The Gilded Age season two: prediction follow-up

Just to be clear, the only reason I didn't include The Gilded Age season three in things to look forward to in 2024 is that I can't imagine it'll air that early. From what I know, the third season hasn't even been shot yet. When it comes, I will watch it avidly, as I still very much enjoy this series, even though I have notes.

But first of all it's time to follow up my predictions for season two. This could potentially be a short post as the large majority of my predictions were, simply put, incorrect. However, I'll try to use the opportunity to give some further reflections on this season, apart from the ones I've already mentioned in my mid-season report.

Mrs Chamberlain's son makes an appearance: NO. Honestly, where was Mrs Chamberlain this season? I was sure that Marian's kindness towards her in season one would stand her in good stead, and that Mrs Chamberlain would keep on playing a part as a useful Marian ally. But Mrs Chamberlain didn't make an appearance at all, even less her son. The only thing I got right here was that a "not obviously Mr Wrong" character was introduced, in order to delay the pairing up of Marian and Larry. It just wasn't Mr Chamberlain Jr.

Speaking of Marian and Larry, when they finally start taking a romantic interest in each other, it feels like it's coming out of the blue. One minute, Marian is firmly friend-zoning him, the next they are kissing, and publicly too. Well. At least it will finally lead to more entanglements between the Russell and the van Rhijn households.

Mr Russell does Marian a good turn: NOPE. I don't think they even spoke. As I touched on in the previous paragraph, my ongoing complaint about this series is that there's so little interaction between its protagonist families. The Russells are caught up in their dramas, the van Rhijns/Brookes in theirs. Mr Russell rebuffing Oscar's proposal to Gladys was one of the few instances where a storyline involved both families, and it didn't have any major effect on relations between the neighbours. Agnes, for instance, wasn't miffed that her son had been shown the door as the fortune hunter he was. But then, she is unaware of his intrigues half of the time.

Maybe season three will finally be the one where Marian "infiltrates" the Russell household? Or was the initial description of the series as plain wrong as most of my predictions?

An English Lord for Gladys? YES! Finally I got something right, as Bertha seems ready to pimp her unfortunate daughter to an English duke, forebodingly titled the Duke of Buckingham. Poor Gladys really has no luck. She was just getting interested in another young man, previously introduced to her by her mother as an acceptable match. On the other hand, there's nothing obviously wrong with Buckingham, other than that he's most likely skint.

The conflict between mother and daughter will be fun to see as Mr Russell, in a moment of weakness, promised to back his daughter up if she ever found a man she truly loved. By this time, I feel I need some exposition or flashbacks which explain George Russell's attachment to family values and devotion for his wife, which sometimes borders on weakness. He ends up apologising for being hit on by Bertha's former lady's maid, although he turned her advances down. Anyway, if he wants to keep his promise to his daughter, he'd better man up now.

Bertha Russell and Agnes van Rhijn team up: FORGET IT. I really thought that the main conflict of the series, or one of them at least, would be between Bertha and Agnes. But no. Bertha has too much on her plate antagonising Mrs Astor, and Agnes doesn't deign to show much interest, even of the hostile kind, for the nouveau riche Russells. And as, in this case, there has to be a feud before there can be a team-up, I'd say we're in for a long wait before these hard-as-steel broads join forces.

We learn more about Peggy's ex: NO. I'll have to rewatch season one, haven't I? Because it's still unclear to me what exactly happened to Peggy's ex. He seems to be dead, anyhow. With their poor little son killed off, it doesn't seem likely that Peggy's past will be brought up much in future. Though the man who adopted Peggy's son, and who lost his wife in the same disease as the one that took the boy, was really nice, wasn't he? Perhaps he'll find a reason to re-enter Peggy's life?

Battle of the butlers: YES (kind of). I'm counting this one as a win, although Bannister's attempt at retaliation against Church was swiftly regretted and nipped in the bud by Bannister himself. Hostilities now seem to be permanently suspended. Is this the beginning of a beautiful butler friendship? One can only hope.

For all my grumbling, I think I'd rank season two of The Gilded Age above season one. The pace picked up in the later episodes and the dramatic and emotional moments were nicely handled. Nevertheless, all the drama tends to end up in things staying more or less the way there are. I'm hoping that season three will risk more definite changes of the status quo.    

Things to (cautiously) look forward to in 2024

I admit, there are few announcements of 2024 projects in the cultural consumption line that I'm unequivocally excited about. Somehow, I don't think we'll get any great adaptations of Victorian classics this year, and a new Downton doesn't seem to be on the cards either – though there is some hope for original costume dramas on a smaller scale. It seems to be a relatively meagre year for geekdom as well. There's only one Marvel movie slated for 2024 (Deadpool 3 – as I've not watched the previous two Deadpool movies I'm not that invested), and what's worse from my perspective, their planned Disney+ shows don't seem that interesting. They may be fun to watch, or they may not.

Star Wars doesn't appear to be bringing its A game to 2024 either (more on this below). Still, seeing as I've subscribed to eleventy-one streaming services I'm in no position to complain. I feel like a fashionista looking into her enormous wardrobe, wailing "I don't have a thing to wear". Maybe 2024 will be the year when I properly explore the content already available on my services and uncover some gems. Or I may be lazy and simply comfort-rewatch a lot of Downton and Once Upon A Time.

Anyway, I've managed to find a few things that I'll definitely watch and hopefully enjoy:

Doctor Who series fourteen/season one As I've ranted about in my review of the 2023 specials, how much I enjoy RTD's second era as Doctor Who showrunner is entirely dependent on how successfully he steers clear of politics. I've heard a worrying quote from Millie Gibson, who plays Ruby, saying that the forthcoming season will have "controversial" elements and is "what we need". The last thing I need is "controversial" Doctor Who if it takes the form of a showrunner, whose political judgement I don't trust, feeding me his opinions like cod-liver oil. But this might not be what Gibson meant at all. She and Ncuti Gatwa made a great duo in the Christmas special, and there are so many intriguing mysteries set up for this and coming seasons. The one who waits? The Toymaker's legions (I bet that piano-themed villain is one)? The Master's return? Mrs Flood's identity? Oh come on – this has got to be good, hasn't it?

Inside Out 2 Shock confession: I still haven't seen Disney's Wish. It wasn't in Swedish cinemas until the beginning of December, and I was travelling, then I had a cold, and then it was Christmas. By the new year, Wish had moved to the matinee slots, which are of little use to me. So I'll stream it in February or whenever it hits Disney+. Judging by the scathing reviews, it seems that in spite of Magnifico it's not one of the all-time Disney greats.

But at least it will give me some sort of Disney Animation fix this year; otherwise, they are offering nothing. I'm not counting a Mufasa prequel with dead-eyed CGI lions.

However, there is Pixar's Inside Out 2, which could be fun. I loved the original – it's one of my favourite Pixar films, perhaps even the favourite one (in hot contest with Ratatouille). I am a little concerned, though. The film will be tackling Riley's puberty, but among the new emotions introduced in trailers there's no mention of Desire or (which would admittedly be more child-friendly) Love. And in that case, haven't the film's creators kind of missed the point of puberty?

Belgravia: The Next Chapter I had to dive deeply in order to find this one (all right, a Google search on "period dramas 2024"), but apparently there is a sequel of sorts to Belgravia slated to appear in 2024. I say "of sorts" as we're fast-forwarding to the 1870s and a new generation of protagonists, but I'm all for it. The first series of Belgravia, an adaptation by Julian Fellowes of his own novel, was entertaining, if not in the Downton class. But I've stopped expecting the new Downton by now. Just give me a good, solid period drama without TV execs tying themselves in knots over the inequalities of history and I'll be happy.

Moonflower Murders As with Belgravia, my best bet for getting to watch this may actually be Swedish Television, not my aforementioned streaming services (buying the DVD is also an option, of course). It was Swedish Television that picked up the adaptation of Magpie Murders, to which Moonflower Murders is a kind of sequel. These crime novels by the ever-reliable Anthony Horowitz were both great reads, but I think I actually enjoyed the TV adaptation of Magpie Murders more than the book. Lesley Manville is older than I imagined Susan to be, but she has lots of style, and I loved her interactions with the fictional detective Atticus Pünd, played by the mellow-voiced Tim McMullan. In general, there were more connections between the murder Susan was looking into and the story-within-the-story than it was possible to convey in the novel, with actors playing both persons in a murdered detective writer's life and characters in his whodunnit. I'm hoping for more in the same vein.

The Bad Batch season three: Yep, I'm looking forward more to the third season of an animated Star Wars show than to either of the live action series that will (probably) be airing this year. This isn't too much of a slight as I enjoy animation a great deal, and the series has been surprisingly strong so far, considering the loveable clone protagonists are not overly complex characters (I perk up no end whenever the villainous Crosshair shows up). But it's still a bit of a slight. Of course I'll watch Skeleton Crew and The Acolyte, but... kids lost in space (admittedly with Jude Law), really? As for The Acolyte, the quote "This isn't about good or bad, it's about power and who's allowed to use it" doesn't sound very promising (see the first item on the list). Though it has to be said, I'm always there for trashing the Jedi.