Now that we’re sure the end of The Great is near, we want even more from Catherine (Elle Fanning) in her paralyzing grief after Peter’s (Nicholas Hoult) death. The certainties she had about her destiny and greatness – which we know will be resumed and justified – are suspended for the moment. She fears exactly the things that will happen: her distance from Paul in the future, the hurt that the son will feel for considering that his mother killed his father (and not Purgachev, the double), etc. That is, once again the brilliant Tony Macnamara plays with the truths occasionally inserting them into the plot, in an intelligent, humorous, and precise way. I will miss his storytelling brilliance.

Under pressure from all sides, still missing her husband, Catherine is certain that she cannot simply ‘kill’ Purgachev because at the very least he knew how to connect with the Russian people as she never came close. Her idea of forcing him to deny it is almost childish, but it is her decision. She also remains determined not to ordain Paul, with the support of Grigor, who at this point is her only and faithful friend. Both she and he are no longer involved in the Court’s power games, much less the dispute between Georgina and Marial.

With Pugachev in Moscow, everything accelerates and when Elizabeth finds Catherine playing a version of Russian Roulette, where she puts one of three guns to her head and pulls the trigger without knowing which one is loaded, she realizes that it is urgent to take the reins of the game. Catherine now believes that if it is her destiny to rule, she will never choose the wrong weapon and nothing will help her change her mind.

Catherine hid Paul until she resolved the Pugachev situation, but the opposing forces have plans for her too. Marial wants to prevent Maxim from trying to kill Peter’s lookalike again. Agnes and Hugo want to help Elizabeth find Paul. Archie wants to kill Purgachev (to hide his role in the plot), Velimentov, who now knows he won’t die anymore wants to capture the rebel alive while Petrov wants to use his cannons to end the mutiny. Of course, in the midst of all this, there are those who want to kill the Empress, even among the Nobles. Nobody understands each other.

Amidst the chaos, Tatyana convinces Arkady to support Purgachev, It’s unclear if she feels that he’s really Peter in disguise since they never saw the body or a scam. Catherine realizes that Marial knows more than she let on and discovers that there is a way to go to one of her rival’s rallies, something she decides she needs to see for herself to understand how he knows how to communicate and she doesn’t. The experience is shocking to her because he is rude and untruthful, but he speaks to the people’s desires. He throws the heads of murdered nobles and, with Catherine’s doll, incites those present to kill her. The audience runs over the Empress without ever recognizing her. Meanwhile, disobeying Catherine, Archie prepares to attack.

We know the – occasional – truth from The Great: Purgachev will be arrested and killed, but who and how? We’ll find out in next week’s final episode. It will be epic.

Pesquisar

Pesquisar