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Jasmine Valentine

HBO Max quietly drops first look footage for The Gilded Age season 4 — but I'm convinced that the George and Bertha reunion scene isn't what it seems

Bertha and George look out of a carriage window.
  • HBO Max's new "coming soon" trailer has revealed the first look at The Gilded Age season 4
  • George (Morgan Spector) and Bertha (Carrie Coon) are seen happy together despite huge season 3 blowout
  • Peggy (Denée Benton) and William (Jordan Donica), and Marian (Louisa Jacobson) and Larry (Harry Richardson) are also seen

HBO Max has released its 2026 "coming soon" trailer, teasing releases for late 2026, including the Harry Potter TV series, Lanterns, and The Gilded Age season 4. You can catch up with the full thing below.

While we've already seen previews of the first two titles, this is the first time we've had a first look at new episodes of The Gilded Age, and there's something immediately intriguing.

Across just a few seconds of footage, we see newly separated couple George (Morgan Spector) and Bertha (Carrie Coon) dancing at a ball, joined by younger couples Peggy (Denée Benton) and William (Jordan Donica), and Marian (Louisa Jacobson) and Larry (Harry Richardson).

The pair's marriage broke down at the end of season 3, suggesting that Bertha was about to re-enter society as a single lady. The official season 4 synopsis also suggests this, reading, "Bertha Russell changed Society at a cost. Now, her family must reckon with the consequences as Agnes van Rhijn seizes an opportunity to regain her position.

"Meanwhile, Marian forges a new path for herself, and Peggy works to be accepted by her future in-laws. In this new era, you must be careful what you wish for.”

The Gilded Age season 4's so-called "consequences" align with her singlehood — and together with what we learned in season 3, I think that HBO Max's first look could be a case of fake news.

Opinion: George and Bertha's reunion in The Gilded Age season 4 first look could easily be a flashback

There's a lot of talk about George and Bertha's split-second reunion, but why is nobody considering that it could be a flashback? It would be far too easy — and nonsensical — for the pair to play happily families as soon as season 4 kicks off, so perhaps Bertha is remembering happier times as she faces new challenges on the social circuit.

Let's revisit what happened between them at the end of season 3. Once George is well enough to function after surviving an attempted assassination in the penultimate episode, he promptly tells his wife Bertha that he’s not sure if he loves her or trusts her. He leaves for New York without so much as an amicable word between them.

The big twist is that Bertha is potentially left as a single spinster while achieving her big mission of having Royalty in her bloodline thanks to Gladys (Taissa Farmiga). Having Bertha's singledom as the show's biggest hook leading into season 4 means it's not going to be abandoned in the foreseeable future.

With The Gilded Age season 4 now confirmed to have a release date window of late 2026, we'll hopefully get a full season trailer, which could confirm George and Bertha's fate, in the next few months.

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