‘The Gilded Age’ Star Christine Baranski Says Aunt Agnes “Probably” Knows Oscar is Gay, But “You Can’t Acknowledge It

This week’s all-new installment of The Gilded Age dealt with the emotional fallout of last week’s shocking ending. Poor Oscar van Rhijn (Blake Ritson) had to watch the love of his life, John Adams (Claybourne Elder), get trampled to death in the street. As if that wasn’t hard enough to endure, because the HBO show is set during the 19th century, Oscar can’t fully express his grief without arousing suspicions that he is gay.

**Spoilers for The Gilded Age Season 3 Episode 7 “Ex-Communicated,” now streaming on HBO MAX**

No matter how hard he tries, though, Oscar’s emotional state doesn’t go unnoticed. There’s a tense scene wherein Aunt Agnes (Christine Baranski) and Aunt Ada (Cynthia Nixon) question his emotional reaction to “friend” John Adams’s death. They’re especially confused as to why John’s sister would gift Oscar a small vacation house that Adams initially left her. (John’s sister literally explains in private that she knew the truth about her beloved brother and comprehended the feelings the two men shared for one another.)

Placed under this pressure, Oscar comes close to confessing his secret and Marian (Louisa Jacobson) manages to come to his rescue, offering him an escape from the conversation and later revealing that she has intuited what’s going on. Marian tiptoes around the issue, but essentially spells out that she can see that Oscar isn’t grieving a friend, but a lover. Most importantly, though, Marian affirms that she still loves her cousin.

However, is it possible that Oscar’s mother and aunt also suspect that he is gay and heartbroken over the death of his one true love? After all, Aunt Agnes looks aghast at one point and determined to not confront reality.

When DECIDER sat down with The Gilded Age stars Christine Baranski and Cynthia Nixon last month, we spoke about this scene and Baranski suggested that “by the end of the scene,” Aunt Agnes probably does have her suspicions, but she swiftly sweeps them under the rug.

“It’s my worst suspicions that I didn’t even want to admit ever, but because of the strength of his reaction and the depth of his emotion and his rage, that’s probably the truth,” Christine Baranski said. “But it’s momentary.”

“Then we just have to go back to the way things were. Because we don’t even acknowledge it. You can’t acknowledge it,” she said before pausing. “Speaks volumes about that society that you couldn’t even say to your sister, ‘Do you think—?’”

“Do you think he was in love with this man?” Cynthia Nixon said. “Or something like that?” 

“Something,” Baranski said, “but it’s so…taboo.”

It’s so taboo and it’s something that sadly wouldn’t be mainstream until fairly recently.

Once again, The Gilded Age succeeds at showing us just how much we’ve evolved as a society and just how much we have not.