If you missed season one and aren't familiar with the tone, consider The Favourite, a 2018 drama co-written by Tony McNamara, the writer of The Great. If you haven't seen The Favourite, just picture posh royalty smashing stuff or engaging in sex while frequently saying "fuck." This is the genre that The Great belongs to.
The first season of the show was truly amazing; it showed us the innocent Catherine being kidnapped to marry Peter, the Russian emperor, and how soon her life swiftly turned horrible due to his mistreatment. She was beaten and degraded by the end of the first episode, and by the start of the second, she was prepared to murder herself and Peter.
However, near the end of the season, as she turned 21, she discovered that she was pregnant with Peter's child despite the fact that he had given her Leo as a gift. At the start of season two, it seems like Peter has slain Leo, and Catherine is prepared to overthrow her husband.
The Great, dedicates hours to the unlikeable and dull Peter. Given that Peter the Great was a real person, it is all the more ironic that Nicholas Hoult finds it difficult to portray the spoiled and ruthless leader as a real person. He is more like a child than a King.
Elle Fanning avoids the same fate as Catherine both because she might have a greater range and because she is given much more fascinating lines. We are truly interested in how Catherine is changing, during this second season. The audience can relate to her frustration at not being able to make any changes once she becomes empress after defeating Peter and regaining the throne.
In the first episode alone, there are children playing football with a head, Peter lookalikes are slaughtered, and the Molotov cocktail sees flaming bottles of vodka being flung down halls. There is plenty to keep the spectator away from their phone. The tumultuous eighteenth century in Russia made for a good backdrop for drama, and the intrigues of the court made for great material for The Great.
However, season two makes it tough to actually care about a lot of the tale, perhaps because Peter is given too much screen time once more. The dialogue seems to try for a sort of old-fashioned authenticity but wants to have its cake and eat it too by loading every other line with swear words to make it appear edgy. The writing, while frequently humorous, is all too frequently unrealistic and annoying.
As an illustration, Peter's comparison of eating some blueberries to "a bluebird cumming in your mouth" is not humorous nor intriguing nor true; rather, it just makes you wish you were spending less time with the show's second-most significant character.
There is a limit to how often a character can use the swear word, especially considering that the historical characters being portrayed—who undoubtedly would have used profanity—wouldn't have done it as frequently. One exception is the archbishop character played by Adam Godley, Archie, who is so self-serving and cunning that he frequently makes people chuckle.
Fans of the anachronistic comedy from season one will probably be happy to see more of the same, while others may be less forgiving of the show's development. Hopefully, the third season will have a stronger storyline and improved dialogue. These characters are loved, and there were moments of this second season that were really enjoyable. Hence, hopefully, the energy of this show can be carried over for the future seasons.
Performance | 3.8/5 |
Enjoyment | 4/5 |
Overall Rating | 3.9/5 |