(Warning: Spoilers ahead.)
In The Gilded Age, if there is intimacy beyond tentatively touching, it is safe to assume the couple is married, or one of them is Larry Russell (Harry Richardson). There is no one hornier in the 1880s setting than the son of Bertha (Carrie Coon) and George Russell (Morgan Spector), who is keeping the physical fires burning in the HBO historical drama.
The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree because, while the Russells have separate bedchambers, they have previously shown they only have eyes for each other. George didn’t fall for the naked antics of lady’s maid-turned-lady Turner (Kelley Curran), and there is still heat between the married couple, even if Bertha’s current project to marry off their daughter to a duke could be a future libido killer.
It is still early in Season 3, but The Gilded Age is tipping toward too chaste. I don’t need the Julian Fellowes series to go full Bridgerton bodice ripping or dive into Game of Thrones sexposition territory. However, when the only time we spend in the Russells’ bedrooms is to hash out who daughter Gladys (Taissa Farmiga) will marry, it has swung too far in the other direction.
The Turner incident in Season 1 drove a brief wedge between the couple. Not because someone on staff tried to f— her husband, or that Bertha didn’t believe that Railroad Daddy would turn down an attractive naked woman in his bed. Nope, Bertha’s anger was caused by George keeping this incident from her. Sure enough, Bertha is now withholding information from her husband about promises she has made to Hector, Duke of Buckingham (Ben Lamb). For anyone hoping to see this pair go from arguments to make-up sex, we might be waiting some time.
The crackling intensity in the Russell marriage comes from how they both get off on the other’s ambition, which is entering a new oppositional phase. George never plays the emasculated card—adding another reason why this pairing is so appealing—but they have never been on different sides of the negotiating table before.
Last year in an interview with IndieWire, Coon observed that the audience roots for the Russells because they are “chaos agents” who drive change. She also pointed out that “they have a very sexy marriage,” and those fires are burning earlier in this week’s episode when Bertha silences her husband with a passionate kiss hello. When Bertha distracts this, George doesn’t have time to debate the merits of letting Gladys marry for love.
Moments like this are far and few between, with Larry taking the initiative to find some alone time with his secret beau, Marian (Lousia Jacobson). He spots a vacant horse and carriage and pulls her into it for a brief but intense kiss. Larry is as revved up as his hair is curly (damn, those are good curls) and while this romance is on the vanilla side, it injects some much needed heat into the season.
Larry is not the quiet, shy type like the man his sister wants to wed. After Larry’s affair with wealthy widow Mrs. Susan Blane (Laura Benanti) cemented his top shagger status in the gossip rags last season, Bertha put an end to this dalliance by threatening her son’s older lover. Bertha employs this intimidation tactic again with her daughter’s love life, though Billy Carlton (Matt Walker) is no playboy like Larry.
Bertha talks about Billy Carlton as if he is trying to ruin Gladys, but there is nothing dangerous or daring about this sweet, nervous gentleman. Gladys has finally shown her fiery Russell side (she is her mother’s daughter), so she deserves someone who will steal her away at every single opportunity. Billy is not that. I fear the duke also lacks this spark.
While the Russells are undoubtedly The Gilded Age’s horniest family, they are not the only ones following their hearts. Again, this is not Bridgerton, so don’t expect characters tearing off each other’s many layers while an orchestral version of Pitbull’s “Give Me Everything” plays. Instead, we get jaw-dropping divorce requests and gay exes making overtures at each other through the gift of a financial investment.
The latter occurs when Oscar van Rhijn (Blake Ritson) and ex-lover John Adams (Claybourne Elder) run into each other at a charity benefit. Oscar is a little sheepish as he has been avoiding John since Oscar was duped out of all his money by a con-woman posing as a wealthy heiress. It is a playful and flirty conversation as Oscar describes the hell of his own making. John is sympathetic and will invest with Oscar to escape his financial slump.
A spark ignites as John places a tender, lingering hand on Oscar’s shoulder, emphasizing intimacy in the public space. It is a small moment that won’t register to anyone else at this high society gathering. Still, it speaks to how some gestures have to be restrained and fleeting due to the lack of freedom for LGBTQ+ people in this era to be themselves.
Elsewhere, Peggy (Denée Benton) meets a hot, eligible doctor in a nightmare scenario: her sick bed. By the time Peggy perks up, she looks embarrassed to be seen by Dr. William Kirkland (Jordan Donica) in her nightdress, though not enough that she doesn’t ask some getting-to-know-you questions. The connection is immediate. Not only is Dr. Kirkland a smokeshow with a great job, but he also wants to read Peggy’s work. If she wasn’t already into him, she sure is now. Peggy has been unlucky in love more than once; hopefully, the doctor isn’t too good to be true.
The staff in both houses also have some underlying tension bubbling away, but no one is sneaking off for a quickie in the Van Rhijn-Forte or Russell residences. The furtive looks or unspoken yearning dominate, with no one quite crossing the line of hooking up with a co-worker.
The Gilded Age has gotten better and better with each passing season, and the third kicks off with a confident bang—if only there were more of that in the bedroom.
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