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- HBO
- Oct 29, 2023
- HBO
- Oct 29, 2023
Summary Set in 1882, Marian Brook (Louisa Jacobson) moves from Pennsylvania to live in New York City with her aunts Agnes van Rhijn (Chrstine Baranski) and Ada Brook (Cynthia Nixon) after the death of her father in this Julian Fellowes drama.
Created By: Julian Fellowes
- HBO
- Oct 29, 2023
- HBO
- Oct 29, 2023
Summary Set in 1882, Marian Brook (Louisa Jacobson) moves from Pennsylvania to live in New York City with her aunts Agnes van Rhijn (Chrstine Baranski) and Ada Brook (Cynthia Nixon) after the death of her father in this Julian Fellowes drama.
Created By: Julian Fellowes
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Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 21 Critic Reviews
73
67% Positive
14 Reviews
14 Reviews
29% Mixed
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
5% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 21 Critic Reviews
73
67% Positive
14 Reviews
14 Reviews
29% Mixed
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
5% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
If this is the end for “The Gilded Age,” bravo to the series for delivering two near-perfect seasons. But I do hope we’ll get to spend more time with these fantastic characters.
Is The Gilded Age a whimsical indulgence or an artful, well-acted work of historical fiction? The answer, dear reader, is yes.
The first season of “The Gilded Age” sometimes felt as if it repeated its premises so compulsively it forgot to develop them. The best thing I can say about this new season, besides the fact that it’s fun, and that a lot more happens, is that it doesn’t make the same mistake.
The Gilded Age Season 2 is a fine, fizzy treat. Julian Fellowes has once again crafted a perfectly elevated soap opera for the masses.
Given the frothy, at worst PG-rated shenanigans that preoccupy these upper-crust New Yorkers and their servants, the series also still feels like something of an outlier for HBO, but an enjoyable one. If that’s not enough to elicit thunderous applause, in keeping with the spirit of the season, it’s certainly worthy of an opera clap.
The chemistry between Bertha and George is off the Edith Wharton scale. Still, they remain one-dimensional: made purely of ambition, like the American myth itself. Also the dialogue, in general, is like second-rate champagne. It never fizzes as it should. It takes some effort to give Oscar Wilde a cameo and grant him not one quotable line. And yet. Fellowes’ conservatism is served with just enough perspective to prevent it tipping over into a complete endorsement of the establishment.
If the show gets one thing right, it’s that wealth does not confer intelligence. Maybe the series wouldn’t leave me so cranky if it weren’t both so dull and overscored, with quivering strings and heralding horns. Everything is about desire, absent interiority or human complexity.
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 13 User Ratings
5.8
54% Positive
7 Ratings
7 Ratings
8% Mixed
1 Rating
1 Rating
38% Negative
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 13 User Ratings
5.8
54% Positive
7 Ratings
7 Ratings
8% Mixed
1 Rating
1 Rating
38% Negative
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
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