The Gilded Age season 4 cast react to "extremely risky" passion in premiere episode

What now for Marian Brook and Larry Russell after their passion in The Gilded Age's season 4 premiere?

Following the showy wedding of Oscar van Rhijn (Blake Ritson) to his new wife, Enid (Kelley Curran), a night on the town saw them joined by Larry Russell (Harry Richardson) and Oscar’s cousin Marian Brook (Louisa Jacobson).

Larry and Marian have been in a will-they-won’t-they romance for years, and following a night of drinks and dancing, their journey home runs awry when the carriage breaks down.

The pair stay in a hotel and end up sharing a bed and making love outside of marriage – a move which would be scandalous in the time depicted.

Speaking to Radio Times about the new season, actors Louisa Jacobson and Harry Richardson discussed the surprising scenes which will have ramifications.

" This struggle that Marian goes through this season is a period struggle – It's not a modern struggle," noted Jacobson.

She continued: "It was extremely, extremely risky to have sex outside of wedlock, and if anyone in society were to find out somehow, she would risk destitution, and that was very, very real.

"And women didn't have any access to education about their bodies, and on top of that, you know, there's this shame that has been baked into women's relationship to sexuality since forever.

"And we can thank Christianity and the patriarchy for that, but I think there are external obstacles there, and there are internal obstacles like shame, and I think as a religious person, Marian is determined if she does get married that she would want it to be a union that was blessed by God, and I think their transgression kind of makes it a little bit no longer blessed by God."

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Meanwhile, Harry Richardson examined what it was that led to the pair giving in to their passion.

Richardson added: "I think we see the pain it causes him when things aren't working out and the complications that Louisa was talking about of the societal pressures that are keeping them apart, the inability for them to have open dialogue about it.

"Both of them have a very relatable fear of expressing love and receiving love, and being able to cut through the thing, and I think that's actually what leads to their transgression a bit, is like this inability to actually open their hearts and speak, but they so want to connect, and then you see them grappling with the complications that come with that."

The Gilded Age season 4 premieres on Sunday 1 November on HBO and stream on HBO Max at 9pm ET/PT in the US and will premiere on Monday 2 November on Sky TV and NOW in the UK. You can sign up to NOW from £4.99 a month.

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Authors

Lewis is the news and trends editor at Radio Times and leads our approach to news, reactive content, and serving audience demands and interests. An obsessive fan of television and film, Lewis is a Nicole Kidman fanatic with a side of passion for science-fiction, art-house cinema and the latest HBO drama. Lewis has a degree in Psychology and a Masters in Film Studies. After working in advertising, Lewis worked at The Mirror for three years in community management and SEO, showbiz, film and television reporting.