‘The Gilded Age’ EP Teases How the Season 2 Finale Sets Up “Fireworks” Between Agnes and Ada in Season 3

The Gilded Age Season 2 ends with a total reversal of fortune for the van Rhijn/Brooks family — in the good way. After last week’s shocker, wherein we discovered that the comely Maud Beaton (Nicole Brydon Bloom) was actually the honeypot in a complex con, Oscar (Blake Ritson) had to tell his mother Agnes (Christine Baranski) that he had lost the entire van Rhijn family fortune. Throughout The Gilded Age Season 2 finale, the family came to grips with their new reality, preparing to downsize their staff and getting ready to sell their house. However, HBO‘s delightful drama had one last twist for us. It turns out that Reverend Luke Forte (Robert Sean Leonard) actually came from a whole lot of money that he left in his will to wife Ada (Cynthia Nixon).

This influx of cash means that Agnes, Ada, Marian (Louisa Jacobson), and the entire downstairs staff can stay at 61st street. It’s also means that if there’s a Gilded Age Season 3, the relationship dynamics between older sister Agnes van Rhijn and younger sister Ada Forte will be flipped upside down.

“I mean, we watch the show because we love Ada and Agnes. They’re always kind of at each other, right?” The Gilded Age‘s co-writer and co-executive producer Sonja Warfield told Decider. “So now we’ve switched the power dynamic. Ada has the money and the power.”

“I mean, thematically, the whole show is about power. Agnes essentially gave up everything she wanted in life so that she could have the security marrying a horrible man…and now her sister has all the power.”

This new reality sinks in for Agnes almost immediately. When she attempts to order her long-time British butler Bannister (Simon Jones), to tell the happy news to the servants downstairs, he pauses. Then he asks Miss Ada if that is her wish. A knowing look is exchanged between the butler and Agnes and it’s clear the servants will now be taking their cues from the woman paying their wages.

“Hopefully, God willing, we get a Season 3,” Warfield said, explaining how this shift in power dynamics will “propel” a whole new storyline for The Gilded Age. “The servants are going to be looking to Miss Ada for order. It is not Agnes. That’s going to set off a whole new set of fireworks.”

Not unlike the ones we saw exploding over Brooklyn Bridge last week…