Recap of The Gilded Age S3 E2: What The Papers Say
Hi, everyone, and welcome back to the Pretty Passionate podcast. I'm your host, Doctor. Ruth Celestin. I hope that you've been enjoying the podcast so far.
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Dr. Ruth:So for today, we're going to be covering season three, episode two of The Gilded Age, which is titled What the Papers Say. So giving you guys a moment to understand that this is a recap podcast, so there will be spoilers for The Gilded Age covering everything that happens in season three, episodes one and now two, which we're going into detail on, as well as anything that's happened in The Gilded Age previous two seasons. Okay. Warning given. Okay.
Dr. Ruth:So on to episode two of the Gilded Age, season three, episode two. Episode two picks up immediately with the drama that Gladys is missing. So where did she go? She ran off to Billy Carlton's house and is trying to make it happen. She's trying to wait there and stall, I guess, for time for her dad to come back and allow Billie the chance to ask for her hand in marriage.
Dr. Ruth:Obviously, Bertha will have none of it. She gets dressed and she's out the door immediately heading to the Carlton's house. Once Bertha gets to that house, Lord, she lays down some law. I didn't expect her to be quite so direct and rude with Mrs. Carlton, but she shuts that talk of their kids getting married all the way down.
Dr. Ruth:She's pretty direct in her communication and then she takes Gladys and is like, off we go. And again, the forcefulness of her response in this moment, like, you roll up in this lady's house, and this is how you're speaking to her about her son, But it makes you wonder, is this about Gladys or is this about Bertha now kind of healing old wounds? Remember, when she first came up as this new money, she was very mistreated by high society. And you have to wonder if her marrying her daughter off to a duke is her own way of securing her spot at the very top of society, especially in America, but even in England. Because Americans at this time, especially Americans with money, are obsessed with Europe.
Dr. Ruth:If you remember from season one, she even had her chef pretending he was French, and ultimately that farce falls apart and he gets to be himself. But you just you get the idea that if it's European, it's better, and they're down with that. Beloved Peggy. We get back to the Van Rhine household where Peggy is still holed up in her room, not doing well. And after that racist doctor refused to treat her, thank the good lord, her parents mobilize immediately from Brooklyn and show up with a fine.
Dr. Ruth:I mean, with a clearly well educated Doctor. Kirkland. He is charming, very polite, and seems taken with our dear Peggy. Her parents, Arthur and Dorothy, do kind of hold Agnes' feet to the fire about not calling them sooner and also about thinking that she was going to get away with calling a white doctor to treat their black daughter. Agnes sort of has this strong personal belief that racism is wrong.
Dr. Ruth:However, it also crosses over into delusional when it's dealing with other people and their racist beliefs. And at first, I was uncomfortable with this, but on a rewatch, I do think it was appropriate that Arthur kind of held Agnes to task about this and told her like, hey, listen, like, you live in this world, and in this world, why did you think that a white doctor would treat our black daughter? Just because you're powerful and rich? You have to understand the limits of that and live in the reality that we all live in. And I like that Agnes took that well.
Dr. Ruth:She didn't take it as a strong rebuke. She more so just was being educated in the moment. Now in the next scene, Larry and Marion, playing it a little too fast and loose for my tastes, kissing in public. He sees an empty cab. He pulls her into it, and it really makes me nervous that he's being very impulsive because she told us from the beginning back in episode one, she's nervous about what a failure with this relationship might mean for her reputation and her prospects.
Dr. Ruth:And I it annoys me just a little bit that he doesn't seem concerned with that at all. Next scene, Jack is being treated by Larry Russell to a new suit for their upcoming business meeting. It's nice to see Jack getting dressed up. You know? I hope this alarm clock thing works out for him.
Dr. Ruth:He has his haters, but he also has ton of supporters. So we'll see. And on to one of the most dramatic scenes that I have seen in television in a minute. They set this up that Aurora Fane is scheduled despite her marriage crumbling before our very eyes to have Young Women's Christian Association fundraiser at her house. Okay.
Dr. Ruth:She can't cancel because canceling would be kind of like a big scandal or would send people tongues wagging. But understand Charles is not going to be there. He has made it very clear to her he wants nothing to do with her, and sadly, she's got no choice but to accept that. So at the Van Rine house, they give her the idea of saying, oh, just say that he's ill and, you know, that he's in his room and he's choosing not to come down or something like that to make an excuse for why Charles is not there because it would otherwise be inexplicable and unacceptable. So right off the bat, missus Aster is talking to Aurora, and she has to lay down her fib that Charles is sick, and he didn't wanna get her sick.
Dr. Ruth:And she is like, okay. Cool. She takes it, moves on. This is a very dynamic scene. Like, so much is happening in this scene.
Dr. Ruth:We see Oscar running into John Adams who tells him, hey. You could have come to me for some investment money to get you back started in the investment world, and that literally solves his problems overnight. Because as we know, Oscar has made it clear he's not meant to rebuild a fortune like the Russells. He's meant to just be rich. He tells John Adams he loves him, and that's that.
Dr. Ruth:So we're just, like, moving room to room in this one scene in this house, and it's awesome because it's like your head is going, what's next? What's next? What's gonna happen next? Right? So next, missus Carlton and missus Russell have a bit of a showdown.
Dr. Ruth:Gladys is talking to her little girlfriends and kind of saying like, Billy, he's gonna come. He's gonna ask my dad for my hand. And she fully believes that this is going to happen at this party, and her dad is there. Meanwhile, missus Carlton and Bertha are having a conversation, and Bertha's like, uh-uh, be for real. My daughter's never gonna marry you, which, again, she's just nakedly rude to this lady.
Dr. Ruth:Okay? And missus Carlton is kinda, like, out of niceties. She's like, okay. Well, let me explain something to you. I hate to pull rank, but my forefathers signed the declaration of independence.
Dr. Ruth:So where were your people? Who even are they? And I was like, oh, because the truth is back then, that kind of thing was extremely important to high society. They were obsessed with the revolution and with being closely tied to the revolution and or its founders. So she really pulled like some serious rank on her, but Mrs.
Dr. Ruth:Russell is unmoved. She's like, listen, I get my way. That's the kind of woman I am. I will disinherit her. And that just sends Mrs.
Dr. Ruth:Carlton, and she's completely stunned to see that a woman would even do such a thing to her child. But I don't think she knows who she's dealing with. This is a very ambitious woman who will stop nothing to get what she wants, and what she wants is a duchess for a daughter and a duke for a son-in-law. So while this is all going on, Billy is on his way to speak to George Russell, and we're, like, waiting. Okay.
Dr. Ruth:Here's the moment of truth. He's gonna go and man up and talk to George Russell, ask for his daughter's hand in marriage. He walks into the room, and there George is probably in the middle of some casual, gentlemanly business talk with titans of the industry. Think JPMorgan, right, and Jay Gould, these kinds of people. He is completely intimidated and decides, you know what?
Dr. Ruth:I'm just going to go for a walk. Thank you so much. He interrupts our conversation and sees the exit shortly after, and it's awkward. And it's also became very apparent to me in that moment that although I understand Gladys' desire to marry someone she's in love with, I can also now I'm starting to see a little bit more of Bertha's point that Billy is really just a boy. He's not ready for marriage, really, is he?
Dr. Ruth:I mean, he can't even work up the nerve to ask for your hand in marriage. I don't know. That point, her insistence on Billie is it started to my faith in that started to wane significantly. So, of course, the Carlton's leave, and that's not the most shocking thing that happened at this party. The thing that just blows your cat back is that mister Fain and his audacious self actually shows up to the party with his mistress.
Dr. Ruth:Clutching my pearls. Like, what? Sir. Okay. Obviously, it's the mid eighteen hundreds.
Dr. Ruth:These are very classy people. But what he shows up to this party with his mistress in tow with some people, some other people they know, and completely blows a hole in Aurora's story that she was giving to the missus Astors of the party that her husband was sick. And I feel like that is so cruel and messed up. Missus Astor calls her on it because that's what missus Astor be doing, and she really can't recover. She tries to say, oh, well, Charles was so sick, he decided to stay at the rec center or something like that so that he didn't get me sick.
Dr. Ruth:Missus Aster is like, that's a bit extreme. Totally doesn't buy it, and she leaves the party, which is a bad sign for poor missus Fain. Next, Agnes does her boss thing where she goes up to Aurora and is like, stop talking to this clown. And he's like, Aunt Agnes, try to reason with her and get her to file for divorce because he told Aurora, if you don't file for divorce, I'm going to continue to embarrass you in public like this. So messed up.
Dr. Ruth:Like, what did this lady do to you to deserve this? Men, I guess. In that moment, Agnes is furious with him, and she's like, I'm not your aunt. Okay? Like, don't call me aunt.
Dr. Ruth:We're done here. You're dead to me. And I love that about her. Agnes is always very sharp and I guess some people would say sometimes a little mean, very pushy about what she thinks and what her opinions are. But I find myself more and more frequently falling on her side of arguments even if her delivery is a little over spicy.
Dr. Ruth:You know what I mean? Then we end up back at the Russells. George Russell and Bertha Russell have had it out multiple times discussing whether or not Bertha is right to push Gladys to marry the duke. She's so steadfast in this belief. I mean, she's just like, no.
Dr. Ruth:And she's so close to the finish line. He the duke is supposed to be arriving. Everybody's expecting him to stay at their house. It's a whole thing she's got with all those, you know, tabloid pieces that she was funneling off to page six. Right?
Dr. Ruth:George is not pleased with this, and he's starting to wonder if there's more to the story than what he knows. And we know there's more to the story than what he knows, right? Because of the whole opera deal. At this point, Gladys is moping about in her room. Billy shows up to her house, and Billy is exactly what I thought.
Dr. Ruth:He is still a boy, and he is not equal to the task of trying to ingratiate himself to the Russell family and get the woman that he wants. And we have to understand he's only 18 probably at this time. It is an intimidating situation to find yourself in. So he basically shows up to the house to break up with Gladys and let her know that this is just not a situation that his mother even supports anymore. So it's really sad.
Dr. Ruth:Gladys is heartbroken. You know, she's crying on Larry's shoulder because Larry was supportive of her trying to make it work. But in the end, everybody is beat by Bertha. What can you say? Bertha gets what she wants.
Dr. Ruth:Although I'm sad for her, I can't help but feel a little bit of, like, good riddance to Billy. At this particular point in the episode, I was like, Billy is clearly not the man that Gladys needs. And the duke, I don't know. I don't know that she's given him a real chance, but she's clearly not into him. So at this point, I think I'm falling squarely in the is there a third option for Gladys?
Dr. Ruth:Is there no one else that she could be introduced to, have a dance with at a party, and actually fall in love with them? And no, because guess what? The duke rolls up. He rolls up to the 60 First Street mansion with his lawyer in tow. I mean, they've got paperwork ready to start the negotiations for the marriage contract.
Dr. Ruth:And this is to George Russell's complete surprise. Bertha is like, oh, welcome. Like, she expected all of this. And George is like, what's going on? What is all this?
Dr. Ruth:And he literally tells her, what did you promise him? It's very clear to us as the viewers that she definitely promised him a lot of money in order for him to be showing up with an attorney like this. There has to be, like, a lot on the line for him. We end the episode with them heading into the dining room to have dinner, all of them together. Gladys looking like she's walking to the gallows and about to damn die.
Dr. Ruth:And the duke kind of happy, Bertha looking smug and happy, George looking completely miffed. So the credits roll and you think to yourself, oh my gosh, where is this dinner going? What's what kind of conversations they're gonna have? Is Bertha just gonna act oblivious to the awkwardness happening? Does the duke realize that, like, Gladys truly doesn't want him?
Dr. Ruth:And what is this lawyer thinking? All very interesting stuff that'll be answered as we roll into episode three. This brings us to the end of our coverage of season three, episode two of The Gilded Age. If you have any questions, comments, please be sure to visit our TikTok PrettyPrescription to leave some comments there. I'll post a podcast announcement where correspondence regarding those episodes, each episode, can be placed.
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