History Series / TheGildedAge

** Gladys and [[spoiler:Carrie Astor]] bond over their difficult and overbearing mothers.

** In season 2, [[spoiler: part of what Peggy and Thomas Fortune connect over is the fact that they have lost children.]]

* CorruptCorporateExecutive: George Russell is based on some the infamous robber barons of the 19th century. He uses his vast wealth to bully and overpower smaller enterprises and thereby grow even richer. Much of what he does is legal for his time period but would get outlawed in later decades.

** [[spoiler:Arthur Scott stole his newborn grandson from his daughter as she was recovering from a troubling birth, told her the child was dead, and had the boy adopted by another Black family in Philadelphia to "save" his daughter and grandson from a poorer life. Even worse, the child ends up dying young of a scarlet fever outbreak in Philadelphia, which he may not have been exposed to had he stayed with Peggy. To Arthur's credit, he realizes he was wrong in the wake of Thomas's death]].

* SeriousBusiness: The intricacies of social etiquette are extremely important in New York's high society. Choosing who you talk to, who you're seen with, and who you allow into your home can all send shockwaves through the social circle and have serious ramifications on both your standing and theirs.

** [[spoiler:Arthur Scott stole his newborn grandson from his daughter as she was recovering from a troubling birth, told her the child was dead, and had the boy adopted by another Black family in Philadelphia to "save" his daughter and grandson from a poorer life]].

* BothSidesHaveAPoint: Oscar and John break up over their different outlooks on how to live in a society that doesn't accept them. However, each of their points of view is presented as understandable. John refuses to marry a woman and is more comfortable about the rumors surrounding him because he views being what we would call closeted as living a lie. Oscar believes they are living a lie no matter how it's spun and believes marrying a woman is in his best interest. He also believes that John has the luxury of living as close to being openly gay as the time would allow because he doesn't have the familial obligations Oscar does. John has brothers who can carry on the family name whereas Oscar is an only child who has the weight of the family living on on his shoulders and could use the cash a wealthy bride could provide in a dowry as he is responsible for providing for Agnes and Ada as they age.

* HardTruthAesop: George Russell is absolutely devoted to his wife and children, but he's perfectly willing to take advantage of his associates, brutally crush unions and benefit from the exploitation of his workers. Ruthless businessman or industrialists aren't (usually) cackling villains that can easily be written off as monsters; they're human and they can dote upon their families and be charming and friendly with their peers, while also being indifferent at best and downright horrendous at worst towards the people who generate their immense wealth.

* HardTruthAesop: George Russell is absolutely devoted to his wife and children, but he's perfectly willing to take advantage of his associates, brutally crush unions and benefit from the exploitation of his workers. Ruthless businessman or industrialists aren't (usually) cackling villains; they're human and they can dote upon their families and be charming and friendly with their peers, while also being indifferent at best and downright horrendous at worst towards the people who generate their immense wealth.

* HardTruthAesop: George Russell is absolutely devoted to his wife and children, but he's perfectly willing to take advantage of his associates, brutally crush unions and benefit from the exploitation of his workers. Ruthless businessman or industrialists aren't (usually) cackling villains; they're human and they can dote upon their families and be charming and friendly with their peers, while also being indifferent at best and downright horrendous at worst towards the people who generate their wealth.

* HardTruthAesop: George Russell, especially in season 2, is often regarded as a DesignatedHero, since while he's absolutely devoted to his wife and children he's perfectly willing to take advantage of his associates, brutally crush unions and benefit from the exploitation of his workers -- but that is pretty much the point of his character. There is ''no'' ethical way to amass such immense wealth, and even though someone dotes upon their family and is charming and friendly with their peers, they can still be indifferent at best and downright horrendous to the people they consider beneath them.

* HaughtyHelp: Mrs. Russell's lady's maid Miss Turner is not optimistic of her mistress's efforts of breaking into high society and compares her unfavorably to her last employer, who was OldMoney (which was why Mrs. Russell hired Turner). She also clearly has designs on George.

* SureLetsGoWithThat: Downplayed. While Oscar is at first furious at the claim [[spoiler:he is having an affair with Miss Turner, and storms out of Agnes' house, he later realizes his mother's intransigence will mean she won't move away from that without him revealing the full truth that he's gay, which would be much worse for him. So when he returns, he concedes she is right and lets the lie stand]].

* UnexpectedInheritance: The Van Rhijn household is rescued, after Oscar's idiocy cost them their fortune, when it turns out that Ada inherited a huge sum of money that she didn't even know about from her late husband Rev. Forte.

The series, which premiered on January 24, 2022, is an original story and not an adaptation of the Creator/MarkTwain and Charles Dudley Warner novel ''Literature/TheGildedAge'' that originated the era's name. A second season premiered on October 29, 2023.

* WrongNameOutburst: in the second-season finale, when speaking of the upcoming wedding, Dashiell [[spoiler:calls Marian "Harriet", that being the name of his dead wife. That's the signal that he hasn't gotten past Harriet's death, and Marian breaks off the engagement soon after.]]

* WrongNameOutburst: in the second-season finale, when speaking of the upcoming wedding, Dashiell calls Marion "Harriet", that being the name of his dead wife. That's the signal that he hasn't gotten past Harriet's death, and Marion breaks off the engagement soon after

** Peggy goes to Tuskegee, Alabama with Mr. Fortune to cover the opening of Booker T. Washington's school for black students. Marian warns Peggy to be very careful about not causing a scandal because she's a woman traveling alone with a married man even though it's for work. Mrs. Scott is terrified for her safety because she believes Peggy who's grown up in comfort that she and her husband fought tooth and nail for her to have in New York is naive about what happens to black people below the Mason-Dixon lines where she'd be considered subhuman.

* TheBusCameBack: Miss Turner, Bertha's ladies' maid who is fired in Season 1 after she tries to seduce George, pops back up at the end of episode 2.2--as Mrs. Winterton. She married a rich guy and is now Bertha's peer as a society wife.

* ArrangedMarriage: [[spoiler:During the season 2 finale, Bertha searches for an angle with which to convince the Duke to come to the Metropolitan Opera's opening but can't offer what Mrs. Astor can: opening New York to him. However, it is heavily implied that during a closed doors meeting she promised him the hand of Gladys Russell, with the financial backing that would entail. As Mrs. Astor and [=McAllister=] wonder how she did it, Agnes darkly implies this is the case. For extra ominous overtones, this is revealed during the opera ''Theatre/{{Faust}}''.]]

** [[spoiler: George's potential trial over the train derailment is resolved because his stenographer Miss Ainsley charged a pair of gloves to the name of Dixon in Bloomingdales, the man in charge of building the faulty engine, only to accidentally leave her purse behind for Marian to find and return to Mr. Russell, and the only reason Marian even recognizes Ainsley as George's stenographer is because she dropped off some papers at the Russells' while Marian was seeing Oscar and Larry off to Newport not long before that]]. George even lampshades this.

* SureLetsGoWithThat: Downplayed. While Oscar was at first furious at the claim [[spoiler:he is having an affair with Miss Turner and he storms out of Agnes' house, he later realizes his mother's intransigence will mean she won't move away from that without him revealing the full truth, which would be much worse for him. So when he returns, he concedes she is right and lets the lie stand]].

* SecretlyWealthy: Peggy Scott hides her upper-middle class background from her aristocratic employer. Her father owns a pharmacy and maintains a very nice brownstone with a servant of his own. Ironically, this means she has a larger inheritance coming to her than her white, ImpoverishedPatrician friend Marian, who embarrasses herself when she shows up unannounced to gift her some old shoes. Peggy's wealth was hinted at before this: Her wardrobe is always subdued but quality. She hits if off with Agnes and Ada when they find out she went to a school their father patronized called The Institute for Colored Youth (now called Cheney University) which is the first historically black college in the US. She had no problem paying for Marian's train fare when Marian lost hers. Her mother implies that the restaurant where they first meet is below her standards. During Peggy's first meeting with her father, he wears a flashy suit and mentions that he could employ her himself.

* ArrangedMarriage: [[spoiler:During the season 2 finale, Bertha searches for an angle with which to convince the Duke to come to the Metropolitan Opera's opening but can't offer what Mrs. Astor can: opening New York to him. However, it is heavily implied that during a closed doors meeting she promised him the hand of Gladys Russell, with the financial backing that would entail. As Mrs. Astor and [=McAllister=] wonder how she did it, Agnes darkly implies this is the case. For extra ominous overtones, this is revealed during the Opera ''Theatre/{{Faust}}''.]]

* ArrangedMarriage: [[spoiler:During the season 2 finale, Bertha searches for an angle with which to convince the Duke to come to the Metropolitan Opera's opening but can't offer what Mrs. Astor can: opening New York to him. However, it is heavily implied that during a closed doors meeting she promised him the hand of Gladys Russel, with the financial backing that would entail. As Mrs. Astor and [=McAllister=] wonder how she did it, Agnes darkly implies this is the case. For extra ominous overtones, this is revealed during the Opera ''Theatre/{{Faust}}''.]]

* ProfessionalButtKisser: Ward [=McAllister=] is a consumate socialite and does everything in his power to remain in Mrs. Astor's good side throughout season 1 and 2, where he serves as Mrs. Astor's confidant at gatekeeping the New York social elite-- while helping Bertha Russel behind the scenes on the chance she breaks in successfully. Ultimately [[spoiler:though apologetic to Bertha, he chooses to back Mrs. Astor and the Academy of Music.]]

* ProfessionalButtKisser: Ward McAllister has shades of this, throughout season 1 and 2 he serves as Mrs. Astor's confidant at gatekeeping the New York social elite-- while helping Bertha Russel behind the scenes on the chance she breaks in successfully. Ultimately [[spoiler:though apologetic to Bertha, he chooses to back Mrs. Astor and the Academy of Music.]]

** While Marian, Oscar, Ada, and Agnes are fictional, their maternally related to the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Livingston_family Livingston family]], an existing family of deep roots in New York City and the Hudson Valley.