Downton Abbey fans have long known that as quickly as Julian Fellowes giveth, he will taketh away. Now the Oscar- and Emmy-winning writer is taking this cruel approach to his HBO show The Gilded Age. Literally two weeks after finally giving darling Aunt Ada (Cynthia Nixon) a happily ever after by marrying her to the kindly pastor Luke Forte (Robert Sean Leonard), Fellowes has crushed her joy! The sweetest man in television, Luke Forte, was killed off of The Gilded Age last night. The Gilded Age Season 2 Episode 7 “Wonders Never Cease” throws this tragedy at Ada in between celebrations for the Brooklyn Bridge and the start of Marian Brook’s (Louisa Jacobson) wedding preparations. How cruel! But the wildest part? That’s not even the only tragedy to hit the van Rhijn/Brook house in last night’s penultimate episode of the second Gilded Age season!!
Oscar van Rhijn (Blake Ritson) discovers that the money he’s invested in the railroad company his lady friend Maud Beaton (Nicole Bryndon Bloom) introduced him to is all gone. Maud and her friends were con artists tricking unsuspecting rich folks into a classic investment trap. Believing that he had found a quick way to make a huge return on his investment, Oscar handed over almost all of the van Rjihn fortune to Maud’s banker buddies. As soon as his money was gone, they skipped town.
So what’s possibly next for The Gilded Age‘s favorite old money family? Why would Julian Fellowes be so cruel to Ada? How exactly did Maud Beaton’s con work out? Here’s what you need to know about the end of The Gilded Age Season 2 Episode 7 “Wonders Never Cease”…
Were you like Aunt Agnes (Christine Baranski), completely flummoxed by the reveal last week that Luke Forte had cancer? I mean, all he had was a bad back! Maybe at worst he had a slipped disc in the days before MRIs! As it happens, no. It is CANCER. And a type that, Marian explains, starts with a bad back.
So what kind of cancer does Luke Forte die from on The Gilded Age? Well, the show never specifies. Decider actually put the question to executive producer Sonja Warfield, but she also didn’t respond. Instead of revealing specifically what cancer Luke had, she offered a spoiler-y answer for next week’s episode that we have to hold until the finale airs…
When Decider used the internet to uncover what malady this might be, we found out that most cancer really doesn’t start with back pain. However, acute back pain can be either an early warning sign or side effect of lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, prostate cancer, or, duh, a spinal tumor. So pick your poison, I guess.
Well, well, well… You have to admit that it’s kind of funny that with all the Brooklyn Bridge references throughout this season of The Gilded Age, Julian Fellowes pulled off a con artist storyline that had nothing to do with selling a piece of aforementioned bridge. As it turns out, Maud Beaton wasn’t a real socialite at all. She was a honey trap, working with “Mr. Crowther” and others to ensnare hapless rich guys like Oscar.
The con worked like this: Maud infiltrated high society by presenting herself as a well-heeled heiress. Through multiple gatherings, she would zero in on a target. In this case, old money bachelor Oscar van Rhijn. While presenting herself as an ideal match for a gold-digger like Oscar, she was secretly coaxing him into turning over his family’s fortune to her associates.
Throughout the season, Maud alluded to a lucrative railroad deal her family’s money was involved in. First, Oscar presented himself as an ally in her fight with the scary business men. Then, he pushed his way into the deal. He “invested” a small-ish amount of money and when Crowther circled back with a major return on investment, Oscar got the itch. He made it his mission to buy out the other “shareholders” with all of his mother’s money. The catch was he was just giving his money to Maud, Crowther, and whatever con artist associates they had.
As soon as Oscar turned over his money, Maud and Crowther skipped town. The business office Oscar visited so often turned out to be a rental space — think Gilded Age WeWork – and it was revealed Maude never even lived at the address Oscar picked her up in front of.
YA fans might actually recognize the grift Oscar fell for. A very similar scheme, right down to the disappearing friend trick, shows up in the backstory of a character in Leigh Bardugo’s Six of Crows series.
The long and short of it is that Maud Beaton took Oscar van Rhijn for all he and his family were worth. So what now for Agnes, Ada, Marian, and the rest of the household at 61st Street?