As The Great begins, Catherine (Elle Fanning) and Angeline (Liv Hill) swing together. Angeline believes that everything is going bad for Catherine and her family but she soon finds out otherwise. Catherine reveals that she is going to be marrying Emperor Peter Of Russia (Nicholas Hoult). When that conversation ends, Catherine takes a carriage so she can meet with her new husband and Angeline is not happy with that. Before too long, Catherine finds herself in the palace speaking with Peter. He promptly inspects his new wife and jokes about her height. She gives him a twig and he suspects she might be another inbred. Then, he turns his attention to her odd odor. Once Peter returns to his horses, Catherine speaks with the archbishop about other things.

He wants to make sure that she will allow him to be a spiritual mentor to her and she agrees with that. Catherine is introduced to her girl Marial (Phoebe Fox). Catherine learns that they’re going to check to see if her inner wall has been breached. She submits to the two finger test. That night, Catherine joins the others for dinner. Orlov (Sacha Dhawan) encourages the general to stop staring at the empress. The General isn’t willing to wait to introduce himself. Grigor (Gwilym Lee) and Peter joke around while General Velementov (Douglas Hope) speaks with Catherine. Catherine tells him about the soldiers she saw on the road and how some of them were wounded. Peter gets mad when he hears that and pushes his General to the ground.

Aunt Elizabeth (Belinda Bromilow) surprises Catherine with bubbles and a compliment. Bet encourages Catherine to be kind to Peter since he is a delicate soul. Peter gets drunk and tells everyone how much he misses his mother before toasting his new wife. After that, Catherine returns to her room and speaks with Marial. She begins talking about having sex with her new husband who arrives seconds later. Peter takes care of business while talking to his friends about the ducks that have been crapping everywhere. When he finishes, he invites Grigor to share some vodka with him. In the morning, Catherine writes a list of things she wants to achieve. It includes loving her husband and making him love her. Marial enters and Catherine tells her about the night.

Catherine wants to have breakfast with her husband but he is drunk and doesn’t want to be bothered since he is hungover. They stop by the mummified corpse of Peter’s mother since he couldn’t bury her. Peter tells his new wife a little about his mother before turning his attention to Velementov and chasing him down. As for Catherine, she goes with Georgina (Charity Wakefield). Georgina offers to be her closest friend and confidante. Catherine is introduced to the other women before being shown the hats that have arrived from Paris. When Catherine gets tired of their activities, Marial offers to take her back to her apartment but she is belittled for speaking without permission. Marial isn’t afraid of Lady Svenska and she makes it known. After a bit more back and forth, Catherine agrees to go back to her apartments.

Marial tells her that she was a lady of the court until recently. Her father screwed the emperor so he decided to make them all servants. That night, Catherine tries to have sex with her husband only to find out he is with another woman. He invites her to join them and make him happy. She wakes up in bed with them first thing in the morning. She gets out of bed and runs into Grigor who admits Peter has been sleeping with his wife. Catherine wonders if it is hard for him to share. Later that day, she goes out hunting with her husband and he tries to kill several rabbits. She tells him that she wants to be useful to Russia and that she isn’t pregnant yet. She asks her husband if she can fund a small school. He agrees to let her do it as long as it makes her happy.

After that, Peter drinks a bit and gets into a fight with his general again. Catherine goes to her new school and makes plans to paint it and fix it up. Then, she heads to the library to find books. During the visit, she runs into Orlov who is crying and reading. She seems a bit ashamed that he has been crying and tries to hide it. She tells him that she met the author and he seemed sweet but smelt of cheese. After that, she tells Orlov about her wish to help women learn how to read and other things. During this time, Peter learns that they’re losing the battle and that it might be time to regroup. It is explained that the archbishop started the war after god sent him a vision.

Orlov mentions the school that Catherine intends to open. The Archbishop is worried when he finds out that she wants to help teach women to read. Orlov thinks it is a good idea but the others do not. The school is burned. After that, Catherine goes to her husband and ridicules him for burning down her school. In the morning, Peter says they do not have to have breakfast together but Catherine wants them to get closer. He asks her again if she is pregnant and the answer is still no. When he leaves, she admits she hates him. Peter tells Grigor and the Archbishop about his relationship and the fact that it is not working. The archbishop speaks to Catherine and tries to give her advice. He encourages her to pretend to be happy and says people do not understand the joy of suffering.

Catherine heads outside before the general confronts her. They chat about the war and Catherine reveals her father was in the military. He told her that war is a game of chess for some but a horror of responsibility for the blood of men for others. When he leaves, Marial tells Catherine that everyone is having a party. She goes inside and notices that the group has been hanging out with a bear. Catherine gets angry and tells Madame Svanska that her wig is not a hat. Peter shoots and kills the bear before Catherine slaps him across the face. He confronts her later and admits they’re having problems. She tells her that she came there to love him but he never showed her any kindness. She pleads with Peter to let her go home but he refuses to do that.

She encourages him to change everything and fix the country. He punches her in the stomach to show her that physical abuse is worse than mental abuse. Catherine is warned that she should not speak out against her husband. Marial finds her outside a bit later. Catherine calls herself a fool before asking Marial to help her escape this place. Marial says she can’t help. The Archbishop learn about Catherine’s wishes from Marial. A large chest is shipped to Austria and Catherine is hiding inside of it. However, it doesn’t make it that far. It is thrown in the nearby water and Catherine nearly drowns. After a long wait, Peter orders the men to save his wife. She is returned and dumped from the chest. Catherine returns to her room and throws away the list of her wishes.

She sits down and contemplates slicing her wrist but stops when Marial enters. Marial doesn’t try to stop her but gets a bucket and towels so they can clean up the mess. Catherine says she always felt that greatness was in store for her and that she has a bigger purpose. Marial tells her that the crown will go to the empress if the emperor dies. Marial suggests the great love Catherine wanted was Russia and not Peter before leaving the room. Catherine thinks about that statement and drops the knife before the episode ends.

 

The Great Review

I understand what The Great is trying to do and I realize that some people are going to like it. I just have to say that I don’t think it is going to be a good match for me. I don’t mind a little satire as long as I can tolerate it and I have to find it humorous. I didn’t get that here. I felt the show was too far over the top. It is impossible to gauge the actors and actresses since this isn’t a show that one should take seriously.

I was hoping for more. The Great is truly a double-edged sword. While some will enjoy it, I am sure a lot of people won’t. The opening episode scores a 6 out of 10.