Parenting Tips from “The Gilded Age” S3 E3, “Love Is Never Easy”

Welcome to the Parenting Roundabout podcast. I'm Terry Morrow and I'm Catherine hileco. As parents and parenting writers, we can't help but see everything through a parenting lens. But as our kids have become adults, we find ourselves more interested in getting caught up on movies and streaming than I'm going over the same parenting topics over and over.

So since we're pretty sure we can find parenting wisdom anywhere, we're going to talk about what we're watching, what we thought about it, and maybe what we can learn from it, if only what not to do. Watch and listen along, and let's all make like we're doing something important for our families. Each Wednesday we bring you our thoughts on a newer entertainment property, and for this week of August fourth, we're continuing with the Gilded Age. This episode was titled

A camp.

Guilded age of screenwriters who hurt you.

So yeah, love is not easy. For for example, Larry and Marion. Yeah, of course, get busted by Bertha's maid, who.

Did indeed, immediately go and wrap them out, wrap them out? Yes, Oh wow. She This parenting tip set up a good intelligence network so that anytime your children do anything you would want to know about, somebody's telling you. I did that with pair of professionals in schools. Uh. And I mean, if you have household help, absolutely let them know.

It'll be worth their why yes, to keep you informed.

Although I think the I think the maid thought better of it after she had done it was like yeah.

Then she's like late.

I think she sort of had the She sort of tried the same method as Billy Carleton's mom and it didn't didn't work.

No, no, Billy Carleton has completely left the building. Gladys thinks she'll be able to go back to him, and it's like no, no, no.

As Larry said, mother got to him.

I think I think she said he said she got to his mother or something like that. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah got to her. So and indeed she did.

She did.

Mm hmmm. So Billy's mother, we should say, because we missed it last week when we were praising her performance, and it's Victoria Clark. I know who Victoria Clark is. I didn't recognize her playing just like the mom, but I didn't know whoever was doing it had some skills. So yeah, tip of the hat, right, we know, hope she would be nice if she had more to do, but maybe she just had a free you know, a free few days and her Broadway buddy said, come and play a little role. It'll be fine.

We've always got something going on over Yeah.

For you, we'll find somebody's mother for you to be. You can have three scenes. It'll be great, h Yes.

So yeah, it's hard for Larry and Marion.

It's hard for Peggy because while the doctor seems amazing and lovely, his mother does not.

Felicious, solicious, shod Wow, what a performance.

And Brian Stokes Mitchell is his dad.

So yes again Broadway, yes are you here?

Yeah, the dad seemed seem cool, lovely and oh boys, a real snob and a colorist, yes real ouch ouch ouch.

So everybody's a racist.

Yeah, that's that was harsh, But but we had to have something to get in the way of Peggy's yes, love, so I assume that.

Which is, by the way, never easy.

D You're it's not easy. Yeah.

So but then of course the big the big thing about love not being easy is marrying Glady's off to the duke. It's Bertha, of course, as we knew, Yeah, last week was not finished with this, with this plan, she had to kind of regroup and.

Restart, but she did.

She found a way to basically tell the rival like, look, you're not gonna win this.

Although I really enjoyed, I should look up who played the rival's dad, because he was terrific, yes, and so bemused by the whole thing, and not like, you know, gonna snap back at George for telling his wife business things and not gonna just like I don't want my daughter to marry this student and go to England. I don't care, And you know, I admire your comps. He was just so such a human being, you know, like probably thinking to himself, oh boy, George, I feel sorry

His name is Andrew Garman and he was in The Holdovers. Oh he played who was he played a doctor? Okay, must have been a doctor at the like mental hospital where.

You know where the kid's dad was.

Could be or also could be that didn't he have to didn't the kid have to go to the hospital for something he injured himself. Yeah, that could be that too, But either way, excellent job by that guy of just seeing like seeming like such a cool human of which we don't see all that many of the killed pitch right, and he could have been a real insufferable jerk who then made things difficult. But he's uh, you know, good for his daughter.

Mm hmm. Yeah I liked that.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, So I don't I mean, maybe Bertha didn't even need to do any of that because you just like, oh, I don't don't want her to marry this guy.

So yeah, it was pretty it seemed just.

Sort of a little errand that they went.

On, right, It seems pretty risky of her to do that because George kind of told her that stuff in confidence. I don't think he expected her to turn around and call the guy in and tell him that she knows right. Fortunately.

Yeah.

Well, and the other thing that that happened in this episode was that Patrick Page came back yes Zona, and he was like, oh, we need more money, and so George said, well take the money that we were going to.

Yes, this I have this in capital letters many times in my notes.

Yeah, so what's that is that going to be?

You know, Chekhov's dowries it.

Yeah, I didn't understand because I thought then when I mean, when uh Bertha was then turning around and making this match happen again and promising him the money again, I thought it was going to be a huge crisis, George saying you did what we don't have that money anymore. But George was like, okay, cool. He didn't seem to be concerned at.

All, and also not that concerned that you know, he told Gladys that she wouldn't have to do it, and yeah, then he was like, oh.

Well, las Birtha figured it out.

The thing is, at that point I would have felt worse about it for Gladys had Billy not just turned out to be such a crushingly drip. Yeah. Yeah, so it's like she no longer has the dream of Billy, so might as well bebe you know, what are you going to do if you you know, it's like Marian saying that she's struck out twice, she's got to be

Yeah, he's like on a he's on a train, I guess, But I mean they have telegrams and stuff.

Yeah, I guess George is just like, yeah, it'll all be fine because I'll I'll make billions on this deal when.

It actually Yeah, I guess that's gonna be pretty awkward for Gladys when she's in some stranger's house in England in the check bounces.

But he'll just be like, well, remember that that allowance, hind about that part, I'll give you everything else.

Well, Bertha already told him the allowance, you know, feel free to just read that whenever you.

Want, what's hers is yours.

Yes.

But then at the end it did have kind of a like a nice little chat yes Duke and glad like when he was like, well this.

Is awkward basicly and She's like yeah.

Yeah, so yeah, yeah that was somewhat reassuring, but I still love must yeah no. And then at the end, after her painting is unveiled, Gladys fidgets with her necklace one too many times and it falls apart, which, uh, based on things I read in social media, yeah, this has symbolizes nothing good.

Yeah.

But also the other thing that I read was that a decent pearl necklace would not do that because each there would be a knot in between each each pearl, so that you would you.

Would use So who who gave her the pearl necklace? Did the dude give it to her?

I don't know, because she had it on earlier.

Maybe I'm just wondering, if it's not a decent pearl necklace, who is giving her cheap jewelry?

Is it like a sign of you know, this is all a house of cards.

That's right, probably, And also the servants are going, oh bleep, we're gonna have to spend the next month findings it bounced on a hard tile floor and have gone every bleeping where does somebody count? Do we know how many we're looking for?

Right rightmare?

Well, the maid who rated out Mary and Larry should get that duty.

Yeah, it's your job to get down.

There on your Oh my m hm, Well so what else?

Did anything else happen at the van?

Ryans?

Oh we're gonna get We're gonna get.

A seance or something.

Yes we are.

The cook has sympathetically told Ada like, oh, you could talk to him one more time, Robert.

Sean Leonard, we'll get him there.

So we're honoring the man by not drinking alcohol when he had no trouble with alcohol, and by doing some a seance which I have to think that a religious uh person would not agree with.

Could not appreciate exactly think things through, will you?

Warning is never easy? But you're being kind of bad at it? Yeah, yeah, yeah, you do have.

To feel bad, and I did. I was impressed by the cook, you know, yeah, how she handled basically being you know, put on the spotlight. Why didn't you sign it? Why didn't anybody sign it? Except for that awful strong, and she was very like gentle and kind without you know, overstepping her position.

Yeah, there are many things she could have gotten people to sign. It's it's not about you, honey, it's about they like to have a beer at the end of the day. It's about enjoy their wine. You know, none of them are alcohol a dealing them alone, I'm dealing with you.

And Agnes and Oscar all dang day.

Yes, don't take their don't take each other. Yeah, don't take their enjoyment away. That's like, it's not it's not a personal slight. And I don't think they would do it for Agnes either, although Agnes would probably be a little more overbearing about it, but she would never ask that you're right right, And she is not taking her whole change in fortune well at all. It's delightful, Yes, yes, it is not to see her downfall, but just to see how she's still the same person from the other end,

And we did also get a little advancement of the clock plot, yes, with Larry and Jack going to meet with some you know clock yes, guys, and thankfully Jack spoke up and when the time when it be.

Necessary, so did well.

It was like, finally, Larry, you did something right with this clock by actually bringing Jack with you.

And yes, yes, I also.

Realized otherwise you would have been out of there.

Yeah, he would not have as you did. Yeah. I really enjoyed the scene between Jack and It's armstrong right, the unpleasant Yes, great. Yeah. It shows that sometimes somebody who you have no respect for otherwise, can you know, give you some perspective, and you need to be open to everybody, and that she reached out to him in that way, and that she really had a very valuable insight to share.

Mm hmm.

That you know, we tend to dismiss her as just but she was kind. She was very kind.

She was kind of like, guys, you make me look quick, absolutely horrible all day, Like can you give me a little yeah.

Yeah.

But then there was that little ending he says, thanks for giving me some hope.

She's like, oh I didn't, Yeah, I didn't mean to.

Well, she's got to stay true, but still she that was that was a nice scene. I really enjoyed that and I liked the message parenting tip wise, sometimes you can get insights from people you otherwise do not like and do not respect, and you have to be open at least I will open to everybody. Sometimes. It's like we talked about parenting books last week, that you take what you need and leave the rest and adjust what

Yes, she's very wonderful.

All so fun for her. M hm.

So yeah, And was there any was there any Aurora?

No?

Just to other was there No? I don't there's any mention of herdle.

No.

I think that she was mentioned, but she didn't appear. I don't believe.

Oh, I think it was what Agnes was saying that she's now going to be excluded from society, and that she will go to Newport with Aurora and the other outcasts and at least they will have wine or something like that.

Yes, that's what it was.

You know, it's it sounds like she could have a good time there. Just steer clear of Felicierer's shot.

Yeah, but you know, it's a good introduce her to your maid.

A good parenting tip that there are snobs in every circle. You know, no matter what, you're never going to find a group where somebody doesn't think they're better than everybody else. So find the people who you can sit in a corner and laugh at them with. So like missus f Yes, exactly, Missus Fish observing all of these.

She doesn't laugh at people.

Well, she just gossips.

She sort of just giggles softly to herself. I think I hope she has somebody at home, whether it be a partner or a child or a sympathetic servant, who she can go home and just tell all these stories too. Oh and then this thing happened. Oh and then this thing. Oh can you believe this? She's writing it down and we'll have a just a killer society novel to come out at some point, or she just just enjoys her life and that's it. That's sufficient, Yeah, keeps her own canceled.

Yes, So next Wednesday we will continue with season three, episode four.

As I mentioned, it is called marriage is a Game?

Oh yeah, are we gonna I mean, we already know some there'reages that are a gamble, but are we gonna move Are we gonna move.

Further along with Larry and Marion? Or how many weeks are we gonna just sort of.

Not?

They can't just like be happy from the beginning, you know, they've got to keep introducing that.

Oh well whatever, it would be a gamble though, yep, it would.

But we'll see.

We'll see next Wednesday, and we'll be back here tomorrow for our weekly Roundabout round up.

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