Bertha Russell is seemingly on cloud nine in the third season finale of HBO Max’s “The Gilded Age.” But as the curtain falls, we find a broken Bertha despite her recent social victories that included hosting a dazzling evening in Newport and lifting the ban on divorced women at grand balls. Moreover, she's deflated the iron grip of Mrs. Astor on the high class society. And let's not forget George, who against all odds and bullets, survived and looks in excellent shape. Oh, and grandmother to an up-and-coming duke or duchess? Ticking all the boxes, right?

But appearances can be deceiving. The gunshot wound hasn't killed George, but it might have killed their marriage. George, feeling betrayed and used when Bertha decided to marry off their daughter to beat Mrs. Astor, is contemplating divorce. A triumphant Bertha finds herself on a shaky ground with the man she once considered her rock. Talk about a plot twist!

“This season unfolded in such a way that I didn’t know would leave Bertha so vulnerable and blindsided, which was intensely interesting,” recalls Carrie Coon, who slipped into Bertha’s shoes with gusto.

Our former social powerhouse Bertha was unstoppable, aiming to place the Russell family amongst the elite in the age of prosperity. But the road to hell is paved with good intentions, and marriage becomes the battleground for their contrasting aspirations. The change of her character was a challenge that Coon relished. She elaborates, “Getting under the skin of a character who once exuded confidence everywhere she turned was a very dramatic shift.”

You wouldn't be jumping the gun if you thought their goose had cooked up enough drama already, but "The Gilded Age" is just getting warmed up. Excelling amongst ratings and personal dramas, HBO has greenlighted a fourth installment. Coon teases us on future developments of Bertha, George, and the glamorous world they reside in.

“Filming was emotionally gut-wrenching,” recounts Coon. “Morgan Spector and I worked extensively on the dialogue to infuse authenticity in the emotive scene between Bertha and George. At the end of the day, it's a film set, we all do our part - ours was to feel the pain of our characters and translate that on screen. The magic of cinema indeed!”

Carrie talks about her bond with her on-screen husband, “We’ve grown attached to our characters over the years. In every argument, we tried to make our characters' facets justified and comprehensive to the audience.”

George's journey is complicated as well this season. He dreadfully experiences the consequences of marrying off Gladys while tackling his near-death experience. This leads to George questioning his life choices, leaving Bertha on the outskirts of his transformation - a transformation she believed would bring them closer together but instead left them with conflicting priorities; A very realistic reflection of long-term relationships.

Coon laughs mischievously when asked about Bertha's future, “Only George can have a say in that!”

The fantastic Carrie Coon also mentioned how she eagerly reads all reviews about her portrayal. “The prospect of people possibly hating Bertha panics me!” she exclaims. As a seasoned actress, she enjoys the critique. "She’s a formidable woman. However, the criticism is what adds nuance and depth to her character. It was a great alliance; I just wish everyone saw that."

The interview finally steers towards socio-political comparisons between reality and the show. “It worries me that we are making billionaires relatable,” admits Coon. “The cutthroat capitalism we see today traces its roots back to the Gilded Era, and billionaires back then were not exactly saints either. They used workers ruthlessly to amass wealth, then used charity as a PR machinery to restore public faith. The shameless voracity for wealth at the expense of others is, for lack of a better word, staggering.”