HBO’s ‘The Gilded Age’ Is Even Darker and More Defiant in Season 4 | Review
Season 4 of HBO’s *The Gilded Age* continues its mix of high-society melodrama and lighter, feel-good storytelling, while taking several characters into darker territory. The review says the series has hit its stride, with a strong ensemble and an expanding story helping it sustain its momentum.
Bertha Russell returns from England as her marriage to George remains strained after their separation, while George seeks the person who shot him and Bertha competes with Agnes van Rhijn to host President Grover Cleveland. Other storylines follow Larry and Marian’s rekindled feelings, Peggy’s engagement and career, Ada’s unexpected chance at romance, and Oscar’s evolving arrangement with Enid. The review also points to the contrast between characters’ public appearances and private lives as a continuing source of drama.
In short
- Season 4 balances darker themes with high-society melodrama.
- Bertha and George’s separation continues to shape the story.
- Several romances and rivalries develop across the ensemble.
Explained simply
The Gilded Age is a period drama set in New York in the 1880s, when industrial fortunes were changing who held wealth and influence. It follows families who have inherited their status and those whose money is newer, as they compete for social standing and try to shape the city’s elite.
The central figures include Bertha and George Russell, a wealthy couple whose rise brings them into conflict with established society, and Agnes van Rhijn, who represents its older order. Their stories sit alongside those of younger characters such as Marian, Larry and Peggy, whose relationships and ambitions connect private choices to public reputation.
The series draws on the gap between how people present themselves and what happens in their private lives. Its mix of social rivalry, family relationships and changing expectations offers a way to explore how wealth and status shaped life in the era.