The Great - Tony McNamara
Season One
This is part of my unedited thoughts series
This show is just fantastic. The casting is great as are the performances in all the key roles. This first season follows Catherine The Great from her arrival in Russia to her attempt to take the throne from Peter.
I feel overall the story is super tragic. This is because of how flawed Peter is. At his heart, I feel he is a good man but is a product of his terrible upbringing.
All the characters are interesting and have different goals on the court. They are different and flawed and the script explores these things well.
The best part about the show is its ability to handle its monumental tonal shifts with aplomb. The show is hilarious in a ludicrous almost theatre of the absurd way. This is because of the absolute nonsense that is happening around the court – generally just to keep Peter happy.
This absurdity is also because of the period it is set in. Serfdom is the norm in Russia and ideas a flourishing in Paris and across western Europe.
This is where the tonal shift comes in cause some of the things that are happening are truly horrible and Catherine is seriously trying to do something about it.
The marrying of the comedy and tragedy could easily be a disaster but it is done so well that it makes this show magic.
When Peter is poisoned in a fit of anger by one of his friends Catherine is thrust into the spotlight as it looks like she will get the power she has been dreaming of. Unfortunately, she turns out to be terrible.
This drives her to be ready for the next time she has an opportunity. We see some truly wild takes on some great historical characters from Voltaire to the King and Queen of Sweden.
The season ends with the coup beginning. I am extremely excited to see where the story goes next because at this point this is one of the best tv shows I have ever seen.
