The third episode of Season 3 of The Gilded Age, titled “Love is Never Easy,” concludes with a challenging situation for Gladys Russell, portrayed by Taissa Farmiga. While the episode draws to a close with the unveiling of Gladys’s stunning portrait painted by the renowned artist John Singer Sargent, played by Bobby Steggert, it also ends on a somber note as Gladys resigns herself to her inevitable reality.

**Spoilers for The Gilded Age Season 3 Episode 3 “Love is Never Easy,” now streaming on MAX**

At the end of The Gilded Age Season 3 Episode 3, Gladys Russell agrees to marry the Duke of Buckingham (Ben Lamb).

Having observed Gladys enduring her mother Bertha’s manipulative plans (Carrie Coon), yearning for charming young men like Billy Carlton (Matt Walker), and even obtaining her father’s (Morgan Spector) backing for marrying for love, Gladys ultimately gives in. But what led her to this point?

“I think, at the end of the day, it was just the pressure of everybody,” The Gilded Age star Taissa Farmiga told DECIDER.

According to her perspective, “It was the heartache from Billy. She was confronting anxiety about what lies ahead, feeling coerced into a future she didn’t choose,” she continued. “There’s a numbness accompanying such a situation, making decision-making difficult when emotionally drained. The immense pressure required her to make a choice.”

“She just sort of doesn’t want the stress anymore?” Farmiga wondered aloud.

Of course, for much of The Gilded Age Season 3 Episode 3 “Love is Never Easy,” it seems as though Gladys has actually avoided the Duke. The episode picks up where last week’s left off, with the Duke’s lawyer hashing out a marriage contract with George Russell. Bertha has apparently promised the English noble a huge chuck of her robber baron husband’s fortune and George is not happy about that. Eventually, the Duke leaves, hoping to find an heiress elsewhere. Gladys hopes that maybe she will be reunited with Billy Carlton, but it’s not to be.

Ultimately, no one in New York City has the kind of money George Russell has. That means the Duke circles back to 61st Street, willing to compromise with the railroad tycoon.

In an interesting twist, Gladys ultimately gets a chance to agree to the match herself. She gets a small, private audience with Hector, as the Duke is actually named. While it’s hardly the stuff of romance novels or happily ever afters, Farmiga still called it a “beautiful moment.”

“There’s a brief moment of connection with her and the Duke. You know, she thinks him for not being fake,” Farmiga said. “So I think maybe it’s like a tiny little sparkle of a lightning bug in the dark. It’s kind of like a light guiding you.”

“But I really think that she was just sick of feeling shitty. So she’s like, ‘Let’s just move on.’”

The Gilded Age Season 3 Episode 3 “Love is Never Easy” ends with the Duke and Gladys announcing their engagement in front of all the society heads assembled to view the new painting. Bertha gets her victory lap, but the moment of triumph is undercut by a perfect moment of soap opera drama.

Feeling the pressure close in on her, Gladys begins fiddling with her long string of pearls. The necklace snaps and soon white beads are scattering like marbles on the floor.

This ominous ending teases that although Gladys has agreed to the engagement, getting her down the aisle to the actual marriage ceremony might be a different battle for Bertha.

The Gilded Age returns next Sunday, July 13 at 9 PM ET on HBO and MAX.