The Gilded Age Went Too Far With [SPOILER]'s Death | Screen Rant
Warning: SPOILERS for The Gilded Age Episode 3 - "Face The Music"
The vindictive actions of George Russell (Morgan Spector) led to the suicide of Patrick Morris (Michel Gill) so that The Gilded Age may have already gone too far in its third episode. The Gilded Age's central conflict of Old New York and New Money certainly played a role in the tragic death of Patrick Morris, one of the city's aldermen and the husband of Anne Morris (Katie Finneran). Russell sought vengeance when the aldermen betrayed him with their insider trading scheme while rescinding the law they promised that would allow George's company to build a new railroad station. As a result, the direct hand Mr. Russell played in Mr. Morris taking his own life casts a dark shadow over The Gilded Age.
As one of The Gilded Age's main characters, George Russell is an amalgam of real-life 19th-century robber barons like Cornelius Vanderbilt and Jay Gould, who were historically callous tycoons. The Russells are the richest and most aggressive of the New Money families in The Gilded Age; George was presented from the get-go as a ruthless businessman who has no qualms about trying to bankrupt his rivals while his wife, Bertha (Carrie Coon), is singleminded in her attempt to buy the Russells' way into Old New York's high society, which is led by Mrs. Astor (Donna Murphy). While the Russells could have been straight-up villains, The Gilded Age takes care to portray them in a sympathetic light as well. George and Bertha are an affectionate couple who are proud but stern parents. Further, Old New York is cruel in their resistance to the Russells' attempts to join high society. George's revenge on the alderman was fueled, in part, by his anger at how Patrick Morris and Charles Fane's (Ward Horton) snub Bertha.
The issue with George's role in Patrick's suicide is The Gilded Age was trying to have it both ways with the Russells - George and Bertha were positioned as protagonists who had darker sides to them - and then abruptly turned George into a villain by the end of The Gilded Age episode 3. Just one week before in The Gilded Age episode 2, George bought out the charity bazaar to stand up for Bertha and her mistreatment. Now, Mr. Russell's refusal to show mercy, even when Patrick was on his knees and groveling in tears, showed the dark side to George. True, Russell did express empathy for Patrick's plight, but he still went ahead with his revenge to prove a point to the aldermen that he won and they had to "face the music." On the verge of both social and economic ruin, Patrick shot himself dead in his office, which Russell was unaware of as he gloated at home to Bertha that they'd won.
The Gilded Age is skewed as a progressive show where the audience tended to side with the New Money of the Russells since history tells us they are, indeed, the future, and the prejudices of Agnes van Rhijn (Christine Baranski) are soon to be replaced. But Patrick's suicide is directly a result of George's ruthlessness and it takes away rooting interest in one of The Gilded Age's main characters when the many viewers already had issues with Bertha. This isn't to say that Patrick was without fault; Mr. Morris joined the aldermen in deliberately trying to swindle Mr. Russell and Patrick foolishly bet everything he owned in his scheme. Mr. Morris' suicide is also a selfish act since it leaves his wife and children in the social and financial peril he created and escaped by killing himself.
It will be a struggle for George Russell to come back from this turn of events. Patrick's suicide may be the flashpoint for the release of George's worst impulses; for instance, Mr. Russell may have an affair with Miss Turner (Kelly Curran) that Bertha's lady's maid is clearly hoping for. Whether or not The Gilded Age already crossed a point of no return with George Russell or if the railroad tycoon can regain the audience's sympathy remains to be seen. But George may also repent for his role in Patrick Morris' tragedy and he may choose to help Anne Morris and her family out as The Gilded Age continues.
The Gilded Age airs Mondays @ 9pm on HBO and streams on HBO Max.