The Gilded Age season three finds our favorite period melodrama in fine shape. This acclaimed season focuses on the threat and promise of marriage within the period. Some marry for love. Some marry for prestige. And some have little say in the matter with marriages arranged for them. Regardless of the method of entry, nearly every marriage within the series holds the ever-present threat of divorce, a then-disastrous social plague, over them. The Gilded Age season three explores the dynamic of marriage and martial power amongst the wealthiest couples of the era.
In the recent second episode of the season, “What the Papers Say,” episode director Deborah Kampmeier explored this fascinating dynamic between married couples. She asks who truly holds the authority in a marriage of that period and reinforces that power through her subtle staging.
Thanks to a well executed exchange between Arthur and Dorothy Scott (John Douglas Thompson and Audra McDonald), Kampmeier explored not only the martial dynamic between these two fascinating characters, but she also overlayed the theme of race within the period.
“[The Scotts] are in this neighborhood, which is a very white neighborhood. Do we go to the servants entrance? Do we go through the front door? The stance that he takes in this entire sequence is around what it means to come into this home,” Kampmeier explained. “I also think it mirrors the role of the man and the woman. The man is making these kinds of decisions. It’s a nice way of showing that relationship on many levels, levels of race and sex.”
Returning to The Gilded Age after directing two season two episodes, Kampmeier found that “What the Papers Say” allowed several moments where she could blend in-depth characterization with in-camera framing to underscore the scene’s theme. Here, in a video interview with The Contending, she talks about positioning estranged couple Charles and Aurora Fane (Ward Horton and Kelli O’Hara) on a staircase in positions of power and of desperation. She shares her strategy behind staging a “robber barons” meeting between George Russell (Morgan Spector) and J.P. Morgan (Bill Camp). She also revels in the opportunity to guide her camera throughout Bob Shaw’s Emmy-winning sets.
Kampmeier also reveals the confidence and authority she gives her esteemed actors as they explore the heavily dramatic scenes, including the potential fraying of the Russell marriage. Will ambition tear this Gilded Age power couple apart?
Find out what went into the making of The Gilded Age season three episode “What the Papers Say” in this video conversation with director Deborah Kampmeier.
The Gilded Age airs Sunday nights on HBO and streams exclusively on HBO MAX.
