The Gilded Age

It’s an undeniable series best, one which allows its actors the grace of consuming witty material, transforming it into biting commentary on wealth, community and desire as it flows out of their mouths.

It’s an upscale version of the classic primetime soap and one that’s perfect to get lost in when real life drama is too much.

Some of the show’s most prominent flaws remain. .... But at the end of the day, these are all fairly small complaints. In truth, The Gilded Age has never been better, and it’s a joy to watch it so confidently become the show it was always meant to be.

Agnes decides that she [Peggy] needs to see her doctor. Ada is skeptical, but Agnes sees a way to assert control over what used to be her house. It blows up in a way that’s personally embarrassing, not to mention legitimately dangerous for Peggy when the doctor refuses to treat a Black patient. As silly and fun as The Gilded Age usually is, scenes like these remind us that this time period was silly and fun for few.

“The Gilded Age” has always plied high-toned melodrama as its chief asset, but Season 3 ripens the starched formality of previous episodes into succulence. Intertwining plots are rife with reversals of fortune, starting with the Russells’ neighbors across the street.

The latest run is the best yet, fairly fizzing with gossip and intrigue. It starts slowly but gathers pace beautifully, complete with some gasp-inducing cliffhangers.

As ever, the bejeweled dialogue, as spoken by a murderer’s row of Broadway stars, is as much of an attraction as Kasia Walicka-Maimone’s ornate costumes, Bob Shaw’s production design, and Regina Graves’s set decoration.

“The Gilded Age” no longer feels torn between ogling the past and honoring its flaws. Three seasons in, it’s on firmer footing than ever.

Sometimes it feels like not a lot happens in this 1890-set period drama, but thanks to a game cast of mostly Broadway veterans, “Gilded Age” remains an entertaining enough soap.

[Season three] features more scandal, more raw emotion, and even some death and mayhem. But Fellowes has not over-egged the series in the pursuit of intrigue; Gilded Age remains mostly a pleasant, satisfying diversion.

Season 3 quickly establishes that it isn't interested in playing it safe, hinting at the possibility of much darker times ahead.

Not only are the eight new episodes better at building drama from the era’s inequities, but there’s more to go around, and the pacing picks up to squeeze it all in. (Well, almost all of it — a couple of plot lines are left mysteriously unfinished.)

So yes, The Gilded Age does make some odd stabs at dramatic tension this time around. .... But if you already loved it in all its ridiculous, opulent glory, there’s still plenty to enjoy this time around.

The Gilded Age has become not just grand, but silly too. Instead of joylessly pompous, this show is now joyfully pompous.

Three seasons in, The Gilded Age has barely explored its huge cast of servant characters. Like Downton, it has more sympathy for—and curiosity about—aristocrats desperate to keep fortunes they didn’t earn than it does for workers whose pursuit of happiness is enshrined in America’s founding documents.

Has Fellowes finally started to parody himself? Even if you don’t think that’s a bad thing, it would probably be wise to sound the alarm. And call time on this show.