{"id":49004,"date":"2022-02-01T16:46:15","date_gmt":"2022-02-01T16:46:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/?post_type=articles&p=49004"},"modified":"2022-02-08T14:16:56","modified_gmt":"2022-02-08T14:16:56","slug":"the-gilded-age-episode-2-hbo","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/the-gilded-age-episode-2-hbo\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018The Gilded Age\u2019 Introduces Another Man for Marian!"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Louisa
Louisa Jacobson in The Gilded Age<\/i> (Photo: Alison Cohen Rosa\/HBO)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Well. I can\u2019t say that the second episode of The Gilded Age<\/em><\/a> featured much romance. Actually, I\u2019m beginning to worry that HBO\u2019s American Downton Abbey<\/em><\/a> is going to be decidedly un<\/em>libidinal. Like, the anti-Bridgerton<\/em><\/a>. Which I guess shouldn\u2019t be surprising given how buttoned up creator Julian Fellowes\u2019s stories generally are. I mean, did anyone <\/em>ever have sex on Downton<\/em>?<\/p>\n

Still, we did get the beginnings of what will certainly be a significant relationship. Let\u2019s talk about the couples we\u2019re shipping this week:<\/p>\n

\"Thomas
Thomas Cocquerel and Louisa Jacobson in The Gilded Age<\/i> (Photo: Alison Cohen Rosa\/HBO)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Marian and Tom<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ok, I\u2019m kinda<\/em> warming to Marian (Louisa Jacobson). I mean, she\u2019s still kind of a bland blonde drag, but she may be starting to exhibit some actual personality. I guess we\u2019re meant to believe there\u2019s an assertive, sensible young woman beneath the babe-in-the-woods, spooked country mouse act. She\u2019s also managed to charm not one but two<\/em> young men. There\u2019s Larry (Harry Richardson) the wealthy scion from across the street, but already stultifyingly bored by him, particularly when paired with Marian. And anyway, he\u2019s barely in this one.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, maybe we should all get on board with Marian and Tom (Thomas Cocquerel). You may remember Tom as that lawyer who told Marian that she was suddenly poor now in Episode 1. Well, he\u2019s in New York now for reasons, and he\u2019s super<\/em> upfront about being into Marian. He digs her and she\u2019s all blushes and battings of eye lashes. Unfortunately, he\u2019s no more suitable as a husband for our dear Marian than Larry in the eyes of Aunt Agnes (Christine Baranski), because of how poor he is. So, what we have developing here is probably what is going to be the show\u2019s anemic central love triangle, Larry and Marian and Tom, with all kinds of tension arising from Marian\u2019s obvious attraction to both these charmingly milquetoast men despite all of the social obstacles to a union with either.<\/p>\n

I guess at this early stage I\u2019m only rooting for Marian and Tom because I think this show would be more interesting if Prince Larry\u2019s romantic entanglements were directed elsewhere. Specifically toward Agnes\u2019s son Oscar (Blake Ritson).<\/p>\n

\"Blake
Blake Ritson in The Gilded Age<\/i> (Photo: Alison Cohen Rosa\/HBO)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Marian and Oscar<\/strong><\/p>\n

Speaking of whom\u2026 So, no, I\u2019m not, like Ada (Cynthia Nixon<\/a>), suggesting that Oscar get busy with his first cousin. But I do think that there\u2019s something fun happening in these first two episodes whenever he and Marian are in the same room, bemusedly listening to Agnes go on and on about Olde and New New York. Jacobson and Ritson have chemistry, and I like the idea of Oscar bringing out Marian more knowing, confident side with his wit and audacity. More of these two, please!<\/p>\n

Not Oscar and Gladys<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ugh, this<\/em> though! Throughout Episode 2, Oscar is unctuously sniffing around, angling for a formal introduction to The Russells\u2019 virginal youngest daughter, Gladys (Taissa Farmiga). The implication is that he\u2019s looking to bag himself a na\u00efve, wealthy beard who won\u2019t have the sense God gave a cocker spaniel to notice that he\u2019s also got a dreamy, himbo side piece (Claybourne Elder). I do not<\/em> like where this is going. The whole storyline smacks of exploitation and tired stereotypes, and risks rehashing Barron Fellowes\u2019s regrettable thing for creating bitter villains out of his long-suffering gay characters.<\/p>\n

\"Morgan
Morgan Spector and Kelley Curran in The Gilded Age<\/i> (Photo: Alison Cohen Rosa\/HBO)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Not Turner and George<\/strong><\/p>\n

Speaking of well-worn tropes, we\u2019ve got another conniving lady\u2019s maid in Turner (Kelley Curran). So far, her storyline seems to be that she has designs on her mistress\u2019s husband, robber baron George Russell (Morgan Spector). Yawn<\/em>. Honestly, I\u2019m only slightly more interested in this than I am in George\u2019s scheme to build a railway station in the middle of New York.<\/p>\n

\u201cThink of it, a central <\/em>railway station, right here in the city. Wouldn\u2019t that be\u2026grand!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes. A\u2026grand central station<\/em>\u2026\u201d (I have no clue when Grand Central Station was built and refuse to compromise this joke by googling it.)<\/p>\n

\"Dona
Dona Murphy in The Gilded Age<\/i> (Photo: Alison Cohen Rosa\/HBO)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Bertha and Mrs. Astor maybe? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Having been rejected by every Olde New York harpy in town, Bertha (Carrie Coon) seemed poised to burn the city to the ground, vowing revenge when no one came to her party and then flipping her breakfast tray when the old guard turned their noses up at her offer to host their charity bazaar in her ballroom. Luckily, her husband George is obscenely rich, so he bought the whole bazaar, which seems to have piqued the interest of grande dame Mrs. Astor (Donna Murphy). Maybe the two of them are about to team up? Or maybe they\u2019ll go to war like Serena and Blair on OG Gossip Girl<\/em><\/a>\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29097,"featured_media":49005,"template":"","format":"standard","categories":[38,16,3925],"yoast_head":"\n\u2018The Gilded Age\u2019 Introduces Another Man for Marian<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In Episode 2 of The Gilded Age, HBO\u2019s American Downton Abbey, we got the beginnings of what will certainly be a significant relationship.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/the-gilded-age-episode-2-hbo\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018The Gilded Age\u2019 Introduces Another Man for Marian!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In Episode 2 of The Gilded 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