Warning: SPOILERS For The Gilded Age Season 3, Episode 2 - “What The Papers Say”
The Gilded Agedirector Deborah Kampmeier explains how the conflict between George (Morgan Spector) and Bertha Russell (Carrie Coon) over their daughter,Gladys (Taissa Farmiga) marrying the Duke of Buckingham(Ben Lamb), is creating turmoil in their own marriage. George promised Gladys she could marry for love, but Bertha’s scheme to wed her to the Duke could cause George to break his word, leading to a schism between them.
Speaking toScreenRant’s Tatiana Hullender,The Gilded Ageseason 3, episode 2’s director, Deborah Kampmeier, discusses how Bertha’s deal with the Duke of Buckingham steps over into George’s"domain,“which is business. Kampmeier explains howGeorge and Bertha’s"hearts are moving in different directions and separating them,“which potentially sets up a break in their marriage. Read Kampmeier’s quote below:
ScreenRant: Despite promising his daughter he’d look out for her happiness, George seems to give into Bertha at every turn. At the end of this episode, however, his look upon realizing the deal his wife has made with the Duke suggests more trouble is brewing in paradise. How did you want to seed their tensions throughout the episode, and what does it mean for the Russells moving forward?
Deborah Kampmeier: In the earlier scene in the bedroom, George says,” I just want to know when I get a say in our daughter’s life,” and Bertha says, “The day I’m in your boardroom.” There is that understanding of a societal structure where the children and their lives are in her domain, but the business is his domain, but the deal she made with the Duke was stepping over into his domain.
I think he does understand at a certain level the value of Gladys marrying the Duke. And he says to her, “Give him a chance. You can make the decision yourself, but give him a chance and see.” I think he does see the wisdom of Bertha’s point of view around this, and what this would mean to Gladys. But he also made a promise to her.
The setup for that final moment is seeded throughout the whole episode. It’s very taut, the way those two actors hold that storyline. but I think the scene in the bedroom was really about leaning into each of their hearts. For me, it’s not really about focusing on the fight or the discord between them, but about setting up how their hearts are moving in opposite directions and separating them. George’s heart is so invested in his daughter’s happiness and his promise to her, while Bertha’s heart is so invested in this dream of the Duke.
I talked to Carrie [Coon] about this, and I felt like we both agreed that there’s a way in which we’re seeing Bertha’s inner teenager come out in her dream of the Duke. Her wish for Gladys is her own wish for herself, although George is her Duke in a way. I do think she has a youthful, childlike dream that she is projecting on her daughter. It felt important to really lean into those two separate dreams, and to establish this distance between them. It wasn’t about, “I don’t like you now,” but about, “My dream is going in such a different direction than yours.”
How Gladys & The Duke Is Affecting George & Bertha’s Marriage In The Gilded Age
Divorce Is A Theme Of The Gilded Age Season 3
George Russell had previously been content to oversee his business empire and leave Bertha to domestic matters and social climbing, butGeorge feels shut out of Bertha’s master plan to marry Gladys to the Duke of Buckingham. The couple’s argument in their bedroom reflects how, to George, Bertha refuses to take their daughter’s wishes into consideration, especially after he promised her she could marry for love.
Bertha believes what she’s doing will secure Gladys' future and give her the greatest possible advantages in life, which Deborah Kempmeier and Carrie Coon agreed is what Bertha wished for herself. Yet by making a business deal with the Duke, Bertha crossed the line where she expects George to financially fulfill their side of the bargain.
The Russells have always had the strongest and most supportive marriage in The Gilded Age.
Divorce is a theme ofThe Gilded Ageseason 3, and it’s possible their conflict over Gladys' future, and the growing distance between them, could put George and Bertha’s marriage in jeopardy. The Russells have always had the strongest and most supportive marriage inThe Gilded Age, butthe seeds are planted for possible irreconcilable differences between Bertha and Georgeas season 3 continues.
Our Take On George & Bertha Russell’s Marriage Troubles
It Seems Hard To Believe The Russells Will Divorce, But It’s Possible
George Russell is growing increasingly distant from Bertha as he focuses on his risky dream of building a better transcontinental railroad. George always preferred to step back and let Bertha dominate her world of high society, butMr. Russell is also shutting his wife and partner out of the pressures he’s feeling as he wagers their fortuneon his precarious business venture. This is Bertha’s grievance in their bedroom argument.
Aurora Fane (Kelli O’Hara) and Charles Fane (Ward Horton) are headed towards divorce inThe Gilded Ageseason 3.
George says he wants a say in Gladys' life, but Bertha countered that it can happen when she gets a say in his boardroom. The impression was thatGeorge and Bertha’s marriage used to be more of a partnership, but they don’t see eye-to-eye on Gladys' future.
Yet George typically yields to Bertha’s wishes, and despite his promise to Gladys, it seems Bertha will get her way. Whether this could lead to George and Bertha divorcing remains to be seen inThe Gilded Ageseason 3.
