The Gilded Age Season 4 Premiere: Cast Talks Marian's 'Shame,' Gladys' Nightmare, And More (Grade It!)

"The Gilded Age" returned for Season 4 on Sunday, and while it was a nice day for a white wedding, we got a lavender one instead. And aren't those so much more fun?

That's right, Oscar and Enid actually scheme their way down the aisle in the premiere, making good on the arrangement they cooked up in the Season 3 finale. The new Mr. and Mrs. van Rhijn celebrate their first night of wedded bliss with a raucous party downtown, where Larry is surprised to see Marian — and not just because they haven't spoken since he left for Chicago three months earlier. Their relationship may be on pause, but the chemistry between Marian and Larry remains undeniable as they share a "friendly" dance. So what exactly is keeping these two apart?

"They're both still holding their fears and attachments and trepidation, because love is terrifying," Harry Richardson (Larry) tells TVLine. "To really fall into it is a loss of self. And I think both of them through Season 3 come to this place where they both have their own reasons. They're like, 'I don't know if this can work,' and I find that so relatable. Love can be so terrifying."

But like magnets, Marian and Larry are constantly pulled back together. As Richardson explains, "that attraction and that pull to each other is so strong because they know that, while they're both terrified of each other, they have a lot of entanglement. That seems to be the medicine for their growth as well." He says it's clear there's "unfinished business" between them.

Of course, that business doesn't stay unfinished for long. Marian and Larry share a carriage ride home together, but when their horses get spooked by the storm, they're forced to take shelter at a hotel for the night. They pay for two rooms, of course, but Marian later receives a late-night knock on the door... and it ain't housekeeping. "Would you like me to stay until you fall asleep?" he asks, but we all know where this is going. A hug leads to a kiss, and soon enough, they're heading for the bed.

While #Larian shippers are probably celebrating this relationship milestone, Marian is feeling quite the opposite. Not only does she silently sob while dressing herself the next morning, but she confides — or at least begins to confide — in Peggy, telling her that she and Larry "kissed" in a way that "wasn't appropriate." She can't bring herself to give Peggy all the sordid details, but she insists, "I suppose I'm not who I thought I was."

To fully understand what Marian is feeling right now, series star Louisa Jacobson says viewers need to consider the historical context in which this sexual encounter is occurring.

"We have to remember that this is taking place in 1886," Jacobson (Marian) tells TVLine. "It is not 2026. Women were not supposed to be having sex until they were married. Women were supposed to be pure and untouched — as pure as the driven snow, I think Agnes once said. It's like a cardinal sin. You could be ruined if someone found out that this happened. Marian's life and reputation would be ruined."

There's also a feeling of loneliness attached to Marian's guilt, as she's punishing herself far more than Larry is. It may take two to tango, but Marian feels painfully alone in the aftermath of their night together.

"The consequences are certainly much higher for her than they are for Larry, and I think that is part of this struggle, and part of why she's so f***ing frustrated with the whole situation," Jacobson says. "To a modern audience, that can largely come across as an internal obstacle, that she's fighting with herself, that she's at war with her own shame, but it's actually external if you think about the societal ideals of the time, the restrictions that women were under."

While most of the premiere's action goes down in New York, things are no less dramatic across the pond, where Gladys nearly loses her life giving birth to her baby boy. The entire labor process is extremely touch and go, and just when Gladys seems to be in the clear, unexpected hemorrhaging leads to further complications. The harrowing ordeal is sure to give "Downton Abbey" fans flashbacks to the death of Sybil. (And as the executive producer of both shows, Julian Fellowes should be footing so many people's therapy bills by now.)

Taissa Farmiga (Gladys) says "The Gilded Age" executive producers gave her a heads up about her character's emotional Season 4 arc, and she was "game" to play out the traumatic delivery.

"I love playing any sort of heavy emotion, and in a world like 'The Gilded Age,' everything can be quite dramatic," Farmiga tells TVLine. "It's fun when you have a moment that is just really, really heavy. ... And also I get to act with Carrie [Coon], and I adore Ben [Lamb], the Duke. I handle every scene as if it's just going to work, and whatever happens during 'action' and 'cut,' I kind of forget about once they say 'cut.' Otherwise, I go crazy."

The doctor explains that saving Gladys' life required the removal of her uterus, and it's up to poor Hector to share that news with his wife at his discretion — another painful reminder that this show takes place in the 1880s.

"It's wild, the gatekeeping of information, how a woman wouldn't be entitled to information about her own body [and it] has to be delivered through her husband," Coon tells TVLine. "It's wild that you don't have that conversation with a doctor."

Coon says, as a mother in real life, she was able to "draw on some of that energy" for Bertha's scenes with Gladys in the premiere. More importantly, though, Coon says that "Bertha's perspective about what matters to her is [now] very clear, and that's the way Bertha moves through the rest of the season."

If you think you're having fun watching Oscar and Enid team up to conquer society, just know that it's even more fun for the actors involved.

"It's pure delight the way they've written these characters coming together," Blake Ritson (Oscar) tells TVLine. "They're so different in terms of their backgrounds and where they come from ... but they're real kindred spirits, and they both see society as this game where you can just rewrite the rules. Everyone else is keeping in line with the codified behavior, and they're just tearing up the rulebook, doing what they want, trying to anoint themselves as the king and queen of this new society and having so much fun."

While the characters have always been ambitious, Kelley Curran (Enid) tells TVLine that "it's like they're unleashed this season," adding that "joining forces liberates them to live the way they hope to live, [they way] they've always wanted to live." In some ways, Ritson says their marriage is "a very compelling vision of the future," of a more evolved, post-Gilded Age society. "It's a weird, perverse thing that, for a transactional marriage, it's almost like [they're] the happiest couple in the show," Ritson says.

The question is: how long can that last? Curran says the characters' arrangement is "healthy... at the start," but the premiere already teases a flaw in their master plan. Enid floats the idea of spending the night with her husband, to which Oscar says, "I thought we understood each other."

"Perfectly," Enid replies. Let's just see how long that understanding lasts.

• Between competition from John D. Rockefeller and legislation from President Cleveland, George is up to his perfectly groomed beard in business drama, but he does get two pieces of good news in the premiere: First, he gets word of Gladys' birth (albeit only part of the story). Second, the Pinkertons have eyes on the man who shot him last season!
• With her wedding to William fast approaching, Peggy is learning the importance of biting her tongue around her future mother-in-law, who has plenty of ideas about Peggy's place in society. Speaking of the future, William mentions wanting children sooner than later, but Peggy doesn't seem as eager about starting a family. Is their marriage in trouble before it even starts?
• Despite his newfound wealth, Jack still doesn't feel like he fits in with high society, leading to a very sweet montage of his former co-workers at the van Rhijn's house teaching him how to carry himself. He even learns how to properly dance with Bridget, though she's certain that Jack will forget about her as he continues to establish himself in the world.

Were you shocked by Marian and Larry's premarital adventure in the "Gilded Age" premiere? Were you also holding your breath during Gladys' labor scenes? And which characters were you most excited to reunite with this season? Grade the episode in our poll below, then drop a comment with your full review.