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Imagine a show starring the greatest American stage actors, all dressed in works of art, arguing over a plan to sit down to dinner as if it were life or death. If that sounds like heaven to you – and it does to me – then it is Gilded Age It’s back on HBO for its fourth and best season yet.
Opening shot: A horse-drawn carriage goes through the forest at night. When he arrives at a stately English estate, we learn that he is being carried by a doctor who has just arrived to save his life.
Essence: Gilded Age is HBO’s super-expensive period drama set in one of the wealthiest periods in American history. After the Civil War, industrialists, inventors, and robber barons amassed insane amounts of money in a short period of time. It radically changed the old class system and accelerated all kinds of social change.
Season 4 Gilded Age Follows several soap operas set in the privileged salons of New York’s elite. Bertha Russell (Carrie Coon), separated from her husband George (Morgan Spector), is in England to visit her pregnant daughter Gladys (Taisa Farmiga) – now a duchess. Meanwhile, Russell’s oldest son Larry (Harry Richardson) takes advantage of an important social event to try to rekindle his Season 3 romance with Marianne Brooke (Louise Jacobson). Peggy Scott (Denne Benton) is more excited about publishing her first book than choosing lace for her wedding dress, while Aunt Agnes (Christine Baranski) is obsessed with preparing for a dinner for the President of the United States.
What shows do you remember? We’ll keep this up for a long time Gilded Age is a spiritual cousin to its co-creator Julian Fellowes’ massive hit Downton Abbey. Both shows feel prestigious thanks to their talented actors and creatives, but the plot is pure melodrama.
Our Reception: Look, there is Gilded Age The best show on television? No, it’s far from the best show to air on HBO this year. That said, this is some of the best escapist entertainment on TV today.
As we wrote in our official DECIDER review, “Gilded Age He may drift into melodrama with abandon, but that’s because he knows we’re here to comfort, not challenge. Gilded AgeThe fourth season hears his short tee. Season 4 is HBO’s most confident hit ever: a killer mix of high-class craftsmanship and old-school camp.
Yes, there are moments that could feel right at home in a dry nighttime soap, but The Gilded Age presents these wild twists with complete conviction and gorgeous visuals.
The performance is worth watching: It’s hard not to think of Carrie Coon as the show’s MVP—her Bertha is a rare mix of ruthless ambition and tender love—but this season Kelly Curran moves into the lead role, and it’s clear why. Her Enid Winterton started as Bertha’s chatty maid and is now a scene-stealing power player enjoying the prime of her life. He is excited!
Sex and skin: Although there is no nudity, there are hints of sex, and one very scandalous (for the period) downtown tryst that takes place almost entirely off-screen.
Parting shot: After a shooting in Season 2, George Russell discovers that the Pinkerton detectives he hired to track down his alleged killer have busted a suspect. The agents run into the slum and move into position to take down this assailant.
Our call: streaming! Gilded Age remains one of the most well-executed primetime dramas on TV, and Episode 1 hits with some massive (spoiler) developments!
Megan O’Keefe is a senior critic at Decider.
