Enid Winterton’s Transformation & Parallel to Bertha Russell

August 15, 2025

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Warning: this article contains spoilers for The Gilded Age season 3’s finale, “My Mind Is Made Up.”

Bertha Russell (Carrie Coon) has grappled with various enemies throughout The Gilded Age, but season 3 just set up an unexpected parallel between Bertha and her original season 1 enemy. From being snubbed by Mrs. Astor (Donna Murphy) in season 1 to hosting her Newport Ball in The Gilded Age season 3’s finale, Bertha Russell has become incredibly powerful.

Arguably, following the opera war in season 2 and the ball in season 3, Bertha has even surpassed Mrs. Astor as one of The Gilded Age‘s most powerful characters. Even with Bertha’s new season 3 enemy attempting to expose her secrets, she has remained on top, and season 4 looks set to have another former enemy follow the same path.

How Enid Winterton Will Be Different In The Gilded Age Season 4

The Gilded Age the Duke of Buckingham and Mrs Winterton

Enid Winterton (Kelley Curran), formerly Mrs. Russell’s lady’s maid Turner, has been an enemy of Bertha Russell’s since The Gilded Age season 1. She began her time in the series being antagonistic towards the other members of the Russell household staff, and she attempted to seduce George Russell (Morgan Spector) on multiple occasions.

In other words, Enid Turner made herself unlikable very quickly. She remained this way in season 2, after reappearing as the newly married Enid Winterton. This was not entirely surprising based on her ambitions in season 1, and it was even less surprising that she was attempting to outdo Bertha Russell whenever possible.

Admittedly, this was very entertaining, as both Enid and Bertha are incredibly competitive and ambitious characters, and it was satisfying to see Bertha come out on top. However, season 3 showed a very different side of Enid Winterton, who was more sympathetic following the death of her husband.

After teasing that her husband was sick midway through The Gilded Age season 3, the season finale confirmed that he had passed. While Enid may not be the most likable character, it is still unfortunate to hear that she is a widow, especially considering she was never accepted by New York’s society women and has no real support system.

In her conversation with Oscar van Rhijn (Blake Ritson) in The Gilded Age season 3’s finale, Enid does genuinely seem upset. This detail, along with her potential alliance with Oscar and invitation to Bertha’s ball, means that Enid Winterton may change her ways and become far more likable in The Gilded Age season 4.

Mrs. Winterton’s The Gilded Age Season 4 Story Parallels Bertha Russell

The Gilded Age Bertha Russell looking stern and drinking tea

Not only does The Gilded Age set Enid Winterton up to become a more sympathetic character, but her teased season 4 storyline actually surprisingly parallels Bertha Russell herself. Bertha is far from a perfect character, and she is perhaps the only character more ruthlessly ambitious than Enid Winterton, making them a great duo.

Despite being spiteful and unlikable most of the time, I hesitate to call Enid a dreadful character because she is doing exactly what Bertha and the other wealthy women of New York society do. The only difference is that she started as a working-class woman with a slightly more frustrating attitude.

Since The Gilded Age season 1, both Bertha and Enid have been doing everything in their power to gain influence in New York society. The only thing that separates them is their wealth and starting positions. Bertha began the series already wealthy and hoping to curry favor with Mrs. Astor, while Enid needed to gain that wealth first.

Now that Mrs. Winterton is very wealthy, though, her season 4 story is set to mirror Bertha Russell’s past very closely. While the exact details differ, Enid resembles Bertha in season 1, while Bertha is now like Mrs. Astor. As the new head of New York society, Bertha has the option of excluding or including Enid as she sees fit.

Bertha begrudgingly agreed to invite Enid to her Newport Ball, opening the door for Enid to become more involved in society next season. While both women acknowledge that they won’t be best friends anytime soon, the invitation opens the door for Enid to have a larger story in season 4 and work her way up society’s ranks as Bertha did.

Enid And Oscar Van Rhijn’s Partnership Is One Of The Gilded Age Season 4’s Best Teased Stories

Enid Winterton did not have a huge role in The Gilded Age season 3, but the finale did set her up with an interesting story for season 4. She has always wanted the lifestyle that New York’s elites flaunt, and now she actually has a chance of fully living it thanks to her connection to Oscar van Rhijn.

While her parallel with Bertha’s season 1 story is intriguing, it could not have happened without Oscar’s influence. Oscar made a deal with Bertha Russell to get Marian (Louisa Jacobson) to attend the Newport Ball in exchange for inviting Enid. This marks a return to the pair’s scheming after they had previously worked together in season 1.

Intriguingly, during the ball, Oscar proposes to Enid, arguing that they could team up to move through society together while maintaining their separate lives when out of the city. Since Enid and Oscar have always been fairly frank with each other, this would be socially advantageous for each without any concern about pretending to be in love.

The partnership would also be safe for Enid and Oscar because they can be more authentic with each other, as the characters themselves acknowledge. From an audience perspective, I am looking forward to The Gilded Age‘s new pairing simply because Enid and Oscar are both willing to sow chaos to get what they want, and that makes for excellent TV.