George Russell is many things, but he is, first and foremost, a man who loves his wife and kids. While he isn’t as concerned with Larry’s love life (we all know he’d love the prospect of him and Marian), Gladys and a true love match are a different story. It’s the only thing he and Bertha disagree on, which will make their journey in The Gilded Age Season 3 that much more gripping. As one does, I decided to start yet another rewatch of the show and knowing what we know about the Season 2 finale, a particular scene between George and Gladys stands out differently in Season 1, Episode 6, “Heads Have Rolled For Less.”
In a quiet moment between father and daughter, George reminds Gladys that she isn’t ordinary—emphasizing she’s extraordinary without saying the words. After Gladys realizes that Tom Blyth’s Archie Baldwin took her father’s offer to run, she fights back against George’s inability to stand up to Bertha. It’s after she voices that she doesn’t want something lavish because she’s ordinary that her father points out that the only thing he and Bertha agree on is the fact that she deserves more. But what’s going to happen when more equates to a money-hungry duke and not a man who’ll love her the same way her father loves her mother?
One thing to remember is that George Russell is especially unkind in the first season. My shallow attraction aside, objectively, he isn’t as quickly likable as a robber Barron and isn’t supposed to be. Yet, at this exact moment, we see that he not only has a heart but a tremendous one. He also has a weakness. His daughter is his weakness, and he wants her happiness more than he wants anything else. Much of what we will likely see when the series resumes is how he’ll see-saw back and forth between trying to have Bertha look toward another option. Or, this might not even be a thing next season at all. The situation with the duke might not even be as bad as we’re anticipating.
Still, there’s something so profoundly heartfelt about this scene between George and Gladys, and much of it also has to do with the fact that she can openly talk to her father. Gladys might be apprehensive about sharing things with Bertha, but that’s certainly not the case with George. When it comes to matters of the heart, she can see that her dad’s is in the right place. She knows how much he loves his wife and kids, and she knows that deep down, their well-being is at the top of his list of priorities.
What we also see is a testament to Morgan Spector and Taissa Farmiga as actors because they give us a scene that feels so authentic it immediately hits hard. My heart shatters for Gladys because you can see that she genuinely believes she’s average. It also breaks for George, who’s honestly baffled by the fact that his daughter openly thinks this. It’s a simple moment, really, but the sincerity isn’t to be overlooked. It’s an honest representation of who both characters are, how they perceive themselves, and the ways in which they respect each other.
The first two seasons of The Gilded Age are now streaming on Max.
First Featured Image Credit: ©Max