The Gilded Age Is Just Too British to Love the American Dream

In the third season of HBO’s The Gilded Age, a frothy costume drama set amid the robber barons and socialites of 1880s New York, a servant suddenly comes into money. So much of it, in fact, that he’ll never have to work again. But instead of seizing his new-found freedom, the man keeps his windfall a secret and continues toiling below stairs. He simply can’t imagine leaving a household staff that has become his surrogate family.

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Even for a show that’s famous for its silliness...