‘The Gilded Age’ Director Addresses Gladys’ Controversial Moment in Season 3: “Mom Was Right”
Carrie Coon’s Bertha Russell became a divisive figure after that plot twist in The Gilded Age’s season 3, but it seems like her daughter Gladys might be getting her happy ending after all.
Arranged marriages and established connections are what The Gilded Age’s high society has been prioritising for decades, so it wasn’t really surprising to see Bertha adjusting to the rules even when it was her daughter Gladys’ fate that was in question.
One of the ongoing third season’s episodes left the show’s fans divided when it was revealed that Bertha wouldn’t stop at anything to secure her family’s position in the society, which also required forcing her daughter to marry the Duke of Buckingham who she clearly despised.
It didn’t take long for Gladys to see a different side of what she thought was her worst nightmare, and The Gilded Age’s season 3 finale will likely confirm this.
‘The Gilded Age’ Director Also Believes Bertha’s Decision Was for the Better
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The show’s fans would clearly doubt such a statement before the latest episode was released last Sunday, witnessing the first signs of Gladys and the Duke finally starting to bond after the controversial wedding.
Ironically, it was the latter’s sister Lady Sarah who pushes the storyline forward after Bertha and Gladys confront her at the dinner table in episode 7.
This, according to The Gilded Age’s director and producer Salli Richardson-Whitfield, was what let both Gladys and the Duke find something in common and start seeing themselves as a couple rather than just housemates.
“Hey, Bertha was right. Mom was right. … She didn’t set Gladys up with a monster. She set her up with the life she knows that in the future, [Gladys is] going to thank her for”, Richardson-Whitfield said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter ahead of the episode’s release last week.
She then added that, despite going wrong sometimes, now Bertha was right about Gladys and the Duke being a good fit for each other, with both being able to show each other their worthiness.
“I love that it’s grown into something real, especially after you’ve seen her at the altar, in tears and then the scene of them in the cabin, and you’re like, “What did we put them into?” I think it’s one of our best storylines this season”, the director revealed.
‘The Gilded Age’ Might Be Losing Its Key Character in Season 3 Finale
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While things seem to be going better in Gladys’ personal life, there’s a family tragedy that might be awaiting her in the season’s upcoming finale that promises to be even more shocking than that couple of latest episodes.
Episode 7 ends on Morgan Spector’s Mr. Russell possibly being shot by a mysterious attacker, and his fate so far is what the finale will unveil.
However, Spector has already addressed the issue, hinting at Bertha getting into even more trouble after potentially losing her husband.
“You should be very worried. In the 19th century, gunshot wounds from up close were extremely dangerous. Many people didn’t survive them. I don’t have a contract for next season yet, so who knows?” the actor said in a statement to Variety.
In the meantime, The Gilded Age’s season 3 finale will air on HBO Max on August 10.
