Diksha Sundriyal
The third season of HBO’s ‘The Gilded Age’ focuses on the ups and downs in the romance of Larry Russell and Marian Brook. At the beginning of the season, the couple seems to be hopelessly in love, though Marian tries to exercise caution, especially since she has had two strikes in her love life. While she is in love with Larry, she wants to take things slow and figure out if this is the endgame for her. Her previous experiences with men influence her perception of Larry, which leads her to call off their engagement. However, so much happens in the finale that the fate of their relationship is changed forever. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Marian Realises Her Mistake While Larry Questions Her Trust
Everything had been going well with Marian and Larry until she discovered that a few hours after they got engaged, Larry went to an establishment of ill repute, which is no place for a gentleman of honor. While Oscar tries to assure her that things might not be how she is perceiving them, Marian convinces herself that there is a different side to Larry that she hadn’t seen before. When he comes back from Morenci and tries to talk to her, she refuses to believe him when he says that while he visited the said place, he didn’t do anything that would reflect badly on their relationship.
It is later, when Jack tells her that Larry was with him the entire night, that Marian realises how quickly she’d jumped to conclusions about the man she loves. Before she can find a way to talk about it with Larry, George is shot, and Marian rushes to the house to provide any help she can. She provides a helping hand to Dr. Kirkland in saving George’s life, and her actions impress even Bertha, who had previously been dead set against her and didn’t consider her worthy of her son. Larry, too, is grateful for what she did to help her family in the time of immense distress, and when she apologizes for doubting him, he questions why she didn’t believe him when he told her nothing happened, but immediately believed Jack when he said the same thing.
While Marian explains her reasons for her trust issues, Larry is forced to reconsider the grounds of their relationship as he wonders whether she will truly ever trust him. And if there is space for such doubt between them, is there any possibility for their relationship to survive? It is this thought that he cannot shake, even when Marian tries to patch things up with him, and despite both of her parents wishing that they would get back together. While it breaks Marian’s heart, she can see that Larry is in no mood to forgive her, and so she decides to back off, too.
George and Bertha’s Efforts Bring Larry and Marian Back Together
A major change that happens in the finale is when Bertha watches Marian take charge of the situation and help save her husband’s life. Later, as she expresses her gratitude to Marian, she confesses that in that moment, when she saw Marian unfazed while she had blood on her hands and her dress, she saw her through Larry’s eyes and understood that she was “no feeble-hearted debutante.” This act on Marian’s part convinces Bertha that her son was right in picking her as his life partner, and when George is out of the jaws of death, she makes active efforts to keep Marian around so that she and Larry can get back together.
She asks Marian not to give up on Larry so easily and to fight for him. When Marian reveals that she plans not to attend the ball because Larry is uncomfortable around her, Bertha is saddened. The fact that she makes a deal with Oscar to get Marian to the ball in return for allowing Mrs. Winterton, aka Turner, to come as well, shows how much Marian’s image has changed in Bertha’s mind. Meanwhile, George was never in doubt about Marian being a great match for his son. He knew there was something between them even before Bertha’s maid caught them kissing and told Bertha about it. He was glad to discover that Larry planned to propose to Marian and promised his son that he would support his choice even if Bertha tried to act against it.
Any doubts that he may have had about Marian disappear when he discovers that she helped save her life. Eventually, he advises Larry to make up with Marian, telling him that every couple fights and they must look at the bigger picture rather than surrender to the conflicts and misunderstandings and give up on one another. Larry takes his father’s words to heart, and during the ball, when Marian goes out to get some air, he follows her. Once again, she apologizes to him for not being able to trust him, while he questions whether the next time they fight, this doubt will creep up again and affect their relationship.
Marian assures him that that’s not going to happen, and Larry seems to accept it. They agree that there will be fights and disagreements, but they will have to learn to trust and love each other no matter what the circumstances. As they finally come back on the same page, they go back to the ball and dance together. Does this mean that their engagement is back on? Most likely, they will take some time before getting engaged again, but now that their misunderstandings are cleared up and their relationship has come back from the brink of collapse, a wedding feels inevitable.
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