Editor’s note: The below contains spoilers for The Gilded Age Season 3.
HBO’sThe Gilded Agehas featured several beautiful love stories in its first three seasons. There’s Bertha (Carrie Coon) and George Russell’s (Morgan Spector)steadfast, though passionate marriage, and Ada (Cynthia Nixon) and Luke Forte’s (Robert Sean Leonard)short and tragic, yet lovely relationship. This season, we’ve even seen theblossoming love betweenMarian Brook (Louisa Jacobson) and Larry Russell (Harry Richardson). However, sometimes in this time period, there were marriages that didn’t always revolve around happiness, but were rather partnerships of convenience. Unfortunately, Bertha decided that her daughter, Gladys (Taissa Farmiga), would have the brightest future if she married Hector, the Duke of Buckingham (Ben Lamb), which has left us with the question:is Gladys destined for an unhappy future?
‘The Gilded Age’ Initially Sets Up the Duke as an Obstacle for Gladys
In the Season 2 finale, there is an impending sense of doom as we realize that Bertha has promised Gladys’ hand in marriage in exchange for the Duke’s assistance in the Opera War. Having royalty on hand can help get things done, and Bertha only seemed to think of marrying off Gladys as a promising strategic move.As Season 3 opens, Bertha keeps insisting to everyone that this marriage will be a good thing. Despite Gladys wanting to marry for love (naturally), Bertha sees all the logical potential in this partnership. She thinks Gladys can bring about exciting changes to society with her influence as someone with a title and a crown. At first, it’s difficult to see the Duke as anything other than a tad creepy, especially since it becomes clear early on thatHector’s pursuing Gladys because she’s an heiresswho will help him pay for the upkeep of his castle in England.
However, right before the wedding,the Duke shows some subtle signs that there might actually be a softer side to his personality.In Episode 3, the Duke sits quietly with Gladys (away from her meddling mother) and acknowledges how strange their situation is: starting a life together without knowing each other at all. He insists that he only wishes for Gladys to be happy, and that helps us all to relax a little. He doesn’t seem at all like a tyrant who is beating Gladys into submission.They wed in the next episode, and even thoughGladys cries all the way down the aisle, there’s still a tiny bit of hope that perhaps the marriage won’t be a complete disaster. The first night of their honeymoon is a little difficult to watch, though — the Duke does pressure Gladys to fulfill her marital duties even though she’s clearly terrified. But this speaks more to the time period of women being submissive than it does to the Duke being a heartless man.
Who Was the Real Duke of Buckingham? ‘The Gilded Age’s New Society Obsession and How He Hints at Gladys’ Future, Explained
Is Gladys fated to end up in a loveless marriage after all?
Gladys' Marriage Might Fail Because of Her Sister-In-Law in ‘The Gilded Age’
In Episode 5, Gladys and the Duke have arrived in England at Sidmouth Castle, the Duke’s residence. But they’re not the only ones who will be residing there. We’re introduced tothe Duke’s sister, Lady Sarah(Hattie Morahan), in the prior episode at an uncomfortable dinner party in New York. Her snootiness is evident immediately, and she seems to have the opposite of Gladys' kind heart. She values being royal (and prim and proper) above all else, which allows her to look down on Gladys as a silly American. Of course,this attitude continues the moment Gladys steps foot into the castle.
Lady Sarah seems to cut out the Duke at every turn, and insists that she’s simply trying to take the appropriate steps to make Gladys into a proper duchess. The Duke seems rather hapless and sort of shrugs off all of these incredibly awkward interactions. At Gladys' first dinner party, Lady Sarah pulls her aside and insults the lovely diamond stars that have been placed in Gladys' hair. She’s offended by the showy fashion and then walks away with the Duke so that Gladys is left alone. The Duke gives her an apologetic glance, but he seems to have no idea how to stand up to his sister and fix the situation.Lady Sarah’s cruel nature goes way too farwhen she fires Adelheid(Erin Wilhelmi), Gladys' maid, who is the one source of comfort she has in England.Lady Sarah seems convinced that she needs to mold Gladys in her own image (not unlike Bertha would have done), but her awfulness has no bounds.
Could Gladys and the Duke Actually Fall in Love in ‘The Gilded Age’?
Even though Lady Sarah is dedicated to making Gladys miserable,there are still some signs that the Duke and Gladys could actually make their marriage work. He is far sweeter than we thought, which offers hope for the pair. The true obstacle to their happiness isthe overbearing Lady Sarah. If the Duke is able to tell her to back off, he might be able to show Gladys that he does support her. This could be a path forward that would allow the two to discover things they have in common, so that their connection might grow. We know that Bertha is showing up in the next episode, so perhaps she’ll be the catalyst that will push Lady Sarah out of the way for good.
We’re obviously rooting for Gladys to be happy. IfThe Gilded Age’s writers aretaking a page from historyand real-life socialiteConsuelo Vanderbilt’s life, Gladys' marriage may be doomed. Vanderbilt’s marriage turned out to be an extremely unhappy one, andshe divorced her husband 25 years laterbefore eventually having the marriage annulled. But surprisingly, even though we thought the Duke was the enemy at first, he has shown hints that he has a good heart. He’s just not very good at standing up for his new wife (or himself, for that matter). This lack of courage could spell the end of their marriage before it ever has a chance to blossom. Either way, there arethree episodes left in the seasonfor us to discover whether Gladys and the Duke will be able to quiet Lady Sarah’s criticisms, or whether Gladys will find herself a single woman once again. The surprising part is thatwe’re actually cheering these two newlyweds on, despite their loveless beginning.
The Gilded Age
