Spoiler warning: This story discusses events from Season 4, Episode 2 of The Gilded Age.
The biggest mystery left over from Season 3 of HBO's The Gilded Age has been solved. Sunday's episode revealed that the man who tried to kill George Russell is Will Morris, the son of Patrick Morris, who died by suicide in Season 1 after a ruinous deal with George left him in financial trouble, TVLine reported.
The episode opens with George's men dragging Will out of his home as his mother, Anne, screams. The reveal settles a popular fan theory that George's former business partner Richard Clay was behind the shooting.
Morgan Spector pitched the twist
Executive producer Sonja Warfield told TVLine the writers deliberately left the attack open to many suspects because so many characters had reasons to resent George. The final answer came from Morgan Spector, who plays George. Warfield said Spector floated the idea of the dead man's son while filming the assassination attempt last season, and she then took it to series creator Julian Fellowes.
George comes close to killing Will by the end of the hour but spares him. Warfield pointed to Season 2, when George resisted pressure to fire on his workers after visiting the home of one of them, as the reason the choice fits the character. Spector told the outlet that George is "disintegrating somewhat" this season as he leans on laudanum, a mix of opium and alcohol.
The episode also kept the show's Black New York storylines front and center. Peggy faces fresh slights from her future mother-in-law, Elizabeth, ahead of her wedding to William, while William, a doctor, learns that Black physicians aren't allowed to work at Bellevue. His patient is taken from him there and later dies.
The season has drawn big numbers for HBO. Catch up on Cup of Soul's coverage, including the show's most-watched premiere yet and our Season 4 review.
