‘The Gilded Age’ 2×04 review: Duking it out

Oh, the drama! The second season of The Gilded Age continues as drama rattles into New York like a runaway horse.

Getting in the Duke’s good graces

In “His Grace the Duke,” the Duke of Buckingham (Ben Lamb) arrives from England. Unlike on showrunner Julian Fellowes’ previous drama Downton Abbey, aristocracy at the dinner table is a rare occurrence whether you’re new or old money. New money maven Bertha Russell (Carrie Coon) knows that when you’re in with an aristocrat, society will lay itself at your feet. She schemes to invite the Duke to her vacation home in Newport before her former maid/current enemy Mrs. Winterton (Kelley Curran) can do the same. Curran is this week’s melodramatic MVP. Nothing lands more dramatically than a sentence that ends with, “if it’s the last thing I do!” It’s The Gilded Age at its most decadent and dramatic, and such fun to watch.

The debate between the opera houses continues. Mrs. Astor (Donna Murphy), the closest thing Manhattan society has to a queen, still rules the Academy of Music. Bertha, backing the Metropolitan Opera, knows Mrs. Winterton wants a spot at the Academy of Music. Given Bertha’s poor reception with the Astors in prior episodes, anything to ruin livelihood of the Astors or Wintertons is a win in her book. 

Last season was all about Bertha trying to get in the good graces of the old money. Now, Bertha is trying to erect the same barriers she encountered last season. Mrs. Winterton may be married to a wealthy man now, but Bertha is her former employer and can pull the rug out from under her at any minute. What would the Academy say to a former maid entering their hallowed halls as a patron, Bertha wonders? It’d be a shame if something were to happen to Mrs. Winterton’s plans, wouldn’t it?

Blossoming romance

The old money Van Rhijns are in a tizzy, specifically Agnes (Christine Baranski), who is still convinced her sister Ada (Cynthia Nixon) has a thing for Reverend Forte (Robert Sean Leonard). Agnes’ suspicions are entirely correct, but Ada, a spinster, isn’t ready to confirm it yet. She and the Reverend continue to be the most wholesome romance on TV this side of Hallmark. Everyone else on is busy squabbling over opera house loyalties or keeping their names out of gossip columns. Ada and the Reverend go for walks and chat about art and admire pretty flowers. It’d be boring if it wasn’t a well-earned romance for Ada, who is otherwise relegated to commenting on other people’s lives rather than having one of her own. Let nice people have nice things!

And on the subject of wholesome romance, is there something between Mrs. Bruce (Celia Keenan-Bolger) and Chef Borden (Douglas Sills)? It’s a romance that feels left-field given the snails’ pace of every other plot about the servants. But hey, maybe there’s some burgeoning drama between them we don’t know about yet. 

Dull downstairs drama

The other servant drama is Watson (Michael Cerveris) still being threatened with estrangement by his son-in-law (Christopher Denham). It’s a plot that’s gone on for four episodes without any real development, and drags here. Cerveris and Denham are both talented actors, but any developments here are as sluggish as previous episodes.

All the world’s a stage…

There’s more than enough ensemble here to populate the stage of an opera house, and enough drama to match it. Plots spin about like dancers in a ballroom. Larry’s honeymoon phase with the older Mrs. Blane (Laura Benanti) ends, Peggy (Denee Benton) becomes a master of diplomacy during a debate in Tuskegee, and Marian (Louisa Jacobson) wavers between seeing Mr. Montgomery (David Furr) as a suitor or a friend. Some plots get more attention than others, and it’s a wonder the possible Bruce/Borden romance was added to the mix. But who’s complaining? When it’s called The Gilded Age, you can’t expect simplicity anyway.

The Gilded Age airs Sundays on HBO. Season 1 is streaming now on Max.

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Featured image courtesy of Max