The Gilded Age Season 3 finale set up many storylines for the next installment, which has already been confirmed. Between the ongoing marital issues between Bertha (Carrie Coon) and George (Morgan Spector), Peggy’s (Denée Benton) engagement, Gladys’ (Taissa Farmiga) pregnancy, and Marian (Louisa Jacobson) and Larry’s (Harry Richardson) will-they-won’t-they relationship, Season 4 is sure to be eventful. But one new power couple has the potential to surpass the rest as it sets up several interesting twists. For three seasons now, Oscar van Rhjin (Blake Ritson) has long been trying to marry an heiress, and Season 3’s finale, “My Mind Is Made Up,” gives him the perfect partner in Mrs. Enid Winteron (Kelley Curran), formerly Turner, whose recently deceased husband has left her with a fortune to her name.
Of course, any marriage for Oscar will be a lavender marriage, as he is a gay man in a time when society didn’t look too kindly on LGBTQ+ people. This has been a source of problems for Oscar, who hasn’t been able to make a match with any of the women he’s been eyeing. However, his win comes at the perfect time for the character, as Season 3 has been brutal for Oscar, between coping with his changed circumstances, the loss of John Adams (Claybourne Elder), and his confrontation with Maud Beaton (Nicole Brydon Bloom). Oscar and Mrs. Winterton are a perfect match as she is a wealthy widow with declining social status, and he is financially struggling, but has as prestigious a name as anyone. Though Season 3 doesn’t offer anything as official as an engagement, it implies an alliance between them that could provide more than its share of drama in the future.
Oscar Proposes an Alliance To Mrs. Winterton in ‘The Gilded Age’ Season 3 Finale
Oscar doesn’t run into Mrs. Winterton until the end of Season 3, but he has known her since Season 1, when Oscar was still trying to get Gladys to marry him. They struck up a bargain then, where he paid her for information on the Russells, but it ended when she lost her job. After she became Mrs. Winterton, Oscar never revealed her secret, so when he runs into her at the opera in the Season 3 finale, they are already friendly. However, Mrs. Winterton’s complaints that, despite inheriting her husband’s money, society is leaving her behind following his death, inspire an idea for Oscar. He negotiates with Bertha to secure Mrs. Winterton an invitation to her Newport ball, proving to her how useful he could be, but that is only the beginning.
After finding the wealthy widow at the ball, Oscar points out how well they could work together, proposing a mutually beneficial arrangement where they are together in the city but able to live as they choose elsewhere. Oscar has the societal position to get them invited to any party, and Mrs. Winteron has the wealth to ensure they live a comfortable life. Thanks to Oscar’s recent gift from the deceased John Adams, they both have a home where they can do what they like without raising the suspicions of society. Mrs. Winterton is intrigued by the idea, though there is little time for the two to discuss it in the finale.
‘The Gilded Age’ Just Gave Oscar a Chance to Live on His Own Terms
Image via HBO
Admittedly, Mrs. Winterton and Oscar are a good match. Both are ambitious as they attempt to gain a fortune through marriage, and neither is above a little scheming. A marriage between them would not be about love, but there is respect between them. Not only does he know (and not seem to care) about her past working as a lady’s maid, but it wouldn’t be the first time Mrs. Winterton has married for convenience. Then there is Oscar, who, as a gay man in the 1880s, cannot be married to the person he loves,especially now that John Adams is dead. However, he has been hoping to marry for money and has had bad luck in the process. First, the Russells identified him as a fortune hunter, and then Maud Beaton deceived him. Though he has begun to build back his life, Oscar is certainly in search of more, and Mrs. Winterton has that.
Any marriage Oscar could have would be dishonest, as John Adams used to point out to him, and for a while, Oscar hoped for a naive bride who wouldn’t realize what he was doing, but an agreement with Mrs. Winteron would mean he wouldn’t need to lie to her. If he and Mrs. Winterton marry as a business deal rather than with promises of love, she doesn’t have expectations he cannot fulfill. This is a golden opportunity for Oscar that would allow him freedom to love whomever he wishes and still enable him to live up to society’s strict expectations while avoiding any gossip. Oscar can never be his true self publicly, but a marriage to Mrs. Winterton is the next best thing for him.
A Match Between Oscar and Mrs. Winterton Creates Exciting Possibilities for ‘The Gilded Age’ Season 4
Image via HBO
This alliance not only benefits the characters, but it also sets up a fascinating story for Season 4. A marriage between Oscar and Mrs. Winterton would bring her back to the forefront of the series after she was a sidenote throughout Season 3. After her antics in Season 1 and the trouble she caused in Season 2, Mrs. Winterton became one of The Gilded Age‘s most interesting characters, if only because of the drama she incites, and bringing her back through Oscar will give him more to do. It can also revive the rivalry between Mrs. Winterton and Bertha. Oscar’s family is tied to the Russells as neighbors, and more directly, if Marian and Larry work through their issues, they could become family. As Mrs. Winterton was once Bertha’s lady’s maid, her marrying someone so close to the family is sure to anger Bertha and fuel their mutual dislike.
But that is only one challenge for them, as Oscar’s mother, Agnes (Christine Baranski), represents the old guard and resists all change. She barely tolerates the Russells and opposed Marian’s brief engagement to Larry, even though the family has thoroughly established itself in society. So if she learns that her son plans to marry a former servant, she will certainly have something to say. Though there are certainly obstacles, a marriage between Oscar and Mrs. Winterton carries a lot of potential, and if they choose to work together, they will make a formidable team. After Oscar endured so much in Season 3, this suggests that better things are waiting for him in Season 4.
