Let The Tournament Begin
What does Marian intend to do?
Marian finalizes her plans with Tom Raikes. They’re running away together, with the intention of getting married and living happily ever after. Ms Chamberlain is there to help out, lending them her carriage that will help take them to Grand Central. When Marian tells Mr Raikes of their plan, he admits he loves her and the pair kiss in the park together.
Tom and Marian are planning to stay at Tom’s apartment for a while while they figure out what to do. Peggy is feeling bad that she’s leaving Ada and Agnes in this way, but she understands that Tom wants to be able to focus on his new job.
Ada is on her way out the door when she notices that Peggy is carrying Marian’s bag. Ada worries that something untoward is going on. Ada eventually sits with Marian though and learns the truth. Ada blames Raikes for not wanting to wait, urging Marian to actually tell Agnes the truth, regardless of how hard that’s going to be.
What happens with Mrs Astor and Bertha?
Mrs Astor’s butler tells Bertha that she is not welcome at the party and that she should leave. One of Bertha’s friends shows up and it quickly annoys her.
Mrs. Astor’s snubbing of Bertha is enough for her to make big plans and decide that Carrie can’t perform with Gladys at the ball anymore. The two girls have worked hard for weeks and when Carrie finds out, she’s not happy and takes it out on her mother, storming upstairs. ..
Carrie is a stubborn young woman who refuses to come downstairs and ask her mother to drop off a tray of food upstairs. For now, Mrs Astor plays along, but for how long will she keep this charade going?
What happens with the Russell chef?
George Russell, the head chef at the Russell household, has a confession to make. He’s not actually French after all, he’s from Kansas. In the past he started washing dishes in Cannes and then progressed up the ladder from there, learning his trade. Returning to New York, he donned the persona of Monsieur Baudin. His real name is Josh Borden. So why the confession right now? ..
Josh’s wife has tracked him down and wants to reconcile. She learned that Josh is doing well and wanted a slice of that lucrative pie.
When Bertha learns of her husband’s deception, she is not happy. She knows how cutthroat this society is and believes allowing him to keep cooking will tarnish her reputation. With Bertha’s ball on the horizon, Josh decides to try and convince his wife to divorce him, while George doesn’t believe firing their chef is the right idea, especially given how hard he’s been working. ..
A new chef, Mr. Charron, enters the fray; he throws the plans Borden had in place out the window and decides to do things his way. He stands against Bertha’s wishes, wanting to do the food in his own way. This is almost certainly going to go badly. ..
Does Mrs Astor apologize?
Mrs. Astor shows up in the Russell hallway wanting to talk. After explaining the situation, Bertha decides Carrie can perform after all… but only if Mrs. Astor is at the party with her. Part of this stipulation also sees Astor convince Ada and Agnes to attend that night too, patching up this rivalry between the two households once and for all. ..
Ada is informed of Raikes’ devious behaviour by her friend Bingham, who is concerned for her safety. Raikes seems to be getting cozy with Miss Bingham, which worries Ada.
Ada realizes that Marian is about to make a mistake and races out the door to stop her. ..
Why was Tom Raikes flirting with Miss Bingham?
Marian is flustered when she finds out that Tom Raikes has betrayed her. He tells her that they are not getting married right now, but that they may in the future. ..
Tom wanted to make sure that they had an armory for the battle that lay ahead. In other words, he wanted more money and was going to grow closer to Miss Bingham to make that happen. He was going to leech off her fortune.
Marian is leaving to stop Larry from delivering the letters to Ada and Agnes.
What is Peggy’s letter about?
In the latest episode of “Mad Men,” Peggy’s mother receives a letter from Peggy. When Peggy returns home, we find out that her son is still alive and together, and they intend to track him down. Given that Peggy’s father lied about this, she wants him to help find her son. He refuses to do so, believing he’s freed Peggy from a “life of shame.” ..
Josh comes back to the ball as head chef, and the other workers decide to keep him on after all. They think he’s a good choice, because he’s been able to fix things up at the ball.
What happens at the ball?
Marian tells Raikes that she still loves him, but can’t forgive him for his betrayal.
The ballroom dance goes ahead that night, with Gladys growing closer to Oscar. He meets with John later on in private and believes he can reel her in. It won’t change anything between them but it appears while Raikes’ betrayal is a little too foolish and abrupt, Oscar’s is going to be far more subtle, setting things up for an intriguing second season. ..
How does The Gilded Age Season 1 end?
Marian is planning to brave this world and face it head-on alongside her aunts after all, with Ada convincing her that this is home and she can stay for as long as she wants.
The season ends with a beautiful crane shot down the road as we see the two sides finally reconciled.
The Episode Review
The Gilded Age comes to a close with a conclusive chapter, one that finally gives closure to the Raikes situation as Marian sees his true colors and finally understands what a deceptive guy he is. It’s a hard lesson to learn but hopefully one that she will take with her going forward. ..
Meanwhile, there are plenty of talking points and potential bouts of drama to come later on down the line. There’s the situation involving Peggy finding her birth son, Gladys getting closer to Oscar and the situation with George Russell and his railway still to take place. All of these are likely to be big talking points going into the second season. ..
In the final episode of season two, Bertha and George manage to come out on top in a class-warfare battle. They hold their heads high as the ball is a success, and they navigate through this murky myriad of class warfare to come out on top.
