For those who followed Tony McNamara‘s brilliant, also entertaining text to reimagine. the youth of Catherine the Great, with occasional truths, the three seasons of The Great were brilliant. They were all nominated for an Emmy, won for their costumes, and said goodbye with the credits in silence almost as if anticipating Hulu’s (in the United States) abrupt cut of a story that had yet another big twist ahead. That’s right, The Great ended with Catherine’s (Elle Fanning) victory, even though many subplots were left open.

We find our empress again where we left her, still outraged by the Russian rejection of her ideas, missing Peter (Nicholas Hoult), and questioning her destiny. Elizabeth (Belinda Bromilow), who never left the reins of the Court, is once again brilliant. She understands Catherine more than she does herself and understands politics like no other. She confronts and challenges her stepdaughter for Power. It works.

Marial (Phoebe Fox), always irritating and self-serving, once again disrupts other people’s plans. She wants a commanding role, she wants to maintain her influence on Catherine at all costs, even if she sacrifices Archie (Adam Godley) once again. I’ve already made a post complaining about Marial, a complex character who doesn’t want the best for anyone, least of all Catherine. She reveals to Catherine the role of her cousin in Purgachev’s (Hoult) trajectory and obviously, this brings focus to the Empress’s actions. What Marial, or Archie, or no one but Elizabeth counted on was that, as Catherine herself says: she learned her lesson. She is no longer mistaken with anyone’s intentions, with the desires of the people, with freedom of action. She is the one in charge and she is also the one who determines the narrative.

What she doesn’t know behind the scenes (it would probably be a drama later on) is that Paul, who was being looked after by Grigor (Gwilym Lee), was ordained by the Church as the future Emperor. This part of the plot is a fun rush of different characters with different interests in contradicting the desires of both Peter and Catherine to pre-determine the child’s destiny. And the abandonment that Paul suffers, with Catherine suffering in grief and then focusing on Power, will have a high price on the future of both, another theme that was aborted with the cancellation of the series, but well planted by McNamara. In fact, the tragic figure of Grigor – who makes us laugh and suffer – is another highlight. He lost his only purpose with Peter’s death: to be a best friend. Neither Georgina nor Marial really cares about him or what he’s going through. Marial again! (How I hate Marial!)

It doesn’t matter. Obviously, Catherine’s orders to “spare” Purgachev’s life are disobeyed and she is left with no immediate alternative. Her solution, which is the occasional truth though so crazy, is that she plants different versions of the deaths of both Purgachev and Peter and ultimately embraces their role in Russian history.

The final scene, in which she dances alone to the sound of AC/DC, the classic Shook Me All Night Long, is even moving. Catherine repeats some of the steps she danced with Peter, more hysterical, more fun, stronger. Until it stops, she sits down and cries. The credits roll without music. She learned her lesson, losing the men she loved, and sacrificing everything for a vision not everyone shares. She has no friends (Marial betrays her once again, saving Archie in secret), and her reign, which will be long, will come with more conflicts and plots. A great story. A great finale and a great series, with impeccable and intense performances from Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult, in particular. I will miss it very, very much.

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