Since The Gilded Age began, the series has teased a rivalry between Agnes Van Rhijn and Bertha Russell. But, as I have discussed more than once on Miscelana — which has covered the show in detail since its premiere in 2022 — that storyline never truly took off.

Much of this happened because, while Bertha clearly “borrowed” elements from Alva Vanderbilt’s life, Agnes never fully occupied the space inspired by Caroline Astor. The distinction matters: Mrs. Astor exists as a regular character on the show. And that ended up taking away part of the social function Agnes seemed originally designed to fulfill.

For a long time, then, Agnes occupied a curious position within the narrative: too powerful to be ignored, but without a truly explosive direct conflict with Bertha. Even when there seemed to be fertile ground for one — whether through Larry and Marian’s growing closeness, or through their shared horror at Oscar’s marriage to Enid Turner-Winterton, Bertha’s declared archenemy — the two women still seemed to orbit different worlds.

Judging by the teaser for the new season, that has finally changed.

Christine Baranski has already teased that Agnes and Bertha will have a major confrontation, and one of the released scenes shows Agnes accusing Bertha of “buying people to her side.” Bertha’s answer is even more revealing: “Life’s meaning isn’t where we came from. It’s where we’re going.”

Once again, The Gilded Age turns past and future into an ideological battlefield.

Agnes represents a New York built on inheritance, tradition, and social belonging. Bertha, on the other hand, represents the exact opposite: the idea that money, ambition, and reinvention can remake the entire world. And by the late 1880s, the city was beginning to decide which of those models would survive.

Still on Agnes, we know she will be connected to the New York Historical Society, one of the city’s most important cultural institutions. Founded in 1804, the organization preserved documents, portraits, objects, and archives tied to American and New York history. By the 1880s, however, it represented something even larger: a space of symbolic power for the old elite.

To be part of the Historical Society meant helping validate which families, which names, and which versions of the city deserved to be remembered. In a New York transformed by immigration, industrialization, and new millionaires, institutions like this functioned almost as cultural resistance against the rise of “new money.” And perhaps this is exactly where Agnes and Bertha collide.

From the Van Rhijn household, nothing has been said about Oscar and Enid, nor much about Ada Forte, but Cynthia Nixon has promised “startling plot developments” this season. And honestly, the show seems to be preparing major changes across almost every storyline.

On Peggy’s side, the released images suggest a rare moment of calm. She appears to be in love with William and shares lighter scenes with Dorothy. For now, at least, the teaser avoids suggesting any major tragedy for Peggy, which, considering the character’s journey, already feels almost revolutionary.

As for the Russells, we still do not know exactly what happened to George and Bertha’s marriage, but we do have an image of the couple dancing passionately together. Yes, the crisis certainly seems to have been overcome, even though George also appears in a much harsher scene in which he seems irritated with someone incapable of keeping up with the changes happening around them. That is not exactly new for George, but the feeling is that the series is now treating transformation less as economic expansion and more as historical inevitability.

Some viewers believe HBO may have used footage from the ballroom scene in the season finale teaser, but no. A closer look clearly confirms that Bertha is wearing a different gown, jewelry, and hairstyle. These are indeed scenes from season 4.

And then we get to the pairing that truly interests the fandom: Larry and Marian.

Online, fans have already found images of Larry running through the crowd during the celebrations for the inauguration of the Statue of Liberty. The event took place on October 28, 1886, and turned New York into a kind of collective spectacle. There was a naval parade, crowds in the streets, celebrations across the city, and an atmosphere of patriotic euphoria rare even by Gilded Age standards. The statue itself symbolized precisely what the season seems to be discussing: future, modernity, immigration, and the transformation of American identity.

But the most important detail in the teaser may be something else.

In another scene, Larry appears to be celebrating alongside John, suggesting that the two remain professionally united and are continuing to accumulate victories. And yes: we also see Larry dancing passionately with Marian in a bright, modern, almost intoxicating ballroom. After seasons of slowly building this relationship, could it finally be time to celebrate the couple?

Careful.

In the same teaser, Marian appears alone, disheveled, and visibly shaken. And the internet immediately began speculating: Is she crying? Is she in shock? Does the scene happen before or after the party? Is Marian worried about Larry? Or has she discovered something capable of changing her life completely?

The truth is that the speculation has only just begun. And we’ll be following it step by step.