Saturday, July 11, 2020

What I’m Watching: The Great


The Great: Season 1, Episode 8 “Meatballs at the Dacha” (B+)

After all this talk of Sweden the enemy, I, like Peter, wasn’t expecting to meet a king who was reminiscent most of Peter himself. He seemed completely shocked and delighted that Hugo was into all the same things he was, and both he and Agnes had similar ideas about the sex they wanted to have. The way they spoke to their advisors was also almost identical, and all was going well until Hugo demanded St. Petersburg back and called Peter puny. Fortunately, Catherine and Agnes talking meant that the women were able to step in and save the day, with Catherine coming up with a brilliant solution that gave both sides victories to claim and prevented any further war. Peter was most appreciative to her because he revealed that he wasn’t as stupid as he often seems and knew full well that she had given him credit when he hadn’t earned it. What I found most surprising about this episode was the depth Velementov displayed after initially seeming interested only in Catherine for her body. Admitting that he was lusting for her youth just as much was a worthwhile realization, and after he slapped Peter under the guise of preventing him from getting a mosquito bite, he expressed his sincere displeasure with what Catherine had negotiated after she told him about the coup. Leo took the news, shown to him by Marial, much better, and she’ll need all the allies she can get. Grigor’s behavior is continually disconcerting, and Peter is starting to notice his indignation. On a more humorous note, I liked the confusion caused by Peter trying to signal to his deputies not to cut the ambassador’s head off.

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