31 Thoughts I Had While Watching The Gilded Age Season 3 Finale, Because WTF Is Going to Happen with George and Bertha?
Warning: This story contains spoilers for *The Gilded Age* season 3 finale.
Another season of Julian Fellowes’ historical drama, The Gilded Age, has come to a dramatic and consequential end. The season 3 finale delivered massive changes for our favorite members of New York’s elite society, and for a show that just set a new record for viewership, the finale left us with one burning question: what on earth is going to happen with George and Bertha Russell?
The Russell Foundation Is Shaken to its Core
The episode began with a pulse-pounding race to save George Russell’s life after he was shockingly shot in his office in the penultimate episode. He not only survived but recovered in time to attend the annual Newport Ball, a triumph for his wife Bertha. The event itself was another feather in Bertha’s cap, as she successfully challenged social norms by inviting divorced women like Aurora Fane and Charlotte Drayton, a move that even earned the reluctant support of the formidable Mrs. Astor.
However, Bertha’s plotting finally caught up with her in the episode’s closing moments. George, a man changed by his near-death experience, drew a hard line, declaring he was done with his wife’s relentless social climbing, especially when it involved their children. As George drove away from their Newport estate, a tearful Bertha was left alone, with the future of their powerful and once-united front hanging entirely in the balance.
A Season of New Beginnings and Heartwarming Twists
While the Russell patriarchs were at odds, other characters found a sense of clarity and happiness. Gladys Russell had a rollercoaster season but ended on a high note after warming up to her new husband, Hector Vere, Duke of Buckingham. The episode culminated with Gladys delivering the exciting news to her mother that she is pregnant, a potential new chapter that might just mend her family’s fractured dynamic.
Meanwhile, Marian Brook and Larry Russell finally moved past their misunderstandings and reconciled at the ball, a moment that had fans collectively breathing a sigh of relief. And in one of the most heartwarming moments of the season, Dr. Kirkland, after receiving a stern talk from his father, made a public, romantic proposal to Peggy Scott—a proposal she enthusiastically accepted.
The Schemers and the Underdogs
The finale also set up intriguing storylines for some of the show’s most complex characters. Oscar van Rhijn, still reeling from the death of his lover, proposed a pragmatic “lavender marriage” to the recently widowed Enid Winterton. This is a brilliant strategic move that promises to be a source of future drama. Elsewhere, the power dynamic between sisters Ada Forte and Agnes van Rhijn finally found harmony, with Agnes ceding the head of the table to her sister in a touching moment of reconciliation.
The show also continued to champion its underdogs, with John “Jack” Trotter cementing his place in the upper class after his clock invention made him a rich man. The episode hints at a budding romance between him and Bridget, giving this newly minted millionaire a chance at a happy personal life.
Looking Ahead to a Record-Breaking Season 4
With The Gilded Age shattering viewership records this season, it’s no surprise that the show has been officially renewed for season 4. The finale left us with a tantalizing cliffhanger that will shape the core of the show moving forward: will George and Bertha’s marriage survive this new rift? What will a pregnant Gladys’s return to New York mean for her parents? And what scheming brilliance awaits Oscar and his new partner? We’ll all be praying it doesn’t take another year and a half before season 4 graces our screens.