‘The Gilded Age’ Season 3 Ending Explained: Are Train Daddy and Opera Mommy Done for Good?

The Gilded Age Season 3 ended tonight with the HBO series’s most dramatic episode ever. We finally learned if George Russell (Morgan Spector) survived last week’s shooting, whether or not Larry Russell (Harry Richardson) and Marian Brook (Louisa Jacobson) could reunite, and what Dr. William Kirkland (Jordan Donica) really thought of Peggy Scott’s (Denée Benton) tragic and scandalous backstory. There were glorious balls and heartbreaking separations. There was even a pregnancy announcement! So what went down and what does it all mean?

**Spoilers for The Gilded Age Season 3 Episode 8 “My Mind is Made Up,” now streaming on HBO MAX**

The Gilded Age Season 3 finale has it all: surgery on a dining room table, fabulous gowns, the return of Mrs. Winterton (Kelley Curran), and divorcees welcomed into high society.

The Gilded Age Season 3 Episode 8 “My Mind is Made Up” opens with a carriage rushing to bring a, yes, shot and wounded George Russell back home. Luckily for the Russells, Aunt Agnes (Christine Baranski) and Aunt Ada’s (Cynthia Nixon) butler, Bannister (Simon Jones) was enjoying a smoke outside when the carriage arrived. He points out to Bertha that a doctor is literally hanging out across the street, meaning George won’t have to wait forever for his physician to arrive.

George survives, but the Russells’ marriage might not. The Gilded Age Season 3 ends with a bitter conversation between George and Bertha that might spell the end of their epic romance. Still, it wasn’t all tragedy on The Gilded Age this week. Several couples either declared their love or their intentions to conquer society together.

Here’s what went down in The Gilded Age Season 3 finale and what it might mean for The Gilded Age Season 4…

Does George Russell Die in The Gilded Age Season 3 Finale?

No, George does not die in The Gilded Age finale! He is saved by one Dr. William Kirkland.

Gilded Age fans will remember that when his mother reveals Peggy’s secret past in last week’s episode, Dr. Kirkland went straight to the van Rhijn house to hear the truth from Peggy herself. That means the brilliant doctor was conveniently across the street right when George was brought to the Russell’s house. So instead of having to wait hours for aid, George is saved in the nick of time.

The Gilded Age Season 3 Ending Explained: Are George and Bertha Russell Getting a Divorce?

At the very end of The Gilded Age Season 3, George Russell drops a bombshell on Bertha. He will not be returning with her to 61st street and only attended her Newport Ball to protect his business. He is still upset with her over Gladys’s (Taissa Farmiga) marriage to the Duke (Ben Lamb) and his role in it. Bertha may want them to stay together, but he doesn’t know what he wants. He explains that nearly dying has forced him to look closer at his life and he doesn’t like what he sees.

So does that mean the Russells are over? Are Train Daddy and Opera Mommy breaking up? Will Bertha, like her real life inspiration Alva Vanderbilt, wind up divorced?

The Gilded Age showrunners Julian Fellowes and Sonja Warfield don’t want you to crash out. Yet.

“Marriages evolve, everything changes, and so they can go through a difficult, challenging period in their marriage,” Sonja Warfield told DECIDER. “Maybe they can come back together, maybe they can’t. I think that’s real and these are real, flawed, multidimensional human beings who we depict.” 

“I mean the other thing to remember is that when a couple were no longer happy, assuming they’d been happy at the beginning, there were different options. Divorce was the most extreme,” Julian Fellowes said, explaining that couples of the era could very easily, and very quietly, live apart.

“On the whole, as long as you don’t make a fuss, they won’t make fuss,” he said. “So, I don’t think we’re necessarily looking at anything very seismic, but we are looking at a situation where they have to make a decision as to what it is that they want and that’s what we hope they will do.”

Who Got Engaged in The Gilded Age Season 3 Finale?

You can be devastated over George and Bertha’s marital woes and still incandescently happy for several other Gilded Age couples.

In The Gilded Age Season 3 finale, Dr. William Kirkland gallantly defies his racist and classist mother to propose to Peggy Scott! He does it with his father’s blessing and, more importantly, hers. It’s a swoon-inducing, super romantic sequence that gives Peggy the happily ever after she so richly deserves.

At another Newport ball, Larry and Marion have an honest conversation about how their engagement got so “tangled.” Marion admits to panicking and assuming the worst about Larry’s behavior at the Haymarket, while he asks if she’ll walk out on him again when he inevitably does something wrong. The two agree that they cannot solve all their problems in one night, but wind up reunited, happily dancing together.

Finally, while it’s not an official engagement, Oscar van Rhijn (Blake Ritson) pitches Mrs. Winterton, aka the diva who used to be known as Bertha’s maid “Turner,” on a lavender marriage. They’ll keep separate households outside the city, but in NYC, they will be power couple using her wealth and his connections. (Color me intrigued!)

Is Gladys Pregnant With the Duke’s Baby in The Gilded Age Season 3 Finale?

She certainly is! Gladys reveals to her mother in The Gilded Age Season 3 finale that she and Hector are expecting a baby. Not only that, but she seems pretty happy about it. As it turns out, Bertha was actually right about the Duke of Buckingham being a good match for Gladys. The two have slowly gotten closer and seem to really care for each other. 

Will There Be a Season 4 of The Gilded Age?

Yes! On July 28, HBO announced that they would be making a fourth season of The Gilded Age. The Gilded Age Season 4 likely won’t come out until late 2026 or early 2027.