The Gilded Age season 3 has concluded with a dramatic cliffhanger that leaves Bertha Russell's future uncertain. The finale, titled 'My Mind Is Made Up', suggests divorce could be on the cards for the new money couple, as George Russell walks out on his wife.
Creator Julian Fellowes explained that George's unhappiness stems from Bertha manipulating him into agreeing to their daughter Gladys's arranged marriage to the Duke of Buckingham. 'He feels that she made him act against his instincts and he did it. That's what he can't forgive,' Fellowes told Deadline.
While Bertha is pragmatic about the match, seeing Gladys and the Duke as happy, George views it as a deeper betrayal. The near-fatal shooting George suffered in the penultimate episode has also made him 'look at his life more searchingly', according to Fellowes.
Actress Carrie Coon, who plays Bertha, described her character as 'relentless' and unlikely to let George go without a fight. However, Coon acknowledged Bertha is 'smart enough' to anticipate the possibility of divorce, which in that era carried the risk of being ousted from high society.
Coon noted that Bertha's outreach to fellow socialite Aurora Fane, who is also threatened with divorce, is partly motivated by self-interest. 'It is about the future,' Coon explained, adding that Bertha 'manages to talk herself into a new value, a new crusade.'
The Gilded Age has been renewed for a fourth season, with the show's audience continuing to grow year-on-year.
