Blake Ritson in 'The Gilded Age.' HBO Max Share on Facebook Share on X Share to Flipboard Send an Email Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Print the Article Post a Comment Logo text [This story contains spoilers from season three, episode six of The Gilded Age.] It's hard to believe The Gilded Age is winding down. The latest episode "If You Want to Cook an Omelette" is number six of just eight, yet the drama is not de-escalating - only revving up, especially with the just-in news of a season four renewal. In the latest episode, Bertha (Carrie Coon) traveled to England to "fix" things for Gladys (Taissa Farmiga) who expressed her unhappiness to her father George (Marlon Spector) who, of course, let his wife have it. Intriguingly, her visit made a huge impact not just on Gladys, but perhaps on how fans view her actions. Could Bertha have been right about Gladys marrying the Duke all along? Related Stories TV 'The Gilded Age' Renewed for Fourth Season at HBO TV How Did 'And Just Like That' Become So Divisive? Just as Gladys and Hector (Ben Lamb) may be finding their groove towards happy matrimony, there appears to be trouble brewing for Marian (Louisa Jacobson) and Bertha, and George's son Larry (Harry Richardson) who just became engaged, albeit not publicly. The only problem is Larry doesn't know it yet. Ada (Cynthia Nixon) is also very active in this episode. Not only does she figure out that the fortune teller is scamming her about her beloved Luke, Agnes (Christine Baranski), in a very touching moment, comforts her sister around her grief. Ada also so kindly helps Jack (Ben Ahlers) recognize and accept his new status in the world. Meanwhile Peggy's (Denée Benton) world with potential mother-in-law Mrs. Kirkland, portrayed by the incomparable Phylicia Rashad, is hitting more rough patches. Women's suffrage is just the latest bump, as LisaGay Hamilton drops in for a guest performance as real-life suffragist and writer Frances Ellen Watkins Harper. The tension, she tells her mother Dorothy (Audra McDonald), can't make her not love the good Dr. Kirkland (Jordan Donica) and her heart-to-heart with him shows exactly why. This episode doesn't bode well for Oscar (Blake Ritson), either. Although he makes a surprising connection with Maud Beaton (Nicole Brydon Bloom), now professionally known as Dolly Trent whom he initially blames for leaving him and his mother Agnes penniless, he loses John Adams (Claybourne Elder), his champion, in a shocking episode-ending turn. The Hollywood Reporter spoke with director Deborah Kampmeier, whose credits also include Brilliant Minds, Star Trek: Picard, FBI: International and Queen Sugar, about all the action and hot takes, as she offers insight into how she landed in The Gilded Age fold. *** How did you become part of The Gilded Age? I was interviewed when they were looking for a director for season two. I met with the team and was really excited. Season one had just started airing. I had been watching it pretty obsessively, because Morgan Spector was in it, and he had been in a feature I directed (Split, 2016), so I was really engaged already when I had the interview. It was amazing to connect with that team and be able to share my passion for the project and Edith Wharton in that period. So you did season two, and then are among the only three directors for this amazing season three. That's right. I was very excited to go from directing in season two to directing three episodes in season three, and moving away from being a guest director into being part of the family. The episodes you've directed include two, five and six. Share a little bit about your role in directing those episodes? What do they represent in the overall story? Each episode has its own sort of arc. We have these really fun cliffhangers at the end of each one. Each have ended with a really exciting moment and a turning point. Whether it was at the end of episode two, when suddenly Gladys has been promised to the Duke, or the end of episode five, where we have this huge conflict with Bertha and George, or the end of episode six where John Adams has that horrific accident, they all are building to a moment of conclusion that's quite dramatic. My job is to follow those arcs and elevate the characters and where we're leading that in each episode. Let's talk about John's death. It comes out of nowhere. One moment, he and Oscar are talking and are optimistic about everything in Oscar's life turning around with John's support. Just as it seems that Oscar will land back on top, the next moment, it's all gone. It was a shock when I read it. I remember jumping in my seat and gasping. I wanted to deliver that shock to the audience to experience in the same way. So we devised a shot that would use this high-speed special motion control rig, called the Bolt, that could be programmed and move fast to see the hit of John Adams by the carriage