The Gilded Age's Relationship Teases Are Already Coming True In Season 3, Episode 1, But Not In The Way I Expected

Warning: SPOILERS for The Gilded Age Season 3, Episode 1.

The Gilded Age season 3 kicked off by picking up the pace from the previous two seasons, as just one episode in, there are already several big romantic developments. The Gilded Age‘s season 2 ending wrapped up the opera war, with Bertha Russell claiming a definitive victory, but it also opened up several questions for the new season. Along with shifting power from the old money to the new money people, the power in the Van Rhijn-Brook household shifted from Agnes to Ada, and Jack Trotter proved that his clock invention could change lives.

The Gilded Age season 2’s ending teased some big relationship changes for The Gilded Age season 3, including for Marian Brook and Gladys Russell. Compared to other period dramas, like Bridgerton, The Gilded Age has felt less romantic, but season 3, episode 1, seems like it is heading in that direction. Romances and circumstances will undoubtedly change in the coming episodes, but just one hour into the new season, The Gilded Age has already seen several unexpected romantic developments.

Third Time Could Be The Charm For Marian Brook With Larry Russell

Marian And Larry Are Already Talking About Marriage

Marian has not exactly had the best of luck with romance in The Gilded Age seasons 1 and 2, but season 3 may be able to fix that. After Tom Raikes’ social climbing in season 1 and Dashiell Montgomery’s grief over his wife in season 2, Marian has been left devastated twice. Her aunt Agnes had even noted that potential suitors may be more hesitant in the future due to two failed engagements, but that certainly did not stop Larry Russell from kissing her at the end of The Gilded Age season 2.

Marian and Larry discussing marriage in The Gilded Age seaosn 3’s premiere was shocking but also a little exciting.

Marian and Larry met at the beginning of The Gilded Age season 1, and they have always had far better chemistry together than Marian’s other prospective partners. While I was anticipating that their relationship would grow in season 3, I was unprepared for exactly how serious they would get in the premiere. After only one onscreen kiss, Marian and Larry discussing marriage in The Gilded Age seaosn 3’s premiere was shocking but also a little exciting. They will likely face some pushback from their families, but this new partnership already seems more promising than Marian’s past fiancés.

Gladys Russell Is Defying Bertha’s Plans To Marry The Duke Of Buckingham

Gladys Has Her Own Romance In The Gilded Age Season 3

Throughout The Gilded Age seasons 1 and 2, Gladys Russell has mostly been under the control of her mother, but season 3 is already changing that in a big way. Gladys’ defiance of Bertha’s rules and ambitions for her has often been stunted. In the opening of The Gilded Age season 3, audiences learn that Gladys is seeing someone named Billy Carlton, and that they are already very serious. In fact, they even discuss marriage and his mother knows about their relationship.

Bertha Russell did not know about Gladys and Billy, and she is predictably angry when she finds out. The Gilded Age season 2’s ending saw Bertha promise Gladys’s hand in marriage to the Duke of Buckingham, and she is still trying to keep that promise in season 3. With Gladys’s shocking decision to run away from home at the end of The Gilded Age season 3’s premiere, it seems safe to say that she will not be talked into a marriage to the Duke without fighting for what she really wants, and I look forward to seeing that unfold.

The Gilded Age Season 3 Introduces A Shocking Divorce

Episode 1 Is Already Bringing In The Theme Of The Season

Bertha, Walter McAllister, Aurora Fane, and her husband sitting at a table and marveling over a light show in The Gilded Age

Another shock in The Gilded Age season 3’s premiere is the reveal of Mr. Fane asking for a divorce. Aurora and her husband have been supporting characters in The Gilded Age, but Mr. Fane, has not been as prominent as his wife, so it was entirely unexpected for Fane to announce that he has been cheating on Aurora and to ask for a divorce. Though HBO teased that divorce would be a theme in season 3, they were not the couple that I was anticipating.

“I Don’t Think Of It As Selling Our Daughter”: The Gilded Age Stars Debate Bertha Russell’s Season 3 Plan

The Gilded Age’s Carrie Coon and Morgan Spector have voiced their views on Bertha’s season 3 plan for Gladys, hinting at the exciting drama to come.

Aurora is a fairly likable character, and the news of her impending divorce makes her very sympathetic. Because divorce was still such a contentious topic during the Gilded Age, the show will have a huge issue to explore. Despite the fact that she has done nothing wrong, Aurora will suffer from her husband’s cheating because divorce will effectively push her out of society. Agnes’ behavior upon hearing the news already hints at what is to come for Aurora in The Gilded Age season 3, but I still have hope that Aurora can find acceptance.