Why did Billy Carlton break up with Gladys Russell in The Gilded Age? Season 3 storyline, explored

The Gilded Age Season 3 Episode 2 ended with a massive heartbreak for Gladys Russell, as instead of talking about their marriage to her father, Gladys’ boyfriend Billy Carlton decided to break up with her instead.

While Gladys had always been somewhat afraid of her mother Bertha, she showed the courage to get into a relationship with Billy even when she knew that Bertha wanted her to marry the Duke of Buckingham, Hector.

Unfortunately, though Billy proclaimed his love for Gladys, he could not overcome his own fear of rejection from Gladys’ parents, Bertha and George, and how that would affect his future business endeavors. As a result, he decides by the end of The Gilded Age Season 3 Episode 2 that breaking up with Gladys would be a lot easier than facing the consequences of staying with her.

Billy’s decision not only leaves Gladys devastated but also takes her back to where she started, with no visible way out of her marriage to Hector—something she absolutely does not want to do.

Billy breaks up with Gladys in The Gilded Age Season 3 Episode 2 out of lack of courage

As was clear from The Gilded Age Season 1, if Gladys were to marry against the choice of her mother, she would need a man with a strong backbone who could stand up for them to her parents. Gladys’ father, George, had even told her that she was allowed to marry for love, and she hoped that Billy would be that man who would help her defy her mother and be with her.

However, Billy proved to be rather cowardly and decided that his professional aspirations were more important than whatever he felt for Gladys. Deciding not to jeopardize things, Billy broke up with Gladys, leaving her with no choice but to marry Hector.

Talking about Gladys’ heartbreak, Taissa Farmiga, the actor who plays the character, mentioned to TV Insider,

“She tried to go after what she thought is the love of her life, and when it was time for him to stand up and speak to her father and have a bit of a backbone, Billy fails at that. I think that proves that he isn’t the love for her.”

She further added,

“She tried to put all her eggs in that basket and say this is what I want, and it did, in the end, cost her everything, not in the way that like she gave up everything for him, but she would have. And he failed that. It’s just heartbreaking.”

Farmiga also said that Gladys simply wanted freedom, like any other woman from that period who did not have much freedom. She naturally wanted to make her own decisions and thought that Billy would help her in the process, but her faith in the wrong person cost her rather deeply.

The Gilded Age can be streamed on Hulu.

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