The Gilded Age Foreshadowed Its Biggest Tragedy, But No One Noticed

Summary:

• The Gilded Age is an HBO period drama that chronicles the lives of New York society in the 1880s.
• In season 2, fans were puzzled when Ada lost her husband to an incurable disease shortly after their wedding.
• It turns out that the show foreshadowed the couple's fate in episode 4, but it was overlooked.

To say that the second season of The Gilded Age took us all through an emotional roller coaster would be an understatement. While many people complained that the show was too low stakes and lacking in drama, the writers decided to up the ante and make each episode as emotional as possible.

Ada Brook Forte, arguably the show's most unhappy character, experienced the romance of a lifetime, a wedding, and the most short-lived marriage imaginable as her husband battled cancer. When the battle was lost, she was left alone with the grief and the inheritance, and viewers were left to wonder: how did this happen?

While it's now clear that the sisters needed the inheritance to live on after Oscar carelessly lost all of his family's money, Ada's torture is hardly justified by anything other than the plot device. The worst part is, that there was a clear foreshadowing of the tragedy earlier in the season, but the audience was too blinded by bliss to notice.

Ada and The Reverend At The Church

Back in episode 4 of season 2, Ada paid Luke a visit at the church during choir practice. While the idea of the visit was to discuss the missionary service, the dialogue took an unexpected but long-awaited turn when the Reverend invited her to the opera to hear Giuseppe Verdi's Aida.

While the invitation seems innocent at first, it takes on a darker meaning as the two continue to discuss the opera. The opera tells the story of the tragic love between the Egyptian military commander Radamès and the Ethiopian princess Aida, who is captured and enslaved by his army.

It's not only the similarity of Ada and Aida's names that should have alarmed the audience, but also the fact that the Reverend Luke Forte speaks aloud about the tragic nature of their story.

Unfortunately, both red flags were completely overlooked by the viewers, who were too trusting of Ada's sudden romance and blinded by the bliss of sudden proposal. Only a few episodes later, when they were all mourning Forte's death, the tragedy became apparent.

As sad and unfair as this twist is for her character, it does give her a chance to finally be free of her sister. Now that she won't have to rely on Agnes' money, Ada has a chance to become the head of the household herself. It is only a matter of time before we see if her sweet nature allows her to use this power for good.

If you are interested in The Gilded Age season 3 production and development status, make sure to keep an eye out for more news and behind-the-scenes updates!