‘The Gilded Age’ Is the Most Exciting Show on TV

This article contains spoilers for The Gilded Age season three.

Violence is not unusual for HBO. After all, this is the network that gave us The Sopranos and The Wire and Game of Thrones. Even The White Lotus had shots fired—though they did come from Jennifer Coolidge aiming blindly while on a boat.

But it is unusual for it to feature on The Gilded Age, a show where the most intense action is typically Carrie Coon saying something mean.

Since it debuted in 2022, The Gilded Age has been considered the most mild-mannered HBO program in years. It was meant to be the network’s answer to Downton Abbey, also created by Julian Fellowes. There would be fancy houses and lavish costumes and an upstairs, downstairs dynamic, but most everyone on The Gilded Age would be American. Instead of recognizable British character actors, the cast would be filled with anyone who has ever been invited to the Tony Awards. (Seriously, the number of Broadway stars is so staggering that The Broadway Beat, basically The Onion for theater, recently posted a satirical article titled “Little Girl Dreams of Broadway Stardom So That She Can One Day Be Cast in a Small Role on HBO’s The Gilded Age.”)

However, in the penultimate episode of season three, something truly shocking happens. An unnamed messenger pulls a gun on railroad tycoon George Russell (Morgan Spector). The bullet blasts out in slow motion. The screen cuts to black after we see George’s stunned face looking down the barrel.

It’s a major turning point in the tenor of the show, and a moment that officially hammers home a sentiment that’s long been growing for viewers of this stately period piece: The Gilded Age is thrilling, must-watch television.

The Gilded Age has always had its loyal fans, but in season three, it’s gone from being the “great gowns, beautiful gowns” of shows to the pinnacle of present day prestige television, with viewership highs to boot. The Gilded Age has, from the start, boasted some of the best actors on television, from Coon and Spector to Audra McDonald and Christine Baranski. Now these performers have had time to sink into their characters with richer material that’s energetically paced. “I think it harkens back to when shows were given an opportunity to find their audience and we were given that opportunity,” says executive producer Salli Richardson-Whitfield, who has also directed several episodes, including this most recent one.

The success comes, in part, from significantly upping the stakes. Suddenly, we went from opera wars and clock invention and dinner party faux pas to life-or-death territory. The first sign of this came in episode six of season three, when John Adams (Claybourne Elder), the former lover of Oscar van Rhijn (Blake Ritson), was unceremoniously mowed down by a carriage after stepping off a curb.

Still, leaving a main character such as George’s life in the balance adds even more tension to the series going into the finale, which airs this Sunday night. After all, George is—as the internet has affectionately deemed him—“Railroad Daddy,” a ruthless robber baron who is ultimately one of history’s villains but also is a good father to his daughter Gladys (Taissa Farmiga) and fan favorite. He is the one person willing to both support and stand up to the machinations of his wife Bertha (Coon), who wants to stake her place at the top of society above all else.