One star of The Gilded Age commented on the cliffhanger from Season 3, Episode 7 involving Morgan Spector's George Russell. The Gilded Age recently returned for a third season on HBO Max. The new season of the period drama has received incredibly high reviews, and on July 28, HBO Max confirmed that the series has been renewed for a fourth season.
Throughout The Gilded Age Season 3, George Russell (who is the patriarch of the show's main family) has been trying to save his business. Multiple times he has had to make choices which have led to George creating a lot of enemies, and everything came to a head in the penultimate episode of Season 3.
While George was able to save his business, he may end up losing his life. At the end of Season 3, Episode 7, George was shown staying at a gentlemen's club. While there, someone broke into George's quarters (particularly his study) and fired a shot at him from a gun.
The screen cut to black before the audience could see exactly what happened, but it seems as though George was shot and may have been killed. Now, fans are eagerly waiting for the season finale to provide an update on George's status and wellbeing.
However, George Russell actor Morgan Spector recently commented on his character being shot at, and even provided some information on whether George will die or not.
The Gilded Age also stars Carrie Coon, Taissa Farmiga, Louisa Jacobson, and Harry Richardson. The Season 3 finale will be released on HBO Max on Sunday, August 10.
Does Mr. Russell Die In The Gilded Age Season 3?
In a recent interview with Variety, George Russell actor Morgan Spector was asked if fans should be worried about his character in The Gilded Age following the shocking final scene of the penultimate episode of Season 3.
Particularly, Spector stated that fans "should be very worried." He didn't provide any specifics on what will happen to George in the Season 3 finale, but the actor did reveal that he "does not have a contract for next season yet," despite the fact that the show has already been renewed for a fourth installment.
Spector also brought up a good point that gunshot wounds in the 19th century tended to be fatal more times than not. This not only confirmed that George was, in fact, shot by someone, but that he could have been shot somewhere that will send him to his grave:
"You should be very worried. In the 19th century, gunshot wounds from up close were extremely dangerous. Many people didn’t survive them. I don’t have a contract for next season yet, so who knows?"
Spector was also asked about how he felt when he read the script for Season 3, Episode 7 for the first time. He simply noted that he was "thrilled," largely because "it's such a left turn for" The Gilded Age to do something like that:
"Those final scripts were a little delayed, so it took some time before I got them. But when I read the ending for that episode, I was just thrilled, because it’s such a left turn for our show. It’s totally historically accurate. This kind of thing happened during that era, but it doesn’t feel like 'The Gilded Age.'"
The actor also brought up the real life case of Luigi Mangione and how he read the script for the first time around the same time Mangione shot the CEO of United Healthcare. Specifically, Spector commended The Gilded Age creator Julian Fellowes for being "clairvoyant" and showcasing how times have not changed in certain ways:
"When I read the script, it wasn’t that long after Luigi Mangione shot the United Healthcare CEO. I was like, ['The Gilded Age' creator] Julian Fellowes is clairvoyant. It redoubled my sense that there’s a way that this show, however subtly, however quietly, is really in dialog with our current moment, simply by virtue of there being structural similarities between the two eras. Both of these time periods have massive wealth and massive inequality. Both of them are characterized by industrial titans who are kind of swinging the state around by its tail. The consequences of that can be violence."
In another interview, this one with The Hollywood Reporter, The Gilded Age executive producer and director Salli Richardson-Whitfield talked about the cliffhanging ending of Season 3, Episode 7.
Richardson-Whitfield explained a bit of the science behind the decision to have a main character shot at, bringing up how the show typically has "explosive openers and endings in episodes:"
"At 'Gilded,' we really love these explosive openers and endings in episodes. Oscar’s friend just got [killed]. No one saw that coming, and no one sees what happens to George at the end of episode seven."
However, Richardson-Whitfield remained quite tight-lipped about whether George will live or not, so fans will have to tune into the Season 3 finale to learn what really happened to him.
Find out if another major Gilded Age character will be leaving the show here.
