One of the biggest dramas in season 3 of The Gilded Age will revolve around whatever Bertha Russell (Carrie Coon) negotiated with the Duke of Buckingham (Ben Lamb) because it clearly involves the fate of Gladys (Taissa Farmiga).
I wouldn’t even go into the explanation, but if you don’t already know, fans kind of anticipate what’s coming because the series is loosely inspired by people who really existed, with some incorporated into the plot and others, like the Russells and the Duke of Buckingham, “imagined” from real people. In this case, the Vanderbilts and the Duke of Marlborough.
Based on this, we know that Alva literally forced her daughter Consuelo to marry the English nobleman, despite knowing that she was in love with another. Dramatically, Consuelo resisted her mother’s orders as much as possible, including going on a hunger strike and crying a lot. But in the end, it was Alva’s emotional blackmail that broke her daughter. Consuelo became the Duchess of Marlborough, had children with her husband, and was incredibly unhappy until she got a divorce and married someone else. If that hadn’t happened, they would have had to write the soap opera, and luckily for Julian Fellowes, he only has to “adapt” the truth to fiction.
Since the first season, Gladys has had problems with Bertha, from her mother’s decision to “delay” her debutante ball to rejecting her chosen one – Archie Baldwin (Tom Blyth) – because, even from a good family, he wouldn’t be up to what Bertha wanted. And what did she want? She would know it when she saw it, she said enigmatically.
In the second season, we saw Bertha and Gladys arguing on more than one occasion, putting George (Morgan Spector) in the middle of the conflict. Bertha reminds him that within the family, she is the one in charge and he apparently accepts the agreement. However, to calm his daughter down, he agrees with her that he will give her the choice of marrying for love, as long as she chooses the right candidate. With that, she rules out Oscar Van Rhijn (Blake Ritson), whom she considered in a hurry to get out of her mother’s control.
And then, in the second season, an ideal candidate for Gladys’ hand appeared: Bill Carlton (Matt Walker). The son of a wealthy and traditional New York family, in theory, he had everything Bertha wanted in a son-in-law, but, apparently, not so much.
During the years of the Gilded Years, it was common for bankrupt European nobles to seek funds from American women with great and new fortunes to maintain their titles and lifestyle. The “Dollar Princesses” were literally sold in exchange for prestige in society, with several cases of arranged and sad marriages. Henry James and Edith Wharton created literary classics around the theme and, without a doubt, Consuelo Vanderbilt’s drama was one of the most talked about and remarkable of the period.
No one doubts that, after Buckingham in the Opera War “sold himself” to Caroline Astor (Donna Murphy) to be present at the Academy of Music, Bertha went to him and negotiated an even higher fee for him to be at the Metropolitan. According to George, “more money” would not be enough and he was against thinking of a penny more for the Duke’s presence at the theater. However, after a conversation with Bertha behind closed doors, he went to the Metropolitan, and sat next to Gladys and no one quite understood how she convinced him.
No one in history, that is, because we all know well, or imagine, what was agreed upon. The Duke did not just need an immediate sum, he needed a guaranteed fortune to recover his castle and maintain himself forever. By marrying Gladys, the young woman’s dowry would be the ideal amount to cover all costs, not to mention that she is a lively, intelligent young woman who is perfect to be the mother of his children.
The revelation of this agreement, all fans agree, puts Bertha close to being an antagonist and could create conflicts with George, Larry (Harry Richardson) and, of course, Gladys. Now, what differs in theories is what should happen next.
MY version is that Gladys will be unhappy and will be hurt by her parents, including George, for being sold as a commodity. Just like it was the case with Consuelo. She will get married, even after much resistance. There are others who think differently.
Fan Steve Shaw’s thesis is that Gladys will marry the Duke because that was the deal. But her fate may be less unfortunate than Consuelo Vanderbilt‘s. “The Duke begins to court Gladys and falls in love with her, Gladys may find him charming and fall in love with him too. To be honest with Gladys, the Duke He tells her about his pact with Bertha, but when he meets her, he falls in love with her. They fight, but then everything works out. It’s a classic situation. But maybe the writers aren’t so predictable and I expect surprises,” he theorized.
In other words: run away or stay? Fall in love or be unhappy? What could happen to Gladys? Certainly one of the biggest problems for the third season to solve.
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