Spoiler alert! The following contains details from the Season 4 premiere of HBO's "The Gilded Age."
Learn your oyster fork from your soup spoon, set the table for Grover Cleveland and clutch your late-19th-century pearls, because "The Gilded Age" is back on HBO.
The juicy, dramatic period drama with the best ballgowns around returned for Season 4 on Sunday Nov. 1 (new episodes Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO), and the premiere was no less bombastic and shocking than the Season 3 finale.
The series goes for a darker, more mature tone in the new season, which finds our large cast of characters at personal and professional crossroads across the social classes. Bertha Russell (Carrie Coon) has yet to reconcile with her unreasonable husband and railroad
baron George Russell (Morgan Spector). Marian (Louisa Jacobsen) cannot figure out how to be with her crush Larry (Harry Richardson) and his laissez-faire approach to morals and the truth. Sisters Agnes (Christine Baranski) and Ada (Cynthia Nixon) are still in a constant fight over money and lifestyle. But it is Gladys Russell (Taissa Farmiga) who is most in danger of losing it all in the new season.
Here's what to know about the premiere episode and Season 4 of "The Gilded Age."
Does Gladys survive birth in 'The Gilded Age' Season 4 premiere?
"Gilded" Season 4 opens in crisis, but not the one it left behind at the end of Season 3. In old England, things are not so jolly, as screams are heard in the estate of the Duke of Buckingham while Gladys is giving birth to her and Hector's (Ben Lamb) baby. Things are not going well, the doctor is sent for and it looks like Gladys may not make it through her pre-modern medicine labor.
The baby is breach and the doctor worries he may have to choose between saving the life of the baby or the mother. Bertha, who has sailed to be with her daughter, obviously says Gladys. Hector's frigid sister Sarah (Hattie Morahan) says the baby. Hector, after some agonizing, says Gladys. The baby boy (yay for the patriarchy) manages to get out safely and everybody starts to relax, until Gladys starts to bleed uncontrollably.
After this second near-death, Gladys survives, thankfully. But all is not well. The doctor reveals that he had to perform a hysterectomy and remove Gladys's uterus to save her life. The Duchess of Buckingham may have delivered an heir, but their won't be any spares.
The moment of the revelation is fraught with tension. There's a sadness for Gladys and Hector as a couple, who have lost something dear, but also everyone is way more concerned about the whole line of succession thing. They also decide not to tell Gladys, which is, you know, not great.
Gladys's story in "Gilded" has been inspired by Consuelo Vanderbilt, an American heiress who was forced to wed a British duke during this era. But this particular plot twist may have been inspired by Mary Goelet, a different American heiress who also became a British duchess and only had one son. "Gilded" creator Julian Fellowes dropped the Goelet name in interviewslast year.
What happens between Marian and Larry? What does it mean?
These two crazy kids just can't figure it out. Marian and Larry, in spite of being young, rich and into each other, haven't been able to make their relationship work due to timing, Larry's lying and Marian's hesitation. They end up together in a hotel overnight after a broken down carriage in a brutal storm. Of course things happen between them, and Marian is instantly regretful. While finally getting together physically has been the starting point for many a TV will-they-won't-they, Marian is a woman in the 19th century, and may just have ruined her life and prospects. Larry just had another night of fun. This will certainly have deep affects on their relationship and stories for the rest of the season.
Who shot George? Does he reconcile with Bertha?
Season 3 of "Gilded" included an attempt on the life of George Russell, the robber baron character for the show with the likes of real gilded tycoons such as J.P. Morgan and John D. Rockefeller. George survived, but a combination of the near-death experience and his general sexism, sense of superiority and worries about his business led him to take out all his anger and rage on his wife, Bertha, who has only ever tried to scheme and plot for social power the same way her husband has gone after financial power. At the end of Season 3, which tackled the issue of divorce in this era, Bertha and George are on the outs.
Separated by the Atlantic Ocean for most of the season premiere, it's not clear what their relationship status is for quite awhile, until news of Bertha's return to New York makes it clear that George still resents his wife and doesn't want to live under the same roof as her. But knowing Bertha, that will not be an insurmountable problem for her.
What about the rest of the 'Gilded Age' cast?
With such a packed premiere there wasn't much time for the rest of the huge cast, but we did check in on pretty much everyone in New York. Peggy (Denée Benton) is still being driven crazy by her future mother-in-law (Phylicia Rashad). Closeted cynic Oscar (Blake Riston) and former maid Turner (Kelley Curran) get married and start their party-hearty life together, although Turner may be regretting opting for a husband who can never really love her. Agnes is hosting the president on 61st Street and making Ada foot the bill. Jack (Ben Ahlers) is trying to fit in with the rich muckity-muck after his own rags-to-riches success.
Is 'The Gilded Age' Season 4 any good?
Fans of "Gilded" will get all the gorgeous costumes and sets, upstairs/downstairs drama and juicy Bertha zingers they have come to love over the series' first three seasons. The season overall (no spoilers) takes on a darker tone as some difficult problems are addressed, including politics, love and grief. Every moment with Oscar and Turner is a delight that makes you yearn for a spinoff featuring their raucous, uncouth version of high society.
However, in a show that has long mistreated its female characters, the stories for both Bertha and Marian are deeply disappointing. While historically accurate, it is depressing and angering to see Marian, the de facto protagonist of the series, reduced to her relationship with Larry. Bertha, too, is defined less by her fierce personality than her half of her marriage. There's a difference between showing historically accurate sexism and veering over into poorly written female characters.
Still, there is a lot to love in Season 4, which never ceases to find new melodrama. And that's what we all signed up to watch.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'The Gilded Age' Season 4 premiere reveals shocking news – Does everyone survive?
