As the second episode of The Gilded Age begins, Mrs. Bauer (Kristine Nielsen) is harassed by a man who wants her to get the money because he’ll be back to get it tomorrow. Marian Brook (Louisa Jacobson) tries on new clothes while Peggy Scott (Denee Benton) hangs out with her. When Marian thanks her for keeping her company, Peggy admits she finds it ridiculous that she isn’t allowed to go out on her own. Marian reveals the attorney Tom Raikes (Thomas Cocquerel) is coming to New York. She isn’t sure whether it is about business because Tom hasn’t said. Peggy says she might want to ask Tom’s advice about something. If she speaks to a colored lawyer, it would make its way back to her father. Marian isn’t sure he’ll do it although she’ll ask him anyway. Peggy says it is a personal matter. As for her writing, she has sent out query letters. Marian really hopes Tom hasn’t found more debts from her father. Marian joins Agnes (Christine Baranski) and Oscar (Blake Ritson) before they ask her about the Russells’ daughter Gladys.

Ada Brook (Cynthia Nixon) asks if Gladys is out yet. Agnes says people like that just sell their daughters to the highest bidders. Marian tells them her name is Gladys (Taissa Farmiga) and she isn’t out yet, but she is very nice. She reveals she met her with Aurora Fane (Kelli O’Hara). Oscar asks if she knows her well enough to invite her to a luncheon, but Agnes certainly hopes not. Bridget (Taylor Richardson) asks Mrs. Bauer if everything is okay because she seems upset. Mrs. Bauer insists it was the onions she was chopping. Armstrong (Debra Monk) asks Peggy about working for Agnes and whether she thinks that makes her a secretary. Another servant says she is and that puts her above Armstrong in the pecking order. Bridget says Oscar is good looking although Armstrong says he is only interested in money. Mrs. Bauer tells her not to bash Bridget who is right about him being good looking. John (Ben Ahlers) wonders whether they’ll try to set him up with Marian.

Armstrong doubts it since Marian doesn’t have a lot of money either. Bannister (Simon Jones) interrupts and gets them to return to work. Meanwhile, Agnes talks to Ada about Raikes and whether they have to receive him. Ada reminds her that he waived his fee. When Marian enters, Agnes asks her to invite Raikes to tea tomorrow. Marian says she’ll invite him at half past four since Anne Morris wants Marian to call on her at three to talk about taking a stall in her bazaar. She will run a stall and gather the things they’ll sell. They’re joining the Dispensary for Poor Women and Children with the Infirmary for Indigent Women and Children with the whole thing moving to 7th Street. George Russell (Morgan Spector) asks Bertha (Carrie Coon) if she still sees Anne Morris (Katie Finneran). Bertha admits she gave her a check for her charity and hasn’t heard from her since. George mentions that she is married to Patrick Morris (Michel Gill) and he’d like to meet him.

He asks her to invite them for dinner because he’d like it to be an informal meeting. When Patrick gets the invitation, he tells his wife that George is a force in this city even if she doesn’t like it. Anne is worried who else could be there, but Patrick thinks it’ll be the four of them. She asks if Patrick can meet George at his office, but he doesn’t want them. Then, Anne wonders how she is going to explain this to people. She doesn’t like the idea of saying she is inviting her to the board of her bazaar because Bertha had a falling out with Aurora Fane who is the chairwoman again. Peter reminds her she is a joint chairwoman so it is just as much her choice too. Although she won’t say it, Anne doesn’t think it is a good idea to mix different types. She agrees to ask Bertha to come support them on the day. Patrick doesn’t think he’ll accept any offer from George, but he’d like to know what he is turning down. She asks what they’ll say when Mrs. Astor finds out they went to her house. Patrick responds by saying Astor knows how the world works.

Agnes asks Bannister to tell Mrs. Bauer she has invited Oscar to join them for tea because he’ll be company for Marian’s friend. Oscar has a luncheon with Ogden Goelet and he’ll come straight after that. Ada wonders if he could introduce Marian to some of his friends or Oscar could take a shine to her himself. Agnes doesn’t like that largely because Marian doesn’t have a cent, but Ada says money isn’t everything. Agnes reminds her how much she sacrificed to save Ada’s skin although Ada says she saved both of them. Monsieur Baudin (Douglas Sills) talks to Mrs. Bruce (Celia Keenan-Bolger) about cooking for Anne and Patrick Morris. He gives her a list of things he’ll need while asking if she has settled in. Bruce admits she has always done this type of work ever since her mother answered an advertisement for a kitchen maid when she was 12. Her childhood was very humble since her mother picked fruit in the fall and her father was a farmworker. She never knew something like this existed.

Baudin says he envies her. However, she believes most people would pick a top chef over a spinster housekeeper. Baudin argues it doesn’t mean they’d be right. Meanwhile, the women talk about the event being held at the Veterans’ Room at the new Seventh Regiment Armory. Marian questions whether they asked Bertha Russell about being a stall holder, but they don’t want to go down that route again. When Marian says she likes her, she is told to be careful or she’ll be reported to Aunt Agnes. Marian argues she can donate more than any of them. Anne tells Aurora and the others she is going to dine with Russell because George has something he wants to talk about with Patrick. Seconds later, Patrick enters and asks if they’re going to include Bertha among their stall holders. Although they say no, Marian says they still want her check but they just need to insult her first. Patrick says they’ll have to mingle with the men who own most of the railroads in the country.

When Anne says money isn’t everything, Marian says it is when you don’t have it. After that, it looks Mrs. Bauer is trying to steal from the house to cover her debt. She tries to give it to the man outside. He refuses to take it and says he wants the money instead. Peggy arrives in time to see what is going on. Once the man leaves, Mrs. Bauer says Peggy now knows she is a common thief. George runs into Turner (Kelley Curran) while looking for Bertha who has gone with Mr. White to look at some pictures. He says he doesn’t like the sound of that. Turner admits women can be an expensive hobby, especially pretty ones. She touches his arm as he agrees. He asks her to tell Bertha to come and find him when she returns. Marian sits with Tom who says he has applied for a position in New York although he might not get it. He admits he isn’t as happy in Doylestown as he could be and he’d like to think Marian would be pleased if he moved to New York. Oscar enters with Larry Russell (Harry Richardson).

Agnes and Ada learn that Larry is one of the Russells living across the road. He is introduced to Tom and the others. Marian asks him how he knows her cousin. Larry reveals that they met in Newport with Mrs. Fish. They were at a luncheon at the Union Club today, but Larry didn’t tell him they had already met. Based on Agnes’s face, Larry doesn’t think he’ll get to visit again in a while. Peggy tells Mrs. Bauer she needs to get the items back in the silver cupboard. Bridget walks in as Mrs. Bauer wonders how she is going to manage that. Mrs. Bauer tells Bridget she doesn’t want to be involved, but Bridget wants to know. Bauer asks Peggy to tell her. Meanwhile, Marian talks to Tom about his decision to try to move to New York. When he sees what he wants, he’ll take it if he can. Marian jokes that is something he should try to control if he doesn’t want to spend time in a police cell. It has always been a dream of his to come to New York and it is becoming real recently.

He wishes he could convince her that he wants to be her friend. Marian tells him about Peggy wanting his advice although she doesn’t know what it is about. When she suggests it is a nuisance, Tom says nothing is a nuisance when it allows him to see her again. They arrange for Peggy to meet Tom at the Bethesda Fountain in Central Park tomorrow at three. Agnes complains about Oscar bringing Larry to their house, but he thinks they need to know the Russell family. Agnes believes he wants to know their daughter. She insists she is holding back the tide of vulgarians threatening to engulf them. Agnes worries that Larry’s mother will try to use it to push in on them. Marian joins them and confirms the lawyer is gone. Ada thought he was very nice so Agnes hopes she won’t have to speak to her again.

Agnes says Tom won’t bother her if he moves to New York. She explains New York is full of villages and they know the people who live in their village. Oscar refutes that since they live right across from the Russell family and barely know them. She tells him not to tease her. He says he is presenting facts, but she doesn’t want facts if they interfere with her beliefs. When she goes up to change, Oscar says he doubts it and argues she’ll come down unchanged at all. Anne and Patrick arrive at the Russell house for dinner. Bertha greets them while coming down the stairs before asking them to come into the drawing room. George joins them along the way. Once they sit down, Bertha learns that the bazaar is going to be held in the new armory on Park Avenue. She says Mrs. White worked on that and he helped build their house too. The Morris couple tells them about their house being built by Morris Hunt for someone else by Morris Hunt before they moved in.

They confirm there is no relation to Morris Hunt. Patrick learns about their chef, Baudin, being French. Anne says it seems like a luxury although Bertha thinks it is worth it to have a French chef. Bertha offers to let them use the ballroom here if anything goes wrong with the armory. She also confirms they plan on entertaining when the time is right. Anne says New York can be challenging at first although Bertha pretends it hasn’t been. George says there is no challenge she is not equal to. The Morris couple is shown the ballroom moments later. George tells Patrick there is something he’d like to talk to him about. As they walk away, Anne hopes Bertha will come to the bazaar. Bertha offers to let them hold the charity event in the ballroom again and Anne almost wishes they would. Peggy tells Marian that Mrs. Bauer lost about $50 gambling on card games. As Marian tries to figure out what they can do to help her, she reminds Peggy that they have an appointment with Tom tomorrow.

When Peggy asks if she minds lying to her aunts, Marian says she is just trying to live her life. Agnes enters and tells Peggy she shouldn’t be doing that now because it is far too late. She gives Peggy a box of letters from assorted presidents, secretaries of state, and artists in need of patrons. Peggy tells Agnes she appreciates her taking a chance on her. Agnes responds by saying you should only help those who help themselves if you don’t want to be disappointed. Meanwhile, George talks to Patrick about the second track he wants to build from New York to Chicago. Since he wants to build a new station in the city, he needs Patrick’s help convincing the aldermen. He explains any shares they buy in the company now will go sky high when the bill is passed. Patrick realizes he is encouraging them to buy on margin because there will be little risk when the bill is passed. However, George keeps saying he isn’t giving him any instructions. Bertha interrupts to tell Patrick that Anne is tired and ready to go home.

Before he leaves, he agrees to let George know what he decides to do. Once they’re gone, George tells Bertha that she did well and he thinks she caught him the fish he was after. Baudin receives a compliment for his dishes. Mrs. Bruce says it is nice to know it was all worthwhile although he questions that. When Ada walks into Agnes’s room, she is told not to encourage Marian with that young man. She doesn’t have a penny and Agnes can’t leave her any of the Van Rhijn money. Agnes is adamant that the money will go to Oscar. She tells Ada not to worry because she will outlive her. Without a decent marriage, Marian will be lost. Agnes believes the lawyer is a shyster who sees Marian as a ticket out of Doylestown.

Ada argues marrying for money doesn’t always guarantee happiness. Agnes wants her to marry for security, support, and God willing, affection. Ada admits she doesn’t want to deny Marian that. The next day, Peggy confirms that Bauer put the silverware back as they head toward the fountain. Marian knows how to get the money, but she needs to find out how to get it without anyone finding out why she needs it. She tells Peggy she keeps secrets better than most. Once Marian meets with Tom, he tells her the fountain was finished almost ten years ago and the statue on top was built by a woman. He admits he just read that in a guidebook. Peggy joins them as Tom confesses he is curious about her issue. While Marian waits for them to finish their conversation, she runs into Gladys and Turner. Gladys says Turner is there to spy on her during a fitting to ensure she doesn’t change the design. Marian tells her about seeing Larry yesterday before she learns that Larry had dinner with Oscar last night.

Gladys admits Oscar made her laugh. He wanted Gladys to go to dinner with her, but her parents weren’t going to let that happen. The conversation ends when Tom returns. He tells Marian that Peggy is going to write to him and she shouldn’t worry about the bill. He promises to let them know how the application turns out. Once Peggy returns, Armstrong begins questioning her about running out earlier. Peggy says Tom was leaving and Marian wanted to say goodbye. John says he bet she did because she took her time saying goodbye to him in the house yesterday. Armstrong keeps pushing to find out why she said we until Bauer says she just kept Marian company. Marian runs into Oscar and admits she’d like his advice. They have a problem and want to keep Agnes out of it. As George gets into his carriage, he finds that Patrick is already there waiting for him.

Patrick reveals they’re already buying shares in the company. He’ll send a message when they settle a date for the bill to be announced. George asks if there are any objections. Although there are no objections to the plan, George believes there are objections to him. Patrick admits they’re snobs. Oscar tells Marian that she is asking for his advice although she really wants his money. She admits she can’t tell Agnes because she’d dismiss Mrs. Bauer and they’d need a new cook. He suspects she is softhearted and doesn’t want her to lose her job. He wants a favor in return. He asks her to hold a luncheon party and invite Gladys Russell. He wants to sit next to her. As they work out the arrangements, Ada walks in and asks what is going on. Patrick tells Anne that he saw Charles Fane and learned the armory fell through. Anne says they’ll go to the Fifth Avenue Hotel and pay so the profit will come down some. Patrick suggests going to the Russell ballroom since he doesn’t want to annoy George right now, but Anne isn’t going to go for it.

Ada approaches Marian and says she learned about the money after dinner. She insists she wants to pay the debt herself. When Ada encourages him to come to her next time, Marian says she will. She didn’t like the idea of selling Gladys to Oscar who she describes as a fortune hunter. Ada wants to make sure Bauer doesn’t fall into debt again although Marian doesn’t think she will. Marian reminds her what she said about Aunt Agnes hating her father because he sold their family house. She wants to know if Ada feels the same. However, Ada admits it is different for her. While Ada was the baby, Agnes always carried the weight of the world on her shoulders. She admits she doesn’t feel the same before asking Marian if she heard back from Tom. She hasn’t so Ada asks her to be kind to Aunt Agnes when she does. Ada promises they just want her to be happy. Before the conversation ends, Marian tells Ada that she loves her and means it.

The next day, Bertha reads the newspaper and learns about the charity moving to the Fifth Avenue Hotel. She throws her food plate in anger. Meanwhile, Marian sets up her stall at the charity event. Aurora tells her they should’ve accepted Bertha’s offer, but Anne Morris wouldn’t hear it because they would’ve been indebted. Mrs. Astor (Donna Murphy) has come to open the bazaar. She encourages everyone to spend what they can to help the distressed mothers and their children. With the bazaar open, Sylvia Chamberlain (Jeanne Tripplehorn) approaches Marian who greets her. Chamberlain says she is brave and polite since she knows Agnes has likely warned her against talking to her. She buys some of her items and says she wishes Marian would call on her although she knows it is out of the question.

When Agnes and Ada enter, Chamberlain says she’ll go since Marian is about to pay for this exchange. Agnes wants to know when she was talking to that woman. Marian says she was selling handkerchiefs for charity and she bought some. Agnes warns her that Chamberlain has terrible things in her past so she isn’t a suitable acquaintance. Although Agnes says her money is tainted, Marian says you wouldn’t feel that way if you were living without heat or water. Once they walk away, Oscar approaches Marian and learns that Ada is going to pay Bauer’s debt. He needs to use every opportunity to get to know her. Oscar approaches Gladys and tells Bertha he’d very much like to know her. After Bertha says they don’t always get what they want, Gladys insists he was teasing. They learn that they’re neighbors as Oscar says they should see more of each other. George approaches Anne Morris to see if Patrick is around. He learns he is expected to pop in later so George says he may miss it.

He is introduced to Aurora Fane. George says the two of them decided that his wife’s ballroom was not good enough to raise money for their charity. He steps up to one of the stalls and offers $100 for everything to be delivered to his house within the hour. He gives her the money and asks her to close and dismantle her stall. Larry and Gladys watch as George buys out the other stalls too. Anne asks Bertha if she can stop them. Bertha isn’t sure why since it’ll be the most successful charity event of the season. She is warned this isn’t going to impress the people she wants to win over, but Bertha believes this stunt would impress anyone. Aurora tells Larry that his father might mean well, but it’ll close the bazaar before it has begun. Marian doesn’t think he means well and she doesn’t blame him. She soon accepts his offer as well. George tells Anne her party is over and she should be congratulated since it was a great success.

Astor tells Anne there is nothing to stay for now that the lion has roared. Mrs. Astor returns home and tells Caroline (Amy Forsyth) that the bazaar is over thanks to a man named George Russell. George tells Bertha they’ve likely learned their lesson. She agrees Morris and Fane will never forget this one. Yesterday, Astor would’ve said he was a nobody, but today he seems to be someone to be reckoned with. He isn’t to be befriended right now, but they will hear from him again.

 

The Gilded Age Review

The Gilded Age was bashed pretty hard by critics and many viewers as well. In some ways, the criticism is understandable. After all, the acting is hit and miss while many of the characters are just unlikeable. It is hard to sympathize with characters that are only worried about becoming a part of the clique or keeping certain people out of it. There were so many interesting topics that could’ve been explored so it is disappointing that they picked these.

I think Marian is meant to be the main character that drives the narrative, but it hasn’t worked for me yet. Honestly, most of the characters are just brutally self-centered even when they’re trying to do generous things. The only character remotely likable is Larry Russell who feels like a replica of Harry Richardson’s other recent characters. Regardless, there are times when The Gilded Age feels like it is going to break through and become very deep and moving.

It is a bit overwhelming because there are so many characters and so much going on simultaneously at any minute. It is going to take time to develop a rapport with these characters and begin sincerely caring about them. If that never happens, The Gilded Age will fail. If a genuine connection is made, it may just right the ship and turn into a worthwhile period drama.

More time is needed to see which path the show will take. This episode scores a 6.5 out of 10. The Gilded Age recaps are available on Reel Mockery here. Learn how to support the Reel Mockery project by following this link.