Only one thing softens the sadness of this being the penultimate episode of Season 3 of The Gilded Age: we’re getting a fourth! So even if it means a two-year break, the story doesn’t end here.

That’s a relief, because the drama in this third chapter is far deeper and heavier than anything about balls or operas. We’ve already had weddings, deaths, engagements — and… betrayals?

Let’s see what the synopsis reveals!

Ex-Communicated

Amid the release of a salacious book, Mrs. Astor discusses the future of her Newport Ball.

After returning from Arizona, Larry shares a promising discovery with George, only to receive troubling news in return.

Meanwhile, Dr. Kirkland receives concerning information about Peggy,

and the Russell household uncovers the source of recent leaks to the press.

So, we’ve finally reached a turning point we’ve been anticipating for over a month: the social downfall of Ward McAllister, a real and striking event of New York’s Gilded Age. Decades before Truman Capote would make a similar mistake, McAllister published the book Society as I Found It — with catastrophic consequences.

McAllister believed the book was a sort of “social memoir,” collecting elevated (but highly indiscreet) rules and anecdotes. With detailed observations about parties, meals, consumer habits, social types, and general etiquette tips, the book inadvertently became evidence of the pettiness, scandals, and gossip among the rich and famous. Even with names changed, it was easy to identify each person and each event he referred to.

The offended women, led by Mrs. Astor, would go on to exclude McAllister from the very circles he helped build. It’s a farewell that promises to be a sad one — made even more so because it actually happened — for a character that Nathan Lane brought to life with brilliance.

One silver lining? The alliance formed to organize his social exile is made up of Bertha, Mrs. Astor, and Mrs. Fish, all meeting at Agnes’s house. That’s right — Bertha will be at the Van Rhijn home for the first time in three seasons!

About the ball — well, The Gilded Age seasons traditionally end with a Bertha Russell victory, and although spoilers suggest a slight twist this time, it seems we’re still heading toward a season finale in Newport, at the grand opening of the Russells’ new ballroom.

The promotional images show everyone in full gala attire, so Mrs. Astor will certainly be in charge of the guest list — just as she was in real life, when she famously invited exactly 400 guests to her summer ball (never 399 or 401 — always precisely 400, the number her ballroom could accommodate).

But this time, she’ll be managing it all amid McAllister’s book scandal and the fallout of her daughter Charlotte’s separation. We know Mrs. Astor wants to bar any divorced women from society events — but Bertha remains loyal to Aurora Fane and will not comply with this rule, so all bets are off.

Looks like Mrs. Astor and Bertha Russell are headed for another battle for the crown.

And as we already know, Larry and Marian’s happiness was short-lived. Marian spent all of Season 1 falling for every single one of Tom Raikes’s lies, but with Larry, she was merciless. She got engaged one day and broke it off the next — and he still doesn’t know why.

The truth is Larry lied to Marian, and even though the topic was delicate, she — like all of us — expected Larry Russell to be better than the rest. Not only to never lie, but never to visit a brothel — especially not on the night he proposed. We know he didn’t do anything, but explaining that to Marian? Good luck.

Larry will come home to find the letter Marian left with Church — along with the engagement ring. He’ll try to speak with her, to no avail. From the lines, images, and info we’ve seen, it’s clear Marian won’t forgive him.

It’s a shame because on the professional front, Larry absolutely delivered: he comes home to tell George he secured not just the land they were after, but also mines worth even more. Daddy will be proud — and maybe that’s why he’ll side with Larry when he loses it over Bertha’s joy that the engagement fell apart. She’s technically innocent in this, but she’ll still get blamed — for the reputation she’s built and what she did to Gladys. Serves her right.

Our girl Peggy seemed composed in the trailer for this episode, but she’s about to join the ever-growing tearful club. Oscar must pretend he’s fine even after the traumatic death of John Adams — his lover, great love, and the driving force behind his professional comeback. And Peggy? If she had listened to Marian, she wouldn’t be in the same position as Larry, but in reverse.

The information, more important than her platonic romance with a married man, was the fact that she’d once been married and had a child — something Dr. Kirkland finds out from his prejudiced mother, creating serious tension in the one romance that had seemed safe for our beloved writer.

The synopsis doesn’t mention it, but we’ve seen images of Gladys and Hector together in Sidmouth, without Lady Sarah in sight — so at least from that forced pairing, we may get some good news. Isn’t that ironic?

Finally, we’ll find out who’s been leaking information from the Russell household to the press. Reddit offers three theories:

1. Mrs. Andre, Bertha’s maid (my pick);
2. Bertha herself (makes no sense);
3. Mrs. Bruce (!?), because she might need extra cash to pay her husband’s hospital bills.

So… what’s your guess?