Gladys Russell’s Gilded Age Season 4 Storyline is History’s Best Soap Opera & We Can’t Wait

Season 3 of The Gilded Age was full of the usual glitz, glamor, and social drama, but it also had some devastating shocks as well. From forced marriages and sudden deaths to assassination attempts, season 3 had all The Gilded Age delivers and more, and at an overwhelming pace. The historical fiction of The Gilded Age’s representation of the titular period does it great justice in its intricate details; not just with its stunning wardrobe and sets, but in its plots interwoven with characters from history alongside those who are instead inspired by history. It is no secret that the ambitious Russell family of The Gilded Age has been confirmed to be heavily based on the Vanderbilt family, especially with Gladys Russell.

This season, Gladys was quickly married into British nobility by her mother Bertha, much to the heavy guilt and resentment of her husband George Russell. Despite this unfortunate coupling, Bertha could instill confidence into Gladys enough to help her take her rightful position and control within the household of British Royalty. Albeit a win for Gladys’ overall happiness in the situation she was put in, Bertha’s uninhibited ambitions have led to the estrangement of her husband and son, for which there is yet to be a remedy. However, Gladys’ recent news at the end of the season spells potential healing, or tragedy, in speculative ways that only a historical drama like The Gilded Age can deliver. With the clear inspirations of Gladys’ character stemming straight from another historical socialite, the potential for her character growth is rich with possibility.

Gladys Will Inevitably Move From Side-plot, to Main Plot

A rising new-money family in New York during the Gilded Age was an exciting and tumultuous social position to be born within. On the one hand, one is rich with potential, but on the other, the humbler origins leave a person heavily scrutinized for entering a generations-old circle of the wealthy and socially affluent. Living in the heavy shadows of the expectations of her tenacious mother, Bertha Russell, Gladys was but a bird in a gilded cage. With her parents being ever-cautious of her standing and eligibility among New York society, Gladys was given little-to-no leeway or say in how she managed her life, as was the plight of many young women of the time.

Lucky enough to have her brother Larry and friend Marian close at-hand, Gladys could find ways to enjoy society and even find love, if only for a short time. Once her romance with Billy Carlton became known to her mother, steps were taken to make Billy turn away from her so she could remain available for a suitor whom Bertha had been working on securing a British Royal, The Duke of Buckingham. Until this point, Gladys had played second-fiddle to her parents’ storylines as her free will came with little consequence as she was controlled. Although this forced marriage was horribly managed by her mother and father, her wedlock with the Duke of Buckingham has created some much-needed challenges to build her experience as a lady of British aristocracy and a leader in her own right.

Although both societies are highly patriarchal, The Gilded Age makes it abundantly clear that women are at the forefront of defining who and what is inclusive in “society.” Now a lady of the house in her own right, Gladys has burst from her gilded cage and must win the heart of her husband with new-found confidence in order to take ownership of her new role so he will excuse the matriarchal administration of his estates over to her. This plotline in season 3 has moved Gladys from the sidelines of the show and into the forefront, just in time for her mother to fall out of favor with their family.

Galdys’s Rise In Confidence Builds Character

Gladys’ character shares inspiration from the real socialite Consuelo Vanderbilt, who was also a popular New York socialite whose mother wed her off to the Duke of Malborough. Consuelo’s marriage was also one of position over romance, and she had similar toils when adjusting to her situation as Gladys had in this season of The Gilded Age. Before Gladys and the Duke’s marriage, the Duke’s sister, Lady Sarah Vere was his closest confidant and head of the household, but once Gladys took the reins from her icy grip with her gentility and the tactile wit her mother gave her, Vere had nothing left but to retreat to London.

With her own agency firmly set and a royal husband seemingly willing to keep her as happy as can be, Gladys was finally supported in her own endeavors and decisions. This setup, paired with her return to America for Bertha’s ball, heralds a new chapter for Gladys as the rising star in the Russell family, and a central character amid the looming drama between her parents. Angered and guilt-ridden by the social pressures of Gladys’ wedding weighing on his conscience, George Russell has only become efficient with his social time alongside his wife. Survived assassination aside, George is likely only focused on Larry’s copper mine discovery and how it will potentially save the family fortune.

Unfortunately, he leaves all too soon the day after the ball and doesn’t hear the good news Gladys is happy to share. This tragic departure, in the light of such dangerous corporate intrigue, has left The Gilded Age’s audiences on edge since it could significantly alter George’s view of Gladys’ newfound happiness. The happy news of her pregnancy could have diffused some of his anger towards Bertha and begun the healing process in their battle of egos versus priorities. With the season finale ending with a distraught Bertha on the balcony watching George leave, Gladys is soon to become a source of big change and drama for the Russells.

Her Child Will Be The Catalyst For Russell Drama

During the season finale, Gladys told Bertha about her pregnancy news, overjoyed and wishing to share it with her father, it was all too late since he had just left in a huff. Gladys’ current situation in being a lady of a British household and often far from home will likely cause her to leave for Britain before ever getting to tell George the news in person. This missed opportunity at cheering him up before facing the fires of industrial competition for his railroad project could lead to a hot point of tension and regret between Bertha and George.

Upon the child’s birth, the question of the child’s upbringing could become a point of contention between Gladys and her husband’s royal family. In actual history, Gladys’ inspiration, Consuelo Vanderbilt, was married to her Duke for 25 years and for a large part lived separately from him until their official separation in the early 1900s. With the constant need to squeeze drama out of long bolts of history, it is likely some sort of stimuli in the form of an affair or postpartum depression could lead to the dissolution of Gladys and the Duke’s budding honeymoon phase.

With Bertha’s relationship with George on the edge of a knife, it is likely she will stop at nothing to try to do everything possible to help Gladys through the difficult circumstances. History’s Vanderbilt eventually had two sons, and after her official separation married a wealthy aviator, which may manifest in an analogous way late in Season 4. Between the potential for a slow but tragic separation of Gladys and the Duke mixed with the bleak future of George and Bertha’s romantic ties, season 4 may herald the slow but spectacular downfall of the Russells.

With the potential for torrid foreign love affairs and more storylines taking place in Britain and possibly France, The Gilded Age will still have plenty of fun drama to chew on with the Russells amid the family’s growing undertones of depression. Although Bertha and George’s problems threaten to overshadow the family name, it’s clear that Larry and Gladys are experienced enough and primed to take on more responsibilities in society to keep their family afloat. Gladys’ royal title is now solidified with children, and Larry marrying Marian, thus uniting a new-money and old-money family, is a recipe for a new generation of progress as these younger characters carve paths of their own, propelled by the dramatic heritage of their families.