THE GILDED AGE (2022-) — 2x08: "In Terms of Winning and Losing"

From Carrie Coon's Twitter Account: "Behind the scenes, episode 7. THAT ROOM WAS SO HOT."

THE GILDED AGE (2022- ) | 1.02 "Money Isn't Everything"

timestamp roulette

every time lina astor opens her mouth she says something extremely attractive. exhibit a is of course, dishing out homoerotic threats of destruction at a debutante ball.

(as she should.)

(Almost) Every Costume Per Episode + Caroline Astor’s embellished white gown with gold print in 1x01

Just heard apex predator and idk why my mind went straight to Lina Astor

Bertha really used Lina and Carrie as sentient mic drops.

No my Leonora loving heart 😭 Nora is such a bad liar I don't believe for a second that she doesn't love Leon someone got to her and I have a feeling we all know who that someone is.

My Leonora stan heart is breaking too nonnie! It hurts so much to write this scene (I had to take several breaks while making the poses 🥹 It’s too painful! 😭). She’s very bad at lying and Leon can see that 😭 But Nora didn’t lie when she said Leon needs someone to understand his world 🥹 She’s just a common person and he’s royalty, how will she understand his world? 🥹

One Dress a Day Challenge

Black and White October

The Gilded Age (s1e9, "Let the Tournament Begin") / Carrie Coon as Bertha Russell (plus Donna Murphy as Lina Astor)

Mrs. Russell's dresses are always striking and sometimes border on the avant-garde. For her daughter's debutante ball, she really pulls out the stops with this magnificent off-white gown adorned with appliqued branch motifs in black. Notice how the designs extend past the edge of the bodice and also spill onto the silver-grey gauze capelet at her shoulders.

As a bonus, we also have Donna Murphy as Mrs. Astor, who also wore black and white to the ball. Her black gown with white ornaments is more conservative than Mrs. Russell's, giving it a more strongly period look.

not asking this in a prompt sense (because i know you've talked about already having plenty of other george bertha fics you want to write) but who do you think are the three most interesting characters to do an outsider pov for george and bertha ?

Great question.

I know it's been done (and done well, please see @goodthingscomeinthrees for more details as I can't currently link to AO3) but Mamie Fish is a big one for me. Like, how are they NOT causing delicious gossip with the way they are with each other? And who do we know who loves delicious gossip and is probably also a bit of a pervert (complimentary)? I just think she'd relish their entire existence.

I think Mrs Astor would also be really interesting. Her relationship with her husband is famously terrible, so why does this scrappy upstart get to win at this too? Probably with a veneer of it being common to be so blatantly in love with one's husband. (Not me fighting so hard to remember that canon/historical Lina Astor is not a massive lesbian and might possibly care about someone else having a loving heterosexual marriage, I've been reading too much fic.)

Turner!!! Why did she think she was in there and that Bertha was disposable? What did she think after getting rejected? Did she have any particular attraction or affection for George or just See Rich Man, Target Rich Man? I assume the latter but it would be fun to explore.

I'm also just a complete sucker for the Russell servants generally having to observe and deal with All That. They must be so exhausted.

THE GILDED AGE S2 Costume Appreciation: Shades of Soft Purple

It is 9:00 p.m. EST on a Sunday night and there is not a Gilded Age Christmas musical special on my television. What is the point of anything if I'm not able to watch Donna Murphy as Mrs. Astor sing "We Need a Little Christmas" whilst descending down a grand staircase in true Jerry Herman fashion? If Aurora Fane is not serenading a parlor full of guests with "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" (Judy Garland lyrics), then we have failed as a country, dammit. Why are Dorothy and Peggy Scott not singing the most breathtaking carols you have ever heard around a piano? Who do I have to pay to make this happen?

New promotional still of Donna Murphy is 2.07

big fan of my faves looking ever so slightly sad/disappointed/forlorn in their respective seasons this year :(

How in the name of the lord did Lina Astor got a hold on to the Duke?

Mr McAllister!!! That sneaky little snake!!! Lina Astor told him to get him at whatever price and he did it for her. Just wish we had got to see the details of their deal.

I imagine they promised money and the duke probably knows how important it is to have Mrs Astor on your side socially speaking, getting him to attend important places to meet her dollar princess... And he doesn't have any semblance of loyalty, see how fast he ditched Mrs Turner/Winterton

i think a problem with the gilded age (and there are many) has to do with the structuring of season one as bertha russell vs. agnes van rhijn, right down to the subway ads. i see why they’re doing this… because half the conflict is supposed to be rooted in the van rhijn household since that’s where are youthful protagonist marian brook lives. BUT we all know that the old money vs. new money conflict is primarily bertha russell vs. lina astor. the secondary version of the conflict should be marian vs. agnes. i would argue that either our two main households should be the russels and the astors OR that the russells, astors, and van rhijn households should have equal weight. we recognize that the russell and van rhijn households are primary now because those are two downstairs households we get access to.

as i write this i realize that this doesn’t account for peggy who idk if i should just write off as an extension of downstairs… probably not so idk how she fits into this storytelling structure.

i never watched downton abbey but did that work better because it was just the one household that was focused on so there was more time to flesh out upstairs and downstairs storylines in depth?

tldr: donna murphy should be second lead after carrie coon (as much as i love christine baranski)