S02.E08: In Terms of Winning and Losing

[RedHawk]

On 12/24/2023 at 12:45 PM, magdalene said:

Wasn't his former lover an older than him widow?  Gentlemen had affairs with widows and married ladies quite commonly and as long as both parties were discreet this was accepted by society and wouldn't ruin anybody involved.

The location makes the difference too - the hotel was a big no-no for a young lady who is presumed to be a virgin to be meeting and kissing a man there. Raikes really put Marian on the spot there.

Larry has been established as a rather nice young gentleman who I doubt is in the habit of seducing virgins like some romance novel rake. No, they were both carried away and like every one here in this forum I think they are headed towards marriage.

I believe at one point Larry's lover mentioned to him "sowing wild oats". She was more realistic about their chances for marriage although she let herself get carried away by love/emotion.

Wealthy young men of that era had "affairs" before marriage and it was accepted as part of their life before settling down to marriage. Their brides of course had to be virgins. Again, read Wharton's "Age of Innocence" for examples.

[Camera One]

Nothing groundbreaking or too surprising, but I thought this was a pretty fun episode with nice payoffs and resolutions to some annoying threads like Dashiell's engagement to Marian and Peggy's tension with her editor.

I was hoping to see an exterior of the Metropolitan.  I expected it when the Duke showed up.  Was it such a big deal for the Duke to be at the opening?  I thought it would have been enough with Bertha securing that top opera singer who everyone wanted to see.  

I sort of liked Marian and Larry from the start of the series.  But I was hoping there would have been a little more lead-up for this.  Neither had shown an inkling of romantic interest in one another.  The kiss was just so awkward.  I was a little icked out by Larry's bedroom activities earlier this season.

Ada's sudden wealth at the end was ridiculous but the scene was funny, and I do want to see more.  It totally made her transient husband even more of a plot device than he seemed already.

Edited May 5 by Camera One

[Sarah 103]

On 5/5/2024 at 12:03 AM, Camera One said:

I was hoping to see an exterior of the Metropolitan.  I expected it when the Duke showed up.  Was it such a big deal for the Duke to be at the opening? 

Yes. The approval of and association with actual titled European/British nobility was incredibly important for the upper class in the Gilded Age. 

[Roseanna]

On 12/29/2023 at 4:51 PM, Pop Tart said:

Marian may not have known that she "liked" Larry, but I think the signs were there. She lights up anytime she sees him - so much so that even when she saw him at the tennis match and approached him just to say hello Mrs. Blaine went on immediate alert. 

Can a woman light up when she sees a good friend? It would be even more natural as she can't show feelings towards the man who hasn't shown them first.

To my eyes, Marian and Larry have always behaved like siblings. There has never been any romantic or sexual tension between them. Maybe actors are too one-dimensional and can't present a subtext if there has been such.

Or, the audience knows the "rules" of the romance and thus presumes to know what is in characters' heart even it's not shown.  

 

[Sarah 103]

14 hours ago, Roseanna said:

Or, the audience knows the "rules" of the romance and thus presumes to know what is in characters' heart even it's not shown.  

I think this is a fantastic point. Because their introduction to each other was a classic rom-com like meet cute, many think a romantic endgame is thier future based on the rules of the genre. 

[Thumper]

Just finished the series and really enjoyed this season for so many of the reasons you all have pointed out.

No comment on Agnes’s awful shiny silver gown with the bow on front that she wore to the Academy????  It just seemed tacky and unlike her other gowns.  I thought maybe it was one of her dowdy ones and she’d packed up all the nice ones.  lol

 

 

 

[Chalby]

I finally binge watched both seasons today, and although I found it initially slow, I came to thoroughly enjoy it. I appreciate the effort to have each character's story fully fleshed out.

I don't know what was expected of viewers, but the Russells have a thoroughly compatible marriage, rarely seen among any historically wealthy family, then or now.

I look forward to season 3.