The Gilded Age Shocker: Did the Show Just Kill Off This Main Character?

Warning: Spoilers ahead for The Gilded Age season 3, episode 7.

Is George Russell dead? 

The Gilded Age season 3 delivered another shocker — just one week after killing off beloved character John Adams (Claybourne Elder) — and now the fate of Morgan Spector’s character hangs in the balance following the penultimate episode.  

The surprising moment came at the end of episode 7, just when it seemed like the Russell family may have finally pulled themselves from the brink. Larry (Harry Richardson) had helped his father, George, save his railway business after a number of costly shrewd financial dealings. Bertha (Carrie Coon) is preparing to host a ball in Newport after seemingly patching things up with her daughter, Gladys (Taissa Farmiga), following her marriage to the Duke of Buckingham (Ben Lamb). 

George may saved his business, but his life — and marriage — hangs in the balance.

All of season 3, George has been trying to bolster his domination over the railway, from facing off with the mining unions in Arizona to usurping majority control of the Central Illinois railway from Alfred Merrick (Paul Alexander Nolan) and his family. 

Along the way, George held off advances from Russell Risley Sage (Peter McRobbie) and his former employee, Richard Clay (Patrick Page), during negotiations organized by JP Morgan (Bill Camp). The Russell patriarch also dispatched Larry to Arizona, where his son discovered that mines were, in fact, full of copper, meaning their businesses were financially stable again. It also allowed him to resume payments to the Duke as part of their payout for marrying Gladys. 

However, all these moves created enemies for George, who also found himself struggling to stay on the same page with his wife — especially after fracturing their relationships with their kids over her insistence that they marry partners of social and financial stature. In addition to forcing Gladys to wed the Duke, Bertha also had varying opinions on Larry’s romance and broken engagement with Marian (Louisa Jacobson). 

By the end of episode 7, George — who may have gloated a bit too much in front of Sage and Clay — was staying at the gentlemen’s club despite Bertha’s pleas that he remain at home. It was there that a mysterious intruder made his way into George’s study and shot his gun at him.

The screen immediately cuts to black as the shot was fired.

Spector says he was surprised when he first read the script for the episode, and shares how the attack resonated with him while filming the series.

When asked if he was worried that he was getting kicked off The Gilded Age early, Spector, 44, tells PEOPLE, “I did.”

But the actor became intrigued by the timeliness of the episode co-written by creator Julian Fellowes. “What I really thought was that maybe Julian Fellowes is a soothsayer or like some kind of seer because the United Healthcare guy had just been gunned down in the street — and suddenly it felt like The Gilded Age was the most topical show on television,” Spector said, referring to the December 2024 killing of the insurance CEO Brian Thompson — which happened before the series wrapped production on season 3 in January 2025. 

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The actor explained how George and the Thompson were in similar circumstances, noting that “it’s also that historically accurate. I mean, these guys, you know, there were assassination attempts, there were bombings [as a result of what] they were doing to their workers.”

For George, that has been evident throughout the series, with industry tycoon’s ruthless treatment of rail workers and miners, who have attempted to protest the working conditions. 

What becomes of George’s fate in the season 3 finale remains to be seen. 

The Gilded Age season 3 airs Sundays at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and Max.