Only 19 days left until The Gilded Age returns — and with just 8 episodes, it’ll go by fast. We have to savor every second and hope HBO Max confirms another season. With the official trailer released today, here’s a breakdown of what it shows us and what it might be hinting at.

The Season 3 logline reads: “Following the Opera War, the old guard is weakened and the Russells stand poised to take their place at the head of society. Bertha sets her sights on a prize that would elevate the family to unimaginable heights while George risks everything on a gambit that could revolutionize the railroad industry — if it doesn’t ruin him first. Across the street, the Brook household is thrown into chaos as Agnes refuses to accept Ada’s new position as lady of the house. Peggy meets a handsome doctor from Newport whose family is less than enthusiastic about her career. As all of New York hastens toward the future, their ambition may come at the cost of what they truly hold dear.”

What the trailer reveals

Let’s get into the audio snippets used to show us that this season’s big drama, after balls and opera, will be marriage. And divorce. Let’s go.

“There is a moment when a young girl becomes a woman. It’s dark and it’s bright. Complicated and not just beautiful,” we hear Bertha telling Gladys, as we see the stunning portrait of the young woman painted by John Singer Sargent, followed by her pearl necklace bursting in front of everyone, with Bertha’s voiceover saying: “With a sign of what is coming.” In other words: an explosion.

Then, as we see Marian and Larry in love, we hear Agnes say:
“When you have a beautiful house, money, you are invited everywhere. What else exists?
To which Marian replies:
“I’m not sure you understand. Some people want more.”

Since the next scene shows Larry and Marian in love in the garden, followed by a shot of them in the Van Rhijn home — I’m predicting… a proposal? “Do I feel the rebellion in our midst?” Agnes teases.

We then move to Newport, where Peggy Scott speaks at a lecture:
“I am the next generation. I think we should fight for it.”
What’s she talking about? Women’s right to vote.

Back in New York, we hear Gladys confronting George:
“You promised I could marry for love. Let me be my own person.”

The next scene is George confronting Bertha — clearly, things are tense between the Russells.
“I want to know if I have a voice in our children’s lives,” he says.
Bertha replies with a familiar line:
“I will not question your business if you do not question mine.”

Back to the Van Rhijns: Oscar, Agnes, and Ada are at dinner. A conflict erupts between the sisters, with Ada storming off:
“I suppose there is no game for you who have authority.”
Agnes retorts, “Now who’s being dramatic?”

And love is in the air! In Newport, we see Peggy in love, walking with Dr. William Kirkland. But during a coffee with his mother, Elizabeth, she’s tested:
“My goal was to be a good wife, a good mother. But I suppose the young women no longer want that,” the mother says.
Peggy stands her ground, much to the dismay of her own mother, Dorothy:
“Oh, I want to be a good wife and mother who has the vote,” she says, smiling at William. Looks like we might have found our girl’s Prince Charming.

Meanwhile, Bertha is spiraling in her own storm:
“I am building your future. Nothing can make a mistake. Not now,” she insists.
George, furious (possibly about work too), yells:
“Our family is in danger of collapse!”
To which Bertha replies, “I can fix everything.”
Can she, really?

Agnes ponders:
“Is that how it starts? First, the divorce. Then the exclusion of society.”
We glimpse a gossip-filled book by Ward McAllister, threatening to shake Manhattan society.
“There is no logic in this,” Marian says, stunned.
“Society is not known for its logic. Especially when women are concerned. Everything is in danger,” says Aurora Fane.

We get a few quick flashes I’ll come back to: Ada visiting a fortune teller and a cabaret scene. And yes — a wedding — clearly between Gladys and the Duke of Buckingham.

“They are living the American dream,” Ada says.
“That someday, presumably, they will wake up,” Agnes warns, over tense images of Peggy (oh no!), Caroline Astor, and Bertha. We’ll know more on the 22nd!

The Hints (Spoilers) the Trailer Suggests

The trailer doesn’t reveal how Bertha will react to Larry and Marian’s relationship, but they seem head-over-heels in love. We see Larry visiting the Van Rhijns, with Marian glowing as she walks behind him. Looks like a proposal is coming. And in the same outfits, we see them toasting with George and Bertha Russell. I don’t want to get my hopes up, but if that final wedding scene in the trailer were theirs… but we know it isn’t, because they’re in the church as guests. Still, for the “Larians,” it looks like our dear Marian might finally get her happy ending this season.

About Ward McAllister’s book

Yes, Ward McAllister did write a kind of memoir and etiquette manual, where he described how New York’s high society functioned during the Gilded Age. He detailed social rules, dinners, balls, travels, and even the “secrets” of the rich and powerful. The book caused controversy because he named names and revealed elite customs, which didn’t go down well with the very members of the “Four Hundred” — the exclusive social circle he helped define. I’ll post more about him soon.

And I was right about who’d fall for the fake psychic Madame Dashkova: it’s Ada.

She represents the real historical context of the period known as the “religious revival,” when curiosity and fear of the supernatural soared, along with the rise of scams.

But what thrilled me most? A quick glimpse of a cabaret scene — which means The Gilded Age is going to touch on the “Murder of the Century”: the killing of architect Stanford White, Larry’s boss, and the man who built the Russell mansion. He was known for attending scandalous parties that became notorious after his death. I can’t wait to see how The Gilded Age unpacks that!