‘The Great’: review

‘The Great’ is a tv series produced in 2020 by the streaming platform hulu. It consist of 2 seasons, and it has been renewed for a third one.

The period drama genre is a widely popular one, and many media products that fall into this category have a female main character. Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice, Daphne Bridgerton in Bridgerton and Jo March in Little Women are great exaples of female protagonists of this genre. However, they all have a common denominator: their happy ending consists of the marriage with a man and the compliance to the societal norms expected for women.

‘The Great’, on the other hand, shows a reversed evolution arc of the character. Catherine, daughter of a german nobleman, gets married off to Peter III Emperor of Russia. At first she had a very idylliac vision of the institution of marriage: she thinks that she and Peter would immediately fall in love with eachother and that he would always be kind and sophisticated. However, she soon realises that her thoughts couldn’t be farther from reality: her husband is a man without any inhibitions, education or even ability to lead a country, who only thinks about his immediate pleasure and satisfaction. Because of her stalemate situation, Catherine decides to form a conspiracy to take the throne.

Characters and Cast

Catherine The Great (Elle Fanning)

Catherine is still a young girl when she firstly arrives at the court of Russia, and she appears naïve and excited. She’s however very clever and well educated, and she soon befriends Marial, a disgraced noblewoman who now works as her maid. The two women, with the help of Count Orlo (a bureaucrat) and Velementov (a general), plan to overthrow Peter and let Catherine take the throne, so that she can finally lead Russia into a new era.

Most women die with an unsaid better idea in their hearts.

Aunt Elizabeth

Peter III (Nicholas Hoult)

Peter III, son of Peter the Great, acts like he’s still a child. He completely ignores his responsabilities as the ruler of Russia, and only focuses on food, women and various types of entratainment. He’s egocentric and dumb, and clearly unfit to reign.

My father used to say when a woman wants to kill you, you’re in business.

Peter III

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