I'm sure with his power and connections he knows a lot about Oscar and that he cannot possibly love Gladys and never will; after having enjoyed a loving partnership with his wife the thought that Gladys will never have that with Oscar and that the only reason for the proposal is her money not to mentions the likely mistreatment of her by his family George is probably feeling fairly irate, so I think in his way he did let him down easy.
We know George is a man of immense wealth, power and connections and probably has had Oscar investigated right down to the size of his underwear; so he is in no way under any illusion that marriage to his daughter would end in anything but loneliness , heartbreak and unhappiness. We've also seen George treat other men of Oscar's circle quite ruthlessly and his treatment of him was hardly rude, he was certainly direct and unyielding, but he was polite, fairly mild and soft spoken which given his treatment of the alderman was a far stretch from discourteous. Now had this been reversed and it was Oscar's mother sitting there doing the refusing there would have been scorch marks all over the walls and the word "rude" would have been beggared to describe it.
Oscar is from the Knickerbockers while Gladys' grandfather was a potato digger. If Bertha wasn't so ambitious that her daughter would become a duchess (although this is hinted at so far, maybe only in the next episode she’ll say it directly), the proposal from Oscar would already be a success. After all, the main thing is’t money anymore but a respected, old surname. But Mr. Russell, of course, wants Gladys to marry for love. Potential titled grooms who will match Bertha's ambitions will have castles with leaky roofs and they’ll specially come for rich brides. So Oscar isn’t the worst and trickiest thing that awaits Gladys. There, on the other side of the Atlantic, she may have a mother-in-law much more complicated than Agnes and George is thousands of miles away, who will protect her?
Not sure if George knows about Oscar's secret inclinations, but who would want their daughter to be married off to a man looking for money and what used to be called a "beard" by gay men. He wasn't rude. But I like the fact that he treated Oscar with the level of politeness demanded by society and common decency while cutting directly to the point and making it crystal clear that his proposal was going nowhere at the speed of light.
@@edwardhoward347 But Gladys is a bit more likely to find a love match with a poor but titled heterosexual British gentleman than with an American homosexual in the 19th century.
@@luxitos2867 In the 19th century, homosexuality was more or less universally regarded as a vice and it was illegal. People like Oscar had to keep their sexual orientation secret.
George wasnt "rude" he just made his point very clearly. George obviously knew two things: 1) it was about money, and 2) Oscar is what we would now call gay. Finally his daughter admitted her heart was not engaged.
Well, considering Oscar is closeted and looking for a wealthy heiress to act as a cover for him, I can see why George said no. Though, I'm sure the reason he said no had more to do with how his mother (Agnes) treats the entire Russell family than his sexuality.
Tbh I think George could deal with Agnes. She's difficult but not completely unreasonable. The reason he told Oscar to buzz off is Gladys' own reluctance to marry him. Unlike Bertha who would flog her off to the highest bidder, George actually wants a good man for her.
Oscar was totally wring fir going after Gladys. She deserved better than being married to a man that would never make her happy. Glad her dad told him no.
George Russell aka Morgan Spector is drop dead gorgeous with his sexy dark looks and black curly hair. Oscar isn't attractive and he looks old enough to be Gladys father.
Blake Ritson aka Oscar is handsome af and a great actor. I don't think his character is supposed to be that much younger than he is. George is of course handsome too.
I hope George had him investigated. This clip allowed me to hear George say "I understand these marriages of convenience take place all the time in the church". This gives me hope that he knows that Oscar is really gay, and not interested in Gladys in a real sense.
Oscar is a bit of a cad, I guess, but he is trying to navigate a life in a very dangerous world for him, so you have to cut him some slack. If he's outed, he loses all of his social connections, and his mother would likely disinherit him. I got the feeling that Oscar's actually grown to like and respect Gladys, and while he could never be a full, perfect husband for her romantically, I do think he would treat her with dignity and respect, and may even allow her some sexual freedom as long as she was discrete. She could do worse. Unfortunately, this Duke that's coming to NY will likely be forced on her by Bertha and she'll be miserable if it follows what happened to Consuelo Vanderbilt. George's instincts were right, but I am not sure he'll be able to overrule Bertha from making Gladys more miserable than if George allowed Oscar to marry her.
What a discord in the relationship of her parents will be when George's love for his daughter collides with Bertha's social ambitions. She wouldn't care about Gladys' feelings, as long as she became a duchess. Oscar would be the best option: they would live on the next street and she would marry a knickerbocker, what else is needed But that wouldn't be enough for Bertha
