If there is one character in The Gilded Age who has only had bad luck, it is Oscar Van Rhijn (Blake Ritson). The heir to his mother Agnes’s (Christine Baranski) fortune is homosexual, but he cannot admit his true love because, as an only son, he is expected to marry and have children. Therefore, as he explained in the first season, he needs to find an innocent young woman who is well-born, has a fortune (to have Agnes’s support) and, if possible, is pretty and fun. After all, the marriage will be a sham, but it doesn’t have to be painful.

Oscar’s hypocrisy might be offensive today, but it was a reality of his time. Not that he really fools anyone, much less the women in his family who pretend to ignore the truth, and in the end the only one who is fooled and doesn’t realize the facts is precisely Oscar. He’s not a good guy, but he’s not an antagonist either. I feel sorry for Oscar!

Oscar’s great love is his best friend, John Adams (Claybourne Elder), but the two end up separating when John, who doesn’t reveal the truth to anyone but also doesn’t intend to lead a life of hypocrisy, is against Oscar’s plans, not understanding the great pressure society puts on him.

The chosen one, initially, was Gladys (Taissa Farmiga), and Oscar used direct, indirect, and even questionable means to get close to her. While I was rooting for something better for her (not as Bertha (Carrie Coon) considers “better”, just something more honest), I felt sorry for Oscar, being confronted and criticized for just fulfilling his role like the others.

In the second season, he even seems to be getting what he wants. After all, Gladys understands that to get rid of her mother, she has to get married. Since Oscar was perfect in the role, she even accepted his marriage proposal. However, George (Morgan Spector), the attentive father, vetoed it, demanding that his daughter at least try to find someone she loves before throwing herself into an arranged marriage. Little do they know! And so, the unsuspecting Oscar went back to square one, bumping into the perfect Maud Beaton (Nicole Brydon Bloom) and genuinely falling in love with her.

I’ve already mentioned Maud here. She is inspired by a real woman, Cassie Chadwick, who ruined several bankers in the late 1880s. Despite all the signs that Maud was a con artist, you had to pay attention to all the details to see that Oscar was falling into a dangerous trap. In the end, he led his mother to ruin and we said goodbye to him in total and utter despair. Not even the news that his aunt, Ada Brook-Forte (Cynthia Nixon) has found herself the heiress of a large fortune and can save the Van Rhijns (for now). No, I even started to fear for Oscar’s life, who had already been beaten up by strangers during the season and now has no boyfriend, fortune, or dignity. And now Oscar?

As expected, Maud Beaton will return to the third season of The Gilded Age and actress Nicole Brydon Bloom was seen filming in New York. Clearly, Oscar wasn’t going to stay home without trying to get his money back, but Maud’s return opens up different opportunities.

It’s unlikely that Oscar will get his fortune back, but he can work to ensure that Maud, like the woman she was inspired by, ends up behind bars. After all, it was a banker (like Oscar) who ended the streak of con artist Cassie Chadwick‘s luck by filing a lawsuit against her. Another of Cassie’s victims reportedly told her, “You ruined me, but I’m still not so sure you’re a fraud,” a phrase that is typical of the duo in The Gilded Age.

In the series, Maud seems to sympathize (for a few seconds) with her victim, but she still scammed Oscar. It’s a bit strange how she was hanging around with people he trusted so securely, but no one did the proper research.

The other possibility is that Maud “seduces” Oscar into being part of her scheme. Since he’s poor, he wouldn’t have much to lose, and let’s face it, seeing as how he got involved with Enid Winter (Kelley Curran) to get information about the Russells, why not align himself with Maud?

I honestly hope it’s the first option. I want to see Oscar in love, doing the right thing, and simply being happy. What about you?

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