This post contains spoilers from The Gilded Age season 3 episode 5 from this point forward.
The moment The Gilded Age season 3 has been teasing since the beginning of the season has finally arrived, and we couldn't be happier! Without beating around the bush, let's get right to it: Larry proposed to Marian and she said yes! He drops to one knee and asks Marian to marry him before leaving the city for work. It's the real romance we have been hungry for in season 3.
Naturally, the scary part about Larry and Marian getting engaged wasn't the actual proposal part. They have to tell their families, which is nothing short of a colossal undertaking. Before this moment, Larry and Marian hadn't been public about their relationship, but both Bertha and Ada had been privy to the coupling in different ways. Needless to say, they react just as we'd expect.
Ada's thrilled that her niece has found love and happiness, while Agnes doesn't a fairly decent job at hiding her absolute disdain that she will be legally connected to Bertha Russell. Ha! Meanwhile, Bertha also isn't thrilled about her son marrying Marian. She had no hand in their arrangement and Larry proposed without her consent. She's mad, which makes George even madder at her.
Bertha and George reach a breaking point
George isn't willing to entertain Bertha's disappointment about Larry's engagement and the fact that she didn't have an opportunity to find a suitable match for him. Pressures in his work and mounting financial concerns have George at a real breaking point, and Bertha's insistence to puppeteer their children's lives only adds to his anger. We've never quite seen the Russells like this.
Especially not after George receives Gladys' letter. We don't hear exactly what she wrote to her family, but it's enough to have George's blood boiling. He blames Bertha for their daughter being miserable and an ocean away. Gladys has been butting heads with Hector's sister Sarah, who fired Gladys' maid for really no reason. All Gladys could do was write to her family about the truth.
Bertha promises that she will go to London to help fix the issues that are causing Gladys trouble, but George isn't hearing it. Like Larry, he's headed out of town for work. He seems rather pleased to be getting some time away from Bertha and even alludes to some changes when he returns. Could the Russell family be the next in live for a divorce? Let's hope not. These two are too iconic!
Beyond Larry and Marian's engagement and George laying down the gauntlet with Bertha, The Gilded Age season 3 episode 5 featured a number of additional developments for our favorite characters. Namely, Peggy continues to get closer to Dr. Kirkland, but Mr. Fortune seems to make a play for affections by attempting to join her on the road for a story she's writing. When she turns him down, Fortune pushes Kirkland in the train station. Looks like Peggy's in a love triangle!
After her session with a psychic was interrupted last week, Ada visits the psychic again and gains some heartwarming closure from Luke from beyond the grave. She decides she will add some color back into her wardrobe. Meanwhile, the news of Jack's newfound wealth begins to float through the Forte-Brooks-Van Rhijn household. He wanted to keep the number a secret, but some loose lips sank his ship and now everyone either knows that amount or that he's generally rich.
Speaking of Jack being rich, Larry takes him out to the haymarket to celebrate, where Larry spots Maud Beaton. He gives Oscar a head's up that he found the woman who stole all his money. It's unclear what Oscar will do next. Will he confront her and try to get his money back? Does she even still have his money? Was that actually even Maud? Only time will tell, but now that we're past the halfway point of the season, we're heading into the most exciting episodes!
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