Still under the impression that The Great came to an end in season three, even though she already knew everything that was yet to happen and how it was going to happen, she was kind of avoiding spoilers. So if you don’t want to know the last scene of the series, wait a few weeks and don’t reread the title.

The Great‘s soundtrack, signed by Nathan Barr, reinforces the witty and fun rhythm of the text, without overpowering it. There is a curiosity in the choice of songs that closed the first and last seasons. And they reflect a lot on how Catherine has evolved throughout the series.

In the first season, she ends with the classic pink dress, which reinforces her beauty but also her determination to take the crown from Peter. Remembering that she was almost a teenager, with romantic dreams that are soon undone. Her loathing for Peter turns to hatred, but Peter’s journey is the other way around: he falls truly in love with Catherine. That’s why he regrets having presented his wife with a lover, Leo, whom she genuinely loves. Well, no more than he loves the Crown.

When she finds herself pregnant, Catherine is spared by Peter, but she has to choose between her lover or the Empire and she prefers Power. Leo understands and accepts her choice. And with that comes the credits with a cover of Bird on a Wire, a 1960s hit by Leonard Cohen. The song is perfect. She reflects on the impossibility of freedom in a world full of chains, just like the Russia she wants to modernize. A contrast with what we will see in what became the Season finale.

Oh like a bird on the wire,
like a drunk in a midnight choirhave tried in my way to be free.

The second season moves away from reality when it puts Peter in love with his wife, to the point of abdicating for her. Pregnant, and guilty of the decision to have Leo sacrificed, Catherine has “protection” because Paul, her son, is not yet born. And in the midst of so much confusion, she discovers that she can have pleasure with Peter – in bed only – and their relationship advances. When everything seems to fall into place, he “accidentally kills” his mother-in-law during sex. When Marial reveals the truth to Catherine, it’s too much for her. In a burst, she stabs Peter in the back but is his look-alike. Relieved, she throws herself into her husband’s arms: now it’s the (tortuous) love story of an unlikely couple. So it’s perfect that, at this stage, the song that concludes is I’m Sticking With You, by Velvet Underground, which says

I’m sticking with you
‘Cause I’m made out of glue
Anything that you might do
I’m gonna do too

Isn’t it pure love?

And we’ll get to the third. Here, Catherine loses Peter in a ridiculous accident, just when their love has never been clearer and the two are genuinely looking for a way to be happy. Peter loves Catherine, as he says, in all her forms. And she acknowledges, that only he knows her so well. Before she can say that she loves him too, he falls into the icy lake and dies. Grieving her (again), Catherine finds herself in the midst of a divided Russia and this time without Peter to help her (tortuously).

I won’t give the details of everything that happens because it’s too much, but eventually, Catherine regains control of the situation and begins to reign alone. As the subjects celebrate, she mutters that it’s not fate, she’s made her choices. And, with her hair cut short and one of her longest dresses, she dances to AC/DC: You Shook Me All Night Long. The scene is sensational and now that it’s the last one, beautiful. And perfect for energy and surprise.

She was a fast machine, she kept her engine clean
She was the best damn woman that I ever seen
She had the sightless eyes, telling me no lies

A long way, a perfect soundtrack.

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