Episode 4: About choosing a new Church patriarch and dispelling horse rumors. Another great episode. I like the zone this show is in, where it can have over-the-top stuff, and it doesn’t make you think “I wonder if that really happened in real life”, but instead you think “I don’t care if that happened in real life or not, that was great”.
Episode 5 (War and Vomit). Man, when this show kicks it up a notch, it can really punch you in the stomach, right? I loved this episode so much, precisely because it was hard to watch at times. Maybe the best episode yet, I think.
Episode 6 - Orlo encounters a bear and a Swede. Catherine likes the new malleable Peter. Ending the show with She Blinded Me with Science was a brilliant touch.
I’m 4 episodes in.
This shows something, isn’t it? Seems basically custom made for me. And the actors, my god, they are amazing.
This mix of comedy, history and excellent craftsmanship has become my favorite series of the year so far.
I don’t know how the hell this got greenlit, but I’m so glad it did. Hopefully we’ll get the full six planned seasons. At the very least we are getting a second one.
Savor it Juan. Don’t rush through it. :)
Episode 7 - Pox and Sex. I have to admit, this is the first time the show felt a bit scattershot, but by the end of the episode, they pulled everything together very nicely.
That’s something I’ve really appreciated so far. Each episode is a well told story unto itself, even though it’s part of a bigger story.
Episode 6: the best thing was the bite (Catherine to Archie). Amazing series, it allows itself to go extreme in many ways, but the actors not only pull it through, they make everything fit perfectly.
@Rock8man I watch 2 episodes per night, so two more nights to reach the end. This is a series I love to have discovered, but I’d love to have discovered it with several seasons out. It’s really wonderful. Perfect, maybe.
It took me 4 episodes to realize they are using vernacular English, it’s just they throw in a lot of HUZZAHS and because it’s a British accent I can’t tell it’s not Ancient Wordes they are speaking.
I really enjoyed this show, although I thought the final episode was a lame way to end the season.
It also made me want to learn about the real Catherine so i read this book (which i would also recommend): https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10414941-catherine-the-great?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=jF7jcde000&rank=1
It’s interesting how the show weaves these little details about her life in the show and most often in very wrong contexts. The show is in one sense 95% fiction, but in another sense captures the spirit and tone of her early life very well.
I’m so glad to see others enjoying this awesome mix of silliness and history.
Holy crap.
Episode 8: Swedish negotiations and melancholy in the court. If Ellie Fanning doesn’t win an award for her work in this episode, then awards are meaningless. So good. Maybe the best episode of the series. It will be hard to top.
My wife and I just finished up the series and liked it quite a bit. It’s got a good mix of humor, some seriousness, intrigue. Not up there with some of my favorites - Breaking Bad, TWD (early seasons), Game of Thrones, Handmaid’s Take, but still looking forward to the next season (assuming it is coming). Ozark is really good too.
I always hate finishing up a good series because I have a hard time finding one that keeps me interested. I don’t like watching much TV, but it’s something to do with my wife that she likes.
Episode 9: The torture episode.
Everything seemed so simple at the beginning of the Season, didn’t it? If Catherine kills Peter she will become Empress and rule Russia. Now everything is so complex, I almost feel like it would be impossible to pull off.
Episode 10.
“I will haunt you”
“Promise it”
The best show.
Yep, that was amazing. The ability this show has to move between registers (drama, comedy, melodrama…) and still really work is second to none.
Seconded.
I do wonder how a Season 2 plays out with the changed premise - it would seem that some of the critical character interplay that made this season so brilliant would disappear.
It’s definitely going to be a challenge for all involved because you’re right – once Catherine assumes her role the dynamic would seem to shift dramatically.
That’s a good thing, I say. If we want to see that dynamic again, we can re-watch Season 1. And perhaps that means Season 1 will be our favorite season, but obviously you shouldn’t stunt a story just so that the audience can get more of the same of what they love. I have no doubt this show understands that since it’s somewhat based on history, but I wish more shows understood that as well, the ones that are completely fictional top to bottom.
Oh absolutely.
My worry is more that they drag the show out over 2-3 more seasons of poor(er) quality, with all the spark gone out of it compared to the first season. Because this season felt very much to me like one that could easily stand on its own as a single-season show (despite a few “cliffhangers”) and I really wish that more show runners would dare do as “Watchmen” and understand that 1 great season >> 4 seasons of increasingly mediocre episodes.
The Great is apparently based off a play, though, so hopefully they have the broad strokes for the rest of this tightly plotted out already.
The showrunner initially pitched a 6 seasons show. So there’s definitely a plan there.
Given the quality of the first season, I’m onboard with whatever he wants to try.