Gilded Age and Downton Abbey Set in One Universe? Quite Possible, Says This Theory

Summary:

• Downton Abbey ( 2010-2015) and The Gilded Age ( 2022-...) are both period drama television series created by the same writer, Julian Fellowes.
• Fans believe that because The Gilded Age is earlier in the timeline, some of the older Downton Abbey characters may be connected to that universe as well.
• In particular, The Gilded Age's Bertha Russel and Downton Abbey's Martha Levinson could possibly be sisters.

Downton Abbey may well be one of the most popular period dramas of all time. It captivated viewers from the very first season and has managed to keep them interested for another 5 seasons, no matter how many critics have tried to tear its reputation to shreds.

The truth is that Downton Abbey, created by Julian Fellowes, has only shown the world that period dramas can be no less intriguing and scandalous than the ones we see every day about our modern lives. While some people claimed that it was just another poorly written story about the English upper class, others could spend the whole weekend watching it over and over again.

Therefore, many viewers were very excited to hear about the release of another period drama TV series from the same creator. For all Downton Abbey fans, the Fellowes name itself became a mark of quality, so The Gilded Age was considered a success even before it was released to the public.

What people didn't realize for the longest time was that there was the slightest chance that two TV shows could coexist in the same universe. That would make Julian Fellowes the Dick Wolf of the era, and fans very happy to have cracked the mystery of a century.

Are The Gilded Age and Downton Abbey In The Same World?

Though there's been no confirmation from the production team behind the show, fans on the r/GildedAgeHBO subreddit seem to have a great theory on how this could all work out.

As Redditor Steggall suggests, Bertha Russell's sister could actually be Dowton's Martha Levinson.

Bertha's sister was mentioned in the context of the ball when she rejected the idea of inviting her. The theory would explain this with Martha's marriage to Isidore Levinson, who was Jewish. Perhaps Bertha didn't want to invite her because she didn't want to deal with all the gossip that would result from introducing her to New York society.

The fact that Downton's Cora also mentioned that she had an aunt in New York could also play into this theory. Then, of course, there is the obvious argument of the similarity of the names: both Martha and Bertha sound so much like each other that they should belong to the same family.

Whether this theory is true or not, we may never know, but if you believe it, it can make watching The Gilded Age even more exciting. The show is currently airing its second season, so tune in to HBO every Sunday to make sure you don't miss a single episode.

Source: Reddit