How The Gilded Age Beats Downton Abbey to the Modern World by 28 Years
Ada’s telephone proposal
In season 4, episode 2, Ada suggests putting a telephone in the home she shares with Agnes. Agnes is appalled and asks who would call Ada; Ada replies that someone will eventually. The episode leaves the question unresolved, but Ada may still act on the idea.
The proposal comes amid other changes at home: Ada withdraws financial support for Agnes’s dinner for President Grover Cleveland and is redecorating and hiring a new footman. Agnes, meanwhile, is managing requests from The Heritage Society as she prepares to host the president.
A 28-year gap
The Gilded Age season 4 takes place in 1886. Downton Abbey began with the Titanic’s sinking in April 1912, and its first season ended in August 1914, when England entered World War I.
Two telephones were installed at Downton in that finale, one in the main house and another in Mr. Carson’s office. The technology helped maid Gwen find a new path: with Lady Sybil’s help, she got a job with a telephone company and later married and became Mrs. Harding.
Different views of modernity
A telephone in Ada’s home would place The Gilded Age’s characters ahead of Downton’s household by 28 years. The contrast reflects the shows’ different approaches to change: Downton’s Crawleys are slow to leave Edwardian traditions behind, while Ada is portrayed as unusually progressive for her social world.
The Gilded Age has also built its own audience. Its third season earned record ratings on HBO, and the fourth-season premiere on November 1st made it the world’s most-watched streaming show, according to the article.
Servants remain a challenge
The story also notes a difference in how the series handle servants. Downton Abbey gives the servants’ lives weight alongside the Crawley family’s, while The Gilded Age must divide its screen time between two households and their staff.
After four seasons, some Gilded Age servants, including butlers Church and Bannister, remain underdeveloped. The article argues that the show has found its own narrative strength, but still has room to deepen those characters.
Key points
- Ada’s proposed telephone would be installed in a home in 1886.
- Downton Abbey’s first telephones appeared in its 1914 season finale.
- Ada’s progressive outlook contrasts with Agnes’s resistance to the idea.
- The Gilded Age has two households and servants whose stories compete for screen time.