The usual drawing room drama and dinner table sniping on “The Gilded Age” has been interrupted this season by the violent death of a beloved character.
The HBO Max series that usually revolves around financial intrigue and the courting rituals of 19th century New York City took a detour into random violence with the apparent death of John Adams in the sixth episode of Season 3 on July 27.
The character played by Claybourne Elder gets an emotional handshake and message of gratitude from his friend and former lover, Oscar van Rhijn (Blake Ritson), when disaster strikes.
Adams has helped save Oscar from financial wreckage, and Oscar shows his appreciation in a heartfelt message to his friend.
“You are my savior,” Oscar says. “I thank you with all my heart.”
John then saunters into the cobblestone streets of 1880s New York City only to be blindsided by horses and a swift-moving carriage. Oscar’s limp body is shown sprawling on the street as Oscar looks on in horror before the episode abruptly goes to black.
Fans expressed their heartbreak at the stunning end to the episode, while others likened it to the scene in “Mean Girls” when Regina George (Rachel McAdams) is hit by a bus in front of Cady Heron (Lindsay Lohan).
“THEY KILLED JOHN ADAMS,” one fan wrote with broken heart emojis on X.
“John Adams in his Regina George era #TheGildedAge” one person wrote on X.
The two characters represented the rare LGBTQ couple on the show, which depicts how they are able to live double lives in a society that all but forbids same-sex relationships.
Julian Fellowes, a co-runner of the show with Sonja Warfield, spoke to TV Line about the stunning death of Adams, who is a descendant of President John Quincy Adams on the show.
Fellowes said they were “quite careful to kill him with a straight accident, not with anything with political overtones. He’s just killed in an accident, like anyone could be at any time.”
The co-showrunner added that none of the upcoming storylines involving Oscar on the show “would have been achievable if John Adams had lived.”
John had been a character on “The Gilded Age” since its initial season, when he was introduced as a potential suitor for Marian Brook, played by Louisa Jacobson.
He ultimately begins a clandestine relationship with Oscar while the two men present themselves as straight men in relationships with women.
In the latest season, John assists Oscar with an investment opportunity to help him rehabilitate his financial reputation. In Season 2 by Maud Beaton, a socialite played by Nicole Brydon Bloom, robs Oscar of his money.
John promises to continue to invest in his friend at the end of Episode 6 of the third season, lauding Oscar for having “beaten the odds.” An instant later, he is crushed by the onrushing carriage.
Elder spoke to Out magazine in April about what playing John on the hit show has meant to him.
“As a queer actor, getting to portray a queer character in this particular historical setting feels both exciting and important,” he said. “The late 19th century wasn’t exactly a time when queer people could live openly, and yet we know they existed, loved, and found ways to carve out spaces for themselves.”
Ritson also talked with Vulture about the stunning moment.
“There is a strange confluence of art and life when someone dies on a show, because it has ramifications and repercussions in the real world,” he said.
“Fundamentally, you won’t be working opposite this actor anymore. We started this show nearly six years ago, and Clay’s become a dear friend, so there’s an element of genuine sadness because these two characters will never interact anymore. In a way, though, that echoes Oscar’s own vision of his future self with John being cut short so dramatically and abruptly.”
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