'The Gilded Age' Season 4 Episode 1 Recap & Ending Explained: Is Gladys Okay?

The grand opening of the 4th season of The Gilded Age is cause for celebration and disappointment all the same. I don’t mean the premiere itself is disappointing though, I simply mean there are some sad truths hidden by many characters in this episode. The latest season seems to be fueled by endless drama and I’m very excited to see what’s coming next. Season 4 is likely going to go places we haven’t expected from it so far, and this episode proves it. More importantly, though there is only one cliffhanger, the entire episode feels like it’s breadcrumbing us for what all is to come next. Having said that, I don’t think I should waste any more time on this introduction, so let’s jump straight into the season premiere of The Gilded Age.

Spoiler Alert

What Happens When Agnes Finds Out About Enid?

Episode 1 of the 4th season begins with a party and a meltdown all at once. While Oscar is finally getting the lavender marriage of his dreams with Enid, who walks down the aisle all alone in a church full of people, Gladys goes into labor, with her mum trying to give her morphine that the doctor (thankfully) tells her will kill the baby (yikes). Oscar ends the wedding with the words “this will be fun,” and I suppose that’s the only vow we do need to hear. Weddings are always a great place to remind yourself of your love, because Marian and Larry do end up sharing a sweet little glance here too. After the wedding, Agnes is grateful that her son is finally married to a person with enough wealth to keep him happy and in society’s good books (haha). She’s then met with Mrs. Foster, the director of the Heritage Society, who also came to the wedding. As it goes, the people downstairs are thrilled to be celebrating too (even if it means a lot more work for Mrs. Bauer). The news about the President visiting is all over the place.

While Agnes introduces Mrs. Foster to Oscar and his new wife, she doesn’t miss out on the snide comment about not being able to pick up a grandchild soon. She is unknowingly hilarious. But this also means that the conversations about money between sisters are still very uncomfortable, and despite her support of Ada recently, Agnes is still trying to call the shots, now that she’s Vice President of the Heritage Society, and the President of the United States is visiting their home. Agnes is already agitated that she doesn’t have the money to fund her special Presidential visit, but to make matters worse, Ada learns from Peggy how President Cleveland hasn’t done anything about the violence faced by Black folk down South. Ada may not know enough about these things, but she wants to read and understand. When she does read Peggy’s paper about it, she decides she’s done paying for Agnes’ special dinner and walks away, with Agnes being a ungrateful brat yet again.

To top that off though, Mrs. Armstrong finally tells Agnes that her daughter-in-law used to be Mrs. Russels’ old maid. This shocking news sends Agnes into a frenzy, because being divorced from an ex-maid is far worse than being married to one. However, when she asks Enid about her being a maid, Enid doesn’t deny the truth. She accepts it, but offers something far better than Agnes could’ve ever imagined, an offer to help with the Presidential visit. Enid may seem cunning to a lot, but her desperation to make it in society also comes from the need to want to be liked by the women she aspires to be around. Who better than Agnes, eh? The lavender alliance is the only one in the Van Rhijin household.

What Happens Between Marian And Larry?

Oscar and Enid invite Marian to a “real” party downtown, and Enid insists she go. Marian doesn’t hesitate, because it honestly sounds super fun, but she’s surprised to see Larry there, though not as much as he is, considering their whole breakup happened because of an establishment like this one. I don’t think the guy has picked up on the fact that the reason she was mad was because he lied to her. Anyway, they end up dancing together, just as the married couple do too, and everything seems to be wonderful for the time being. She really does have a blast, twirling around and feeling free. When they head out though, it’s raining a storm and Larry offers to drop Marian home. She obviously wouldn’t get a cab in this situation. But the storm gets worse and the cart loses a wheel, leaving the duo stranded. Larry’s coachman tells him that there’s a hotel nearby where they can wait out the storm.

Obviously, they get separate rooms, and Larry gives Marian the bigger one, how generous of him. However, he does show up at her door in the middle of the night when she’s underdressed and covering herself up with a towel. Still, she invites Larry in because she’s courteous or something. Larry tells her he was worried, but clearly has googly eyes for her. It doesn’t take long before they start kissing, and the next day, he’s still in her room. Now, Marian’s biggest enemy so far has been scandal, and spending a night with a man in a hotel, unsupervised, is the worst situation a single woman could get herself into. To make matters worse, she’s certain that she’s made the biggest mistake of her life and regrets it terribly. So much so that she basically wakes Larry up and then runs away because he doesn’t realize the urgency of her words and doesn’t leave her room himself.

Marian returns home completely shaken, and feeling like she’s tarnished herself. She can’t even tell her aunts Agnes or Ada about any of this, and lies that she took a cab back. But, when Peggy arrives, excitedly telling them that her book has been published, Marian isn’t happy. In fact, it’s too obvious on her face that she needs to tell her something, and Peggy catches on easily. All Marian tells Peggy is that Larry and she kissed inappropriately. She doesn’t give her any details, but it’s only too clear that the duo slept with each other, and Marian is fully aware that she has ruined her life. But Peggy tells her that she has done nothing wrong, and that she has kissed before, so it’s totally fine. I’m not sure if Peggy understands the gravity of this situation, but as a good friend does, she tries to calm Marian down. Now, while Larry is busy being back at work and lying to his dad that he got changed in the club, the expression on his face when Marian left the room did make it seem like he still wants her back, and doesn’t think they’ve made a mistake. But duh, he is a man, so of course that is how he will think.

What Happens To Gladys?

But, on the other side of the world (well, not exactly the other side, but you know what I mean), a choice must be made. Terrible news, that Gladys’ baby isn’t going to make it out properly, and Hector has to choose whether to save the baby or Gladys. Hector’s sister, Sarah, is obviously of the mindset that her “nephew” should be saved, but fortunately, Hector decides to do the right thing for once and tell the doctor to try to save them both, but also prioritize Gladys if that isn’t possible. I bet Bertha is fully regretting her choices now. Especially considering she’s married just in name now (George doesn’t seem to want to come back). Just across the street from the house celebrating a wedding, George’s train business is a full-blown wreck. The guy has no money coming in from anywhere, but at least he might be closer to finding the person who tried to assassinate him. Gladys finally gives birth to a healthy baby boy, but it is now apparent that she cannot have any more children, because she hemorrhages and the doctor has to give her a hysterectomy in order to keep her alive. More importantly, he leaves the choice of telling her now or later up to Hector. But as expected, Bertha can’t help her meddling hands, and tells him he’s better off holding onto the news for a bit. Obviously, Sarah cannot find out, because she will simply ruin Gladys’ life, but hey, at least she’s “produced” her “male heir” already. Before she heads out after realizing that her brother is a natural with babies, Bertha tells Sarah that she will never know what it feels like to watch her child hold onto life. She’s taking a dig at her singleness I suppose, but it seems to work on the lady, who leaves in a huff.

When Gladys is well, she hears the 21 bells they ring because a baby boy has been born. She asks if it’s just for the first baby, because he’s the Marquess of Sidmouth, or if they ring them for each baby. Hector hesitates only too little before taking Bertha’s advice and not telling Gladys that there won’t be any more for them. He tells her they ring them for each. On the other hand, to make sure that Gladys is kinda happy despite the terrible match she brought her (well, sure, it’s not terrible now, but you know what I mean), Bertha also tells her that when it came down to it, Hector chose her over saving the baby, which makes Gladys smile.

What’s Happening With Peggy?

Oscar’s wedding isn’t the only one we’ll be celebrating this season. Peggy’s wedding is being prepared for by Mrs. Kirkland very intensely. She also wants to invite Peggy and her mum to join her ladies’ group, but the ladies do seem very hesitant about it. The talk of seating charts, fancy dresses, and veils all makes Peggy and her mum want to run away, which they do. Now, it looks like Peggy is skeptical about children, but William wants them immediately, and his mother is likely even more eager. On the other hand, Peggy is more eager about the book she’s just published, and gives a copy to her mum in front of Mrs. Kirkland. It is only too obvious to me that Mrs. Kirkland will stop Peggy from doing the things she’s been doing right now after the wedding. She has been trying to get her to join everything that she wants her to do, and follow in Mrs. Kirkland’s own footsteps.

Does George Know Who Tried To Kill Him?

Don’t worry, I didn’t forget about Jack Trotter. The new inventor is still struggling to find his place in society, as he’s going around introducing his new invention to businessmen without Larry. Larry’s too busy doing his dad’s bidding, and also visiting parties from time to time (I just kid, or do I?). Trotter realizes he’s not cut out for this kind of life, but Bannister and Mrs. Bauer teach Jack the proper etiquette to follow as a rich man. He’s also told to lie even if he doesn’t know about something, using the small talk that is ambiguous.

At the end of episode 1, George is shown a sketch of a man who they think shot him. He believes it’s the guy, but there is an image of a woman with him too, who George claims to recognize, but he’s not sure how. The episode closes on the lady inviting the boy home after he’s come from somewhere in secret. They seem to be mother and son, but they also seem to be some people from George’s past. Not someone who is doing this for the business. 

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