The American Gilded Age was a period of significant economic change, conflict between old and new systems, and fortunes made and lost. Season two of THE GILDED AGE begins on Easter 1883, with Bertha Russell's bid for a box at the Academy of Music rejected. Over eight episodes, Bertha challenges Mrs. Astor and the old system to gain a foothold in Society. George Russell battles a growing union at his Pittsburgh steel plant. Marian secretly teaches at a girls' school, while Ada starts a new courtship, to Agnes's disapproval. In Brooklyn, the Scott family heals from a shocking discovery, and Peggy becomes an activist through her work at the NY Globe.