The Gilded Age 303 Recap: Is Bertha Russell the Villain?
Also, we need to talk about that "Sargent" portrait...
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We’re now three episodes in, and I have to be honest: Things are getting dark, and Bertha is to blame. The ruthless Mrs. Russell of seasons 1 and 2—focused on social domination by filling her ballroom and winning an opera war—was an underdog to root for against the stodgy stalwarts of New York. Now that the chip in play is her own daughter, the mood has shifted, and not necessarily for the better.
She’s keeping secrets from George and disregarding Gladys’s personhood in pursuit of social standing (don’t think I didn’t clock how Bertha glowed when Mrs. Fish asked last episode what Bertha’s title could be if Gladys and the Duke marry). It’s a little hard to watch as Bertha seems to be setting up her own demise… but I’m getting ahead of myself.
Episode 3 picks up right after the Duke’s dinner. Bertha, Gladys, Larry, and Marian (?!) are eavesdropping waiting in the Russell drawing room while the Duke, George, and the attorney battle over Gladys’s dowry. George seems exhausted, Gladys seems completely unaware (“I wonder what that’s about?” she asks over shouting from the library. Two guesses, Gladys!), and Marian seems completely out of place, but I guess watching this all go down is more exciting than whatever is happening across the street with Agnes and Ada (especially this episode)!