“The Gilded Age,” a glittering (and also, maybe bad) historical drama from HBO Max, follows the conflict between the wealthy families of New York City during the Gilded Age. It recently ended its second season with the jaw-dropping melodrama typical of a Julian Fellowes TV show.
At the end of the day, “The Gilded Age” is about this: rich people wearing incredible hats and doing nothing of importance. There are also slightly more interesting secondary plot lines following Black characters and labor disputes and, of course, convoluted love stories.
It is the latter that I want to discuss. The main character, Marian Brook (Louisa Jacobson) of the wealthy van Rhijn family, has not had an easy time in the love department.
After enduring a failed engagement in Season 1, Marian declared in Season 2 that she will be spending her time teaching watercolors at an all-girls’ school. I thought, “Great! Get this girl a hobby!” Unfortunately for me, it became clear early in the second season that the show was going to half-heartedly lump Marian together with yet another bland love interest: cousin Dashiell.
After Dashiell pursues Marian, he proposes in front of all her friends and family. She limply accepts, saying, “If you really want me to.” Romantic!
Underlying all this is a second, very subtle and barely-formed romantic interest for Marian: Larry Russell (Harry Richardson). Larry, from the wealthy and ambitious Russell family, spent the first half of “The Gilded Age” Season 2 doing architecture things and bedding a wealthy widow named Susan Blane.
Bertha (Carrie Coon) does not favor the match and employs her usual scheming to successfully break the two apart. Larry, who declared he was in love with Susan, is heartbroken.
But by the time Marian gets publicly engaged to Dashiell a few episodes later, Larry seems to have completely forgotten about Susan Blane. In fact, he looks vaguely agitated when Marian accepts.
In Season 2, Larry and Marian have a few friendly conversations. But these interactions are few and far between and certainly nothing to write home about. Fans saw the glimmerings of a romance between the two in “The Gilded Age” Season 1 finale, but the second season did little to add fire to their potential romance.
But then in “The Gilded Age” Season 2 finale, after attending the first opera of the season at The Met, Larry walks Marian to her front door. And he kisses her. Out of nowhere. In front of the whole street.
Fans were delighted. But I was confused. Where were the longing glances? The soul-bearing conversations? The hand touches? Where was the slow burn?
Let us turn to another Fellowes TV show for a comparison: “Downton Abbey.” In terms of a romantic timeline, Matthew and Mary moved just as quickly as Larry and Marian. They shared their first kiss in Season 1, Episode 6 and became betrothed by the end of Season 2.
But over that time period, their love story was a main plot point in “Downton Abbey.” It was poked at, prodded, put through the ringer. The chemistry and tension between Matthew and Mary was simmering.
It is clear that audiences appreciate a good slow-burn romance like that one. After “Bridgerton” made a splash with its lusty and sex-filled first season, Season 2 proved to be slightly more demure, fully leaning into a slow-burn romance reminiscent of a Jane Austen novel.
While the change was greeted by mixed reviews from critics, it was a fan favorite, knocking the “show’s first season out of the No. 1 slot on Netflix‘s rankings of its most popular English-language TV series of all time,” per Variety.
The historical romance slow-burn is not necessarily about time. It is about tension. Longing. Burning romance. Agony, even.
But this just hasn’t played out for Larry and Marian. What have we seen as evidence of their interest in each other? A handful of conversations. A few walks. A couple of invitations to events.
The writers of “The Gilded Age” haven’t dedicated enough time to letting Larry and Marian’s romance grow, much less be seen on screen. This could, perhaps, be due to a lack of palpable chemistry between Jacobson and Richardson. But how can we really tell if the two have chemistry if there was nary a romantic exchange between them?
All of this makes their kiss in “The Gilded Age” Season 2 finale feel jarring and sudden. Especially in an era where a man could barely look at a woman unchaperoned, much less kiss her in public.
I suspect that Larry and Marian’s romance in “The Gilded Age” Season 3 will hinge on the tension between their two families. In a way, their romance could become very “Romeo and Juliet”: Marian’s Aunt Agnes (Christine Baranski) has made her disdain for the Russells very clear and will likely disapprove of the match.
This is a great way to build tension. But the prelude to a kiss, especially in a historical drama, should consist of more than just a few pleasant conversations and strolls downtown.