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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]FINALE SPOILERS INCOMING

I really liked the finale. I especially liked that they upended expectation by having Mr. Russell remain estranged from Bertha at the end of the episode, even though the rest of the episode you think the assassination attempt is what will bring them back together. I also thought it was realistic -- George respects how cutthroat and striving Bertha is, because he's like that too, but he HAS to be in charge of every situation because that's just how he is as a person and he can't forgive her for essentially overriding him regarding Gladys. I think it's completely in keeping with his character, he never gives an inch in anything and he obviously really hated feeling like the situation with Gladys was totally out of his hands. I also liked seeing Bertha misread that situation -- this is like her one weakness and that's good, it gives Coon something to do other than swan around acting imperious, and I look forward to what they do with this next season.

Happy for Peggy and Marion and also happy/hopeful to be freed of the "unlucky in love" plot lines for both. It was getting very old. It's much more interesting to maybe see them navigating marriage, both to families with some messy dynamics they will have to navigate.

LOVE everything with Jack, his entire storyline this season was the most subtly done in terms of allowing the actors to actually act the subtext without constantly shoving it down our throats. I really enjoyed both the scene of him visiting his old friends and feeling slightly awkward about it, as well as Bridget visiting him and watching their little romance unfolding. It's sweet and feels novel and interesting. Hope to see more of this.

Also liked what they did with Agnes and Ada, with the historical society and Agnes finally giving Ada her due (and a pleasure to see Ada acting like something other than a bumbling fool, this gets so old especially the way Nixon plays it, she's much better as a competent person who no one has previously listened to but who now has a voice).

Finally, surprisingly happy to see where the Oscar and Mrs. Winterton collaboration is headed. I thought Oscar had given up on finding a beard but she's honestly the ideal candidate -- rich, the right age, and morally compromised enough to be totally fine with the arrangement (to be clear, I don't think it's immortal that Oscar is gay, just saying the vast majority of society women of the time would be afraid to do this either because they would be horrified by his homosexuality or because they'd fear society approbation if other people found out). I normally find both these characters annoying but together they might be a fun alliance.[/quote]

Great post, and I agree with much of it.

However, I was coming here to post basically the opposite impression you had about George and Bertha!  I felt like the only *realistic* explanation for his rewriting history (his cowardice) and also now being turned off by her cutthroat ambition would be that he's having an affair.  That's certainly been many people's experience over on the Relationship forum -- that their cheating spouse turned nasty and nitpicky while conducting the affair, as a way to reconcile their own guilty conscience.

But, to be clear, I don't actually think that's what the storyline will be, so I was left rolling my eyes at the writing because it felt very out of George's character to me.  That said, you've given me a new take on it, so I'll have to think about that!
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Regarding George and Bertha, I think the issue is that he's always seemed kind of doting/admiring of Bertha's ambition, and that seems to have reversed. But I think it's because he's previously been able to see it as him allowing or facilitating Bertha's ambition with his own success. She could only do stuff like build the opera house or throw these extravagant parties to win people over because of his money and the access it can buy. So he could look at those actions with pride.

The Gladys situation was different, because he didn't really endorse it and Bertha went ahead with it anyway. So he can't take pride in it because she basically overrode him. The timing of it was also very problematic because it involved paying this massive dowry to the Duke (and paying for this huge wedding) just as George was experiencing major cash flow issues and his business and fortune were at risk. He didn't want to tell Bertha "I am worried about affording this, please don't push forward" so instead he expressed concern about whether it was good for Gladys (which I think was a concern but was also convenient), but Berth wouldn't back down. I think that *feeling* was very unsettling for George, being unsure he could actually provide the thing Bertha was insisting on, and perhaps fearing that if his business issues didn't get worked out, he could wind up exposed on multiple levels, not just losing a ton of money but also in debt to this Duke they sold Gladys to. I think George refuses to forgive Bertha for making him feel vulnerable, even if it all worked out later thanks to Larry's success with the mines.[/quote]

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