‘The Gilded Age’ Stars on How Mrs. Kirkland & Colorism Will Impact Peggy & William’s Courtship

[Warning: The following contains MAJOR spoilers for The Gilded Age Season 3 Episode 3, “Love Is Never Easy.”]

The Gilded Age portrays the Black elite of 1880s New York City in a way never before seen on TV, and Season 3 has allowed the HBO period drama to dive into its most nuanced depiction of this society yet through the inclusion of colorism and intersectional feminism storylines.

Episode 3, which aired on Sunday, July 6, began Peggy Scott (Denée Benton) and Dr. William Kirkland’s (Jordan Donica) courtship, leading to each of their families meeting at a party in Newport, Rhode Island. Played by Phylicia Rashad, Mrs. Kirkland is essentially the Mrs. Astor (Donna Murphy) of this community, meaning she has extremely high expectations for her son’s future marriage. Her husband, Mr. Kirkland, is played by Brian Stokes Mitchell. The Kirklands and Scotts first meeting marked a reunion for Audra McDonald (Mrs. Scott) and Mitchell, who costarred in the original Broadway cast of the Tony-winning musical Ragtime in the 1990s.