HBO Max’s “The Gilded Age” kicked off its fourth season Saturday with the episode “Ring the Bells,” picking up a few months after last season’s finale left several major storylines unresolved.
The episode opens in England, where Gladys Russell (Taissa Farmiga), now Duchess of Buckingham, goes into a dangerous breech labor. Her mother, Bertha Russell (Carrie Coon), along with her husband Hector, the Duke of Buckingham (Ben Lamb), and his sister Sarah (Hattie Morahan), are asked by the attending doctor whose life should be prioritized if it comes down to a choice. Sarah tells the doctor to save the child “at all costs,” saying a boy would be “the future of us all.” Hector tells the doctor to try to save both, and to prioritize Gladys if he cannot.
Gladys survives and delivers a son, Hector Jr., Marquis of Sidmouth. But she hemorrhages during delivery, and the doctor removes her uterus without telling her. He informs Hector and Bertha that Gladys will not be able to have more children, telling them, “That is for you to tell her,” before leaving.
Back in New York, the episode shows the wedding of Oscar van Rhijn (Blake Ritson) and Enid Winterton (Kelley Curran), intercut with the birth scene overseas. Oscar’s mother, Agnes van Rhijn (Christine Baranski), is now vice president of the Heritage Society, and the episode reveals that President Grover Cleveland will soon visit her and Ada Forte’s (Cynthia Nixon) home. Ada, now the wealthier of the two, is funding the preparations but grows reluctant after Peggy Scott (Denée Benton) tells her that Cleveland had ties to the Confederacy rather than to abolition.
Agnes, meanwhile, learns from her ladies maid Armstrong (Debra Monk) that her new daughter-in-law Enid previously worked as a maid for Bertha Russell. When confronted, Enid confirms it, telling Agnes that she and Oscar “have both entered this marriage with open eyes.” Enid then offers to help fund the presidential visit, smoothing things over with Agnes.
On their wedding night, Enid proposes that she and Oscar build their social standing by hosting artist salons, distinct from the more traditional gatherings held by Caroline Astor. Oscar agrees. When Enid hints at consummating the marriage, Oscar says, “I thought we understood each other?” Enid replies, “Perfectly.”
Peggy Scott’s engagement to Dr. William Kirkland (Jordan Donica) continues, though his mother, Elizabeth (Phylicia Rashad), while outwardly generous — buying dresses and gifting a lace veil — looks down on the Scott family’s background and shows little enthusiasm for the publication of Peggy’s book.
Elsewhere, Marian Brook reconnects with Larry Russell at Webster Hall after Oscar and Enid’s wedding reception. The two had broken off their engagement after Larry was seen at a disreputable establishment downtown. A storm strands them together overnight at a hotel after their carriage breaks down. The next morning, Marian tells Larry, “I am ashamed. And probably ruined,” before leaving.
Separately, George Russell (Morgan Spector), still recovering from an assassination attempt at the end of last season, is shown strained by business pressure from John D. Rockefeller, who is trying to push down the oil transport rates Standard Oil pays George’s railroad company. Both men share a common opponent in President Cleveland, who favors regulation and opposes monopolies. George has also hired the Pinkerton detective agency to track down his would-be assassin, who the agency has traced to a man living in the tenements with a woman — both of whom appear familiar to George, though their identities are not yet revealed.
