HBO’s Must-Watch Drama Is Doubling Down on Its Biggest Formula Change Yet in Season 4

Published Aug 27, 2026, 6:59 PM EDT Kelcie Mattson is a Senior Features author at Collider. Based in the Midwest, she also contributes Lists, reviews, and television recaps. A lifelong fan of niche sci-fi, epic fantasy, Gothic horror, elaborate action, and witty detective fiction, becoming a pop culture devotee was inevitable once the Disney Renaissance, Turner Classic Movies, BBC period dramas, and her local library piqued her imagination. Rarely seen without a book in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other, Kelcie explores media history (especially older, foreign, and independent films) as much as possible. In her spare time, she enjoys video games, amateur photography, geeking out over music, and attending fan conventions with her Trekkie family. Bertha (Carrie Coon) and George Russell (Morgan Spector) enjoyed two seasons of The Gilded Age as the fictional romance blueprint. If their actions and motivations contained moral ambiguity, well, that was a small price to pay in exchange for their unequivocal status as a husband and wife who supported each another's endeavors in the boardroom and the ballroom with equal fervor. Their marriage served as the series' constant — a uniquely balanced, respectful, tender, and adoring partnership to be feared for those very qualities. Season 3 boldly, and somewhat controversially, shatters their bliss. By the closing episode, the ever-loyal and just-as-ruthless George comes to resent and spurn the ever-loyal, just-as-ruthless Bertha. The first trailer for the HBO drama's fourth season might be edited for maximum intrigue, but the content implies rough tidings for The Gilded Age's fan-favorite power couple. 'The Gilded Age' Season 3 Upends Everything for George and Bertha Bertha makes no apologies for not being a saint. She relishes the triumphant power her wealth brings as a point of personal satisfaction, and as a half-shield, half-weapon to wield on her family's behalf. Given The Gilded Age's historical inspirations, Bertha's goals for Gladys' (Taissa Farmiga) arranged marriage are driven by a pragmatically loving protectiveness. New York's elite might have finally, begrudgingly deigned to recognize Bertha as their current ruler, but she understands what Gladys is still too young to recognize: as women, what power they accrue is piecemeal and fleeting. They're unable to vote. Their financial survival still largely depends upon their closest male relatives. Any professional dreams and intellectual achievements are either suppressed and relegated to the domestic sphere, or concealed behind their husband's name. Marrying an English duke (Ben Lamb) secures Gladys' safety and boosts the Russells' social prestige to nigh-untouchable. Mind, Bertha absolutely mishandles Gladys' situation from a parenting perspective. Yet that oversight is the crux of the series' draw — a family period drama that headlines wittily cut-throat competition between the old money and the nouveau riche, set during a time of drastic economic inequality — and key to Bertha’s appeal. It's refreshing for a woman to be assured in her pursuits even while audiences question her methods. What's more, both the Russell matriarch and patriarch can be right and wrong in ways that invite consistent transformation. By Season 3, George surrenders to his frustrations and misguided risks — like investing his family's fortune — and unfairly deflects blame. He could have intervened more on Gladys' behalf, as he'd promised. In lieu of that, he might've held firm to the trust he'd once placed in Bertha's enterprising expertise. Yet George fails both women. It's no wonder why his betrayal cuts Bertha's vulnerable heart to the quick. Robber baron or not, he was supposed to remain a rare and refreshing cultural exception — the loving, faithful, contented husband who openly admires and desires his unconventional wife. George's valid reservations devolve into the one-sided belittling hypocrisy his patriarchal privilege affords him. 'The Gilded Age's Season 4 Trailer Reveals the Russells Are Still Separated If Season 4 sticks the landing, then The Gilded Age rejecting a quick-fix reunion in favor of milking the Russells' tragic estrangement for all it's worth — before, preferably, overcoming their separation — can further emphasize why they make such a compelling match. Excellent writing thrives on dramatic interpersonal conflict. Testing this once-indestructible bond through non-adulterous means isn't necessarily a misstep. Rather, it's a compelling prospect for the show's leading lady to nurse private grief while publicly brandishing her social dominion, or contend with her deteriorating marriage receiving gossip-powered scrutiny — let alone Bertha potentially becoming the figurehead for normalizing divorce. As for George, last season's Chekhov's gun with the laudanum is concerning indeed for his health and relationships. Only the entirety of Season 4 will determine whether this foundationally drastic shift will play out to The Gilded Age's advantage or detriment. In the meantime, the Russells cast a shocking pall over what's certain to be a must-see installment. The Gilded Age Release Date January 24, 2022 Network HBO Max Cast Morgan Spector George Russell