The Season 4, Episode 1 premiere of The Gilded Age features a major development for Larry, played by Harry Richardson, and Marian, portrayed by Louisa Jacobson: the pair have premarital sex during a night at a hotel. Their relationship has remained uncertain since the beginning of the period drama, but the scene changes the course of their story.
According to co-showrunner Sonja Warfield, the creative team had discussed the possibility several years earlier. Creator Julian Fellowes had argued that the characters would be unlikely to have sex because they were constantly chaperoned. Warfield then began considering circumstances that could leave them alone while events outside their control prevented them from simply returning home.
Warfield said HBO asked the team to take Larry and Marian’s relationship “a step further,” bringing the idea back into focus. The series had already hinted at their search for privacy, including a Season 3 moment when Larry pulls Marian into the back of a carriage.
The writers eventually developed a storm as the situation that would isolate the couple. Warfield said researcher Dr. Dunbar found evidence of a tropical storm in New York in 1885, providing the historical basis for the episode’s circumstances.
Jacobson said the scene was both “magical” and cathartic because it allowed the characters to express their love physically. However, she explained that Marian’s reaction the following morning was crucial to establishing her season-long arc.
The actress also emphasized the unequal consequences of premarital sex during the period depicted. Marian faces the possibility of social disgrace and the loss of her place in society, while the consequences for Larry and other men would be far less severe. Jacobson said the storyline explores the conflict between Marian’s happiness and the shame she has been taught to associate with the experience.
Sources: Just Jared.