What I’m Watching: The Great (Season Premiere)

The Great: Season 2, Episode 1 “Heads It’s Me” (B+)

I’m so happy that this show is back, and this was a fantastic season opener. I remember watching the season finale having just heard that the show had been renewed, and what a wonderful decision that was. I wasn’t sure if this whole season would be them at war, and I like that a treaty has now been signed but Peter apparently has no intention of honoring it while Catherine will surely want to kill Peter more than ever. It’s good to see that Catherine is still a reasonable leader, eager to lecture kids about why they shouldn’t play soccer with a dead man’s head and urging a smart plan rather than Orlo’s bloodlust. Peter’s attitude was not at all surprising, refusing to assess the situation or admit that he was trapped, even ordering that his adviser be “searched for balls” when he expressed anything but the utmost confidence. While Peter was prepared to eat a rat after debating the various culinary options, Catherine knew exactly how to get to him by preparing a delicious-smelling pig just over the water. I’m particularly intrigued by the way supporting characters like Grigor and Georgina, who need Peter to be present in their relationship and have no desire to die if he does in fact end up being killed. Marial’s unwillingness to even acknowledge any wrongdoing on her part after simply switching sides did seem to impress Catherine, who has less to worry about with traitors in her midst than with the duplicitous nature of her husband, who wants twenty minutes a day with her and her son and also plenty of sex with his very disgusted and uninterested wife. Casually offering up Leo’s head, which he had mummified as an apparent gift for her, cements his extremely twisted misunderstanding of her needs. That final scene with her look as everyone was chanting “Empress Catherine, huzzah!” was formidable.