We begin the story of The Gilded Age with a surprised Marian Brooks (Louisa Jacobson) discovering that the death of her father – General Brooks – has not only left her alone in the world but left her poor as well. Without even a house to call her own, in fact, with just 30 dollars, she was without hope or an alternative to live. Luckily, she mentions that an aunt, her father’s sister with whom she never lived because they were fighting, called her to live with her and her other sister, this one a rich lady, in New York. Reluctantly, she accepted the invitation. And her life was never the same again.

The beginning: from rural Pennsylvania to New York

First, her lawyer father Tom Raikes (Thomas Cocquerel) seemed overly helpful and present, but more importantly, when she is robbed and left with literally nothing, it is a young Peggy Scott (Denée Benton) who helps her.

Adjusting from one moment to the next with a family you didn’t even know you had had to be complex, but Agnes Van Rijhn (Christine Baranski) and Ada Brooks (Cynthia Nixon) don’t just welcome you with affection (and rules). In addition to her aunts, Marian “gains” cousins: her blood cousin, Oscar (Blake Ritson), and his cousin, by affinity, also Marian, Aurora Fane (Kelli O’Hara). In other words, in the blink of an eye, the poor young woman is among the elite of New York society and with a family she never dreamed of having. Of course, greater difficulties would arise.

At the turn of the 19th century, all women ‘had’ to get married to have a living and children. Single women, like Ada and momentarily Marian, leaned on those who wanted to and could help them. Although there was no nobility in the United States, work was for the poor. In this way, Marian, who always wanted to be useful, marry for love, and be in charge of her own nose, has a serious problem and a cause for confrontation with her aunt Agnes, who adheres to tradition in everything.

This is where Marian gets more interesting. Intelligent, although often innocent, she knows that she will eventually have to resign herself to the rules, but she doesn’t fight them all like a rebel, she tries to carve out freedom in small moments, some in secret and others more openly. She is a modern but realistic girl, which makes her a favorite with the public.

Marian’s Suitors

As soon as she arrives in New York, Marian meets her neighbor, Larry Russell (Harry Richardson) and the two immediately understand each other. It’s a friendship that we’ve been praying ever since would evolve into something more, but the steps are very slow. It is curious because, aware that she “needs to find a husband”, Marian has never looked at Larry the way she should. Or she already considered herself a spinster because she has no dowry (only her aunt Agnes can help her) and therefore her chances of finding an ideal candidate are reduced.

Perhaps following this reasoning, she became enchanted with Tom Raikes, who boldly follows her in Manhattan. Agnes immediately identifies him as an opportunist, but Marian opposes her and begins taking risks… for the wrong man. It was a close call that he didn’t completely destroy her reputation, but her heart? He left badly. In the first season, she ends up alone while he announces his engagement to another richer girl. Tom Raikes, I hate you.

Theories about Marian’s “fortune”

I’m of the theory that Tom Raikes stole Marian’s fortune when he said that her father invested wrongly in the Railways that were creating millionaires overnight. After all, who guarantees? She didn’t know anything and only had to rely on the lawyer’s word, which, we confirmed, wasn’t exactly honest.

However, reaching the second season, we see a theoretically experienced Oscar falling into the same likely scam that General Brooks was a victim of. He bought non-existent shares in a Railroad to Nowhere. Well, friends, one of my most popular posts – The Secret of Marian Brooks – has been solved. A feather. I still wanted to see Marian a millionaire to be the independent woman she dreams of being.

Another detail, this sadder, revealed in the second season was Marian’s youth. We know that her father was impetuous and that he spent the Brooks fortune on drinking and gambling, as Agnes and Ada talked about and later Marian had to admit. He did not think of his sisters, “forcing” Agnes to have to marry without love to a man who, in Ada’s words, was unpleasant to be in the company of when alone, so that they could both survive. That’s why Marian grew up without contact with them. Drinking was mentioned again at another time, with Marian’s resigned and sad reaction when a clearly alcoholic suitor pursued her. As she commented to Gladys Russell (Taissa Farmiga), Marian learned from an early age to hang out with drunks, clearly making reference to her father.

We also discovered that Marian lost her mother at a very young age, so her coexistence with her father’s frequent drinking must not have generated good memories. And that’s why he had empathy with Frances Montgomery (Matilda Lawler), daughter of Dashiell Montgomery (David Furr), a surprise fiancé who we’ll talk about in a moment.

If we put together Marian’s few personal revelations, we see how her positivity and tranquility must require greater effort than she lets us realize. Her life in rural Pennsylvania was far from idyllic, her reality in New York is complex and with that, she is navigating between conflicting generations and families. If everything goes well for the romantics, she will eventually be the pivot of the fight between the new and the old New York.

The promise to be sensible, something difficult to keep

Although Agnes is unaware of Marian’s hidden encounters and near-elopement with Tom Raikes, she is hyperaware that her niece almost lost a lot to him. The disagreement over the real nature of the lawyer has put them on opposite sides, but Agnes has won and doesn’t want to see Marian suffer for him. The intention of finding a husband never lost steam, the problem was being someone of means, traditional, and who wanted to marry a woman with “little to offer” in terms of fortune. The agreement between the two is that Marian is sensible when there is a proposal, something that we know, or suspect, that they understand differently.

The long-suffering Marian began the second season knowing about her ex-boyfriend’s marriage, which made her cry. She is open to finding someone, but she started teaching to keep herself busy and earn some support on her own. Without waiting, Frances and Dashiell came into her life. Dashiell is Agnes’s nephew through her husband, and as Frances is Marian’s student, the connection is immediate. On paper, he’s the perfect candidate for a life together. Really?

Being as friendly with everyone as she usually is, Marian didn’t immediately realize that the helpful and always nearby Dashiell was keeping an eye on her, which increasingly fueled his decision to ask her to marry him. Once she realized it, she had no way back. We even know that Frances had direct involvement in everything, practically electing Marian as her substitute mother. Caught by surprise in an extremely public marriage proposal, Marian said a dubious “yes”, but officially, she is engaged.

What’s the problem? Well, there is no love on her part. There is affinity, there is friendship, but there was also the mention that he doesn’t see her as “a real teacher”, something that took everyone by surprise. If she becomes Mrs. Montgomery, Marian will have to give up her independence. Where’s the wisdom?

We will know more about this surprise engagement. Larry didn’t seem to like the news, but they are in the friend zone which is a danger for any romance. Will he take a risk?

Can we be #marilar?

Larry and Marian are definitely the couple we want in The Gilded Age, with the same dreams, supporting and encouraging each other. He comforted her when Tom publicly humiliated her, but Marian has no idea how sad Larry is about his separation from Susan Blane (Laura Benanti). In fact, the one who gave us ALL our hopes for our favorite couple was Susan herself, always jealous of the attention and even intimacy between Larry and Marian. Too bad they’re both too distracted by their problems to realize they’re wasting time.

I mean, WE want to #marlar but I bet Agnes and even Bertha Russell (Carrie Coon) will have a different reaction than we do. The problem now is knowing how Marian gets out of the trap. I don’t bet it’s easy. And that’s why we love The Gilded Age!

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