Warning: this article contains SPOILERS for The Gilded Age season 3, episode 6, “If You Want to Cook an Omelette.”
George Russell’s new business ventures have been a central part of his story inThe Gilded Ageseason 3, but one detail of episode 6 is actually drawn from a real Gilded Age event. George Russell has always beenThe Gilded Age’s most powerful character, but season 3 has shown him overextending himself more than ever before.
In the past, George has taken business risks that have paid off, but with stiffer competition than ever before andGeorge’s turmoil with Bertha Russell, he may truly fail for the first time.The Gilded Ageseason 3, episode 6, sets the character up with a huge new enemy that could prove very troubling in the episodes ahead.
George Russell’s Business Is A Roller Coaster In The Gilded Age Season 3, Episode 6
It Seems Like He May Be Saved, But Then Disaster Strikes
In each season ofThe Gilded Age, George Russell has faced some sort of business trouble. In season 1, this took the form of New York bankers rallying against him when he hoped to build a new train station. In season 2, his troubles expanded even further, with steel mill workers striking for better pay and working conditions.
Now,George Russell’s season 3 business problems are bigger than ever.The Gilded Ageseason 3 opens with George visiting Morenci, Arizona, hoping to buy some mines to use the land above them to build a transcontinental railroad. So far, though, he has failed to bring this deal about.
Likewise, George Russell has also attempted to buy the controlling shares in the Illinois Central Line from the Merricks but failed to do so. As a result, by theend ofThe Gilded Ageseason 3, episode 5,George Russell’s business looks like it is headed into a steep decline.
The character even fired his long-time secretary, Richard Clay, and sent his son, Larry Russell, to Morenci in his place.
Typically, Morgan Spector always plays George Russell very placidly, even when in stressful situations, soseason 3 is the first time that audiences have really seen George look like he is panicking. To this end, the character even fired his long-time secretary, Richard Clay, and sent his son, Larry Russell, to Morenci in his place.
After these seemingly desperate moves,George Russell and other businessmen, including the Merricks and Risley Sage, were called to a meeting by J.P. Morgan. Upon arrival, Morgan informed the men that they would need to come to a deal over the Illinois Central Line before being allowed to leave.
While this meeting ended with George Russell getting what he wanted,Mr. Clay’s new alliance with Risley Sage meant that George Russell was never really in the clear. Just as quickly as things had begun looking up, the episode’s ending saw George’s business standing become more tenuous than ever.
He Created A Similar Situation In Real Life
Interestingly, a version of J.P. Morgan’s meeting with railroad magnates really did occur in 1885, but there were a few key differences. Where episode 6 sees Morgan tricking the businessmen into meeting at his rural country home and informing them they would not be allowed to leave,his real-life plan was even more isolating.
In 1885,Morgan called a meeting on his yacht, theCorsair,with the heads of the New York Central Railroad and the Pennsylvania Railroad. Similar toThe Gilded Age’s competitive businessmen, in real life, the railroad directors refused to work together, causing trouble for everyone (viaBiography).
Much like his decision to keep Mr. Russell and the others at his house over the Illinois Central squabble,the real J.P. Morgan reportedly refused to dock at any ports until the companies made a deal(via Biography). While this may seem like quite a dramatic approach to solving the problem, Morgan was no stranger to getting what he wanted.
Even more importantly, this deal, known asthe Corsair Compact, was crucial to the continued functioning of other surrounding railroads. Variously owned railroads needed connections in the same cities but were blocked from doing so, meaning goods and passengers would have more trouble reaching their destinations.
Morgan’s deal ultimately saw the New York Central Railroad acquire the New York, West Shore and Buffalo Railway, and the Pennsylvania Railroad gain control of the Beech Creek Railroad and South Pennsylvania Railroad (viaAlbert J. Churella/WorldCat). Notably, George Russell’s current predicament with Clay is a fictional, though entertaining, addition.
Episode 6’s Meeting Is The Perfect Example Of Gilded Age Economics And Its Pitfalls
A Small Group Of Men Is Holding Up The Entire Economy
While there can always be economic instability, thanks to how rapidly America was changing during the Gilded Age,the period in particular was host to several economic crises. There was less government intervention in business practices at that time and more corruption, allowing wealthy individuals to hold strong power.
The Gilded Ageseason 3, episode 7 will air on HBO Max on Sunday, July 13, 2025, at 9 pm EST.
The Gilded Agehas explored one big reform that happened at the time, that of labor unions and standardized work days, andby adding J.P. Morgan, the show can now address how he individually swayed the US economy. As can be seen in the show’s fictional meeting, Morgan single-handedly took charge of huge mergers.
Unsurprisingly, these mergers consolidated wealth and power in the hands of a few industrialists of the era, namely Morgan himself, limiting competition. It was not until several years later, with laws like the Sherman Antitrust Act, that the government got more involved in regulating monopolies.
J.P. Morgan’s fictionalized meeting inThe Gilded Ageand its real counterpart highlight just how volatile the economy was during the time period. These wealthy robber barons financed the biggest industries in America, but if those industries failed, the entire economy could too, bringing down the lifestyles of the Gilded Age’s upper-class, like the fictional Russells.
