Diksha Sundriyal
As the third season of HBO’s ‘The Gilded Age’ moves closer to its end, the tension revs up for the characters, particularly the Russells. The previous episode ended with the arrival of Gladys’ letter, pushing George’s resentment towards his wife to a new extent, while tackling his own issues with a business that might be heading towards disaster. This episode, titled ‘If You Want to Cook an Omelette,’ begins with Bertha going to England to help her daughter deal with her miserable situation, most of which has to do with Lady Sarah, who just won’t let Gladys be. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Bertha’s Arrival in London Shakes Things Up for Gladys
Gladys’ letter prompts Bertha to arrange a quick trip to England, and the moment she sets foot in her daughter’s house, she realises that the control rests in the hands of Lady Sarah. In a power move, Sarah gives Berth the room of a former king whose life came to a tragic end, but this only makes the mama bear even more adamant about helping her daughter. She discovers that Gladys isn’t even allowed to pick her own dresses for gatherings, and when she brings up Adelheid, Sarah dismisses her complaint by pointing out that the new British maid is there to help Gladys become a better Duchess. At dinner, when the part about women’s voting rights is brought to the table, Bertha supports the cause, while Sarah doesn’t.
This leads Bertha to call out Sarah’s hypocrisy, and she isn’t ready to back down until Hector steps in to calm her down and save his sister from a public embarrassment. But while Bertha is ready to pull out her claws, there is only so much she can do on her own. Eventually, Gladys has to pick up the reins, so she nudges her daughter to become more confident. It begins with Gladys asking Hector if she can get to know more about the estate and meet its residents. While he points out that his sister takes care of everything, he is glad to see that his wife is interested in knowing more about her duties, and he doesn’t see any harm in that. More importantly, when Sarah tells Gladys there is no need for her to explore the estate and its responsibilities, Hector supports his wife.
Later, at dinner, Gladys talks about her visit and how she has plans to plant a new orchard for the queen’s upcoming anniversary. Sarah is quick to dismiss her plans and stands up to call it a night, which is when Gladys, prompted by Bertha’s sharp looks, puts Sarah in her place by pointing out that she is the Duchess, and hence the head of the household, and so, she will be the one to decide when the ladies should leave the table. Everyone is impressed by this act, and even Hector confesses to his sister that she should have followed the rules and respected Gladys’ position as the new Duchess.
Seeing now that she has done her job, it is time for Bertha to go back home. Before leaving, she talks with Hector about supporting his wife and letting her come into her own, and he promises to do better by Gladys. She also tells him to bring back Adelheid, and he says he will see what he can do about it. Another thing that Bertha notes is her maid, Andre, curiously lingering around, which suggests that she might be on to the leak in her house. As the mother and daughter bid each other farewell, Bertha tells her daughter how proud she is of her and how she can be the Duchess that her mother always knew she could be.
Things Go From Bad to Worse for George
While his wife is in England trying to fix things for their daughter, George is invited to spend a weekend at JP Morgan’s place in the countryside. But he is not the only guest. Other major parties, including the Merricks, have been invited so that all of them get together and settle some crucial things about their business. Morgan believes that their in-fighting will make the financial crisis worse than it already is, and someone needs to buy out the Merricks to have the majority share, which can finally decide the fate of George’s railroad plans through Chicago. After much deliberation, Merrick decides to sell it to George, but then comes the curveball.
One of the guests for the weekend is Richard Clay, the advisor that George fired last episode. It seems that he has joined the enemy’s side. When the weekend comes to an end and George and Merrick reveal their deal, Clay decides to use his insider knowledge about George and his business to bring him down. The next day, the news headlines talk about the Russell industries being stretched thin, which leads their shares to plummet. Not only that, but Morgan and the others, including Merrick, decide to keep their distance from him. But even then, George is not swayed from his plans. He convinces his new assistant that he will find the money to keep the project going. At this point, anyone would be inclined to think that perhaps Clay was right and George has lost his mind by taking a risk that could rob him of everything that he has built.
However, there is still a wild card that hasn’t come into play yet. Miles away from New York, Larry arrives in Morenci, where the first person he meets is a metallurgist whom he had asked to give another look at the mines. The man reveals to the younger Russell that these mines might yet be of value. It turns out that all the mining had been happening without planning and in a haphazard manner. However, when he scouted the place and mined in some places that hadn’t been touched yet, he discovered that there is a copper deposit to last about a century, and he doesn’t believe that this is the only one. He asks Larry to secure the mines as soon as possible and to sweeten the pot for the landowners as much as possible so that they don’t make any trouble in the future. The smile on Larry’s face is enough to show that he has hit the jackpot he was looking for.
The Forte-Van Rhijn Household Encounters Major Revelations
While Larry may have single-handedly saved his father and family from ruin, the same might not be said about his engagement with Marian. In the last episode, Larry told Oscar about seeing Maud Beaton at the Haymarket. This time, Oscar relays this information to Marian, but doesn’t tell where Larry saw his former fiancée. Later, Marian congratulates Jack about his success, and asks him how his night of celebration with Larry went at Delmonico’s. When Jack becomes confused about it and behaves weirdly, Marian goes back to Oscar, and he is forced to reveal that the Haymarket isn’t exactly a reputable establishment. The discovery that his fiancée went to a place of ill repute hours after they broke the news of their engagement to their families throws Marian into a fit, where she starts questioning her life choices.
She starts to wonder if she has made a mistake choosing Larry, while Oscar tries to convince her that the young Mr. Russell’s intentions wouldn’t have been as bad as Marian is imagining. In any case, Marian cannot seem to come to terms with this revelation, and by the end of the episode, she decides to call off the engagement, an act supported by Agnes. Instead of sending a telegram to Moreci, she leaves a letter explaining everything to Larry and hands it to Church, who should give it to Larry when he comes back. Meanwhile, Agnes continues to poke around about Jack’s newfound fortune, and while Bannister tries to keep the details of it to himself, it is Mrs. Armstrong who reveals that their footman is now $300,000 (rounded up to $10 million today) richer.
This leads Agnes to ask Ada to do something about it, though the latter wonders what can be done about such a thing. She visits Madame Dashkova in the hopes of talking to her husband’s spirit, who might guide him to a decision. However, the encounter ends with Ada realising that the medium is a conwoman who believes that Mr. Forte was named Luca, because that was the misprint in the Times. The same night, she tells Jack that now that he has his own money, he must venture out into the world and begin a new chapter of his life. The next day, Jack hands in his notice and bids farewell to everyone. As a parting gift, he leaves everyone letters containing the money they lent him for his patent application. The only difference is that he has returned that money tenfold, displaying his gratitude and generosity of spirit at the same time.
Meanwhile, Peggy comes from Philadelphia and meets with William Kirkland. She explains the circumstances surrounding Mr. Fortune, but he is more than happy to let bygones be bygones. She comes to the brink of telling him about another secret of her past, but he stops her and tells her that it doesn’t matter to him. He also encourages her to invite his mother to tea, even though she tells him that this meeting is about women discussing their right to vote. As Peggy expected, Mrs. Kirkland does not respond well to the meeting, but she is even more shocked to discover that William didn’t tell his mother about the nature of the meeting. Later, as she tells her mother how much she likes William, she is advised to be more cautious as marrying him means suffering his mother’s prejudices. Meanwhile, Mrs. Kirkland makes it clear to William that despite his liking for the young woman, she doesn’t see Ms. Scott as a woman fit to be his wife.
The Episode Ends With a Tragedy for Oscar
Discovering that Maud Beaton is still around New York leads Oscar to seek her out at the Haymarket. It doesn’t take him much to discover that she has fallen on hard times, and the money she stole from him is not in her possession. Turns out that the whole thing was orchestrated by Mr. Crowther, and despite Maud’s help, he didn’t give her anything to sustain herself. Moreover, she owes the owner of the establishment, and working there is a way for her to pay her back while having a roof over her head. When Oscar asks her if she has any family, she reveals that she has a sister in Ohio, but she cannot go to her just yet.
As Oscar reflects on their encounter, he wonders how to approach the situation. There is no point in hounding the scammer because she is worse off than he is. Eventually, he decides to help her. He calls her to meet at a train station where he hands her a ticket that will lead her to Ohio, where she can reunite with her sister and build a better life for herself. He tells her never to return to New York, and she is more than happy to comply, as she is deeply moved by his gesture. Later, Oscar discusses this turn of events with John Adams, who is happy to see that Oscar has decided to take the high road.
What moves Oscar even more is when John tells him that he will be investing more of his money in Oscar’s enterprise and has a dinner lined up where he will be bringing more prospective clients for him. The fact that John has done all this for him despite the circumstances of their break-up last season brings Oscar’s emotions to the surface. Had it not been the 1880s, he probably would have kissed him right there on the street. But their circumstances do not allow them that display of love, so they bid each other goodbye. This moment would have ended on a good note if it weren’t for John suddenly getting hit by a carriage that goes off-road. This sudden turn of events does not look good for John, and there is a good chance that Oscar may be going to a funeral in the next episode.
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