‘The Gilded Age’ Kicks Off Season 2 with a Devastating Twist

(Warning: This post contains spoilers for the Gilded Age Season 2 premiere.)

The Gilded Age Season 2 might kick off with a delightful parade of new hats, but make no mistake: Life is as cutthroat as ever in Julian Fellowes’ take on 19th Century New York. As seen in Sunday’s premiere, Bertha Russell (Carrie Coon) is on a mission to replace the Academy of Opera—a prestigious but stodgy organization that refuses to create new box seats to accommodate the city’s growing nouveau riche—with a scrappy new organization called The Metropolitan Opera. (Maybe you’ve heard of it?)

As “new money,” Bertha, her rail magnate husband George (Morgan Spector), and her family are locked in an ongoing battle against the snobs who would see them shut out of organizations like the Academy. During the premiere, Mrs. Astor (Donna Murphy)—Bertha’s mentor in all things high society—urges her not to rush things and reminds her that plenty of people have been waiting in line for a box seat much longer than her. Rather than heed this advice, however, Bertha chooses to beat those snobs at their own game. That’s what they get for making fun of her fake-French chef from Kansas behind her back.

Read more at The Daily Beast.