The Gilded Age Season 3 Surprisingly Places Two Former Enemies In The Same Position

Warning: this article contains spoilers for The Gilded Age season 3, episode 5 – “A Different World.”

HBO Max’s The Gilded Age is full of personal feuds and ambitions, which inevitably pit characters against each other. Though most events in the series generally work out, season 3 has challenged some of The Gilded Age‘s main characters more than ever before, changing their relationships and level of power in society.

These shifts help reflect how quickly society was changing during The Gilded Age‘s timeframe, paving the way for the rise of a new class of elites and opening the door for working-class people to strike it rich. This has always been a theme of the series, but surprisingly, The Gilded Age season 3, episode 5, uses this changing dynamic to bring two unexpected characters together.

Agnes Van Rhijn & Bertha Russell Face The Same Problem In Season 3

Both Women Are Struggling To Know Where They Fit In Changing Homes

Carrie Coon’s Bertha Russell and Christine Baranski’s Agnes van Rhijn are on two very different sides throughout The Gilded Age. From the start, Bertha and the Russell family are introduced as a perfect example of new money, while Agnes van Rhijn is staunchly in the old money group.

The Gilded Age Called Out Gladys’ Biggest Marriage Problem Before It Happened

Gladys Russell was never excited about marrying the Duke, but episode 5 shows that she has another big problem that was foreshadowed in episode 4.

As a result, the two have never really gotten along. Bertha Russell has made her way up the ranks of New York’s high society very successfully throughout the three seasons, and most of the group has come to accept her along the way. However, Agnes van Rhijn still sees Bertha as an interloper.

Both Bertha and Agnes are starting to realize that their worlds are changing more quickly than they can keep up with.

While the two women themselves would hardly say they have anything in common, The Gilded Age season 3 has surprisingly put them in the same situation. Both Bertha and Agnes are starting to realize that their worlds are changing more quickly than they can keep up with. Now, both women are feeling out of the loop.

Over the course of season 3, Agnes has come to realize that not having any money of her own severely limits what she has access to within Gilded Age society. For her own part, Bertha is beginning to realize that money cannot buy her everything, especially with the relationships within her family heading downhill fast.

The Gilded Age Has Always Dealt With Power Struggles, But Season 3 Has Taken That To The Extreme

The Stakes Are Much Higher Now

Seasons 1 and 2 of The Gilded Age were fun to watch, in part thanks to the very petty interactions and backhanded compliments that its characters were so good at delivering. Season 3 still includes that aspect, but the show seems to be giving its characters more real consequences than in past seasons.

Bertha has more power than ever in society, but within her own family her position is weaker than ever.

Agnes’ fall from the head of the van Rhijn-Brook family is more extreme, thanks to her social exclusion and loss of power at home. In contrast, Bertha has more power than ever in society, but within her own family, her position is weaker than ever. In both cases, the women are struggling with how to proceed in episode 5’s ending.

The Gilded Age's George and Bertha Russell in society

The Gilded Age Season 3 Director Unpacks George & Bertha Russell’s Episode 5 Breaking Point: “We’re Torturing Our Poor Audience”

EXCLUSIVE: The Gilded Age director talks about the crumbling of George and Bertha’s marriage after Bertha’s ambition got away from her with Gladys.

Now, Bertha’s plans with her husband and Agnes’ ploys for regaining power in society are unclear. It remains to be seen whether the show will really follow through with Bertha losing her husband or Agnes being truly ostracized from society, but The Gilded Age has made it clearer than ever that anyone’s position can change.