{"id":11337,"date":"2026-11-09T12:30:30","date_gmt":"2026-11-09T11:30:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/?p=11337"},"modified":"2026-11-09T12:30:30","modified_gmt":"2026-11-09T11:30:30","slug":"the-gilded-age-season-4-episode-2-laudanum-george-addiction-explained","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/11\/09\/the-gilded-age-season-4-episode-2-laudanum-george-addiction-explained\/","title":{"rendered":"The disturbing truth about laudanum as The Gilded Age exposes George&#8217;s secret crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">*Warning: Spoilers ahead for The Gilded Age season 4 episode 2*<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">George Russell is unravelling in the latest episode of <a href=\"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/tag\/the-gilded-age\/\">The Gilded Age<\/a>. And right near the end, there\u2019s a dark twist as we find out the driving force behind his new struggles: laudanum.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In <a href=\"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/11\/08\/the-gilded-age-season-4-episode-2-release-date-time-details-hbo\/\">season 4 episode 2<\/a>, \u2018You Won&#8217;t Hear Me Beg\u2019, the Pinkertons capture George\u2019s (Morgan Spector) would-be killer, allowing the two men to finally come face-to-face.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The culprit is Will Morris (Will Pullen), the son of Patrick Morris, who took his own life back in The Gilded Age season 1 after George&#8217;s ruthless business dealings left him financially ruined.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_11341\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-11341\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11341\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.filmshrine.com\/uploads\/2026\/11\/2-9.jpg\" alt=\"Will in The Gilded Age\" width=\"1200\" height=\"630\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.filmshrine.com\/uploads\/2026\/11\/2-9.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/cdn.filmshrine.com\/uploads\/2026\/11\/2-9-1024x538.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.filmshrine.com\/uploads\/2026\/11\/2-9-768x403.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-11341\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Credit: HBO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Will has been seeking revenge for his father\u2019s death. But George ultimately decides to spare him, despite confronting him at gunpoint. It&#8217;s a surprisingly merciful decision from a man who seems to be losing his grip on almost everything else.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">His behaviour towards Bertha (Carrie Coon) is equally unpredictable. He coldly rejects her when she returns to New York, having previously been in England for <a href=\"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/11\/02\/the-gilded-age-season-4-horrifying-real-history-behind-gladys-near-death-childbirth\/\">Gladys\u2019 (Taissa Farmiga) difficult childbirth<\/a>. But as Bertha goes to leave, he grabs her and kisses her.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">George also just looks very tired and rundown. We know he\u2019s been having problems at work, what with <a href=\"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/11\/03\/the-gilded-age-season-4-cast-characters-real-life-inspirations\/\">John D. Rockefeller (Neal Huff)<\/a> squeezing him over the cost of transporting his oil.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And then there\u2019s the trauma of nearly dying after being shot in season 3. Clearly, George has a lot weighing on him. But his new coping mechanism could make matters even worse.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>What the heck is laudanum?<\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_11342\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-11342\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11342\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.filmshrine.com\/uploads\/2026\/11\/3-8.jpg\" alt=\"George in The Gilded Age\" width=\"1200\" height=\"630\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.filmshrine.com\/uploads\/2026\/11\/3-8.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/cdn.filmshrine.com\/uploads\/2026\/11\/3-8-1024x538.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.filmshrine.com\/uploads\/2026\/11\/3-8-768x403.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-11342\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Credit: HBO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Towards the end of <a href=\"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/11\/02\/every-the-gilded-age-cast-member-leaving-in-season-4-and-why-theyre-not-coming-back\/\">The Gilded Age season 4<\/a> episode 2, we discover George has been taking laudanum. This is a powerful opium-based medicine commonly used as a painkiller in the 19th century.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The moment arises when George\u2019s carriage arrives to confront Will Morris, and the driver has to wake him up. He pulls a bottle of liquid out of his pocket which is labelled \u2018Laudanum\u2019, before taking a big swig from it.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Essentially, laudanum was a tincture made by dissolving opium &#8211; the highly addictive narcotic used to make heroin and other opioids &#8211; in alcohol. It typically contained around 10% powdered opium by weight, equivalent to approximately 1% morphine.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It was used to treat everything from serious pain and sleeplessness to coughs, diarrhoea and even teething troubles in babies. And unlike today, you could buy it without a prescription.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_11343\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-11343\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11343\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.filmshrine.com\/uploads\/2026\/11\/4-8.jpg\" alt=\"Opium poppy (Papaver somniferum), unripe fruits (capsules seed). Fruit exuding white latex from a scratches\" width=\"1200\" height=\"630\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.filmshrine.com\/uploads\/2026\/11\/4-8.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/cdn.filmshrine.com\/uploads\/2026\/11\/4-8-1024x538.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.filmshrine.com\/uploads\/2026\/11\/4-8-768x403.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-11343\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Credit: George Chernilevsky\/Creative Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But there was a huge problem. Laudanum was &#8211; like most opioids &#8211; highly addictive. And taking too much could cause serious poisoning or even death.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">By the late 1800s, doctors were increasingly aware of the dangers of opium addiction. Even so, laudanum was still widely used and easy to get hold of.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So, it&#8217;s not particularly surprising that George might have been given laudanum after being shot and undergoing emergency surgery. What&#8217;s worrying is that he appears to be turning to it while dealing with everything else going wrong in his life.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And given he takes a swig shortly before confronting his would-be killer, the timing is pretty concerning.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>What this all means for George in The Gilded Age season 4<\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_11345\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-11345\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11345\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.filmshrine.com\/uploads\/2026\/11\/6-5.jpg\" alt=\"George and Larry in The Gilded Age\" width=\"1200\" height=\"630\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.filmshrine.com\/uploads\/2026\/11\/6-5.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/cdn.filmshrine.com\/uploads\/2026\/11\/6-5-1024x538.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.filmshrine.com\/uploads\/2026\/11\/6-5-768x403.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-11345\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Credit: HBO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In short, things aren\u2019t looking good for George right now. And it appears his dependence on laudanum may be exacerbating his issues.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Earlier on in this week\u2019s episode of the <a href=\"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/tag\/hbo\/\">HBO<\/a> series, George lashes out at his son Larry (Harry Richardson) after he intervenes during a meeting with Rockefeller. Then there\u2019s his unpredictable behaviour towards Bertha.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Thankfully, George decides against taking revenge on Will, instead ordering him and his mother to leave New York. But before he does, he reveals what went through his head after being shot.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cAmidst the pain and the madness, I saw my own life with a terrible clarity, and it was nothing,\u201d he says. He then returns home to Bertha, admitting that he feels lost.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s clear that George is still struggling to deal with the trauma of what happened. Perhaps after being prescribed laudanum for the physical pain, he\u2019s now using it for the mental pain. And this would explain why he\u2019s become so erratic in all facets of his life.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_11344\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-11344\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11344\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.filmshrine.com\/uploads\/2026\/11\/5-7.jpg\" alt=\"Bertha and George in The Gilded Age\" width=\"1200\" height=\"630\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.filmshrine.com\/uploads\/2026\/11\/5-7.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/cdn.filmshrine.com\/uploads\/2026\/11\/5-7-1024x538.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.filmshrine.com\/uploads\/2026\/11\/5-7-768x403.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-11344\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Credit: HBO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Speaking to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tvline.com\/2310368\/the-gilded-age-season-4-episode-2-george-shooter-explained\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">TVLine<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, Morgan Spector said his character is \u201cdisintegrating somewhat\u201d in season 4, adding, \u201cGeorge is a mess.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In a separate interview with <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thewrap.com\/creative-content\/tv-shows\/the-gilded-age-season-4-episode-2-morgan-spector-interview\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">TheWrap<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, Spector explained that George is dealing with something he\u2019s never really had to before: losing control.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIt was interesting to see what it feels like to be somebody who is usually really in control, really losing that control,\u201d he said. \u201cControl and his obedience to his own will has been really fundamental to George, and he loses that this season.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And it sounds like Bertha\u2019s troubles are far from over too. Carrie Coon told TheWrap that George isn&#8217;t being entirely honest with his wife about just how badly things are going.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cShe knows something is wrong, but he won&#8217;t articulate exactly what it is, so she feels powerless to help him and it&#8217;s very frustrating,\u201d she explained.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether he\u2019ll come clean is up in the air for now. The Gilded Age season 4 episode 3 lands on HBO Max on Sunday, November 15, 2026, at 6pm PT \/ 9pm ET.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i>For all the latest film and TV updates and hot takes,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/FilmShrine\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">like our Facebook page<\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n<p><em>Featured image credit: HBO<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>He&#8217;s on a downward spiral <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":11340,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[170,459,11],"coauthors":[17],"class_list":["post-11337","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-explained","tag-hbo","tag-the-gilded-age","tag-tv"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.4 (Yoast SEO v25.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Disturbing truth behind George&#039;s laudanum crisis in The Gilded Age S4<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Gilded Age season 4 reveals George Russell is taking laudanum. 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