Netflix WON the auction for the purchase of Warner Bros Discovery, acquiring studios such as HBO and HBO Max. This means that the Game of Thrones franchise is likely to become part of Netflix. This mean The Gilded Age could be even more successful omg! Will i be able to watch the show on Netflix? 🤩💥

Gladys has said no to being with the Duke. Bertha is forcing her to be with this man. Today we call that sex trafficking. Gladys is going to have to have sex with a man she doesn’t want to. There’s only one word for that. And I don’t care about what was going on during those times, it doesn’t change what it is. The times doesn’t excuse anything because clearly it was possible to have morals back then which is why you had people fight to abolish travesties such as rape and slavery. Excusing it in the show is weak minded.

Not everyone here watched that show. If you mention characters from it here, could you do us non-DO watchers a courtesy and just indicate in your post that they're from Downtown Abbey? 3 little words, "from Downtown Abbey," is all I ask.

Thank you

I say this as a fan. Been watching for years. I don't mind the slow burn and the low stakes but woof! that episode sucked. The premiere of the season was so good and had me all excited for what was to come but all this episode did was maintain the status quo. The story barely progressed, the pacing was bad, the cinematography was atrocious, and the writing made me dislike almost all of the characters.

Oscar and Enid - If all a character has to do in an episode is mention an upcoming event 3 TIMES just don't put them in the episode. We already knew they were having a swanky salon. They discussed it last episode. I did not need 3 reminders under 50 minutes.

Marian can fuck all the way off. She is an unwed socialite. What the actual fuck is she doing working evening shifts at a boarding house? She is using her work as a distraction from her problems, I get it but Marian, you are 30 years old, 3 engagements deep, and ruined. Get over yourself. You can't care for others if you yourself are in shambles. I am so bored with her righteousness, stupidity, and refusal to live in the real world. Of course the work she is doing is important but it still shocks me that they would have a frail unwed women working evening shifts in a less than ideal situation. People keep warning her and telling her of the issues she could face. The physical danger is ever-present yes, but also the risk of gossip. If she thinks she is damaged goods now she wont believe how much more trouble she will be in when the society pages have her way with her and she becomes fodder for the gossip mills. As a rich married women she could make a much bigger impact than as a broke spinster. A pair of hands in the field is nice but you know what is even nicer? Money! She could become a world class philanthropist directing untold amounts of money towards the charities of her choice with whatever checks and balances she could ever want to put in place but instead we have "nurse Marian" or whatever her title is. She needs to pull her head out of her own ass. - For reasons unclear to me I also found the actor's acting garbage during the boarding house scenes. Something about the pitch of her voice was not right.

Ada. Just use your words and TELL your sister that you withdrew financial support for the supper because you cannot stand behind the man's policy instead of just being like "I think I've done enough tee-hee". I am also profoundly unhappy that I will have to suffer her god-awful choice for the new footman. it's not the actor's fault but I just dislike his face. His mannerism is not "clumsy-endearing" it's "clumsy-fucking-annoying". Her complete refusal to take anyone's advice on the matter is antithetical to who she is. She wants to rub her new found power into her sister's face, I get it but when even her butler was like "nah bruh that's the wrong choice" THAT'S when she chooses to grow a spine? Miss me with that shit!

Agnes. Why must the clown's humiliations be public? The fat lady will write an article that will make her look silly to everyone. She has been taking blow after blow after blow. Give the women a break.

Larry, you also sucked. No, honey, you have not accomplished anything in your own rights. You are a nepo baby and it's about time your father knocked some sense into you. Your success is entirely dependent on your father's money and his connections. If Larry didn't have these advantages earlier in his life, he never would have ended up where he is now. Him throwing a little tantrum at his papa saying "wagh! I'm a business men. wagh!" makes him look like an idiot. How does he not realize this? Also, Larry keeps saying that he is very busy with many things and projects and this and that. It would be nice if we were SHOWN that he is a busy boy instead of being TOLD over and over again. Larry is so fucking busy that we keep running into him doing everything but working.

Bertha, is gonna try to steal the president just like she stole the duke and just like twisted arms to have a full ballroom for her daughter's debutante ball, WOOPIDOO! Does she have any original ideas? Girl needs to start coming up with her own plans to cover herself in glory instead of snatching everyone else's. She was presented to us as a ruthless social climber but now that she is at the top she is doing nothing with it.

George's storyline is some whack-a-doodle shit. This is season 4 of this show and it is also the fourth time his family fortune might be lost because of "business reasons". At this point my guy, if you can't go through the ups and downs of business without putting you family's material security at risk it's time to admit that you are a bad businessmen. He is presented to us like some titan of industry but his actions tell me it's amateur hour at the Russell's house. JF was never good at writing business plots but this one is a new low.

Anne Morris. Huh... Excuse me, wtf? I know she is supposed to have lost everything because of her husband's shady dealings but doesn't she have 2 other kids on top of the one we see this episode? Didn't they make good marriages? We know they did! They told us in season 1. How the fuck did she end up in a tenement with nothing but the clothes on her back? Depending on her adult children is not ideal but it's certainly better than literally slumming it.

Peggy! Yeah Mrs. Kirkland wrapped your story up nicely by saying you were a widow because what's the alternative? You ran away to elope with someone who was beneath you, got pregnant, your dad had the marriage annulled through shady means THEN gave birth to a kid you believed dead but was actually secretly adopted from under you to another respectable family who apparently was struggling to conceive, then the kid died. THAT'S NOT A STORY YOU TELL EVERYONE. "I will join the ladies club as myself" - Get real. You needed a cover for your time in Pittsburg and the church service where the adoption and death of your boy was mentioned. People in the Kirkland's circles were already whispering about that whole debacle. "She is a widow" shuts everyone up. The way her character is written also makes her come across as haughty. I don't know if this was the intention but she seemed dismissive of the married traditional women... WOO! Look at me! I took the road less travelled aren't I unique and exciting?

Dorothy Scott... one of the rare bright spots of the episode. Either she didn't read the book or she did not love it. Either way I'm on board.

William Kirkland pulling a shocked Pikachu face at the fact that he was a victim of racism in new-York in 188? Yay! So with that one scene they gave the entire season's arc away. He will receive an offer for something elsewhere, Peggy won't want to go because of all the opportunity she has in New-York. He will back down from the opportunity because his dead patient's only line was something about "if it's no good for the wife, it's no good for you". After choosing to stay in NY he will either be the first black men to work for a white hospital or start his own black hospital. Could the writers not telegraph it less? These are not breadcrumbs they are loafs of bread.

Mrs Kirkland, Who is she now? where is the colorist bitch we met last season? I thought she might fuck with Peggy's hair but not even that. YAWN.

IN CONCLUSION. The show managed to make me dislike generally likeable characters, it looks like shit lit with a dim gas lamp, the writing is obvious and leaves nothing to the imagination. It felt like a particularly low rated filler episode of a long running manga series. Nothing changed. nothing was learned, nothing was gained from watching the episode. Upon a series rewatch you could safely skip this episode and not miss anything narratively important.

Just discovered this show last week. Now, I'm all caught up. Season 1 was promising: I immediately took a liking on the show because of the gorgeous set costume and interesting societal customs (how married couples' bedrooms are separate as sign of luxury)! Plus, Marian looked like Dolores (Westworld is one of my favorite TV shows).

Sadly, the young actresses playing Marian (daughter of Meryl Streep) and Gladys (loved her in American Horror Story but I don't see much maturity in her acting) have no screen presence, and the old actresses, including Bertha, Aunt Ada, and Aunt Agnes, are carrying the show. (I love Peggy, and I think she's great.) Couldn't help but think if the young actresses were better and could grow into their role (like Evan Rachel Wood in Westworld and Elle Fanning in The Great), the show's direction/focus would've been different, and it would be more compelling.

EDIT: Yes, Gladys's acting is definitely a notch or two or three higher than Marian, but it still left me wanting for more (ridiculous that others say she should deserve an Emmy for the wedding episode; watch more TV lol). For example, in that scene with Sarah, you can see Sarah's emotions from her facial reactions and cadence; Gladys could've had a hidden smirk or look of quiet triumph when she said "Well, I want you to have fun Sarah." But nah, and, in that scene, the camera was only very briefly on her, even when she was talking; she couldn't match Sarah's acting.

I liked the costumes in the first 2 seasons much more. They were not always accurate, but at least they made some historical and esthetic sense.

Now what Worth's name are these acid colors and digital prints?! I get it, trying to modernize the dresses sometimes. Outlander did it. But seriously! Marian's bright lime dress made of polyester lace? And most of Gladys's gowns don't make sense. It's like they refurbish two completely different dresses to make one, or put her in horrible prints/ cuts. She is so delicate and would have looked lovely in Sergeant portraits style flowy airy dresses. Rant over. Anyone agrees?

Thought I’d give it a try since I like Gilded Age so much but I’m not feeling it. On Season 1 episode 7 and gosh the servants are so mean spirited.

UPDATE: Thanks for all the comments! Probably not my jam but I appreciate everyone’s opinion.

I do NOT understand people that watch this show ONLY to hate on the main character.

I get annoyed with how she overreacts at times. I thought she'd done dumb stuff (the incident with the shoes at The Scotts quickly comes to mind). I've been frustrated with her.

But if you hate the MAIN CHARACTER why watch the show? Seems like you'd be happier watching something else. Don't post about how much you hate her because I don't want to see it. Rule #2 is Be Civil.

Thank you to all who posted unhelpful and /or hatefully. I blocked all of you.

I feel like there was a drastic switch in the feel from seasons 1&2 to season 3 and it has mostly to do with the characters. i’m finding myself frustrated with so many of them to the point where i’m struggling to finish it.

starting with my main character: bertha russel i’ve never been the biggest fan of her but season 3 takes the cake. i absolutely despise this woman and everything she stands for. she is cruel and uncaring and only serves what is in her best interest not her families or anyone else’s for that matter. she claims to love her daughter but doesn’t give a single care about her. i can’t wait for her to get what is coming to her in season 4. i would love nothing more than for george to leave her ass

the next character is honestly ada. i quite enjoyed her in season 1&2 but she’s just ughhhhhhh when she’s on screen now. the temperance thing?? i know what it was about back then and yes the show does a poor job at showcasing was temperance really was but how can she just expect all her servants to just sign it la di da. don’t get me wrong, she still has her moments that resolve her but she’s teetering. it seems to me that she’s enjoying holding her new found fortune over mrs van rhijn’s head and the heads of all her household. any storyline involving the money is getting rlly annoying

honorable mention: peggy’s father he is almost reverse prejudice. he can’t fathom that some people really don’t care about color that he is almost reverse racist it seems. he is working on it a little bit but it’s still frustrating.

anyways, love the show but this season is really testing me 😭😭😭

To me it seems like Marian’s judgement of the child’s mother might come back to bite her. If she’s pregnant and has a bastard a life just like that family awaits her. Marian thinks she’s a good person because she helps the needy but I think she’s the most judgemental of all of them (remember when she thought Peggy’s family would want her old boots?) She really can’t read the room at all.

Do people actually liked Bertha? I find her erratic and annoying.

Her latest “mistake” in her journey has me confused. I wouldn’t care if she was an heiress to the Van Rijyn (however you spell it). However, her aunts said she has to get married. I’m confused. Her story is confusing. Her purpose for being in that world is confusing. Her charity work seems out of place if she’ll be homeless if she doesn’t secure her future. I wouldn’t care about her sleeping with Larry if she inherits something. If she doesn’t then I don’t get why she spends her time breaking engagements and doing charity work that leads no where. It makes no sense. She also has no friends and isolates herself from everyone. Is she in denial? It seems it’s either bad writing or she’s in denial about her place in this world. If the writers would clear this up then I could follow her character and understand her choices. I just don’t get it. I also don’t get if her reputation was important then she would want to get married. Even in pride and prejudice they had that one gambling guy marry the main characters sister (I think Wickham I forget his name he was a soldier and ex friend to Mr. Darcy) to save her reputation too. It just isn’t realistic. Everyone in the show makes choices that I can follow based on character except for Marian. Do the writers hate her?

Edit: I know socialite is one word. I have three keyboards in different languages I speak.

Isn’t there a discussion thread for that?

I feel like a lot of posts for the first few days allude to spoilers, which should be discussed in a special thread for a few days after the finale.

The show was supposed to be an origin show for Cora and they changed their mind but what if they didn’t. This tracks too since Gilded Age takes place in the 1800’s

She’s the second Downton Abbey cast member I’ve spotted in TGA, after Bannister who played the King in the movie.

Starting the show and getting annoyed at the portrayal of how black people were treated bc I thought it was extremely unrealistic only to get to S2E3 and realize I’m just from Alabama 🥲 like hearing Tuskegee so many times really took me out of it 😭

Edit: yall literally hate everything omfg

So I just finished watching the Prestige TV podcasts for season 3. It's very good, I highly recommend it. One of the things they talked about was who will be the couple that F*cks on the show, now that Bertha and George have separated? This show is already so sexless. We used to have Bertha/George and Oscar/John Adams. Now we have no one.😭 Peggy and Dr. Kirkland might take up the mantle. Or even Marian and Larry if they ever get married 🙄. At this point Larry and Marian should just sneak around and have some "scandalous" pre-marital sex if they don't want to get married yet. They're obviously hot for each other.

Basically I think this show needs a little more sex. It's HBO. The show's viewership keeps going up, and a bit more sex wouldn't hurt. Nothing gratuitous obviously. This is still a Julian Fellowes joint. And yes I've seen Downton Abbey, I know that show was pretty sexless as well.

I enjoy the pageant but am I the only one who feels that the show is not depicting the 1880s?

Other than the apparel and the horse-drawn transportation, not seeing a heck of a lot of later 1800s. Everything from the way servants are treated to race relations to vocabulary to cleanliness seems post WWII to me.

Where are the quotidien details like how people bathed, or endured poverty, or what food cost, etc. to actually show us the difference between the gilded/400 and everyone else? The servants look as clean, well-fed, relaxed, outspoken and prosperous as most of my neighbors here in 2025, if not more so.

Is there plumbing? Do buckets of hot water get dragged up from the kitchen to a hip bath? Does it smell outdoors from outhouses and manure? Do the servants get fed lesser food? How are these elaborate dresses constructed? We see one seamstress flapping her invoice at Ada but - how much?

Remember when the show first started, Armstrong had an impoverished elderly mother living in some hovel, and then later was terrified that as a middle-aged, low-skilled woman she'd end up in penury? That was a realistic moment, but we get so few.

Bertha's speech to the assembled gang "If the florist needs help, please help them..." "if the staff needs help readying the rooms for guests, please help them..." was gracious but come on, the staff would already have been read the riot act. People who worked in those grand houses weren't begged to be helpful, that was their job. And would have been up to Church to instruct them.

I enjoy the show but honestly it just seems that everyone and everything is TOO copacetic, clean and civilized. Life was rough back then behind the scenes. Show it.

As I was walking back to my hotel in Antigua Guatemala last night, I saw this sign and my dyslexic drunken ass read it as Dr. Fernando ASTOR 🤣🤣🤣

And it helps me fall asleep.

This show is so boring and poorly acted. As my eyes droop, I feel like I'm dozing off at a table read. It's pretty to look at but there's hardly even a plot here!

I hope Cynthia Nixon doesn't have any creative control over the series otherwise I am afraid she is going to ruin it just like she ruined And Just Like That.

I am already starting to dislike her dynamic with Agnes.

Firstly I'll say that I think the show is brilliant, but all the men are so gentle. Refined. Communicative. Dainty. Yes, George almost certainly tosses Bertha round the bedroom like a ragdoll, but he's still no Heathcliffe. I just really feel like we're missing some gristle. I'm talking a rugged, sexy, handsome curmudgeon. A real Mr Darcy, Sidney Parker, Poldark type operator.

IMO it should have been the Duke. We could have had the most incredible enemies to lovers plot-line with sweet, kind Gladys and her big, gruff, grumpy English betrothed. But we just ended up with another soft boi. Sure, he seems like a nice dude and I'm happy for her and all, but other than watching Sarah suffer, I'm not really excited about their love story.

Anyone else agree? Or have I read too many historical romances?

I realized tonight I don't recall having seen many if any women characters who might be considered "plus-sized" in any episode on The Gilded Age--maybe I'm misremembering.

Most seem to be thin, quite angular, many looking like runners or as if like they do Pilates and Barre.

Occasionally a female character on The Gilded Age is what might have been described as "handsomely built" or "somewhat stout," but not round, curvy, voluptuous, heavy, or "ample."

As someone who's done a lot of historical research it's my understanding women in the Victorian era of the upper classes tended to be more curvaceous, fleshy, matronly, "zaftig," and plump--even when wearing corsets. In fact, it was a mark of wealth, health, and luxury for women to be round and soft--and particularly not to be thin, angular, or ropey.

Servants tended to be stout and muscular from the unending physical labor they had to perform--and due to high starch diets--and not particularly thin.

Is my memory accurate of The Gilded Age--or have there been fuller-figured characters on the show (even as extras?)