The Gilded Age episode 9 review: Let’s start the tournament

Meanwhile, across the street at Van Rhjins’, it’s Marian’s runaway day. Ada finds out about Marian’s plan because Peggy has the Marians’ travel bag with the rest of her belongings. She’s sad Peggy calls it a break but wishes the best. Marian did not tell Agnes about her plan, instead choosing Larry to send her a letter explaining after she had left Grand Central Station. After Marian arrives at Mrs. Chamberlain’s house, Aurora delivers the bad news that many fans have been anticipating since the start of this season. She’d seen Raikes at the opera house with Sissy the night before. Ada tells her to run to try to stop Marian from making a mistake. Thankfully Raikes never showed up. Marian confronts him at this office and breaks up with him. She then runs back to the Aunts’ house to stop Larry delivering the news from running away.

While Marian is throwing her pity party, George is kicking off his own plan to make sure Gladys’ guest list and dance cards are full. A business contact wants to lend George money and he stipulates that attendance at Gladys’ prom is a condition of the agreement. He claims his wife may object out of allegiance to Mrs. Astor but George tells him it will either appear or be broken. Read our interview with Morgan Spector to find out his opinion on how George would handle party planning!

Meanwhile, Bertha uses Carrie’s protests as leverage against Mrs. Astor. Mr McAllister also warned Ms Astor that if she did not allow some neo-liberals to join the Four Hundred, the money-hungry crowd would be excluded from even more social events in the future. Mrs. Astor is pleased and sends a message to her friends to come see Glady’s ball, otherwise they will no longer be friends. One of these notes is addressed to Agnes, who up until now has sworn she will never accept anything from Bertha. The situation is turning in the social wars!

Peggy finally has an ally in the fight against her father’s wrongdoing. Dorothy finds a letter in Arthur’s pocket about how well his son Peggy is doing. Until now, everyone believed that the baby died in the womb. Dorothy is angry that she has no relationship with her nephew, and she agrees to go to Philadelphia with Peggy to find him. Peggy and Dorothy confront Arthur together and he still can’t admit what he did wrong. It’s clear that Peggy’s parents will obviously separate or get a divorce because of this. Although Peggy’s storyline is ending on a dark note, it’s clear that fans will see more of Peggy’s career journey and her journey back to her past in season 2.

Gladys’ debutante ball was judged to be aesthetically stunning and incredible. Her four-wheel drive routine is Marie Antoinette dressing and 18th century French fashion. Oscar is sure to make his name on Glady’s first partner dance. The Aunts are reluctant to show up with their best, but Agnes has the right to fight Bertha at a later date. The new sheriff has a serious panic attack and a servant runs to convince Bordain/Borden to come back to save the day. Bordain/Borden agrees to return so the guests can eat a four-course meal. Mrs. Astor and Bertha finally show up together and Bertha expands their friendship because the two are more alike than they’d like to admit. Marian of course encountered Raikes and had to hold a grudge. Thankfully, Larry offered her a dance to distract her. A riff in the theme song plays as the guests dance to signal Bertha’s victory. The episode ends the next morning with Bannister and Church bowing to each other and Marian trying to sleep away from her grief.

Overall, Julian Fellowes took quite a few creative risks in the process Gilded Age and this final episode marks the landing. The series is not just “Downton Abbey with an American accent”. In nine episodes, the cast of the group successfully established the world of the Astors and their social rival the Russells. This installment explores known and equally lesser-known facts about America in the 1880s. Viewers learn about how the core cast all connected or conflicted with each other. The supporting cast and guests do a good job of completing the action and making the universe in the show so appealing to the audience. There are also great historical easter eggs throughout the season. Each episode also does not forget to show the audience the side of the life of the servants and employees affected by their wealthy owners.