This post contains spoilers from The Gilded Age season 3 episode 4 from this point forward.
Last week on The Gilded Age season 3, Gladys finally (but begrudgingly) agreed to go along with her mother's plan and marry Hector, the Duke of Buckingham, after successfully meeting him. But even though "the wedding of the century" was all set, that doesn't mean that Gladys still didn't have the opportunity to back out of the big day. That's very much a concern in this week's episode.
Since agreeing to the marriage, Gladys has been holed up in her bedroom as wedding preparations begin downstairs. She refuses to leave her room as some sort of unofficial protest, but in reality, it's more likely that leaving her room and seeing everything happening will make it real. She wants to pretend for a little longer, and that's understandable.
Thankfully, Bertha gives Gladys space while remaining hopeful that everything will go according to plan. Others aren't quite as sure. Gladys receives some words of encouragement from Marian, who becomes a bridesmaid thanks to Larry throwing her name in the hat and pushing his mother to agree. With all the arrangements just so, all the occasion needs is a bride.
Gladys and Hector get married
George might have been the only one of her parents who would have supported Gladys leaving Hector at the altar, but he's stuck between a rock and a hard place. With no other options, Gladys does as she's told and marries Hector. You could hear a pin drop in the church when the officiant asked the attendees, and then the couple, if there's a reason they shouldn't be married.
In the end, Gladys and Hector say "I will" and begin a new era for both of their families. Immediately after the wedding, Gladys and Hector take off on the boat for London, but she's still timid with her new life. Everything's new, though she gets to keep her familiar maid by her side until she trains a new maid in London. Then Gladys' real new life will begin. On her own with a husband she barely knows.
The final scene of the episode's a bit chilling. Hector arrives at Gladys' room on the boat to remind her that her duties as a wife also include sex. He asks if her mother talked to her about these duties, and she tells him that she had. She doesn't seem to want to rush into consummating their marriage right away, fearing that it will hurt, but Hector doesn't want to wait and insists that she'll grow to like it.
Meet Bertha's sister Monica
Gladys tearfully getting married and apprehensively beginning her life pulled much of the focus of the episode as the biggest storyline in play that united most of the characters. But something else rather big happened at the wedding. We had the opportunity to meet someone from Bertha's family for the first time as her sister Monica, played by Merritt Wever, attends the wedding per Larry's invitation.
Bertha didn't want to have Monica in from Albany for the wedding for superficial reasons. She's seemingly embarrassed of her sister and worries that she will somehow impact the image she's trying to curate for the public. Monica isn't fancy enough or rich enough or whatever the reason. Bertha goes so far as to make sure Monica spills coffee on her dress so she wears a new outfit to the wedding.
But there must be something much deeper that concerns Bertha about Monica. As some of her society frenemies were gossiping about at the wedding, Monica holds all of Bertha's past secrets. Obviously, the secrets probably aren't that juicy, but Monica knows who Bertha really is and where she comes from. In that regard, she poses a real threat to her sister's social standing.
The gilded odds and ends:
- The tense connection between the Scott and Kirkland families continues! Peggy politely rebuffs Elizabeth's beliefs by saying that a woman can both be a devoted wife and mother and work toward winning the right to vote. When Elizabeth attends Peggy's speech, Dorothy once again takes fault in the way she looks down upon the Scott family.
- Ada calls on the talents of a psychic, played by Andrea Martin, to contact her late husband Luke from beyond the grave. When Agnes discovers the strange happenings occuring in her house, she puts an end to it. But Ada keeps the psychic's card!
- Jack and Larry finally sell their clock invention and its patent for $600,000, which doesn't sound like much, but that's a lot for the time period. Jack now has $300,000 to his name and doesn't know what to do next. He imagined he would be working on the clock forever, but now he's rich and doesn't have to work if he wants. For now, he's keeping his wealth a secret.
- Chef Borden proposes to Mrs. Bruce with his late wife's/his mother's ring. But surprise! She's already married. Her husband suffers from melancholia and has been in an asylum for years. She has remained devoted to him ever since. The only way she can get a divorce is if she's unfaithful. But would she do that?
The Gilded Age season 3 airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max.
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