Black Women Deserve More in Supernatural Shows, Historical/Period Shows, & in Real Life: From Bonnie Bennett to Peggy Scott
The Gilded Age Season 2 Thoughts
Originally written on Sunday, December 17th, 2023 @ 10:49 p.m.
I just finished watching the season finale of season two of HBO Max’s The Gilded Age (I’m not going to call it Max 🤷🏾♀️). My one-line review is that Black Women deserve so much more than the script that is given to them. Yes, I’m referring to TV shows but this is also translated to the three-dimensional world we live in. Which is sadly a world where Black Women are also given a script & expected to stay within its parameters.
This season was difficult to trudge through & I almost gave up several times. The one reason I stayed was to ensure that Peggy Scott was safe. Despite Peggy being a fictional character, brilliantly portrayed by Denée Benton (also a pro-Palestianan actress/ Poet with a backbone 💅🏾), I watched through the end in the same way I tell my loved ones to text me when they get home. I watched to ensure Peggy’s safety in the same way my grandmothers, hands on hips, and one hand waving stood out on their porch & watched as we drove back home. During our drive back they would wait by the phone for our call that we made it in alright. Nothing has changed about that. Except for the fact that this level of care is now one that I embody. So yes, I trudged through this season to ensure Peggy made it home safely & I guess she did. But her safety was not without sacrifice after sacrifice.
When I was a little Southern Black girl I was obsessed with reading. Specifically, in lower elementary school I was obsessed with The Royal Diaries. The books were written in a diary format & told the story of a princess or queen through first-person historical fiction. I must have read all of the books in the series that my library had. There were books about Cleopatra, Queen Nzinga, Anastasia, Kaiulani, Mary Queen of Scots, & more. I had found the perfect synergy between my love of literature & history. These historical fiction books served as the entryway for my research about these women & their respective time periods. For me, it always starts with the books. I read The Royal Diaries Mary Queen of Scots in elementary school & in high school I discovered the historical TV show Reign. I read countless books about King Arthur & the knights of the Round Table, who always needed saving, & discovered the historical TV show Merlin. While my love for these kinds of media has remained steadfast I always craved to see what Black people’s lives were like during this time. That desire, the feeling to see the history I know exists in this period/historical TV show continues to live within me today. The same way I learned from my grandmothers to ensure the safe journey of loved ones, is the same way I have become a steward of Black folk’s narratives (in literature, film, or any media).
This season, Peggy’s journey felt somehow simultaneously short & long at the same time. Or perhaps it was my longing to see her back on the screen that was lengthy. Most of the time I felt like I was watching the new society & old society battle about the opera. My screen was filled with white women arguing about the changing society, whose lens was right, traditional versus novelty, & I really just wanted the screen to cut over to Brooklyn. Maybe the solution is to give Peggy & the Black elite a spin-off. Either way, it felt like I barely saw Peggy this second season. Peggy, her family, and other members of the Black community were put to the periphery in the script. This intentional sidelining was not done sublimely. Peggy’s absence was noticeable & missed because, for me, and many others, Peggy is central to understanding internal desires. Sure one could argue the lack of screen time was because the Brooklyn Bridge wasn’t completed until episode seven, but I would’ve enjoyed accompanying Peggy on the ferry just as well.
We meet Peggy at the start of the season grieving the loss of her son (whom her father told both Peggy & her mother had passed away but secretly gave him up for adoption). The discovery of her son took up the majority of her plot last season. Now, at the start of season 2, we see the writers forcing Peggy within the confines of the script for Black Women. Peggy decides to throw herself into her work at the newspaper with her mentor/supervisor Mr. Fortune. She is determined to ensure that she uses her writing for good in the world.
As a result of this trauma response, she begs Mr. Fortune to let her go down South to cover a story about a new building opening up at the HBCU Tuskegee. The school was opened by Booker T. Washington, who believed in Black folk learning skilled labor as a leap toward progress. For Mr. Fortune, this is not his first time down South. Prior to being free in the North, Mr. Fortune was enslaved down South. However, for Peggy, this is her first experience leaving the North. Where in a restaurant, owned by the mother of a Tuskegee student, Mr. Fortune stands up to two white men. This act of self-defense leaves the viewers anxiously waiting for news of Peggy & Mr. Fortune’s safety. Before the altercation that prompts them to quickly leave the restaurant (46 minutes into episode 5) we only saw them (and other Black folks) at 10 minutes 30 seconds. Eventually, they wait out a white mob in an old barn-like structure. The adrenaline of almost losing their lives causes single Peggy and married Mr. Fortune to kiss in a haystack. The kiss shared between the two was a mere Disney Channel kiss (at best).
Already, I as the viewer become aware that this romantic moment will not progress into something more substantial. Peggy is not required to be a picturesque ideal embodiment of a “good” Black woman. Or equally worst, I don’t expect her to (nor would I want her to) live up to the ideals of Black excellence that can be stifling. She is allowed to make mistakes & have messy moments while charting her wayward life. This moment did however sadden me because I knew it would cost her something. If the price of the kiss wasn’t asked for by those around her, she would ask herself to pay up…to sacrifice once again.
The editing of the scenes, as well as the length between each of Peggy’s appearances, is jarring to watch. One moment, you’re hoping Peggy & Mr. Fortune get out of the restaurant safely & the next you are back in old society New York for a traditional wedding. It’s cinematic whiplash that if done intentionally mimics the lived experience of African Americans very well. Yet, I still find myself wanting to place Peggy at the center to ensure her safety.
If the kiss was a pecked portal representative of Peggy’s internal desire then it was not something that was allowed to be deeply explored. That is not to say that I would’ve preferred the storyline of Peggy being romantically linked to a married man. But rather until the final episode of season two, it felt like Peggy was punishing herself for not being a good girl, a respectable woman, or a good daughter. In a previous article, What is Assemblage, one of the things I wrote about was the language that is placed on Black girls & women with a tenacity to live (being seen & heard). The language with the mission to silence Black girls & women includes wild, nasty, fast, bad attitude, & more. While none of these specific words were used in The Gilded Age, Peggy’s demeanor (physical body language) appeared as if it were used. In the episodes that follow we see her avoiding Mr. Fortune, advocating to work on assignments by herself, & being chastised by those she still desires to please. Or maybe, Peggy also already had this language in her own self-dialogue. This old script is exactly that…old, outdated, & boring. What if Peggy’s feelings were intrinsic desires that weren’t shammed by her inner voice (or the judgment of others)?
Sadly, The Gilded Age doesn’t give room for that exploration to exist. The show does however give Peggy a few moments to confess the outcome of her decision. Peggy expresses that whatever the outcome she will ultimately pay the price. In episode 6, she confides in Marian Brook (her white friend with whom Peggy lives under the courtesy of Marian’s two old society aunts) about her connection to Mr. Fortune. The words Peggy gives to resolve the conversation is the fact that
“The only thing we both know for certain is that I’m going to get hurt.” (10:04)
Again, one could argue Peggy is talking about the risk anyone takes when openly expressing love & adoration for another. However, in my eyes, this is a solemn admission of Peggy’s plight & by default the plight of Black women dropped into a script we didn’t write. Once again, the viewer develops whiplash by the jarring scene transitions of a ticking clock. It is only a matter of time until Peggy is forced to make a decision & live with the pain of doing so. Why do we have to center Black women in historical/period pieces on their pain & struggle? Last season it was the death of her child and now a love that cannot flourish. To make matters worse, despite throwing herself into work to avoid grief, Peggy was able to openly talk about her son with Mr. Fortune. Therefore, this potential hurt & absence of Mr. Fortune means so much more. Because Mr. Fortune has become a close confidant, to use Peggy’s words a champion of her journalistic work, & another limb of support to lean on while grieving.
Despite being able to slightly convey these feelings to Marrion, when Peggy is in the presence of her mother (Dorothy Scott) she is chastised for expressing a smidgen of her desire. We see this in episode 7 at the time stamp 40:01. The Black Elite have gathered for a rooftop party in Brooklyn to watch the fireworks over the newly opened Brooklyn Bridge.
Dorothy Scott: “Mr. Fortune is obviously quite taken with you.”
Peggy: “He respects my work.”
Dorothy Scott: “Which I pray is the extent of it because I raised you better than that.”
Peggy’s physical safety is paramount to me. I also deeply care about Peggy’s emotional safety & well-being. This linguistic silencing by her mother leaves her no room to continue the conversation to open up more. Furthermore, the writers had her father interrupt the conversation so her mother would get the last word. Therefore, Peggy is forced into an internal battle between her inner desire & making the decision she knows that good girls would do. As such, her final decision is not actually her own. Terrified of the optics & what surrendering to her desires would mean, Peggy makes the scripted choice. The scripted choice for Black Women is to always sacrifice your desires, and hand them up on a silver platter even if no one asked, to appear as doing the right thing. Ultimately, the decision is not an embodied one but an externally validated one. Peggy did not choose herself, she sacrificed herself.
Since returning from the haystack barn in the South, Peggy has been writing articles to help the three colored schools in New York City stay open (note “Colored” is not acceptable anymore but this is the language of the show. Watch your mouth!). Still conflicted & ashamed of the kiss she wanted to cover the story by herself. However, Mr. Fortune agreed to help her write the story & help the schools. Frankly, Mr. Fortune seems confused as to why Peggy is insisting on distancing herself. Because of Mr. Fortune’s & Peggy’s article 2 out of the 3 colored schools stay open (after integrating with Irish immigrants). Amid a partial celebration, Peggy is uneasy after speaking with Mr. Fortune. In episode 8, at time stamp 28:59, Peggy’s mother comes over and inquires about her daughter’s tense state of being.
Dorothy Scott: “You look very pensive.”
Peggy: “Maybe because I have come to a decision that will please you.”
Dorothy Scott: “I hope it will please you too.”
Peggy: “It won’t, but I know what I must do.”
This paramount choice that Peggy has to make is not centering her or the pleasure she desires. Peggy, after being chastised by her mother, wants to please her even at the expense of her own happiness. Later in episode 8, Peggy decides to choose to extinguish her feelings for Mr. Fortune but also to give up her position in the newspaper. There was no real conversation between the two about what happened in Tuskegee (the mob violence or romantically). When her dear friend Marian calls off her engagement to cousin Dashiell, we see the writers develop space for Marian to express her desires. Marian openly confides in her Aunt Ada that she “didn’t love him enough” (34:47). The moment is sweet & allows Marian to share her feelings that guided her decision. This, in turn, allows Aunt Ada to support & validate Marian’s feelings that prompted her to make desire-based decisions. Peggy, silenced by her mother & Marian, is not fully offered this moment in the show.
So we are left with an unemployed Peggy, grieving her son, pleasing her mother, & unsure of what’s next. Unemployed, grieving, & unsure are all qualities that are okay for Peggy to experience. Peggy can be these things while charting a wayward path to make an assemblage of her life. But pleasing anyone else but herself does not make her a “good girl” but self-sacrificing. If Peggy’s intrinsic desires weren’t shammed by her inner voice or the judgment of others, I believe she could’ve started her own newspaper. Or maybe we would have seen Peggy publish her book under her own name at the end of the season. I wanted Peggy to have the same privilege that Marian had, of speaking her feelings & desires to someone else. I wanted to see Peggy have this moment & have her desires validated.
Why does Marian get to break off an engagement, kiss the son of a wealthy railroad tycoon, & receive great news of her Aunt’s fortune at the end of the episode? Marian’s societal slip, the broken engagement, cost her nothing & she continued to materialize her desires. The societal slip of kissing a married man cost Peggy most of her desires. If I were writing Peggy, I would’ve written in space for Peggy to have a moment to fully express her feelings. That way, Peggy’s feelings would not read as being shameful or wrong. While the viewers got a glimpse of Peggy doing so with Mr. Fortune in the last episode it was not enough for me. I also wanted to hear more about Mr. Fortune’s motives, feelings, and coping with what happened in Tuskegee. There was less space to be open & explicit in Peggy & Mr. Forune’s conversation versus Marian & her Aunt Ada’s. I believe if Peggy had continued the conversation with her mother at the party, her vocalizing her desire would have given her the confidence to welcome love with an available person in the next season.
Perhaps this is because I believe in the power of the spoken word. However, I also believe in the importance of having another bear witness to your journey. Leaving the newspaper is not symbolic of Peggy choosing herself. If Peggy goes forward, in season 3, to continue to hone her writer’s voice it will be just that. Peggy’s voice, as it stands now, is not holistically inclusive of her desires from a place of curiosity but of shame. I would’ve allowed Peggy the space in The Gilded Age script to breathe & vocalize her feelings so she could have a voice centered around her pleasure. Marian was able to vocalize that she desired a life where she could do some good in the world before settling down. Despite, Peggy mentioning her book to Mr. Fortune it fails to mention her romantic desire. I do not doubt that Peggy will continue to be a great writer & find ways to use her voice to gain & share power. Yet, somehow, in the script for Black Women, it seems that we can not express desires of both power & passion.
Peggy is not the first fictional Black Woman to exhibit this lie to us. Bonnie Bennet, played by Kat Graham, in The Vampire Diaries loses everyone close to her by saving her mostly white supernatural friends. Additionally, Bonnie dies multiple times throughout the series (always sacrificing herself), When Bonnie did find love, she was forced to watch him get his heart ripped out. In Bridgerton, another highly regarded period piece, Landy Danbury is forced to endure a marriage with unwanted sexual intercourse for years. Lady Danbury’s desires are never asked as she has to fulfill the job of a wife. We as the viewers watch as after each sexual scene Lady Dannbury copes by taking a bath. Finally, when Lady Danbury does find love (after the death of her husband) it is also to a married man. Ultimately, Lady Danbury gains power/status but does not find romantic love. She instead becomes friends with the love of her life’s daughter & bears witness to her emotional & physical safety through a true love match.
I desire for Peggy to express not only her career-focused desires but also her desire for love, beauty, & romance. All of which are equally as important as the job one holds in life. Love, beauty, & romance are not distractions from life but an integral part of it. Had Peggy been allowed that space with her mother or Mr. Fortune, & then left the newspaper I would have known she got home safely—physically & emotionally. This alternative writing would have allowed Peggy to do what Mr. Fortune wished for her in their last conversation.
“You deserve to be at the center of your own life.” - Mr. Fortune to Peggy (Season 2, Episode 8, 40:49)
I am still the little Southern Black girl who desires to see the lives of Black people in a time before I was born. Hence I started a digital archive to explore the lives of Black Southerners. I still love learning about the historical context behind everything. Furthermore, I still want to make sure that I get word of Black folks getting home safely.
Which is why when the season ends with Aunt Ada & Aunt Agnes van Rijn rising from the ashes of their hurt, struggle, & turmoil I am not satisfied. In episode 7, Aunt Ada loses her husband & is distraught with grief. Simultaneously Aunt Ada, her older sister, discovers that her son has lost nearly all of their family fortune. Then, in the final episode 8, both of the sister’s struggles are resolved. I use the word resolved to indicate that there is a clear direction for how they will continue to move forward in their lives. While filling out paperwork for her late husband, Aunt Ada discovers he had incredible wealth. Aunt Ada’s late husband’s grandfather “made a fortune in textiles in Boston” (56:35). As such, Aunt Ada has become responsible for the management of his sole heir. Thus just as the van Rijn’s were preparing to lay off staff, sell their house, & live a modest life, all of their problems were resolved nicely at the end of the season. If the show is renewed for season three, the viewers know that the van Rijn’s are safely taken care of. During this conversation, there is the most whimsical music in the background. It’s the music that encapsulates, I can only imagine, the feeling of being a white woman whose safety is guaranteed (even from beyond the grave).
What if Peggy’s safety (emotional & physical) & desires were also prioritized? What if Peggy had told Marian, “The only thing we both know for certain is that I’m going to get everything that I want.” Because that is ultimately how Peggy, & all Black Women, become the center of our own lives.
