After a shocking twist to end Season 3, Episode 6, The Gilded Age star Ben Ahlers addressed whether he and his Jack character will be leaving the hit HBO period drama. Ahlers' Jack first came onto the scene as the footman of the Van Rhijns (led by Blake Ritson's Oscar Van Rhijn), serving as key hired help for one of the show's central New York families. However, Jack's fortunes changed in the show's most recent season, as Ahlers' character took his future into his own hands with a clever new invention.
Jack's story came to a head in Season 3, Episode 6 (subtitled "If You Want to Cook an Omelette"). After selling his clock invention for a lofty sum of $300,000 in Episode 4, a total that in 2025 dollars would be over $9.5 million, Jack was pushed from the Van Rhijn house. This left the character and the actor's future on the series somewhat in question.
The Gilded Age Season 3 is ongoing on HBO and HBO Max. The series once again stars Carrie Coon (White Lotus), Morgan Spector (Homeland), Louisa Jacobson (Materialists), and many more A-list talents in 19th-century New York City. The series follows several aristocratic families in New York and the people living in and around the city's high society.
Is Ben Ahlers Leaving Gilded Age?
Ben Ahlers' Jack shocked audiences in the latest episode of The Gilded Age Season 3, as he left the Van Rhijn household after serving as one of their loyal servants for years (read more about Jack and the rest of the Gilded Age cast here).
This all happened after it was discovered that the young footman had come into a large sum of money and was seen as no longer needed around the house by those who ran it.
Earlier in the season, Jack was seen negotiating the sale of his latest invention, a new alarm clock that could change the clock/watch-making business in New York. After weeks of negotiations and ironing out the wrinkles of his plan, Jack finally sold the concept to a wealthy New York businessman for $300,000 in Season 3, Episode 4.
This was more money than the young man had ever dreamed of earning; however, he felt he needed to stay in his role with the Van Rhijns for the time being until he figured out his next move.
That plan came to an abrupt end in Season 3, Episode 6. After word of Jack's clock sale makes its way around the Van Rhijn servant fleet, it quickly returns to the family itself, that Jack now has life-changing money.
Some staff believe the Van Rhijns should let the young man go so as not to cause trouble among the typically relatively poor servant staff. This leads to a tear-filled conversation between Jack and Ada (the head of the house, Agnes' sister).
Ada tells Ahlers' character that she supports his pursuits to make a better life for himself and that it is time to leap. So he packs up and leaves the relative safety of the job he has known for years. This leaves the character's fate in the series in the air, with only two episodes left in the current season run.
Speaking to Town and County Magazine after Episode 6, Ahlers insinuated that there is more Jack to come despite his no longer being part of the Van Rhijn house. When asked about what he could tease from the rest of the season, the Gilded Age star posited that "He's going to definitely want to get himself busy and I think he's gotten an itch for the patent game," hinting that the character's story is not quite done:
"Jack’s going to be left with some real decisions about how he wants to operate with this newfound freedom, and I would say. Based off of what I think what we all know about him is that he likes to keep himself busy, and he got into this, again, not for the money, but for the engagement of solving a problem. The name Jack is not irrelevant—it’s like a jackknife. It’s a jack of all trades. You can’t go from working from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day and then just go sit around and be rich in your house. He’s going to definitely want to get himself busy and I think he’s gotten an itch for the patent game, so I’m eager to see what he cooks up next."
The last fans see of the character in Episode 6 is when he checks himself into a hotel for the first time and spends the night alone, without the familiarity of having Mrs. Armstrong or the rest of the Van Rhijn staff nearby.
Ahlers seems to think there are more stories to tell with his character, beyond Season 3. In a conversation with TV Insider, the actor broke down what he thinks is next for Jack, saying that "it's a massive transition starting to live on your own," so he may "move slowly through what's the next big venture or who does he want to pursue romantically:"
"Jack's going to be left with some interesting decisions about what he wants to make of his life. Also, at the same time, it's a massive transition starting to live on your own. So, I think he can fortunately move slowly through what's the next big venture or who does he want to pursue romantically or any of those sorts of things. He just needs to know what it's like going to sleep without Miss Armstrong out the next door."
He added that Jack saw the Van Rhijn house as the family he never had, so it will be a significant change now that he is no longer a part of its staff.
Jumping from Season 3 into whatever is next, though, Ahlers believes there is more fuel in the tank for someone like Jack on the series, positing that he will keep "dreaming about whatever the next invention is or whatever next adventure is:"
"Especially when he left the house, dreaming of those first couple of nights alone, and then maybe knock wood about a Season 4, I'll be dreaming about whatever the next invention is or whatever next adventure is."
HBO has not yet announced a fourth season of The Gilded Age. Still, given the series' success so far as one of the network's biggest releases of the year (growing in audience from season to season), one can likely expect Season 4 to be greenlit after the end of Season 3. And when that announcement comes, it seems Ben Ahlers' Jack will be a part of its ever-evolving story.
