After the first season of 鈥淭he Gilded Age,鈥 director Michael Engler pulled Cynthia Nixon aside and told her she was going to be married in the second season.
鈥淎nd then we鈥檙e going to kill him,鈥 Engler told the actress. 鈥淎nd then he鈥檚 going to turn out to have been very wealthy and you鈥檙e going to save the day and be mistress of the house.鈥
Surprised? Yes, she was.
There's a power shift between the Brooks sisters 鈥 played by Cynthia Nixon, left, and Christine Baranski 鈥斅爄n the third season of "The Gilded Age."聽
鈥淚 just thought I had this nice part,鈥 Nixon recalls. 鈥淚 knew who she was and then, wow, we were off to the races.鈥
Now, in the third season, more relationships get upended, and the Brooks sisters (Nixon鈥檚 Ada and Christine Baranski鈥檚 Agnes) experience a power shift. When it鈥檚 all put into play, Baranski says, 鈥渋t鈥檚 yummy.鈥
鈥淚t鈥檚 not good news for Agnes but it鈥檚 great news for Christine,鈥 she adds. 鈥淲hen royalty falls off the throne, it makes for a good story鈥nd it makes for delicious comic moments.鈥 As the one who used to rule the roost, Agnes now has to watch what she says and does.
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Ada, meanwhile, has to 鈥渕ature into this great responsibility and power and freedom.鈥
鈥淚鈥檓 just observing the entire time, thinking, 鈥楾hat鈥檚 not how you do it,鈥欌 Baranski says.
At the peak of her powers, Berthe, played by Carrie Coon, discovers a fault in relationships in the third season of "The Gilded Age."聽
Marital differences
That 鈥済rowth鈥 is reflected elsewhere in the third season. The new money Russells, for example, differ on what鈥檚 most important. Bertha Russell, played by Carrie Coon, has her sights set ruling society while her husband, played by Morgan Spector, could lose everything by toying with the railroad industry.
鈥淚鈥檓 always rather fascinated by people who pretend that the loss of money, the loss of position, doesn鈥檛 affect them at all, that everything can just go on as it did before,鈥 says Julian Fellowes, the series鈥 creator. 鈥淥f course, it can鈥檛. Even today we know that.鈥
But sisters Ada and Agnes, the Russells and their children, and the friends and competitors go through a world of growing pains.
鈥淚 personally find it hard to let go of the marital harmony (the Russells) have had for two seasons,鈥 Spector says. 鈥淏ut the rift that develops between them is not a minor one and it鈥檚 a very sort of structural disagreement. They鈥檙e pulling with all the might of their separate identities in separate directions.鈥
鈥淕eorge can鈥檛 really understand the stakes for a woman,鈥 Coon adds. 鈥淗e doesn鈥檛 understand our instinct for survival which is, in this case, through marriage. Bertha really believes what she鈥檚 doing is an existential question. She wants her daughter to be safe; she wants her to be fulfilled and have a sense of purpose. She鈥檚 hungry for her daughter to have a kind of power she didn鈥檛 have. She feels, ultimately, she was right, so what鈥檚 the big problem? There鈥檚 a lack of psychological understanding between them that鈥檚 fundamental and quite sad.鈥
New goals divide the Russells in the third season of "The Gilded Age." Morgan Spector plays George Russell.聽
Another generation
Daughter Gladys 鈥 who could marry an English aristocrat 鈥 has little say in the maneuverings.
鈥淕ladys is pretty used to being a pawn that Bertha loves to move around,鈥 says Taissa Farmiga, who plays the role. 鈥淲hat鈥檚 beautiful about this season is, yes, there鈥檚 the big decision. But at the end of the season, Gladys finally catches a glimpse of, 鈥楤ertha was right.鈥 And that thing that Gladys wanted most is freedom. Status gives you power鈥nd you have the power to choose what you want to do.鈥
Because the third season of 鈥淭he Gilded Age鈥 opens so many discussions, the actors hope there will be a fourth season to see them through, particularly since the next generation has different aspirations than their parents.
鈥淥ne of the key moments of growing up, for all of us, is when you realize you don鈥檛 have to follow your parents鈥 prejudices,鈥 Fellowes says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not (being) disloyal, it鈥檚 just an acceptance that you are a different person from your parents.鈥
"The Gilded Age" airs on HBO.聽
