(Warning: This post contains spoilers for The Gilded Age Season 2, Episode 2.)
Bertha might be on the verge of upending the Manhattan opera scene as the 19th century knows it, but all is not necessarily well in the House of Russell. As seen Sunday night on the HBO drama, the “new-money” social climber’s family’s situation might be a little more precarious than she’d like to admit: Her fledgling-architect son has apparently decided to hook up with a client twice his age; her daughter is contemplating marrying a villainous gold-digger; and there’s something strange going on with one of her valets that she doesn’t even know about yet. None of this is what you want if you’re just trying to hoist yourself to the top of New York’s steep social ladder.
Oh, and to boot, Bertha (Carrie Coon) also just ran into her former ladies’ maid, Miss Turner (Kelley Curran)—whom she fired, and who might be hellbent on destroying her family—at a party in Newport. It turns out, she’s married to a crucial potential donor for Bertha’s pet project—the Metropolitan Opera. So much for a relaxing country getaway.
