The Great Review: You Can Become Empress, But You Can’t Have It All
A title is everything, and in the cast of The Great, it’s everything. Hulu’s anachronistic satire tells us the story of Catherine the Great before she’s claimed that title.
After being shipped off to marry Emporer Peter of Russia, she sets out with one set of seemingly impossible goals until something much more tantalizing comes her way: the chance to rule Russia.
Immediately this series sets the expectation that we’ll get to see the coup and watch Elle Fanning’s Catherine take the throne, but the series manages to subvert expectations and take us just to the point of the coup starting.
Over ten episodes The Great mulls over a lot of themes and points that are relevant to today’s society, making it the perfect vehicle for satire.
It’s hard to categorize The Great. The miniseries is genre-bending by design and is self-aware of its historical inaccuracies that the title slide reads: “The Great*: an occasionally true story.” If a viewer doesn’t know that going in than their reading of this series will be different.
The anachronistic drama is backed by powerful performances and talent that shift from silly to serious to downright vindictive at the drop of the hat.
Elle Fanning shines with her quips when the moment strikes but also delivers powerful moments in contrast that makes her anachronistic Catherine feel more three-dimensional. She’s naive, strategic, and forthright all at once.
Her interactions with Phoebe Fox Marial, Sebastian De Souza’s Leo, and Sacha Dhawan’s Orlov also serve to give her depth of character and move her away from the naive young woman that gave the Emporer a twig.
The coup is the throughline of this series, but it’s also about much more. Catherine and Leo’s love for each other is a bright point in the series and salvation from Catherine’s loveless relationship with the Emporer.
When he’s finally brought into the fold and they start dreaming of their utopic Russia it increases the viewer’s hopes of a happy ending that is not to be.
As we move towards the final frame of the series and watch Catherine bid him a tearful goodbye, it’s hard not to feel like this series is sending us a frank message: you can’t have it all.
As I said, we don’t see the coup take place, and that’s okay because The Great isn’t really about action. While there is violence and blood it’s not about the physical acts, its the motivation and the people behind them.
Despite being set in 18th century Russia, Catherine’s struggles are relatable. She’s thirsty for power, will do anything to get it, and in the end, has to sacrifice love in order to realize her goal.
I don’t normally consider myself a romantic, but since I knew this wasn’t a historically accurate representation going in, I thought maybe Catherine might be able to have it all. Her face in the final scene, when she gives the order to proceed with the coup, is heartbreaking, and makes everything that preceeds it more impactful.
While The Great doesn’t give a historically accurate account of how Catherine the Great took power, it is a rollercoaster ride of emotions, making it well worth the time it takes to view.
Stray Thoughts:
- Vlad makes my list of characters who are too good to last. That poor dear did not deserve to die of smallpox.
- Marial’s story is one of the most compelling. She has as much skin in the game as anyone else when it comes to getting Catherine on the throne. Her betrayal at the end of the series is understandable but also stings that much more.
- I’ve been buying a lot of citrus at the store lately, I get the feeling it’s gonna to look a whole lot different now.
- Aunt Elizabeth is another MVP of this series. I love the amount of feminine energy that comes into play in this series, and Belinda Bromilov in the trope of “the madwoman” is outstanding. She encapsulates the madwoman’s tightrope walk between eccentricity and truth very well.
What did you think of this episode of The Great? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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The Great is now streaming on Hulu
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Lauren Busser
Lauren Busser is an Associate Editor at Tell-Tale TV. She is a writer of fiction and nonfiction whose work has appeared in Bitch Media, Popshot Quarterly, Brain Mill Press Voices, and The Hartford Courant.