'The Gilded Age' star gets honest about S3 ending

Bertha Russell, played by Carrie Coon in The Gilded Age, had scored a victory at the end of episode 8 of season three.

But what came as a shock to her was her on-screen husband George Russell’s (Morgan Spector) decision to leave her.

In an interview with The Los Angeles Times, the star admitted her character Bertha was so driven by her ambition that she struggled to understand his anger.

“I don’t know what will happen to George and Bertha. I know that Bertha is relentless, and she won’t give up," she said.

But Carrie acknowledged the assassination attempt on George in the finale had an impact on his thinking, choices, and decisions he made, especially marrying his daughter Gladys to the Duke of Wellington.

The actress continued, "But what I love too is that George has had a near-death experience, which is very jarring, and he is starting to question his own life, his own choices."

"And I think it’s actually quite complicated that he’s struggling so mightily, even though we know historically their marriage has been very solid, very honest, very sexy," Carrie noted.

However, the 44-year-old admitted that Bertha's pursuit of personal triumph led her to overlook the significant impact on her marriage.

“Bertha has not stopped and taken stock of the impact of her choices, and therefore, it feels out of the blue. But anybody that’s had that conversation in a breakup knows that those things are never out of the blue," Carrie added.

"She’s very persuasive or coercive, depending on how you feel about her. She feels as though she’s blindsided by it when the audience knows very well that this controversy has been building. That’s just dramatic irony. That’s just good tension," the star noted.

The Gilded Age is streaming on HBO.