Even hardcore fans of HBO’s “The Gilded Age” may have been surprised how far Bertha Russell, portrayed by now three-time Emmy nominee Carrie Coon, went this season in her quest to climb the heights of 1880s New York society. After forcing her daughter Gladys (Taissa Farmiga) to marry a British duke to solidify the family’s social standing, she insulted her angel of a son, Larry (Harry Richardson), after pooh-poohing his own engagement. In fact, the Russell family matriarch left enough hurt feelings and resentment in her path that when asked if Bertha has become the show’s biggest villain Coon gleefully exclaims, “I hope so!”

In the season finale, Bertha’s shepherding of the Newport Ball supersedes attending to her husband, George (Morgan Spector), still recovering from an assassination

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