The HBO period drama The Gilded Age follows the drama as new money and old money clash in New York City’s high society social scene in the late 1800s. The series comes from Julian Fellowes (Downton Abbey), and explores the lives of both those upstairs/downstairs in these wealthy households. The third season picks up a few months after the events of the second season.
Last season, Agnes van Rhijn (Christine Baranski) lost all of her money when her son, Oscar (Blake Ritson), was swindled into making a bad investment. He, too, lost everything, including his reputation. He now lives back home with his mother and aunt. Oscar is depressed and doesn’t know how to restart his life and finances and restore his name. Agnes’ seemingly forever-a-spinster sister Ada Forte (Cynthia Nixon) had gotten married last season, but her husband Luke had passed away shortly afterwards, leaving Ada an inheritance that allowed her to take over the house finances from her sister. However, as the season opens, Agnes is struggling to accept the fact that Ada is the new lady of the house, and their staff are confused as to whose orders they should follow. Ada is also struggling to get over her loss, even consulting psychic Madame Dashkova (Andrea Martin) in hopes of speaking with her late husband. She’s also on a kick to support the Temperance movement, even asking the staff to sign a no-alcohol pledge. Ada and Agnes’ orphaned niece, Marian Brook (Louisa Jacobson), also lives with them. She has been secretly seeing neighbor Larry Russell (Harry Richardson). The two are madly in love, but it has only been 5 months since Marian called off her previous engagement, and she worries that people would talk if word got out. Last season, Larry had helped Agnes’ footman Jack (Ben Ahlers) get a patent for a new oil-less clock he had created, and this season, that partnership/venture proves to be quite profitable and live-changing.
Meanwhile, there’s also a lot of drama across the street at the Russell household. George Russell (Morgan Spector) is a robber baron looking to expand his railroad empire by building the first cross-country railway line. As the season opens, he is in Arizona trying to secure the rights to the land. However, his lofty ambitions also put him in a precarious financial situation. Back home, his wife Bertha (Carrie Coon) has her own ambitions and schemes at play. She’s trying to secure an engagement for their 18-year-old daughter Gladys (Taissa Farmiga) from Hector Vere (Ben Lamb), the Duke of Buckingham. She has even leaked a headline to the papers in order to will it to be true. However, Gladys is in love with suitor Billy Carlton (Matt Walker) and he is trying to finally get up the courage to ask her father’s permission. But Bertha is determined to improve her daughter’s life by having her marry for position rather than for love, and Bertha is a manipulative and strong-willed woman who almost always manages to get what she sets her sights on.
And finally, speaking of love, early on in the season, writer/reporter/van Rhijn household staff member Peggy Scott (Denée Benton) falls ill, and is treated by the handsome Dr. William Kirkland (Jordan Donica). The two quickly fall in love. However, William’s mother, Elizabeth (Phylicia Rashad), doesn’t approve of Peggy, and thinks her son can do better.
As I binged my way through the third season on this DVD release, I found myself once again thoroughly entertained and captivated by this world and these characters. This season, there are some exciting twists and turns to the season, with episodes often ending on some big reveal or cliffhanger, making you eager to see what happens next. This season takes a look at the role of weddings and women in society at this time, and the Temperance and right to vote movements. The season also explores the race situation at the time, such as how Dr. William Kirkland is treated differently from a white doctor because of his color, as well as some of the prejudice of colorism even within the Black community.
We see several different relationships on their way to the alter, all of which hit some sort of snag along the way. With Gladys, there is the question of whether she really has a choice in who she marries, and if she will be able to marry the man she loves, or will be coerced into marrying the Duke; For Marian, she’s been hurt before, which caused to to call off her previous engagement, and she is worried that this history of lies may repeat itself; and for Peggy, she and William come from very different backgrounds, and when her own secret past starts to resurface, it only makes matters worse. This topic of women in society and their actual choice in their relationships also comes up when Aurora (Kelli O’Hara) is blindsided by her husband Charles, who wants a divorce so he can marry his mistress.
In addition to the more dramatic and romantic storylines, there are also some fun, feel good moments this season, such as the storyline involving Jack and his clock, and the other staff members and Agnes trying to figure out how much money he has coming to him. There’s also some exciting twists and turns as George finds himself at war with some other barons to seize control of the railroad line. And a bit of mystery as someone close to these households is leaking information about what’s going on inside these homes for Ward McAllister’s (Nathan Lane) expose book.
The third season also introduces some new characters such as J. P. Morgan (Bill Camp) as a potential business partner/adversary for George; wealthy New York businessman Alfred Merrick (Paul Alexander Nolan), whose family owns the railroad line George wants to buy; Charlotte Drayton (Hannah Shealy), Mrs. Astor’s (Donna Murphy) third daughter, who’s caught up in a scandal; Dorothy Scott’s cousin Athena Trumbo (Jessica Frances); William’s father Frederick Kirkland (Brian Stokes Mitchell), and the Duke’s conniving sister Lady Sarah Vere (Hattie Morahan), who doesn’t seem to like Gladys or is worried she might replace her.
The whole cast is great, but I have to say that Carrie Coon is always so fun to watch as her character can be so wickedly manipulating, not out of spite, but to get what she wants. She seems like the perfect partner for George Russell. Though she may even go a bit too far for him this season.
Fellowes has a very unique wit and charm to his shows and The Gilded Age has that in spades—I found myself constantly laughing at the witty dialogue. The sets and costumes are also impressive, really bringing this period drama to life. The season culminates in two massive balls with some excellent period costumes.
It’s unfortunate that Warner Bros. has only been releasing this series on DVD, despite the fact the the series airs in HD on HBO and is available for purchase digitally in HD. The DVD picture quality is generally clean and quite good. While I got used to it quickly, it definitely lacks that extra level of clarity and detail that you got in the original HD presentation. The audio track provides clear dialogue, and showcases the show’s wonderful score. There is also excellent use of the surround channel to provide an immersive experience.
The third season’s 8 episodes are split across 3 discs, which reside on a swinging tray inside a standard-sized DVD case. Our review copy did not contain a slipcover, but printed on the inside of the keepcase are the detailed contents of each disc. The bonus material is little lacking this time, with only about 16 minutes of featurettes spread across the discs.
What’s Included:
- Episodes: (7:46:39)
- All 8 episodes of the third season:
Disc 1 (2:45:43): “Who Is in Charge Here?”, “What the Papers Say”, “Love Is Never Easy”
Disc 2 (2:54:08): “Marriage Is a Gamble”, “A Different World”, “If You Want to Cook an Omelette”
Disc 3 (2:06:48): “Ex-Communicated”, “My Mind Is Made Up” - 480i / Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78:1
- Audio: English 5.1 Dolby Digital
- Subtitles: English SDH
- The Black Elite of New York
This is broken into three parts for three different episodes.- The Black Elite of New York (Ep. 2) (3:34)
The cast and crew talk about Peggy’s storyline, Black professionalism, and the general attitudes towards people of color during this the era. Includes interviews with co-executive producer Erica Armstrong Dunbar, executive producer/writer Sonja Warfield, and stars Phylicia Rashad (“Mrs. Elizabeth Kirkland”) & Jordan Donica (“Dr. William Kirkland”). - The Black Elite of New York (Ep. 4) (4:00)
The cast and crew talk about the differences between the Kirklands and the Scotts, how they provide different viewpoints and backgrounds of the Black experience in the late 1800s, colorism, and the role of women. Includes interviews with co-executive producer Erica Armstrong Dunbar, executive producer/director Salli Richardson-Whitfield, executive producer/writer Sonja Warfield, and stars Audra McDonald (“Mrs. Dorothy Scott”), Denée Benton (“Peggy Scott”) & Jordan Donica. - The Black Elite of New York (Ep. 8) (4:05)
The cast and crew talk about the role of a black physician and the dangers of treating a white patient,the dating activities in the era, the black ball, and more. Includes interviews with co-executive producer Erica Armstrong Dunbar, executive producer/writer Sonja Warfield, executive producer/director Salli Richardson-Whitfield, and stars Audra McDonald, Jordan Donica & Denée Benton.
- The Black Elite of New York (Ep. 2) (3:34)
- Designing a Ball (4:25)
The cast and crew talk about the two simultaneous balls, the costumes, the dances, and more. Includes interviews with executive producer/writer Sonja Warfield, creator/executive producer Julian Fellowes, executive producer David Crockett, costume designer Kasia Walicka Maimone, executive producer/director Salli Richardson-Whitfield, choreographer John Carrafa, executive producer Michael Engler, and stars Carrie Coon (“Bertha Russell”), Morgan Spector (“George Russell”), Cynthia Nixon (“Ada Forte”), Christine Baranski (“Agnes van Rhijn”) & Audra McDonald.
Extras:
Final Thoughts:
In its third season, The Gilded Age continues to be a thoroughly-entertaining period drama, with interesting storylines, fun characters, beautiful sets/costumes, and lots of witty banter. There are lots of twists and turns this season, and it was great to be able to binge it without breaks. The DVD release includes about 15 minutes of bonus material, and is an easy recommendation for Fellowes fans, but I wish Warner Bros. would give this show a Blu-ray release to really showcase its beauty. The presentation is pretty solid overall, but lacks that extra dash of clarity an HD picture brings.
