The Gilded Age premieres on HBO on Jan. 24.
Economists have observed that America seems to be in the midst of a second Gilded Age, replicating the extreme concentration of wealth and wide income inequality experienced at the end of the 19th century. The Gilded Age, the new HBO show from Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes, could provide some commentary on the present by exploring the history we seem to be repeating, yet the show’s premiere largely offers the same escapism as its British predecessor by focusing mostly on the problems of the extremely privileged.
While Downton Abbey centered on the titular estate and the aristocrats and servants that lived there, The Gilded Age uses a wider lens to focus on multiple fabulously wealthy families living in 1882 New York. Rather than examining the struggles between the classes that gave birth to America’s first labor unions, the primary conflict in the premiere is between the old money families who trace their inherited wealth back to America’s founding, personified by Agnes van Rhijn (Christine Baranski of The Good Fight), and new money like railroad tycoon George Russell (Morgan Spector of The Plot Against America).
Determined to buy acceptance into old money high society, George’s ambitious wife, Bertha (Carrie Coon of Fargo), oversees the construction of an enormous new mansion right across the street from where Agnes lives with her sister, Ada Brook (Cynthia Nixon of Sex and the City). When their estranged niece, Marian Brook (Louisa Jacobson), comes to live with them after her feckless father died and left her penniless, Agnes’ primary command is not to mingle with the new money. Of course, Marian promptly disregards this since it’s more fun to go to a forbidden party than hang out with her aunts who have a dynamic that’s remarkably similar to Hilda and Zelda in Netflix’s Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.
Fellowes and co-writer Sonja Warfield have a lot of ground to cover introducing a huge ensemble in this first episode, so it’s perhaps not surprising that the characters and conflicts seem pretty broadly sketched. There are strawmen for the Russells to tear down to show their claws before coming into inevitable conflict with the more formidable Agnes. Bertha dresses down an old money socialite who wants her money for a pet cause but couldn’t possibly be seen at her dinner table while George gleefully explains to a lesser railroad baron that he’s going to ruin him as a warning that he’s not to be trifled with. Fortunately, the actors are both so magnetic that they keep these sections from feeling too hokey, but hopefully they’ll have meatier conflicts in later episodes.
The drama also dips into the lives of servants of both households, who feel largely cut and pasted from Downton Abbey. Agnes’ butler, Bannister (Simon Jones), emulates Mr. Carson as the gentle but stern father figure to the staff while Turner (Kelly Curran), Bertha’s outspoken maid, feels like a repeat of the bitter lady’s maid Sarah O’Brien. Watson (Michael Cerveris of Fringe) is reminiscent of Downton Abbey’s scheming butler Thomas Barrow, though this time, the closeted gay man plot has been given to another character. Those who aren’t retreads are caricatures, like the Russell’s primadonna French chef Monsieur Baudin, who complains about cooking for paupers who won’t know what to do with lobster salad.
Then there’s the younger generation of the various households who largely seem to have the same bland progressiveness of Downton Abbey’s Lady Sybil. There seems to be a love triangle being set up between Bertha and George’s Harvard-educated son Larry (Harry Richardson), Marian and Caroline Astor (Amy Forsyth), daughter of the historic powerful socialite. Bertha might want a pairing that would give her the best status, but it’s going to be hard to undo the meet cute where Larry rescues Marian’s dog.
Awkwardly navigating the bridge between upstairs and downstairs is Peggy Scott (Denee Benton), an aspiring writer who befriends Marian and winds up employed as Agnes’ secretary. As the show’s sole significant non-white character, she’s a catalyst for what little social commentary the pilot has as some of the white servants in Agnes’ household express their preferences for segregation and concerns that Black people are coming for their jobs. Hopefully her plot will be developed more, but currently she just feels like a litmus test for how sympathetic a character is meant to be based on whether or not they’re OK with having a Black employee or coworker.
Fellowes has assembled an incredible cast and the show is just as lush as you’d expect, filled with spectacular sets and dramatic costumes. The Gilded Age is sure to appeal to devoted Downton Abbey fans looking for a new traditional costume drama, but it feels dated compared to more recent spins on the genre like Hulu’s biting intrigue-heavy The Great or Netflix’s over-the-top romance Bridgerton. The Gilded Age could even stand to have learned a bit from Showtime’s Billions about how to handle the old money-new money conflict in a way that’s entertaining even if the characters aren’t really sympathetic.
from IGN Reviews https://ift.tt/3nUcxqC
This could be a real lead forward for personal gaming... Revolutionise gaming
No comments:
Post a Comment