Take Three: The Great

The Great: Season 1, Episode 3 “And You Sir, Are No Peter the Great” (B+)

To expect that this revolution would happen quickly is foolhardy, mostly because the first season of this show is ten episodes and there might be more after that. But I do like that things aren’t proceeding exactly as expected, with Catherine working hard to make sure she’s not being subverted by a spy but also providing Peter with a bit of a pick-me-up in the process. Bringing her a sterile lover in the form of the perfectly charming and moderately intelligent Leo, who’s able to explain gravity to an eager servant with no concept of what that means, was a gift that Catherine didn’t want to accept, even though it will actually make her happy. Peter was rightfully upset when it became abundantly clear to him that no one was impressed by his factually stupid military plan, and he wasn’t actually wrong to think about crying in front of other people when talking about his late father. But that’s not how things work in this world, as evidenced by his immediate challenge of his heckler to a fistfight, which he ended right away by stabbing him, proving his “surprise attack” theory as the way to ensure victory. While Orlov and Archie likely remain allies for Catherine, Velementov proved himself less than useful and, more than anything else, belligerent in his attempts to express his physical desires for Catherine, which embarrassingly ended in him falling asleep while on top of her and wetting himself in the process. He’s hardly the reliable partner she needs.