The Gilded Age “Wonders Never Cease” Spoilers Ahead
The Gilded Age Season 2, Episode 7, “Wonders Never Cease,” takes penultimate angst to explosive levels, providing a whirlwind of emotions for all characters. It’s one of the saddest TV episodes of the year as it boldly enables us to look into how when one part of the world celebrates, someone somewhere is grieving a loss.
One of the show’s riveting components that make Season 2 such an enormous sensation and even better than the debut run is how pacing plays a large part in driving stories through relatively low stakes. Except in “Wonders Never Cease,” stakes are anything but low—they’re higher than ever, and it’s unmistakable that we’re going to leave a majority of these characters in dark places come next week’s finale.
The Gilded Age “Wonders Never Cease” Reminds Viewers of an Important Life Lesson
Peggy’s character arc continues to be one of the most vital factors of the second season as we watch her come into her own by emboldening her legacy and writing. Yet, it’s something that her mother says in the episode that sticks incredibly hard. She states how she hopes that one day, her daughter will ease on other people’s stories to focus on her own. “Don’t spend all your time writing about other folks’ lives and forget to live your own.” And it’s a captivating notion to think about because, in more ways than one, Peggy’s character arc still orbits around other people. There’s so much she can and should accomplish, but this intricate call-out hopefully preludes that the show is aware of her talents and can bring her to more of a central focus.
If the preview for next week’s finale indicates anything, it’s that any good that occurs during this episode won’t last long. It’s hard to predict where things can go and how the mistakes could backfire. There’s so much of Peggy’s story that we still need more of, yet her legacy as a writer is something that simultaneously deserves more emphasis. Still, it’s a challenging world out there for all journalists (Palestine ones especially)—but people continue to do this job because it matters. The statement is so close to reality for many people that the show’s acknowledgment could lead to various forms of analysis.
Aunt Ada Should’ve Been Happy for a Little While Longer
It’ll never not be tiring to see good and gentle characters finally get the happiness they deserve, only to have it cruelly snatched away from them. It’s worse when you remember that their road to marriage didn’t come with bright, warm wishes all around, either. Further, as lovely as it is to see Agnes come to her better senses and understand her blame in all this, it’s unfortunate that the show couldn’t at least wait a whole season (or a few more episodes) before robbing the one character who’s genuinely the best of the bunch from the only happiness she’s ever known. And it’s all made even more brutal by Cynthia Nixon and Robert Sean Leonard’s heartbreaking performances.
To know love, even for a short amount of time, is indeed a beautiful thing, but that’s precisely what makes the loss as achingly tragic as it is. Aunt Ada’s life is better because of this fleeting beat of happiness, but simultaneously, the world she’s known is darker now, too. Their lives are changed entirely (and this doesn’t factor in the colossal elephant in the room regarding Oscar losing all their money). Grief changes people profoundly—it stays, and it lingers, and it hurts a lot. The Gilded Age “Wonders Never Cease” is just the beginning of the monumental impact of this heartache on the van Rhijn/Brook family.
Larry Russell Continues to Be the Best Man Standing
We are nothing if not fans of all the Russells—flaws and all—but there’s no denying that Larry is and continues to be the best of them. It’s Larry who immortalizes Emily Roebling in the series. It’s Larry who stands up for the causes and the people he believes in, whether society welcomes it or not. It’s Larry who’s following in his father’s footsteps in more honorable ways than George Russell ever could. And it’s Larry who notices that a woman’s been crying, broken and bruised before she even says a word. It’s Larry who asks how he can help. Finally, it’s Larry who’s significantly better suited for Marian than Cousin Dashiell (you know, the man who doesn’t even consider her a real teacher).
Now more than ever, there’s no mistaking that The Gilded Age is setting up Marian and Larry’s slow-burn friends-to-lovers with delicious ease and a magnetism consistently drawing them closer. They’re becoming two people who look out for each other in both crowded rooms and intimate spaces, acting as the other’s strength without even realizing that’s what they’re doing. There’s so much buildup that we’ve yet to see, but it’s abundantly clear that they’re fit for each other in a way only the best relationships are. The chemistry was seamless from day one, but these quiet moments fortifying their friendship are the ones that will matter most later on. These moments will serve as evidence of the fact that their loyalty to one another is an unbreakable chain that could maybe (likely) even surpass what his parents have. They’re already halfway there in the trust they’re establishing.
George and Bertha Are Too Hot for Their Own Good
No, George Russell isn’t becoming a union man quite yet—frankly, he might never because the series has to know how much better that’d make him, and they’re clearly still set on his Machiavellian ways dominating. Yet, that makes George and Bertha’s brief interaction in The Gilded Age “Wonders Never Cease” so hot, vulnerable, and thoroughly compelling. If there’s one thing that I often find frustrating on TV, it is when one character is in a threatening scenario, and their partner acknowledges it only briefly. Hence, it’s wholly satisfying to see Bertha’s open fears come to light in the form of clinging to her husband for dear life as if he’s about to fly away.
It’s the way they continue to guide each other’s decisions that stems from a deeply selfless place when everything else they do is entirely for selfish reasons. It’s for their kids, yes, and a legacy, sure, but it’s so exhilarating how the corruption in their veins briefly vanishes when they’re together in such tender moments like this. It’s in these moments where the simple fact that the two of them being positively besotted with one another makes the show so remarkably special.
The Gilded Age’s Season 2 penultimate takes an explosive episode with high stakes and big changes and laces it with immense bouts of vulnerability. It’s an admirable feat for a show’s sophomore run to continue being better than its first, and an episode like this is concrete proof that these characters are trying to make sense of the messes and bridges (literally) they’re destined to cross through.
Stray Gilded Thoughts
- Oscar. Buddy. WHY?
- Next week, George Russell is gonna be quaking in his boots about his wife and can do, and you know what? I’m here for every minute of it.
- Something about fireworks in period pieces just hits different.
- Jack is going to do great things, and I’m really glad that someone’s having a legitimately good day on the show.
- This show steps up and shows up in every way, but then the lighting is nonexistent at times.
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