Review: Fourth Season of The Gilded Age Gets a Scathing Verdict From Critic

A television critic at the British newspaper The Guardian has published a negative review of the fourth season of The Gilded Age, a period drama from US network HBO. The series, written by British author Julian Fellowes, follows wealthy and aristocratic circles of American society in the late 19th century. The reviewer notes that it returns without any announcement that this will be the last season, and says that overall nothing has changed.

What the new season shows

The season opens in England, where Gladys (Taissa Farmiga), daughter of the Russell family of New York's Fifth Avenue and now the wife of the Duke of Englandshire, Hector, is in labour and bleeding heavily. The reviewer cites the scene as an example of cliches and predictable dialogue.

In the US storyline, the wedding takes place in church of Oscar, from the old-money Van Rhijn family, and Enid, a wealthy widow. Oscar is played by Blake Ritson and Enid by Kelley Curran. Oscar's mother Agnes (Christine Baranski) hopes the household will soon host President Grover Cleveland. The reviewer notes that Oscar is gay and the marriage is one of convenience.

Other storylines include the relationship between Marian (Louisa Jacobson) and Larry (Harry Richardson), Peggy's (Denée Benton) engagement to William, and the financial difficulties of George Russell (Morgan Spector). George is also trying to find out who shot him at the end of the previous season. The young inventor Jack (Ben Ahlers) is enthusiastic about an electric mixer.

The critic's conclusion

The reviewer describes the season as uniformly terrible and notes that the show has won an Emmy award.