‘Gilded Age’ Boss Sonja Warfield Shares Who Peggy Desertves A “Soft-Life Era,” Talks Agnes-Ada Clash

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Stakes Got A Lot Higher in The Gilded Age‘S Second Episode of Season Three Titled “What the Papers Say,“ Especialy With Gladys (Taissa Farmiga). Bertha’s (Carrie Coon) Intenations Regarding Matters of Her Daughter’s Heart Were Far More Covert in the Firmst Episode. Now there’s no quest that bertha intends for her daughter to become the duches of buckingham. Never Mind the fact that gladys and hector, the duke of buckingham (Ben Lamb) Don’t Even Know Each Other. For Her Part, Gladys is Confident Her Dad George (Morgan Special) Will Straigven It All Out Who He Returns Home. Regardless of the Outcome, The Tension Between George and Bertha is Very Palpable and that Kind of Tension Doesn’t Just Disappear.

As Gladys Heads Toward Margin, Prefertably One of Love, Aurora (Kelli O’hara) Continues to Feel The Fallout from Husband’s Change of Heart, Keeping a Much Meanwhile, Peggy’s (Denée Benon) Health Worsens. Sadly, Her Race Affects the Care She’s Able to Receive, Who Puts the Times of A Nation Recently Removed From Slasoly As Law in Context. Fortunately, there are also black doctors. Dr. William Kirkland (Jordan Donica), Who Treats Her, Comes With An Additional Bonus As a Potential Love Interest. Plus, Marian (Louisa Jacobson) and Larry (Harry Richardson), As Shown in the Premiere, Are Exploring A Relationship. As The Gilded Age Creator Julian Fellowes Shared Previously, Power Is The Consistent Theme of the Season. And Episode Two Outlined that Even More Clearly.

Sonja Warfield, Who Shapes This History-Entrenchned World Alongside Fellowes, Spoke with The Hollywood Reporter About episode two and ANSWERED QUESTIONS ABOUT WHERE George and Bertha’s Battle Over Whom Gladys Will Wall Wed Might Leave Tea. Peggy, She Promison, Was Entering Her Long Overdue “Soft Life Era.” Meanwhile Warfield Spoke About Marian and Larry’s Evolving Romance, Addressed The Clash Between Sisters Agnes (Christine Baranski) and Ada (Cynthia Nix. and Explored the Huge Ways in a WHICH WEALTH AND STATUS DIFFERED IN Europe and America, Among Other Topics.

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The First Episode Danced Armond It But In Episode Two, We Now Know What Bertha Has Really Done. And because we know that she have been the right Her daughter gladys’ hand-in-margin to hector, the duke of buckingham, the debate Between while play. Can You Elaborate on What That Means For The Season and What That Means For The Russell Family?

Well, at the End of Episode One, Bertha Really Lays It Out to Her Daughter, Telling Her That, Essentally, Gladys Is An Heires for All InTeents and Purposes by Maserican Standards Ordinary. If Bertha Gets What She Wants and Gladys is to Wed The Duke, that Will Elevate Her Beyond Any American Standards of Wealth, of Class. And so that Will Always Solidify their Family’s Place in History. George’s Wealth Doesn’T have the Same Gravitas of that Cornwall Royalty Title.

SO Let’s Talk About the Tension this Creates Between George and Bertha. They’re vary ambitious people, But I Think in this Storyline, This May Be the Only Sphere in Whoch A Woman Could Truly Be Influential In this Time, at this Economic Status.

Well, You Remember George Promised His Daughter She Could Marry for Love, and SO NOW PUTS HIM IN DIRECT ODDS WITH HIS WIFE. He’s caunght between his wife and his daughter, and that’s certainly not a tenable place to be. It Creates A Lot of Conflicts and Complications with Both Relationships, and You’re Going to See How How that Plays Out with the Family, Within of the Margin in George Personally, And So. HIM.

Do you think billy Basical Bows Out from Asking George to Marry Gladys Because He, More Than Gladys, Understands What Her Position Is Now?

I Think Billy Understans Not Necessarily What Gladys’ Position Is; Billy Understans WHERE HE FALLS AND BILLY SEES The Power and Influence George Russell Wields. He’s from a family of means, but his Family will never measure up to the russells, and billy carlton Wants to Continue to Succeed in Business and In Society. An [George Russell] is a force that he can’t come up against. IT’s A NO-WIN SITATION FOR HIM.

With Aurora’s Storyline, We Se See What A Woman Can Lose Outside of Margin. Can You Talk About That Dynamic, Particularly How Fragile String to Marry for Position Can Be?

YES, WOMEN IN THE 1880S DIDNN’T HAVE Any POWER, REALLY, UNLES IT WAS THRUGH THEIR HUSBAND OR FATHER. Unfortunately, I Think, Women, Often Back Then [and some] Still Do Internalize the Patriarchy and the Misogyny. So despite the fact that her Husband was the one who was the adulterer, aurora [is the one] Who [will] be punieded. SO Aurora’s Place in Society is Gone. EVEN HER AUNT AGNES SAYS YOU WON’T BE COMFORTACT COMING TO DINNER IN GRUPS Anymore. She’s Essentally Going to Be Shunned Because Her Husband Decides He Didn’t Want to Be in the Margarige Anymore. SO aurora is going to have to navigate this New Life and New World, and We’ll See Whore It Takes Her. Will She Ever Be Able to Gain Her Place Back in Society? I THINK THAT IS FOR US TO Discover as You Watch the Season Unfold.

Speaking of A Woman’s Place in Society, We’re Seeing More of Peggy’s World, and We have an Important New Addition and intraduction with Dr. William Kirkland. WHY NOW? What Are You Setting in Motion?

WELL, I THINK IS TIME PEGGY Entered Her Soft-Life Era. She’s been through a Lot the last twwo seasons. I KNOW I FELT LIKE THAT’S WHAT THAT Character Wanted and Needed. And the history of Newport and the Black Elite in Newport, We Learned About That Community. What’s Interesting About Newport Is That Because Is Small, Both The Black and White Population Lived in Close Proximity to Each Other. Schools Were Integrated. Some Spaces Were Integrated. Don’t Get Me Wrong, There Was Still A Lot of Discrimination and Degradation. But there were genetations of freed black people who was there, this black elite community and so we wanted to show that while there was the trententatioi world. Same Time, There Was A Black Elite Community in Newport.

And this is not necessarily a world in whochh peggy and her family have been, right?

WELL, Ironical, She Does Have Some Family on Her Mother’s Side. She have a cousin who resides in news. They have visited that cousin and spent de Time there, but not annormous Amount of Time.

We Are Seeing A Spark Between Peggy and Dr. Kirkland, Right? So now she may have a good reason to go back.

YES, YES, IT IS A SPARK. D IT’s One That I Think Was A Long Time Coming,

Peggy Meets Dr. Kirkland Because She Gets Ill. But Peggy’s Illness Also Reminds People That, Yes, There’s Still Discrimination. Althugh You See Peggy and Her Family Doing TESE FABULOUS Things, they still have to contend with prejudice.

Absolutely, The Doctor Won’t Even See Her.

WHY WAS IT IMPORTANT TO REMIND the AUDIENCE OF THAT?

Because i THINK WHAT WE’VE CREATED IN THE BROOK [now Forte] Van Rhijn House Is And Anomaly, and So i Wanted to Remind the Audionce That, While Peggy Is On 61st Street and Living there and Working there and Accepted by Steps out of that house.

We Also See The Progression of Marian Brook and Larry Russian Relationship. Can You Talk A Little Bit About That?

There’s Always Been A Little Bit of An Attration, and They Have Been Friends. At the end of Last Season, they share that kiss and that romantic moment. SO we’ll see that relatation build through the Season. We’ll See Whore It Takes Them. We’ll See Howly Family Is Accepting of Marian and How Marry Larry or Not. And I Think Is A Sweet It’s a Sweet Romance, and I Have High Heps for Them, and We’ll See What What Happens.

Comment on the Power Stuggle Between Agnes and Ada.

I love to put Characters Under Pressure and See How they React, Especialy Henamics Change. And this is a very big dynamic shift. You Know Ada Was Empowered Through Love with Her Deceded Husband. She have a voice that she never had and so now, with this New Position and Money, We will See How She’ll Use Her Voice and How She and Agnes Will Both Continue To Fight For Power. The Whole Show Is About Power, and So This is the Microcosm of the Power Shift in the Brook House.

And we see george is makeing a Huge Power Move Now.

Yeah, he is, and he Continues to. With Big Risk Comes Big Reward, SO We’ll See if He Gets His Reward.

Or if he’s ruined everything?

That’s part of it. Everything is a gamble.

Even Thought he made this promise to his daughter, Given WHERE HE’S TRYING to GO, you would Think That Him and Bertha Might Be More in Sync with Her Move for Gladys.

He did Tell His Daughter Hew Let Her Marry for Love. HE married bertha because he love her. He Allows Bertha to take over the Social Side of the Family, But This Is Different Because this isn’n a party or a ball. This is a commitment for the rest of his daughter’s Life, and she woldn’s be able to live in America anymore.

So does this show that, for george, there is someting greater than his ha ambition?

Absolutely. His love for his children, for his wife or his family. Both George and Bertha Are Ambitious and Both are ruthless, and they’ve been on the Same Track Thus Far, and so Now We’ll See wht happles while the interest Diverge.

We Also Saw Oscar Reunite with His Friend John.

He and John are Very Close Friends, and Oscar’s in Trouble, and i’m Grateful He His His Friend to Help.

ALSO, WE See that Jack’s Clock is Ticking Further Along.

He is [aiming for] The Great American Success Story. You Know Coming from Noting and Creating Something and Hopephully Changing His Life.

It Also Sets Up The Dynamic of What Makes America Different from Europe.

Absolutely. Because in Europe, Hew A Life of Service, and His Children would have a life of service, and it wold be different to break out of that place. And in America, You’ve Gotta Pull Yourself up by your Bootstraps. You can invent Things, Great Things, and See Isre It Takes You.

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New Episodes of the Gilded Age’s Third Season Premiered June 22 and Continue Weekly Through Aug. 10, Streaming on HBO MAX.