The Gilded Age presents a wealth of drama as it explores the high society in 1880s New York. The Julian Fellowes show focuses primarily on the new-money Russells as they try to enter society and their well-established neighbors, the van Rhijn family. By the beginning of Season 2, Bertha Russell (Carrie Coon) has made considerable progress in her goal to gain social acceptance. Season 1 featured her successful ball that brought everyone into their home, including society’s leader, Mrs. Astor (Donna Murphy). However, that is not enough for her, as Season 2 shows Bertha continuing to force her way into society in what becomes known as the “Opera War.” Meanwhile, after Marian Brook’s (Louisa Jacobson) near-elopement, her aunt Agnes (Christine Baranski) is more set than ever on finding someone more suitable for her. The second season of The Gilded Age is full of twists, ambition, love, and even some historical truths that work together to set up an even more eventful Season 3.
‘The Gilded Age’ Season 2 Sees Bertha Russell Waging Another Society War
The Russells’ impressive wealth does not open as many doors as Bertha would like. Though she has made progress since her arrival, Season 2 shows Bertha’s growing frustration with her lack of a box at the Academy of Music. The opera house is a stable of the social scene, but there, the Russells are not on equal footing. So, Bertha takes matters into her own hands, becoming the champion of the new Metropolitan Opera House, which offers boxes to anyone who can pay. This choice once again places her at odds with Mrs. Astor in what they refer to as the Opera War.
Additionally, Bertha develops a new rivalry with Mrs. Winterton (Kelley Curran), her former maid (then called Turner), who married a rich older man while concealing her past. Bertha and Winterton already disliked each other, but Mr. Winterton (Dakin Matthews) is old money and just the person Bertha needs to win over to the Met. Mrs. Winterton stirs up trouble for Bertha and George, hinting to Bertha of the time she tried (and failed) to seduce George. Bertha trusts George but is angry that he lied to her, leading to an extended argument, though they eventually make up. Bertha retaliates by inviting the Wintertons’ guest, the Duke of Buckingham (Ben Lamb), to her own Newport house, stealing the prominent figure away from them, and she gets them kicked out of the Academy by revealing Mrs. Winterton’s past. The Wintertons take a box at the Met, seemingly giving Bertha the victory, but Mrs. Winterton demands the central box, and for the good of her project, Bertha is forced to cede.
George and Larry Russell Have Their Own Endeavors in ‘The Gilded Age’ Season 2
While Bertha takes on the social scene, George has his business dealings to focus on, namely, the fact that his railroad company faces issues with the steelworkers’ union in Pittsburgh, who demand better safety regulations, fair pay, and fewer hours. Hoping to solve the problem before it escalates, George invites the union’s leader, Mr. Henderson (Darren Goldstein), to New York, but their meeting gets nowhere. As the workers go on strike, George visits Henderson in Pittsburgh to negotiate again, but neither man will budge. As the strikers block the door to scabs, the Governor’s Militia waits to stop them. Yet George stops them before violence breaks out and comes to an agreement with Henderson. Though he is giving in to several of their demands, Russell’s long-term plan is to divide the workers until he can return his factories to their previous conditions. Still, the other business owners are angry with him for caving and setting a precedent for their workers.
While George deals with the union, Larry Russell (Harry Richardson) begins his career as an architect, working on a renovation for the widow Susan Blane (Laura Benanti). However, this becomes more than a job as he develops a romantic relationship with his client. Rumors of Larry and Susan sleeping together begin to circulate, angering Bertha. She interferes, meeting with Susan and convincing her to break it off. Larry is heartbroken, but he recovers quickly, especially when George tasks him with investigating the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge, as the lead engineer isn’t often onsite. Larry discovers that the engineer is sick, and his wife, Emily Warren Roebling (Liz Wisan), has taken over the job, though no one knows the truth. At the celebration of the bridge’s completion, Larry makes a speech acknowledging Mrs. Roebling’s contribution.
Marian’s New Romance Isn’t Destined for More in ‘The Gilded Age’ Season 2
After her ill-fated romance with Mr. Raikes (Thomas Cocquerel) in Season 1, Marian makes a different choice for herself, becoming an art teacher without telling her aunts, though, of course, she is soon found out, and Agnes doesn’t approve at all. Agnes is still trying to find someone for Marian to marry, and she is excited when Marian catches the notice of Dashiell Montgomery (David Furr). Coming to town with his daughter, Frances (Matilda Lawler), who is a student in Marian’s classes, Dashiell warms up to the idea of marrying again, proposing to Marian at a public event. Though she accepts due to the shock of the moment, she is full of doubts. After an awkward dinner where Dashiell reveals he expects Marian to quit the job she loves and accidentally calls her by the name of his deceased wife, Marian breaks it off, citing their many differences. While Agnes does not argue with Marian’s choice, she warns her that she has no more room for error. By the finale, Marian shares a kiss with Larry, suggesting that their relationship is changing as Season 3 begins.
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‘The Gilded Age’ Season 2 Gives Peggy an Emotional Journey
After discovering that her father gave up her son for adoption, Peggy Scott (Denée Benton) left on a mission to find her baby. Unfortunately, Season 2 showed that Peggy’s search was too late after the little boy and his adoptive mother died of an illness. As she and her parents mourn his loss, both Peggy and her mother, Dorothy (Audra McDonald), struggle to forgive Arthur (John Douglas Thompson) for preventing them from knowing the boy. Peggy handles her pain by diving into work. Though she left her job as Agnes’ secretary because of the prejudice she experienced from Agnes’ lady’s maid, Mrs. Armstrong (Debra Monk), Peggy asks to come back, and Agnes agrees, promising to put a stop to Armstrong’s behavior by making it clear that her job is on the line.
Peggy also spends more time working as a journalist for The Globe, even traveling with her editor, T. Thomas Fortune (Sullivan Jones), to Alabama to report on the Tuskegee School. While there, she experiences more racism than ever before when a fight breaks out in a restaurant. Fortune stands up for the Black woman being mistreated, and he and Peggy are forced to hide in a barn from a mob searching for them. During the terrifying night, Peggy and Fortune kiss, which is complicated by the fact that he is a married man.
After safely returning to New York, Peggy finds a new cause to champion in her writing when she learns the school board plans to shut down the only schools that accept Black students. The community rallies together to find a solution, deciding to increase the number of students by allowing white children and teachers into the schools. There is particular interest from the Irish population, who face their own form of discrimination. As their argument is coming together, Arthur discovers that the time of the meeting has been moved, saving the day by alerting Peggy, the teachers, and everyone else, who arrive just in time to make their case and save two out of the three schools the Board tried to shut down. Thanks to Arthur’s efforts to help the cause she cares so much about, Dorothy expresses that she wants to work on their relationship and reach a better place after all they’ve been through. However, due to the developing feelings between her and Fortune, Peggy quits writing for the Globe, hoping to focus on writing a novel instead.
Ada Finds and Loses Love in ‘The Gilded Age’ Season 2
At the beginning of the season, a new Reverend, Luke Forte (Robert Sean Leonard), arrives at the church, and Ada (Cynthia Nixon) is quite taken with him. Despite Agnes’ sharp comments, Ada and Luke grow closer in a whirlwind relationship. Agnes opposes the relationship, especially after Ada and Luke get engaged, forbidding Oscar (Blake Ritson) from attending. However, both Oscar and Marian are thrilled for Ada and support her however they can. Agnes reveals that she is lashing out because she relies on Ada and fears that she will be left alone, but she eventually gets over these emotions and shows up to the wedding at the last minute. Ada and Luke are happy for a brief time before Luke is diagnosed with cancer. His condition quickly worsens, and Agnes makes up for her previous behavior by supporting Ada in every way she can, but Luke dies, leaving Ada a widow.
‘The Gilded Age’ Season 2 Doesn’t Just Center on the Wealthy
Throughout the show, the lives of the servants play an interesting role. Mr. Watson (Michael Cerveris), Mr. Russell’s valet, has his past as a banker resurfaces after seeing his daughter Flora (Rebecca Haden), now married to an affluent man, Robert McNeil (Christopher Denham), at one of the Russells’ parties. To keep this a secret, McNeil offers Watson a comfortable life if he leaves New York and never speaks to Flora again, but Watson insists on knowing that is what Flora wants. In the end, Flora comes to him and confesses that she knew nothing of her husband’s offer and wants him to leave the Russells’ employment and be a part of her life, which he does gladly. Meanwhile, there is a romance brewing between the Russells’ housekeeper, Mrs. Bruce (Celia Keenan-Bolger), and their cook, Mr. Borden (Douglas Sills), who attend the opera together in the finale. Additionally, Jack (Ben Ahlers), the van Rhijns’ footman, begins flirting with Adelheid (Erin Wilhelmi), a lady’s maid in the Russell house.
Jack also begins fiddling with his unreliable alarm clock, hoping to make it more efficient. He invents a new mechanism that doesn’t require oil, so it won’t stick, and manages to get a patent for the invention. Marian even convinces Larry to meet with Jack, and Larry is impressed, offering to go into business with him, setting Jack up to live the American dream. Additionally, Season 2 brings the war between the van Rhijn and Russell butlers to an end. After Church (Jack Gilpin) almost got Bannister (Simon Jones) fired in Season 1, Bannister does the same to Church, sending a letter to Mr. Russell about Church returning home drunk. However, he regrets it when he learns that the incident happened on the anniversary of Church’s wife’s death and awkwardly retrieves the letter before it is opened, leaving them at a truce.
The Van Rhijns Face Financial Hardship in ‘The Gilded Age’ Season 2
Since his introduction, Oscar has been looking for a bride to boost his wealth and cover the fact that he is gay. He initially pursues Gladys Russell (Taissa Farmiga), but George definitively ends that, and Oscar quickly moves on, meeting Maud Beaton (Nicole Brydon Bloom), a rich woman rumored to be the illegitimate daughter of Jay Gould. As he courts her, Oscar invests his money in the company she is dealing with, and, getting a return quickly, he is encouraged. Oscar goes back and invests most of his family’s wealth before Maud Beaton disappears, taking his fortune with her.
Oscar has to go to his mother and admit his mistake. The loss of their money requires a major lifestyle change for the family, and Agnes must sell her house and fire her servants. However, just before they make permanent changes, Ada discovers that she inherited a considerable amount of money from Luke Forte, whose family had made their fortune in textiles. With no other family, Ada is Luke’s sole heir, giving her sufficient money to maintain the life the van Rhijn and Brooks family was used to. However, it creates a shift in their dynamic, as Bannister takes cues from Ada, who is now paying his wage.
‘The Gilded Age’ Season 2 Ends With Bertha’s Victory in the Opera War
As the Met threatens to eclipse the Academy, Mrs. Astor makes a desperate play of offering the Russells a box, hoping it will satisfy Bertha. Though she is tempted, Bertha chooses to stay with the Met, where she will have more sway due to her donations and status as a founding member. In the finale, the Opera War comes to a head on the night both the Met and the Academy open their season, but what people care most about is which show the Duke will be attending. Though he initially accepted an invitation from Bertha, Mrs. Astor made a deal with him, offering him full access to American society. But Bertha has her own plans. At the opera, the Russells are surprised by the central box that Bertha had ceded to the Wintertons to gain their support, thanks to George’s secret negotiations.
While the theater is already respectably full, the Duke’s arrival at the Met reinforces Bertha’s triumph. Though it isn’t clearly stated what Bertha offered the Duke to compete, her insistence that Gladys pay attention to their guest implies that she promised him a marriage to her daughter and the money that comes with it. This has the potential to complicate things with George, who promised Gladys he would advocate for her to ensure that she marries for love. Whatever the future holds, at the moment, Bertha wins, with many members of society, including Mrs. Fish (Ashlie Atkinson), leaving the Academy to attend the Met’s show.
