Diksha Sundriyal
The third season of HBO’s ‘The Gilded Age’ takes the Russell family on a rollercoaster ride as they seem to struggle on each front. While Bertha’s ambitions get out of hand, George focuses on keeping his ambitions alive while also trying to save his family from financial ruin. The penultimate episode of the season brings great news for both him and his wife, but the ending of the episode is marked by a tragic event that threatens to unravel everything for the Russell family. SPOILERS AHEAD.
George Russell Receives a Direct Hit from a Friend Turned Foe
This season, George Russell has been singularly focused on securing the mines of Morenci and expanding his plans for the railroad that will transform the country. Dealing with the owners of the mines was a difficult task, which he relegated to his trusted man, Clay. However, the more George wished for things to move forward, the more Clay tried to convince him that he was focusing his time and money on the wrong place. Eventually, this conflict of ideas leads George to fire Clay, and in his stead, he tasks his son, Larry, to seal the Morenci deal. Not only does Larry succeed, but he brings back much more than his father had expected.
It turns out that the mines that were previously believed to be worthless actually have millions of dollars worth of copper, something that Clay seemed to have missed repeatedly. With the mines in his hands, the tide turns in his favour again, and when he calls out Clay for his incompetence, the man is fired by his new employer as well. George takes it a step further, to answer Clay’s attempt at sabotaging him, by revealing that he will make sure Clay never works for anyone again, at least not in New York.
Irritated at his own inability to see what Larry saw, Clay becomes angrier and vows revenge on George. He doesn’t wait too long to deliver on this promise, as the same evening, he sends a hitman to George’s door. The hitman presents himself as a deliveryman. Before shooting at George, who is in the middle of wrapping up work and going to the club, where he has been staying for a while now, the hitman shoots one of his secretaries dead. The next bullet is fired right at George with nothing between them to stop it from hitting its target. However, in a massive cliffhanger, the episode leaves the audience without revealing George’s true fate.
George Russell’s Time on The Gilded Age is, Hopefully, Not Done Yet
Had it been any other character, like the unfortunate John Adams, they would be dead for sure. But George is too important for ‘The Gilded Age’ to be killed off so easily, or at least, that’s what we hope. So far, the HBO series has not shied away from killing characters to advance plot and character development. However, all of them have notably been side characters, and the main cast has remained intact since Season 1. With George’s death, the show would be taking a massive shift in its approach, and it would certainly be heartbreaking for the audience, especially considering that George is such a beloved character.
The most likely thing to happen is that George does get hit with the bullet, but the show is not fatal. However, it is bad enough to leave him bedridden for a while, which would open the space for Larry to take over the business from his father. The murder attempt would also bring the broken Russell family back together. Gladys and Bertha already seem to have made up, especially since Bertha’s visit to London drastically changed Gladys’ position in the household. Meanwhile, she seems happier with her husband, and perhaps, she has finally come to realise that her mother was right about it all after all. However, George and Larry are yet to see their sister’s happiness in action, and they blame Bertha for pushing her into an unwanted union.
George getting shot will finally unite the family in a time of hardship. Considering the chasms that had deepened between George and Bertha, they seemed to be heading for divorce, especially with Bertha deciding to support divorced women rather than ban them from society like Mrs. Astor. The shooting is serious enough for the couple to forgive past transgressions and go back to the way they used to be. A solid proof of this theory is the mid-season trailer of the show, where we see Bertha hosting Mrs. Astor’s final ball of the season. While she is an ambitious woman, it is impossible to believe that she would still go forward with the ball if her husband were dead. If anything, the smile on her face suggests that she is finally happy, and that must include patching up with her very much alive husband.
Read More: The Gilded Age: Who is the Leak in the Russell House?
