The Gilded Age Season 3 Boldly Addresses Colorism in the Black Community

The third season of HBO’s The Gilded Age has delved into the nuanced realities of different walks of life among the high society of the 19th century, from exploring how misogyny impacts the lives of even the wealthiest women to illuminating how gay men are forced to hide the truth of their lives from their peers. But no topic has been as deftly handled as the intersection of affluent Black people’s lives with the people directly responsible for their subjugation. We’ve watched the historical series tackle racial politics in the past, but nothing feels as significant as the ways the show is currently examining an issue that still, in 2025, plagues Black communities: colorism.  

The topic emerges predominantly through the character arc of Peggy Scott (Denée Benton), a young Black journalist whose burgeoning romance with Dr. William Kirkland (Jordan Danica) leads to her meeting his high-status family. While this series is chock-full of fun characters and fascinating performances, Peggy has always stood out as one of the show’s most intriguing characters. Despite her position as a Black woman in an otherwise white society, Peggy remains incredibly poised and hopeful in a world that is unwilling to grant her much happiness. But Season 3 has opened up her life to a kind of conflict that she likely could have never anticipated. From their first meeting, the chemistry between Peggy and William is undeniable, until Peggy’s introduction to his family takes a turn for the worse. In a show like The Gilded Age, we might expect William’s parents to be delighted by their son’s new romantic adventures, as Peggy is an upstanding young woman of both worth and wit. However, from the moment of their first meeting, William’s mother, Mrs. Elizabeth Kirkland (Phylicia Rashad), gazes at Peggy with nothing but contempt.

It is through this reaction that The Gilded Age explores the myriad ways that Black elites enforced their boundaries within high Black society. When Peggy’s father, Arthur Scott (John Douglas Thompson), meets his daughter’s potential new in-laws, Mrs. Kirkland seems pleased when the man recounts how he made a name for himself as the sole owner of his own pharmacy. But, such pleasantries are quickly squashed when Mr. Scott reveals he couldn’t do any of this if he were not emancipated from slavery. From this point forward, Mrs. Kirland wears visible disdain on her face, as Mr. Scott and Peggy are respectively linked to an American tragedy that the woman doesn’t see herself or her family as part of.

Mrs. Kirkland makes it abundantly clear that she is proud that her family was never enslaved and has lived prosperously in the North for generations now. But the disdain she feels toward Mr. Scott is not only rooted in the idea that he was born into slavery, but that he had to work his way up to achieve the status in society he now possesses. Darker-skinned and not as wealthy as the Kirlands, the Scotts are undeniably different from the family that Peggy is considering marrying into. And while the Scotts may be a success story to those of their social circle and even the audience watching at home, The Gilded Age takes place in a world where lineage and wealth are what shape one’s place in the societal hierarchy. And for a woman like Mrs. Kirkland, whose lighter complexion allows her certain advantages, the Scotts’ presence is a reminder of a brutal history she is desperate to disengage and distance herself from.