<i>The Gilded Age</i> Season 3, Episode 6 Recap: Secrets and Lies

Spoilers below.

The Gilded Age knows how to capture the starry-eyed ambition of the era, whether it’s through a footman making a fortune from an alarm clock invention or a society maven setting her daughter up with a duke. Still, there is underlying tension to the myriad storylines that make this the HBO drama’s best season yet. Gladys tearfully walked down the aisle, but now refuses to wallow in England, facing off against an overbearing sister-in-law with a powerful ally: her mother, Bertha Russell.

In a jam-packed episode, the truth comes to light in many ways, including Jack’s newfound wealth becoming known to the rest of the Forte home. The Russells' personal and professional issues are a fixture in the newspapers, Marian learns where Larry really was the night of their engagement, Peggy shares details of her past with Dr. William Kirkland, and Oscar confronts Maud Beaton. The biggest shock is saved for the final scene, when an unexpected tragedy reveals New York City was as perilous for pedestrians in the 1880s as it is today.

Bertha’s arrival at Sidmouth is marked with the usual polite chit-chat about her journey, but it doesn’t take long for Lady Sarah to steamroll her way through the conversation. Bertha asks Hector a question about the King’s room, where she will be sleeping, and Sarah offers the answer (William IV, who was the monarch before the current sovereign, Queen Victoria). Bertha quickly realizes that Lady Sarah is effectively in charge.

To change this pattern means getting Gladys to assert herself, especially since Lady Sarah has been heard saying that she is wearing Gladys down, much like she is a puppy in training. It is Miss Andre, Bertha’s maid, who tells her mistress about this remark. Of course, her maid hears everything. Retaliation is speedy, with Bertha humiliating Lady Sarah at dinner by questioning the logic of her anti-suffrage stance. Considering how Lady Sarah spoke to Gladys in front of their guests during her first dinner, it is only fair.

The following day, Gladys warns her mother that Lady Sarah will not respond well to this public shaming (even if she does deserve it). Bertha is not one to retreat, but she also knows that Gladys needs to step up. After this pair spent the start of the season arguing, they are now collaborating. Rather than sink into depression, Gladys wants her mother’s advice. Bertha knows Gladys needs to become indispensable. If the new duchess can demonstrate an interest in the estate, it will show her worth beyond her finances.

Harmony has returned to Gladys and Bertha’s dynamic, but the news back home is fraught. The tabloids continue to print gossip from inside the Russell home (this time about Larry’s engagement). What happens when the newspapers get wind that George is currently staying at the Union Club, not his residence?

In fact, George has been summoned out of the city by JP Morgan to resolve the Illinois Central Line issue, as the absence of a majority owner means progress is at a standstill. There is concern that other banks might collapse, and they need to stop the chaos. JP won’t let anyone leave until one person owns 51 percent of the company. The two other shareholders, the Merrick brothers and Mr. Sage (Peter McRobbie), are also in attendance. George is surprised to see that his former secretary, Clay, is now partnering with Mr. Sage.

JP is firmly Team George and thinks that Sage will bleed the business dry. The Merricks are reluctant but agree to sell enough shares to George to make him the majority owner. George is unbothered that they can’t make it official until they return to New York, where their lawyers will be present. Unfortunately, Clay knows where George has buried all his financial bodies, including the fact that Russell Industries is teetering on the edge of disaster.

What better place to spill these details than on the front page of the newspaper? George is sure that Clay is the source, as there are details only his ex-secretary knows. George says that he should have had Clay killed, and it's hard to tell if he's kidding (I don’t think he is). Two banks are on the verge of collapse, Russell Industries' share prices have plummeted, and the Merricks have pulled out. George is adamant he will find the money.

Reader, he does not find the money. No one on either side of the Atlantic will give him a cent or shilling. However, George would rather watch his business burn and endure a financial crisis like that of 1873 than concede to Clay. Little does George know that Larry has struck gold, or in this case, copper, in the Arizona mines. As long as Larry makes those deals in time, then he might become his father’s savior.

Little does Larry know that back in New York, his engagement is unraveling. Marian becomes suspicious that Larry has been keeping something from her after Oscar mentions that her fiancé spotted Maud Beaton while he was out. Larry’s first mistake was lying, but he also didn’t have the sense to tell Jack he wasn’t being truthful to Marian. Jack has a terrible poker face, looking confused when Marian asks about Delmonico’s, then making excuses to leave rather than confirm where they went.

At dinner, Marian brings up Maud Beaton, and Oscar confirms that the woman who stole the Van Rhijn fortune is back in town, working at a club. “Is it a respectable establishment?” asks Agnes. Oscar throws an apologetic expression toward Marian when he says it is not. When they are alone, Marian confronts Oscar about this “house of ill repute.” Oscar thinks Marian shouldn’t jump to conclusions; likely, Larry was just having a sociable evening. Oscar is correct, but Mairan is wary thanks to past experiences with terrible men like Mr. Raikes (who left her high and dry when he realized she had no money).

When Peggy returns from Philadelphia, Marian informs her of the engagement, followed by the news of the betrayal. Peggy asks if she is sure of the facts, and Marian says she is certain what men do in clubs like that. Agnes is pleased that Marian is breaking off the engagement, whereas Ada thinks their niece should wait. Marian doesn’t take Ada’s advice, tearfully delivering a breakup letter to the Russells for when Larry gets home.

While Marian spirals about Larry’s recent night out, Agnes continues her quest to find out how much money Jack made from his clock. Agnes guesses around $2,000, which is pocket change compared to what is actually in Jack’s account. Bannister continues to dodge the question, but Agnes can always rely on Armstrong to spill the downstairs secrets. Armstrong tells some lies of her own, claiming that Jack's having money is making everyone feel belittled.

As expected, Agnes loses her mind when she hears that Jack’s invention has netted him $300,000. It is everything I hoped it would be and more, with Christine Baranski delivering new levels of outrage and indignation. Agnes demands that Ada manage her house, deferring all responsibility to her.

Because Ada wants a second opinion, she goes back to the medium, Madame Dashkova. The instructions from beyond the veil are fitting (“follow your good, pure heart”), but quickly fall apart when Madame Dashkova throws in an Italian phrase—a language Luke did not speak. Madame Dashkova thought Luke’s first name was Luka, which was a misprint in his obituary. Ada realizes that her sister was right: This whole setup is a fraud.

Ada crumples into a sobbing mess when she gets home, saying that she wishes Luke were still there. Agnes, proving once more that she can be kind, tells her grieving sister that Luke will always be with her because Luke is in her heart. But Agnes’s sharp tongue returns when confronting Bannister about having a “Rockefeller in livery.” Oscar agrees with his mother, saying it is odd that Jack is still working in their household, and it isn’t right for Jack either. They have a point.

After everyone has gone to bed, Ada tells Jack that what he has achieved is praiseworthy, and it is time for him to make his way in the world. A teary-eyed Jack replies that he doesn’t want to lose the only family he has ever had, and Ada says they will still be his family. There is no two-week notice as Jack will leave in the morning. There is more crying when Jack says goodbye to the rest of the staff. He will stay at a hotel until he settles somewhere. I hope Jack remains part of the show.

Jack gives envelopes to Bridget for everyone in the house (aside from Oscar). Inside is the money they each loaned him to pay for the patent in season 2, with a hefty bonus for them all. Armstrong is stunned to receive one, as she hadn’t lent any money, and her coworkers point out that Jack is a generous man.

Peggy promised to tell William everything when she got home, which she did. Well, almost everything. “We all have a past,” says William. He is understanding about the situation with T. Thomas Fortune, but says he doesn’t need to hear anything else, as the present is what counts. William doesn’t learn about her child, annulled marriage, or the tragic events that followed.

The interview with Frances Ellen Watkins Harper (LisaGay Hamilton) went so well that the suffragette is coming to Brooklyn at Peggy's invitation to give a talk. William asks if his mother Elizabeth can attend, and Peggy agrees. However, Elizabeth openly disagrees with the whole suffrage cause as she thinks they need to fight for Black men’s rights first. “Complacency will yield nothing,” Peggy responds.

It turns out that William did not tell his mother that this intimate gathering was to discuss suffrage, as she wouldn’t have attended otherwise. Unfortunately, Elizabeth now sees Peggy as a woman who wouldn’t make a good wife. Peggy knows Elizabeth is challenging, but she tells her mother that her feelings for William are stronger than her disdain for Elizabeth.

Meddling families continue to be an issue in England, but Bertha is on hand to support. Gladys puts her mother’s advice into practice, asking if she can learn more about the estate. Lady Sarah is aghast at Gladys's interest, asking Bertha if she had put her daughter up to this. However, Hector seems pleased at this development.

At dinner, Gladys mentions her desire to plant trees to honor Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee, but Lady Sarah says all the arrangements are in order. As with previous occasions, Lady Sarah rises first to signal that the women are to leave the table. Gladys uses this event to assert her authority, asking if Lady Sarah is unwell; why else would she be the first to stand? “I’ve always decided when the women got through,” Lady Sarah whines to her brother. Hector points out that there was no duchess then, and now she needs to wait for Gladys’s signal. A beaming Bertha raises her glass to her daughter.

The following day, Bertha takes a moment with Hector to remind him that Gladys has a “good heart and a good mind” and can help if she has the chance. He needs to take the reins from Sarah sooner rather than later. The mother-daughter goodbye reinforces their renewed bond with Bertha telling Gladys she is very proud of the woman she’s becoming.

One matter Bertha is unaware of is that she is traveling with the source of the gossip leaks. Mrs. Bruce has cross-referenced every single news item, concluding that Miss Andre must be the culprit, as the details are things only Bertha’s maid would know. Now, they must draw up a plan to expose her.

At the Haymarket, Oscar hears Maud’s side of the story. Maud is working, which means he’ll have to go up to her room. She thinks Oscar wants sex, but he is after answers. Maud opens up about her sad, sordid story that begins with her father losing her in a card game when she was 12. Since then, her choices have been a game of survival.

The con to get Oscar’s fortune was dreamed up by Crowther (the con man we saw last season), and he left Maud with nothing. Now, she owes other people money, working off her debt at the club. Oscar admits that he hates her for ruining him (and his mother), but also wants to know if she has somewhere to go. Maud mentions a sister who lives in Sandusky, Ohio.

Later, Oscar asks Maud to meet him at the train station. Maud is shocked when he gives her $100 and a train ticket to Sandusky. Oscar isn’t sure why he is doing this either, but he was willing to marry her, so he should also try to help her. Oscar mentions that he is working again, and despite everything, he wants a better life for her.

Over lunch, Oscar asks John Adams if he thinks it was foolish to be kind. John believes quite the opposite, as Maud was as much a victim of Crowther as Oscar. It is another tender, relaxed conversation between the two ex-lovers. Before they part, Oscar tenderly thanks John for being his savior. John takes it in his stride, saying he has a new investor for him to meet. As John turns and waves as he goes to cross the street, a speeding horse and carriage hits John, sending him flying. There is no confirmation whether he is dead or alive, and everything happens so quickly; yet, the chances of survival seem slim. Are the Fortes and Van Rhijns cursed when it comes to finding long-lasting love matches?