Season 2 of the Gilded Age has come to an end, and what an ending it was. I actually think a lot of the predictions that I made actually proved to be correct, which is something that is good.
If season 3 does get commissioned, it’s going to be interesting to see how that power balance switches over and if Agnes is able to handle it. I imagine she will because she’s got no other option, but it will be interesting to see how the relationship changes.
With the results of the opera war, Van Rijhn’s cunning plan, the dismantling of the love triangle that Marion was in, and Oscar losing the family fortune all getting a main focus, there’s so much to get our teeth into with this last episode. So let’s do a Gilded Age Season 2 Ending Explained and Breakdown all the important things from the final episode.
Gilded Age Season 2 Episode 8 Explained
This Gilded Age Season 2 Episode 8 opened up with a continuation from the end of last week’s episode. We saw that Mister Harcourt was around Van Rijn’s property and was discussing options with them over what they could do with what little money they had left.
While not all of the money was gone, a small amount remained. This meant that after Agnes had sold the house, along with the small pot that she had, she should be able to move into somewhere a little less glamorous and more modest. But at least she’d still have some finances available and be able to live a life.
This sparked the entire narrative for the Van Rihjns in this episode because it didn’t only impact them, but it also impacted their workers. They had to find somewhere new to work in order to be able to make a living.
This brought to light the hostility that was present amongst the family, but more so, Ada to Oscar for the fact that he was responsible for losing it all. But the main mood and feeling was a steady panic. A panic that wasn’t at the forefront and taking over was apparent for the rest of the public to see.
Agnes was aware of the fact that her lifestyle would need to change following her move and that, whilst being a socialite, her friends would stand by her for a short period of time. But then, in order for them not to tarnish their image, they’d most likely start to steer clear of her. So, she was fully aware that it would quite literally impact every corner of her life: the financial side, the personal side, and the social side.
During this episode, within the first third, we heard that Ada had lots of paperwork that she had to go through, which was all to do with Reverend Forte’s death, and it was within this pile that we saw that the answers to all of their problems would lie.
When this was mentioned in the early part of the episode, I had a feeling that it would come back. It felt too deliberately said, which isn’t a bad thing, but I thought it would contain some of the answers, and there might have been a glimmer of hope within it.
Ending Explained
At the end of the episode, we saw that Ada sat down with Agnes and Marian and revealed that Reverend Forte had a company that was in his name that he inherited and kept up and running because people relied on it. However, when he began working for the church, he gave up all ties to the money that he once had. So, upon his death, it meant that Ada was set to inherit it all.
This resulted in the Van Rhijn not needing to sell the house and for their life to not change. Because Ada would be able to utilize what she inherited to keep them there, this was something that was met with extreme happiness.
And with Agnes telling Bannister to inform everybody downstairs, he went to do that. But then he asked Ada if that was what she wanted. This is because she is the rich person in the family and the person that they’ll most likely be taking orders from.
So the switch in power balance that we predicted is definitely going to be caring. For the first time in the sisters’ lives, the shoe is truly on the other foot, and Ada is the more powerful person because of the money that she now holds.
Marian’s Love Triangle
It actually happened. Larian is now a thing, and everybody who wanted them to be together was finally able to see that kiss happen, and they expressed their true feelings for one another.
During this episode, we see that Marian is still uncertain about whether she wants to marry Dashiell, and it is almost plaguing her mind. However, the final thing that caused her to want to say something to him was when Dashiell said, “Harriet’s wedding.”
When he mentioned offering to pay for their wedding, he misspoke and said his late wife’s name instead of Marian’s. This was something that was noticed by everybody else other than him. And it made her realize that she was filling a void in his life rather than acting on true love.
He did care for Marian, but it wasn’t in the way that she wanted to be cared for, as the feelings weren’t reciprocated. Plus, he wanted her to stay at home and not work. We know that Marian had ambitions, and she didn’t want that to be the way that she lived.
So that was what ultimately made her call the wedding off with Dashiell. And to be fair, he took it better than I thought he would. Considering the subtleties that the character had throughout this season, I thought he might have been a bit horrible upon hearing it, but he wasn’t, which was good.
What was nice about this was that Agnes didn’t kick up a fuss about her not marrying Dashiell, one of the things that Marian feared. And Ada also recognized that Marian didn’t want to be with them, so she was met with only support, which was good.
This opened up the possibility for Larry to enter the picture. Throughout the entirety of the show, we’ve seen them being extremely good friends with one another and Larry being there for her in her darkest moments, and this was the case here as well.
Larry invited Marian to go to the opening night of the Met with him and to accompany him in Russell’s box, and that is exactly what we saw happen. It was following them leaving the Med that he walked her home, and on the doorstep where we saw most of their encounters in Season 2, Larry went in and kissed Marian.
This was something that Marian wanted as they both smiled at each other afterward, an act that we saw Marian never doing with Dashiell. So it’s something that definitely opens up the option for their relationship to blossom and develop in the next season of the show.
I always thought that Bertha might not be too accepting of Marian, considering how particular she was when getting involved with Larry and Miss Blaine. But in this case, she didn’t say a word about Marian accompanying Larry to the Opera House. So that also shows us that the family’s approval could be there.
The Battle Of The Opera Houses
What I thought this episode showed us was how much people can change based on what’s popular. We saw this being exhibited the most when it came to Mrs. Fish, and one can only imagine that that is probably what it was like at the time.
The main factor that the result of the opera war was dependent on was which one the Duke was supposed to be attending. Certain papers said that he was going to be attending the Academy, and certain other ones said that he’d be attending the Met.
Mrs. Astor offered the Duke a large sum of money in order to attend the Academy, and it was revealed to us that the Duke couldn’t turn down the offer because he was in some financial trouble and people relied on him. So, he originally planned on going there.
However, Bertha had her eyes set on other ways of trying to secure the Duke’s attendance, especially after George said that she couldn’t give up more of their money due to already investing a lot in the mad.
During the concluding moments, we saw that the metropolitan was absolutely packed, and the Academy was empty, something which was symbolic of the fact that, in reality, the Met went on to be a huge success, and the Academy faded away and wasn’t the center point of society like it once was.
The Duke ended up arriving at the metropolitan, and they saw that he was sitting down next to Gladys. Little did she know, or anybody else in their family, that Bertha offered up her own daughter in order to secure the Duke’s attendance. She may not have offered him money, but she offered him a way into their family, which, over time, is significantly more money than he would have ever had by taking up Mrs Astor’s offer.
