they also wanted her to be old enough for fabulous dresses and romance plot lines. Total fail.

  2. Lauren says:

    I would really rather they had focused on Peggy’s career, rather than have the baby be alive and given up for adoption. She had some chemistry with that editor. They should have done something with that.

    • Snuffles says:

      Same. I hope they wrap up that baby story in one episode and get back to her career.

    • Tanguerita says:

      They definitely shouldn’t, because Fortune, who is a historical figure was already happily married at the time.

      • Lauren says:

        I was unaware, thanks for letting me know.

        Then, I hope they find another man in the same field for her to have a romance with. Someone who will also support her career.

    • Anne says:

      I’m also slightly confused about why her father was so opposed to her marriage. The husband’s name was Elias Finn or something like that and I was wondering was it because he was white? Seems like a really really terrible thing to do to your daughter just because you didn’t approve of her husband.

  3. LightPurple says:

    Season Two, I need scenes with Christine Baranski and Audra McDonald together.

    I also need Patti Lupone in this somewhere. And Bebe Neuwirth. And Bernadette Peters and Mandy Patinkin. And Aaron Tveidt. Basically every Tony award winner or nominee who isn’t in this show already. Seriously, even minor characters like Agnes’s maid (Debra Monk) and one of Russell’s servants (Michael Cerveris) have Tony awards.

    And toss in Mr. Russell’s real wife Rebecca Hall.

    • LightPurple says:

      And how did I forget Betty Buckley and Danny Burstein? Burstein has to come in and sweep Aunt Ada off her feet.

      • WiththeAmerican says:

        Betty Buckley! The queen!

      • Lightpurple says:

        Right? She’s an absolute QUEEN. I follow her on Twitter and have actually had Twitter conversations with her because she responds to people who follow her. She’s sweet, kind, and funny.

    • BothSidesNow says:

      Excellent additions!!! Would love me some Patti Lupone and Bebe Neuwirth too!!!

    • sunny says:

      Rebecca Hall is so talented she would eat a role on this show up. Just eat it up! I move you join the the show as a casting director.

  4. Aang says:

    I binged it over the weekend just in time for the finale. I love Aunt Agnes. The fact that Marian can’t see the wisdom in the advice of a woman who has been around the block and can spot a cad in an instant tempers my sympathy for her situation. Mrs Russell is amazing and poor Gladys needs a hairdresser asap. Cynthia Nixon is wonderful and manages to look younger than she did in SATC reboot. This show is so timely given we are entering a new Gilded Age. History shows that too much unequal distribution inevitably leads to some kind of disaster, I wonder how our current situation will resolve itself.

  5. BlueSky says:

    Okay, Bannister… was it Church or the fake French chef that wrote the letter to Agnes? I saw him nod to Church at the end but I’m confused about what that meant.
    And Oscar is creepy AF.

    • CC says:

      It was the maid who tried to seduce Mr Russell.

      • BlueSky says:

        No, Turner wrote the letter to Bannister telling him who wrote the letter to Agnes. IIRC

    • Lightpurple says:

      It was Church

      • BothSidesNow says:

        I agree it was Church. He didn’t take kindly to being pushed aside when he was willing to learn the British manner of serving. He is one conniving man child!

    • Jan90067 says:

      I think the nod was more of a “NOW that MRS. ASTOR as acknowledged your mistress, I CAN acknowledge YOU in public” kind of thing.

      Before, Aunt Agnes wouldn’t allow any fraternizing, and when Bannister went down low to “help” Church, Agnes gave him the icy shoulder and wouldn’t speak to him for a long time, giving her orders through Ada. It was hysterical!

  6. ArtMaven says:

    With Cynthia Nixon in it, I’ve dubbed it “No Sex in the City.”

    • Bettyrose says:

      Ha!! Yep. Downtown Abbey had way more sex. It also developed more slowly in the first season, allowing us to delight in the costumes and settings before it went full blown soap opera in season 2.

  7. Snuffles says:

    My main complaint about this season is that they barely grazed the surface of the downstairs people and a lot of their stories are left hanging. Like the maid and her apparent sexual abuse at the hands of her father. Hateful Armstrong and her hateful invalid of a mother. Young butler Jack and his dreams of being upwardly mobile. That bald butler and his secret daughter??

    As far as the upstairs people go. If Larry and Marion start courting then Aunt Agnes and Bertha can go at it all season. Same with Oscar trying to woo Gladys.

    As I said above, I want Peggy back in New York pursuing her writing career. Settle the baby story quickly and get her back in the thick of it.

    • LightPurple says:

      I think we’ll see more of the downstairs stories next season. They were starting to give hints of their story lines in the last few episodes. The actors/actresses playing Armstrong, Watson (bald butler), and the housekeeper Mrs Bruce all have Tony awards. They aren’t going to let that talent go to waste.

    • Jan90067 says:

      I think they WILL have Peggy find the child, and realize that after all this time, he will be better off staying with the family he believes to be his real family (so she won’t “claim” him, but learn to be satisfied with him being well and happy).

      Just my 2¢ 😊

    • BothSidesNow says:

      I can see Larry and Marion as he certainly seems smitten with her. As for Oscar, he reminds me of a pedophile with his grooming and I am certain that Mrs. Russel would fix him permanently with his intent with her daughter. He is too, too old looking, as he looks 35. She will not stand idly by and she would certainly hire a PI to discover his sexuality.

  8. Robem says:

    https://www.mcny.org/story/vanderbilt-ball
    Bertha’s ball was based on this real event, which was even more ostentatious and OTT than hers. Yes, Raikes was always clearly a ‘rake’ . My parents were married in the late 1940’s in the Pierre Hotel right across the street. Love this series, NYC setting, schmaltz and all.

    • mia girl says:

      @Robem – thanks for sharing that article! I had read that the Gladys’ ball was based on an actual Vanderbilt ball, and the Astor daughter / Berta storyline was pulled from the real event, but was great to read the details! Especially to learn it was a costume ball and see the pictures (omg the taxidermy cat-head?!? 😢🤢)

    • BothSidesNow says:

      This YouTube channel covers quite a bit of the Guilded Age as well.

      https://youtu.be/ASrmC46snkA

      She dives into who the characters are based upon as well!

    • BeanieBean says:

      Oh, my gosh, that was fascinating! Thank you for the link. This beats the heck out of Truman Capote’s Black and White Ball. Nobody wore an actual cat’s head on their head for Truman!!

  9. Twin Falls says:

    Mrs. Pradmore would have chemistry with Mr Russell senior. Mr Russell senior sizzles.

    Gladys looks 16 and Oscar looks 35. It’s creepy visually to watch him try and flirt with her.

    Mrs. Russell going toe to toe with Mrs Astor and not breaking. Loved it!

    Ah wooden maiden Marion. I’m happy she escaped scandal and mr raikes who was, impossibly, even less interesting than Marion.

    I want Peggy back, too. Maybe she finds her son and he is happily part of another family and that closes out that storyline.

    • Bettyrose says:

      Super creepy but it’s supposed to be. He has to target a young naïf who won’t see what he’s up to.

    • mia girl says:

      We all acknowledge the staid performance Jacobsen gives as Marian, but IMO the actor who plays Oscar is just as one note! I can’t stand his performance.

      It’s a character that in better hands, could be great. Instead we have a too old, mustache-twirling, 2 dimensional villain. I understand that society at the time might have villianized gay men, but he doesn’t he have to play him like that! Even if he is a spoiled society guy, wouldn’t it be more interesting to see the nuance to that character, to empathize with him?

      Anyway, he better get ready because I’m actually thinking in season 2 his rival for Gladys’ hand won’t be among NY society, but instead Berta will have her marry a lofty British aristocrat who needs the money and as a way to further raise their social status.

      • Lightpurple says:

        Carrie Coons has said her character is modeled on Alva Vanderbilt, who forced her daughter Consuelo into marriage with a Duke. The marriage ended in annulment

      • Jan90067 says:

        The actor playing Oscar looks WAY too old for this. Next to Larry, he could be his father!

      • sunny says:

        Yup, I think the “dollar princess” is the direction they are heading.

      • Becks1 says:

        I think its funny they have her modeled so blatantly after Alva Vanderblit because in the first episode there’s a reference to Alva and her social climbing/feud with The Mrs Astor etc. And then they go on to recreate it lol. They just shouldn’t have mentioned it IMO.

        (I haven’t finished the series yet but I don’t mind spoilers and I love this period in history.)

      • Anne says:

        Like Cora in Downton Abbey. She was a rich American who revived Lord Gratham’s fortunes and she got a title. Fellowes coyly hinted that maybe we will see a Downton Abbey crossover character in TGA.

      • Flowerlake says:

        @Anna, I wondered about that

        Young Cora and her mom are the most likely candidates as they were A) alive and B) in the US at that point 😀

    • grabbyhands says:

      @Twin Falls – Mr Russell Senior would have chemistry with a rock.

      In last week’s recap, someone at Vulture said that during the courtroom scene “When George was threatening his stenographer post-trial, I thought she was going to pass out from sexual excitement” and it’s like, same.

      He had a similar vibe when he was laying it out for Mr Kuiper about the loan.

  10. Red Weather Tiger says:

    Peggy baby story is ughhh, but at least we now get more of the gift that is Audra McDonald!

    Agree that Agnes is wise and should be worshipped by all, but she sure raised the exact kind of man she warned Marian against. At least Raikes didn’t actively look like a villain, as Oscar does.

    The GA podcast is SO good. They shoot the season wildly out of order, and Carrie Coon was pregnant during shooting, so in some scenes she is not visibly pregnant while in others they had to hide an 8-month bump in the same costumes she wore when bumpless. I find the whole process fascinating and now want to go to Newport to tour the mansions.

  11. pottymouth pup says:

    Am I the only one who had no idea that Louisa Jacobson (Marian) is Meryl Streep’s youngest daughter?

    • Bettyrose says:

      Nope. I just learned that on this thread. But this one isn’t a bit the badass the others are.

    • grabbyhands says:

      Unfortunately she seems to have inherited none of her mother’s acting ability.

      • Bettyrose says:

        Her sisters are decent actresses. No Meryl Streep, though. But I would think being the child of such a renowned actress would be confusing. You can’t live up to her but acting is the family business. Still, rich and well connected the world is yours for the taking. You can do literally anything else with your life.

    • Becks1 says:

      I only learned that from the last post we had about GA.

  12. Khy says:

    I had no clue, her daughters usually have her whole face

  13. grabbyhands says:

    Gawd, Marian was so dull that even her SCANDAL was boring. There was so much potential there and they took none of it. It’s hard to imagine what that character will even have to do next season.

    Add me to the chorus of keeping Peggy’s baby story to a minimum next season – she is such a dynamic character and I want to see more about her career and see more about the black elite.

    I know they won’t go this route, but I would love to see Oscar lay it on the line with Gladys and have them become a marriage of convenience power couple.

    • Flowerlake says:

      I thought he had hidden that her father had left her a fortune. And that he wanted to marry her to get his hands on it. That would have shaken things up more.

      In the end, he wasn’t as much of a villain as I expected. Just wanted a wife with more money, but no overtly villainous schemes or plots.

  14. Swan Lake says:

    I’m not a fan of either Louisa Jacobson or her mother. Louisa is horrible, and maybe that’s why Marian is so unappealing.

  15. Was anybody else confused that after the ball it was daylight? Marion came home and it was light outside. They stayed there all night dancing away!? Wow.

  16. Bren says:

    I like the actress who plays Marion. In fact she is one of my favorites. It’s not fair to compare her to her mother. Most people would probably not be so mean if they didn’t know who her mama was