This article contains spoilers for The Gilded Age season 3 episode 8.While The Gilded Age season 3 followed several romances, the clear standout in terms of sheer swoonworthiness and hardships overcome is the courtship between Peggy Scott (Denée Benton) and Dr. William Kirkland (Jordan Donica). Episode 5 started with a lovely baseball game date and ended with William nearly coming to blows with T. Thomas Fortune as he used Peggy’s assignment to interview Frances Ellen Watkins Harper as an excuse to get back together. Peggy reinforced her professional boundaries and also chose to continue courting William.cnx.cmd.push(function() {cnx({playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530",}).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796");});The bigger obstacle to their relationship was William’s mother, Elizabeth. She didn’t like that Arthur Scott set up his pharmacy after emancipation, and that Peggy had darker skin than members of her family. Her initial disapproval took a turn for the worse when Elizabeth found out through the rumor mill a distorted version of Peggy’s past. She urged William to break it off, but he decided that he would rather hear from Peggy about her past. Ultimately William decided that their future together was worth fighting his mother and everyone else for, proposing to Peggy at the ball in Newport they were all invited to. Den of Geek interviewed executive producer and season finale director Salli Richardson-Whitfield to find what it was like to film William’s proposal to Peggy and how their story fits into the larger overall theme of the series.DEN OF GEEK: Whose idea was it to intersperse the separate ball scenes together?SALLI RICHARDSON-WHITFIELD: That was all me. The writers understood that I wanted to be able to intercut between both of the balls and the scenes that I needed to make that come alive. I wanted to make sure the Black elite ball was honored and seen in a way that we’ve never had the chance to experience. It was beautiful, and the proposal was magical. Every time I see it, I’m so happy I directed it, and I still tear up at the final moment. Peggy looks like a fluffy angel, with white all around her. Everyone on the set could feel the magic of what was happening. We have all these beautiful photos of everyone dressed up as one of our characters, set in their elegant finery. You have this pride in what was, and then you have this sadness of what could have been if Jim Crow hadn’t started to take over.What was the hardest part of filming these scenes separately?Well, it’s not as hard as you think when you have scripts that are tight and working. I’ve been with the show since the beginning, so I feel like I understand and know all of these characters in both worlds, and I want to take the time to honor all of their storylines. I spend the time connecting both worlds visually, you’ll see transitions that take you from one world to the other., I believe it’s important that although these worlds are separated, we are connected in a way. I try to do that with these sorts of subliminal messages of connection. I think that’s why some of those episodes flow so well.What was your approach to developing Peggy’s story in this episode and throughout the season?Well, we map out the season before it happens. I’ve been very excited about Peggy getting a real love interest and then also dealing with some other complications within that that we don’t get to touch upon as far as colorism and what that means even in dating, which can correspond to present-day times, which is what I love so much about the show. I was excited about Peggy getting to have the opportunity to have a real, full life outside of what’s happening in her environment.How did you and the other creatives approach developing Elizabeth as an impediment to Peggy’s happiness?I don’t have to do research, I feel like I live it. We all do as African American people, but Dr. Erica Dunbar, our historian, does the research to fill us in on what it was like during that time. I became a student during the season because we all know about it, we’ve heard about it. My grandmother’s mother was a slave, and so I understand it, but not to that depth, until you read about it more, and it’s put on your plate. As far as the writing, I have to give all of that praise to Sonja Warfield and Julian Fellowes. What I love about the show is that there are times, especially when you get someone as amazing as Miss Phylicia Rashad coming in, to have so many Black women on the set besides me to help shape Elizabeth. She gets to just be so fun and catty, just like Bertha. She’s like, “This relationship is not right for my son.” It’s grown so much, and you get to see the Black elite world grow in a way that we haven’t seen before. It’s what the fans have been asking for. It’s what people come up to me and ask for all the time.How important was it to show that Black women in this era were also active in the women’s suffrage movement? That’s what’s so special about the show, that we can get little tidbits of history with our entertainment. Black women were very involved in getting the vote out and getting it for women, and coming together with other white women to do that. I love the opportunity for people to learn enough about both communities, white and Black, to get the vote out, to get the vote for women, and how important it is now that we keep that vote. This was the 1800s, and people were fighting for this, so it’s even more important now, and it’s amazing how Julian Fellowes and Sonja Warfield can write something so timely, even ahead of time, when you don’t even know that that’s going to be some of the issues we’re having today.Season 4 has officially been greenlit by HBO. What’s next for Peggy? We are working on ideas, and we want Peggy again to have a full life, but as we know, nothing stays happy, right? Nothing is perfect, and nor do you want to watch a perfect show. Hopefully, we can give Peggy some love and laughter and then give the audience some drama, too.All eight episodes of The Gilded Age season 3 are available to stream on HBO Max now. The post The Gilded Age Season 3 Finale Director Unpacks That Big Romantic Moment appeared first on Den of Geek.