SPOILERS AHEAD: There will be spoilers ahead for the second season of The Great– if you don’t want to be spoiled, this is not the post for you.
The Great is possibly one of the most brilliant period dramas out there. As the title card of each episode clearly states, it is “An Occasionally True Story” and I think that is its strength. I’ve spoken at length about how I don’t care if period dramas are accurate to history, and The Great handles this perfectly- from the outset, it point-blank says to the audience, “this isn’t history”. And the second season moves onto “an almost entirely untrue story”. It is entertainment, though, and the second season did not let us down. This is my The Great Season 2 review!
Also, one more warning: SPOILERS. AHEAD. (You are on your own from here on out…)
Peter Is… Alive?
One of the biggest departures from history in The Great is the fact that Peter isn’t dead. He came to power in January of 1762 and Catherine took control via a fairly quick and bloodless coup (not the drawn out conflict with the palace barricaded in the show) and Peter was dead by the end of August. The official reason for his death (at a guarded fortress) was hemorrhoids (yikes) but may have been murder.
On the show, Catherine’s feelings for Peter keep him alive… indefinitely and that will be your second clue (after the title cards) that they are not aiming for accuracy. I have to say, in terms of comedy, Peter’s continual farces are definitely a lot more humorous than the actual-Catherine setting in to running an empire.
New and Different Figures in The Great
Many of the figures from the first season of The Great are either fictional or very different from their real-life counterparts. For example, Leo Voronsky was based on several people but was not an actual historical figure. The same goes for Velementov; he is essentially an amalgamation of all of the real-Catherine’s generals.
Catherine’s mother, Princess Johanna-Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp arrives later in this season. Gillian Anderson plays the character well, the real Johanna was a fairly arrogant and proud individual like we see on The Great. I can honestly say, I don’t believe for a second that she tried to have sex with her son-in-law like we see on the small screen, but The Great aims for the absurd!
Paul I… aka the baby
The only real way to get a sense of the passage of time in the second season is Catherine’s growing stomach. And close to the end of the season, we do get a baby Paul! Peter and Catherine had two children by the time she seized power (Peter wasn’t actually the father, in all likelihood), so Paul should have been roughly 8 when this is all taking place. However, a very pregnant Catherine is far more dramatic for television.
The real Tsar Paul I only reigned from 1796 to 1801 when he was assassinated, and I am curious to see if this will be foreshadowed at all in the third season. (I mean, we are getting a third season, right?) In any case, the historical Empress Elizabeth (Peter’s aunt who ruled in her own name, like Catherine) essentially raised Paul. As erratic and politically motivated as Paul’s show parents can be, they do seem to be rather hands-on compared to their eighteenth century compatriots.
My Thoughts On Season 2
I firmly believe that The Great might be one of the most brilliant period dramas. People everywhere complain about inaccurate period dramas, but The Great embraces it and goes for it. Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult are hilarious as Catherine and Peter, and I would hazard a guess both will receive multiple nominations again.
Gwilym Lee and Phoebe Fox’s Grigor and Marial stole the season for me; both were already rather complex characters but they only ended up being more fascinating. I will admit, I was happy to see George go and not thrilled to see her come back- compared to the other characters, she still feels rather one note. (Charity Wakefield, the actress behind her, is fantastic, though.)
And finally Belinda Bromilow is brilliant as Elizabeth, and I think the star of the whole show. While she was rather a promiscuous but cunning figure in the first season, she has gained a lot of depth, and we learn more of her (tragic) backstory. And she truly is one of the most intelligent people at court who is sadly not given the credit she often deserves.
An Unfortunate Note Personally….
Unfortunately, when I posted one of the season 2 posters on my Instagram, I ended up with many racist comments in Russian on the post. Many commenters were saying (amongst other things…) that they felt that The Great made Russia look ridiculous. And I cannot agree- I think the Russian court looks ridiculous, but no court is a true representation of its people. Courts end up with exaggerated and bizarre fashions, etiquette, food, and more. It is the nature of a highly competitive, stratified, and luxurious closed ecosystem. However, I don’t know anyone (even non-historians) who thinks that court life was any reflection on the “regular” people who lived in that region and that period. This show is CLEARLY not a reflection of history in any way, and is incredibly upfront about that. I am sorry that people feel that it is mocking Russia in that period, but leaving racist comments is in no way appropriate or acceptable.
Want more on Catherine the Great? You can find my Monarch of the Month post here, and my recommended books if you like The Great!
Do you agree with my The Great season 2 review?
Cheers,
The Historian
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