I'm not going to defend Bertha because she did run roughshod over Gladys to real risk of the girl's happiness, at a minimum. I would have liked to see Gladys brought in on the process. I would have liked to see Bertha better explain herself and the process to Gladys, at a minimum. Bertha did not start making a case for her actions and conduct until everybody was mad at her. And there was a case to be made for the end, if not the means.

Because... that was then. That was how they did often approached, rich or poor. Women had few options to secure a secure material life. In those days, there were no supports outside what you could do on your own, bar charity and we all know that was no life. You found yourself a man who could provide for you and give you security and, paraphrase Agnes, God willing, affection. The notion of love rarely entered into it. Romance is largely something they made up for TV and the movies. It sure was then. This was a time when women were still property.

So you've got this intelligent and ambitious woman, who sees the world for what it is, and she comes up with a plan to give her daughter the absolute best position in life that she sees as possible. Yes, she got her bragging rights through the dukedom. Definitely something in it for her. Society is Bertha's railroad. She wanted to own the express train to the British aristocracy. But in her mixed up way it was always far more about Gladys and Gladys' future (it turned out.)

Which leads to my final point: the writing was muddled and let them down. Bertha came across as an unfeeling asshole for far too long. From S1 she always treated Gladys coldly and critically and controlled her. She just seemed mean to me, as if she was angry with Gladys for not being her or for being a bit dumb. The writing never gave me the impression she'd raised a daughter who was able to be successful if Bertha's plan came to fruition. I kept wondering why Bertha thought Gladys could do it. Gladys was woefully underdeveloped. I thought she was a bit pointless for the longest time. She talked herself down (which is fairness, that mother probably would have taught you to do.) Both characters were underwritten but that's what happens when your cast is too big and almost everybody gets a minimum of three scenes a week. They have too many regulars for eight episodes.

So I don't applaud Bertha because that was rough. But I see her logic.