‘The Gilded Age’ Season Four Kicked Off With Two Big Cameos

HBO’s The Gilded Age is back, and, riding last season’s big quality upgrade, it started its fourth season with a bang. Eschewing its habit of spending the season premiere checking in with each of its many, many characters, major and minor, the series focused on its biggest and soapiest plotlines. The series also signalled that this might be its most star-studded season yet, and that’s saying something for a show already packed with Broadway legends. I didn’t expect the Opera Wars show to net two bona fide household names to appear as extras, but that’s just the kind of show The Gilded Age has become. Last season will be a hard act to follow, but if the premiere is any indication, season four might be the most fun yet.

How fun are we talking? Oscar (Blake Ritson), Oscar’s unfortunate facial hair, and Enid, aka Turner (Kelly Curran), went through with their lavender wedding, a move so genius for this show that I’m shocked it took this long. These two schemers are truly a match made in platonic heaven, and they got right to work “redefining society” their way. Inexplicably, Enid tried to sleep with Oscar anyway, but it wouldn’t be The Gilded Age if they didn’t stumble somewhere. Over in England, Gladys (Taissa Farmiga) gave birth to a boy, though not without serious complications. It leads to a genuinely interesting segment about the birthing process in the 1800s and the gender politics involved. The series’s interest in historical realism has had mixed results in the past, but this was both informative and dramatically compelling. Peggy (Denèe Benton) is thriving. Her book is getting published, she’s engaged to Dr. William Kirkland (Jordan Donica), and her future mother-in-law Elizabeth (Phylicia Rashad) isn’t being as overt a jerk as before. Elizabeth’s aggression is much more passive, like scheduling a hair appointment for Peggy without telling her, but Peggy rises above it, for now. Besides, her mom, Dorothy (Audra McDonald), is there to back her up.

George Russell (Morgan Spector) seems to be careening towards a nervous breakdown as he rages against everything and everyone, especially Bertha (Carrie Coon), other robber barons, and President Grover Cleveland. Bertha returns from her visit with Gladys, and George moves right back out to the club. It seems inevitable these two gorgeous monsters will get back together, but it’s excruciating seeing them fight. It made me realize how much of the series’s heat and chemistry comes from that couple.

Speaking of excruciating, Marian (Louisa Jacobson) and Larry (Harry Richardson) are circling each other again. They still don’t have much of a spark, but it’s a pleasant surprise to see their relationship finally go somewhere. Circumstances conspire to put them together at a hotel for some good ol’ fashioned will they/won’t they, and while it’s nothing special, it’s easily the most interesting either character has been on this show. Ada (Cynthia Nixon) and Agnes (Christine Baranski) are in a collective tizzy because they’re hosting President Cleveland for dinner later in the season. It’s the usual spin on their war of sisterly rivalry, but with the added weight that Ada isn’t so sure about this dinner because Grover Cleveland sucked.

All of this would’ve been a dandy way to start the season, but then The Gilded Age went and served up a surprise double-cameo. In an establishing shot of the Russell house, there are two men crossing the street. Would you believe it’s David Letterman and Matt Damon? It’s David Letterman and Matt Damon! As non-speaking extras!

What a sign of what The Gilded Age has become. Alex Zalben’s story behind their appearance is fascinating (did you know Letterman has always wanted to be a background actor?), and I hope it means there are more celebrities to come. Bless The Gilded Age, and may it spoil us with much such silliness as the season continues.