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The Gilded Age Season 3 Episode 4 Marriage is a Gamble dropped on July 13, 2025. In this episode, Bertha Russell finally orchestrates the match of her dreams: her daughter Gladys weds Duke Hector of Buckingham. But as the wise say, even the most opulent victory has its shadows.
In the previous episode of The Gilded Age Season 3, we saw how Hector and George Russell were not on the same page regarding the dowry amount and the conditions. However, Bertha didn't back out; she pulled some strings and managed to convince the Duke to the marriage.
Here's what happened in The Gilded Age Season 3 Episode 4
The Gilded Age Season 3 Episode 4 recap: Gladys marries the Duke of Buckingham
Bertha Russell has spent years shaping her family's place in high society. The episode opens with Bertha instructing the house staff to work tirelessly to make the wedding successful. Gossip brews among the house staff regarding Gladys' disinterest in the wedding.
But as wedding bells toll, it's not gown or gossip threatening to derail her plans-it's her daughter. Gladys locks herself in the room the morning of her wedding to the Duke. She isn't sold on the marriage. Her father, George Russell, sees the hesitancy and tells her:
"Backing out now humiliating Hector in public would damage you far more than him. You'll drag the story with the rest of your life. Gladys, I take no pleasure in this. In fact I apologize with all my heart. You think I've failed you and I think I've failed you. But I have no way out of it."
To which a heartbroken Gladys answers:
"I understand."
George Russell offers her a way out. As he says:
"The decision must be yours. I will wait downstairs. If you're not there in ten minutes, I will send word to the church, and that will be that."
Gladys finally chooses to continue with the wedding.
Adelheid descending the staircase with the bridal veil signals the inevitable. Gladys is going through it, with tears hidden behind the lace. Larry, her brother, looks gutted. George, conflicted. Bertha, triumphant.
The wedding proceeds as both Gladys and Duke utter the words 'I will'. We next see Gladys aboard a ship to England seated beside her new husband. Their wedding night conversation is stiff. Hector wants to consumate the marriage without delay. It's awkward, and Gladys' future looks uncertain.
Society cracks behind the silk
While the Russells orchestrate royalty-level pomp, New York society simmers with scandal. Mrs. Astor's daughter Charlotte is the subject of salacious gossip-her husband nearly fought a duel in Paris over alleged infidelity. The duel never happened, but the damage is done.
Meanwhile, Aurora Fane skips the wedding and moves to Newport. Her divorce sends ripples through her social circle-divorce is still tabboo and in no matter justified.
In Newport, Peggy Scott faces prejudice in real time. Dr. Kirkland's mother dismisses Peggy's suffragist leanings and takes a jab at her father's background again.
Wealth, Wills, and Ghosts
In a lighter subplot in The Gilded Age Season 3 Episode 4, Ada Brook hosts a seance to contact her late husband. Luke Agnes is predictably furious, storming in mid-spell and denouncing the medium as a fraud. Madama Dashkova may be a charlatan or not, but Ada is desperate to believe.
Downstairs, Jack finds himself suddenly wealthy. His invention has been sold for $600,000, thanks to Larry's smooth negotiation. Jack is now $300,000 richer-but emotionally torn. Leaving the Forte-Van Rhijn house means leaving his found family forever. Mrs. Bauer is the only one who knows-for now.
In a heartfelt moment, we see Mr. Borden propose to Mrs. Bruce with his mother's ring. However, Mrs. Bruce reveals she is married to her husband, who suffers from acute melancholia and has been in an asylum since 1877.
Tale at the end: A veil and a bargain
Despite several hiccups, Bertha's grand plan is complete in The Gilded Age Season 3 Episode 4. Her daughter is now Lady Gladys. Her sister Monica from Albany, with a single shabby evening gown, is steamrolled by Bertha's relentless quest for perfection-even tricked into wearing a new gown.
In the end Bertha dosent't marry her daughter to a title- she marries her to the idea of legacy. But whether the legacy is one of triumph or tragedy now rests with Gladys.
To know more about what happens next, watch The Gilded Age Season 3 Episode 5 on July 20, 2025, on HBO and HBO Max.
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