'The Gilded Age' Season 2 Finale: Power Shifts and New Beginnings

Bertha Russell wins the Opera War, the Van Rhijn family's fortune is saved by a surprise inheritance, and Peggy Scott contemplates a career change.

Season 2 of 'The Gilded Age' concluded with several significant developments, including the resolution of the Opera War with Bertha Russell emerging victorious and the unexpected rescue of the Van Rhijn family's fortune by the late Reverend Forte's inheritance.
Bertha Russell, played by Carrie Coon, managed to restructure New York society and win the Opera War, potentially at the cost of her daughter Gladys' freedom, as she may have promised her hand to the Duke of Buckingham.
The Van Rhijn family was saved from financial ruin by a surprise inheritance left to Ada by the late Reverend Forte, shifting the power dynamics within the family as Ada now holds the purse strings.
Peggy Scott, a reporter, decided to leave her job at the newspaper due to a complicated personal history, hinting at a potential shift in her career towards becoming an author.
Despite the significant events, critics have noted that the series maintains a sense of low-stakes melodrama, focusing more on the social dynamics and personal relationships of the characters rather than the larger societal issues of the time.