We, fans since the first second, are not surprised that at the end of 2023, The Gilded Age will be among HBO’s most popular series of the year. And we have also been following the arrogance and intransigence of Agnes Von Rhjin (Christine Baranski) in her pride in “good New York” and “bad New York”, divided between “old money” and “new”. Well, thanks to the innocence of her son Oscar (Blake Ritson) she is in a worse category: those without money. I bet no one expected that, least of all her. It is a journey that is just beginning.

Agnes’s snobbery was tolerated by those who always depended on her economically, something she made a point of rubbing in their faces whenever she could, especially her sister, Ada (Cynthia Nixon), and her niece, Marian Brooks (Louisa Jacobson). After all, as she likes to remember, it was because Marian’s father left her sisters on the brink of poverty that she married an unpleasant Mr. Van Rhjin to guarantee her material well-being, clearly experiencing ill-treatment. In a way, that’s why we discount it when she reminds everyone of the “sacrifice she made” to ensure comfort for everyone today. This is also why she demands that Marian follow her rules, even if they are to the young woman’s displeasure.

From this union with Von Rhjin, Oscar was born, a spoiled and unprepared man for life. Oscar, who is gay, knows that he cannot live his life openly and that he needs a sham marriage, with children, to guarantee his lineage and also hide who he really loves. Although he is ‘rich’, he wants his bride to be young and ‘richer’, which leaves him vulnerable to rejection from the Russells, who neither consider him good enough for Gladys (Taissa Farmiga) nor truly in love with her and an easy victim for Maud Beacon (Nicole Brydon Bloom). That’s right, the scammer posed as a millionaire heiress and induced Oscar, out of greed and unpreparedness, to invest his entire family’s fortune in a fraudulent scam. The result, Agnes is poor. She swam, swam, and died on the beach.

In addition to her sister and niece, there is a whole professional team financially dependent on Agnes, perhaps except Peggy Scott (Denée Benton) who works as a secretary in Manhattan, but with the opening of the Brooklyn Bridge, she may no longer need the job. The others, however, will be just as bad as the women upstairs. But let’s focus on Agnes.

One of the biggest wastes of The Gilded Age was always having Christine Baranski with great phrases but practically exiled from all the action with the character refusing to attend Bertha Russell’s (Carrie Coon) parties and never attending any event that Ada and Marian went to. Agnes was always sitting reading, and distributing catchphrases and practically only this season did she leave the house more often, two of them because of her late brother-in-law, Luke Forte (Robert Sean Leonard). The only one who understands her 100% is Ada, Peggy has a good relationship with her too, but Marian is a constant battle on both sides.

The bomb revealed by Oscar came at an extremely delicate moment for Ada and Marian: one has just become a widow and the other is engaged to marry a man she doesn’t love. If we were worried about Marian, we must double our nervousness: without Agnes’ financial support, she ‘will have’ to accept marrying Dashiel Montgomery (David Furr), who is Agnes’s nephew on her husband’s side, aware that Marian has no dowry and still wanting her as a wife. Her drama would be having to give up her career as a teacher, which she loves, but now it’s on her shoulders to do this for her aunts. What now, Marian?

The question also resonates with Agnes. Until now, she has mistreated everyone who wasn’t “old money”, but, having fallen into the worst category, she will certainly not be able to support herself where she lives, with the luxury she lives in and clearly, friends like Caroline Astor (Donna Murphy) will not welcome her. frequently. At this point, not even Bertha will do the courtesy. The transformation arc begins there when Agnes becomes the target of laughter and pity, two feelings that she abhors.

So now begins Christine Baranski‘s leading role and brilliance in the plot of The Gilded Age, balancing the comedy and drama of a woman who did “everything right” to avoid experiencing her greatest fear in old age, but in vain. She will have to review many of the prejudices and rules of society at the time and I bet it will be a fascinating journey!

Of course, there are theories of alternatives for a life that is not miserable: the most obvious, is through Marian’s marriage and unhappiness, or, as many believe, being welcomed by the widow Ada, heir to Luke’s unexpected fortune. In this case, I don’t see Ada getting back and reversing the years in which she was reminded to be “grateful” by demanding the same from Agnes, but I see Mrs. Van Rhjin suffering with her new status, dependent on her sister who will do everything to help her.

Of course, there is the chance that Marian will marry Larry, but these two can be disinherited and still be happy to have to work to support themselves, they will not be able to maintain Agnes and Ada’s luxuries beyond the simple life scenario. Marian may discover that her father’s investment in the railroads didn’t lead to his bankruptcy (and death) as we found out in the first season, but all these impossibilities don’t include Oscar being able to recover the money Maud stole.

To see if Agnes’s turn will cost Marian’s happiness, that’s my biggest concern at the moment. But this turn of events is a welcome surprise, without a doubt it is! I mean, Agnes wouldn’t agree…

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