Irresistible Change
The Gilded Age is a new series of investigative journalism that follows the people and events that are shaping America during the late 19th century. This episode starts with George Russell unveiling his plans for a new railway station – Union Central Station. Using electricity to light up the interior, the whole crowd gather and marvel at this beautiful model.
The whole situation is fraught with worry because there’s an undercurrent of worry that George may still be hung up over the letter from Mr Dixon and his accusations that he green-lit the axles to be installed on that train.
The document seems to be a fake, but some of the officials have seen it and apparently it’s legit. Unfortunately, there’s even a statement beforehand, written in what appears to be George’s handwriting telling him that he needs to cheapen things up no matter what.
George admits that it sounds like him but he’s not so sure. After all, some money has gone missing which could swing things in his favour. Either way though, it looks like this is going to court. It’ll either be Dixon standing trial or George. If the latter is in court, George could be charged with manslaughter by negligence – and jailed.
Larry is reeling from his rejection. After asking George to be an architect, and receiving a blanket “no chance”, he heads outside. There, he runs into Marian who gently encourages him, reassuring the man that he only has one life and making the wrong choice will haunt him for many years.
Meanwhile, Agnes is still hostile toward Bannister. She’s not even talking to him either, using Ada as a messenger to pass on whatever she has to say. This only fuels Bannister’s desire to figure out who ratted him out and wrote the letter.
Agnes’ anger is focused on Oscar and Miss Turner’s scandalous affair, which gets her thinking about whether to tell Bertha or not.
Naturally, she decides to send Marian over to request Bertha fire Turner. However, when Oscar finds out he ironically sees it as a big plus, given he can now access the Russell family house again without the fear of being found out. While he didn’t plan it this way, he is an opportunistic man and sees this as a big win.
Turner arrives before George and asks if he’s the one who had her sacked. He wasn’t, of course, but before she leaves, tells George that she would have loved her fully had he let her. ..
Just before Turner leaves the estate though, she writes to Bannister and lets him know who sent the letter. Bannister ominously retorts that “revenge is a dish best served cold” upon reading what she’s written.
Raikes meets Marian outside and gushes over her beauty before eagerly asking to meet in private again. He kisses her hand as the pair arrange a meeting at Chamberlain’s. ..
Left to their own devices, the roommates get along well and eventually Raikes decides to propose, off the back of Chamberlain imploring them to discover if this is really love or not. Some of Raikes’ words do ring alarm bells, especially when he seems to try and convince himself of this love. That’s also something Marian picks up on too. ..
Marian’s excitement and euphoria at asking Raikes’ hand in marriage is enough for her to change her mind. The thing is, Agnes is not convinced by Raikes’ motives and shoots down the man’s aspirations and ideas when Marian returns home. That’s obviously going to make their marriage all the more difficult.
That night, a big meeting gets underway at Edison’s house as he gives a speech about electricity. Agnes and Ada aren’t there of course, and also, by extension, neither is Marian. Peggy is there though, working on behalf of the newspaper. ..
In 1879, Thomas Edison addresses the people of New York City in a display of electrical lights. Bertha marvels at the sight and dismisses McAllister’s ominous question about the direction humanity is taking. She claims they “go where history takes us.”
The Episode Review
Electricity starts to become mainstream in the Gilded Age, leading to a new age of understanding and progress. It’s crazy to think how far we’ve come as a species in such a short space of time, and The Gilded Age allows for a deeper appreciation of that through this storyline.
George Russell’s issues at work are dominating the back-end of this season. It will be interesting to see what comes of this. Will George go to prison? Will Dixon meet his reckoning?
While this is going on, Raikes and Marian press forward, full steam ahead, with their marriage plans. It does seem a little sudden and I regrettably have to agree with Agnes here. Raikes has an ulterior motive? Why the rush to get this settled now?
The Gilded Age is still delivering enthralling drama, and the latter half of this season has really come into its own. Let’s hope next week’s follow-up is just as endearing! ..
