The Gilded Age season 2 ended on Sunday, December 17 with the real-life opening of New York City's famed and enduring Metropolitan Opera House, but will another, more disastrous figure of history feature in future episodes.
A third season of the HBO hit was officially greenlit just a few days after the second season's end, on Friday, December 22, and the promise of new episodes to come have The Gilded Age viewers wondering exactly how far into the "future" the period drama will venture.
The Julian Fellowes-created series is set in the titular historical period, which saw immense economic change in the late-19th century. Among the wealthy socialites and barons on the show are fictionalized versions of some true-life figures, including Oscar Wilde, Booker T. Washington, the Vanderbilt family and the Astor family, led on the show by matriarch Mrs. Astor (Donna Murphy).
And, yes, some fans have seemingly made the connection between some of those characters and the Titanic tragedy, the sinking of the British passenger liner that occurred in the early morning hours of April 15, 1912 in the North Atlantic Ocean, four days into her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York City.
How is The Gilded Age connected to the Titanic?
Mrs. Astor's only son, John Jacob Astor IV, was the most famous victim of that shipwreck, which has viewers questioning if the tragic sinking will eventually make its way onto the HBO show.
If it does, The Gilded Age will have to take a pretty significant time jump, as its second season reportedly was set in the year 1883, and the Titanic tragedy wouldn't happen until nearly three decades later. But hey, this is TV—time jumps happen all the time!
It, of course, wouldn't be the first time that Fellowes has addressed the Titanic sinking on one of his shows: Fellowes' other opulently produced period series, Downton Abbey, kicked off with a storyline tied to the sinking of the ocean liner, after news hit that Lady Mary Crawley's betrothed, her second cousin Patrick, had perished in the accident.
Fans have picked up on that Titanic connection between The Gilded Age and Downton Abbey, and theorized that, along with mentions of the real-life tragedy, "there's going to be Downton references in the final ep" of the former drama.
Fans want to see the Titanic on The Gilded Age:
I’m not sure how many seasons The Gilded Age will have, but I hope to Gods, the final overall plot of the final season is the race to book passage on the Titanic.December 22, 2023
i hope the gilded age goes for like 40 seasons so we can end on the titanic https://t.co/OmZrbIsZEhDecember 23, 2023
The gilded age should conclude with the entire cast boarding the titanicDecember 22, 2023
The gilded age is going to pull a Rob Pattinson remember me moment, and they’re all gonna get on board the titanic after visiting the DukeDecember 19, 2023
I’m gonna call it now, The Gilded Age on Max is gonna end (hopefully not for a few more seasons) with the sinking of the Titanic, and there’s going to be Downton references in the final epNovember 7, 2023
Fun fact for Gilded Age peeps, Julian Fellowes wrote a Titanic miniseries for the 100th anniversary in 2012. It’s really good! All 4 episodes are on YouTube. https://t.co/5wI95Il6Rf pic.twitter.com/33ikshvdA2December 22, 2023
You can catch up on all things The Gilded Age with a Max subscription.
