Once Upon a Time

I've really liked the first two seasons of "The Great". This third has been moved about a bit on this side of the Atlantic, finally landing on Channel 4's On Demand service this month. It was announced that this third season was the last before I saw it, and I suspect that, based on how the season goes, they were aware that this would be the end too.

Whilst happy that her attempt to murder Peter (Nicholas Hoult) was not successful, Catherine (Elle Fanning) still feels guilty about stabbing Pugachev (Nicholas Hoult). Determined to become a leader who matches her idealism with actual results, Catherine switches her advisors to give Elizabeth (Belinda Bromilow) and Archie (Adam Godley) a louder voice in court. Hugo (Freddie Fox) also schemes to manipulate Peter into taking back Sweden and restoring him as King.

Again, I just think that "The Great" is brilliant. It's a consistently funny comedy drama farce and this season, just as it feels like the show is starting to become a touch repetitive (a fact called out by the characters), there's a dramatic and unexpected event that shakes the second half of the season entirely.

Unfortunately, this season loses Sacha Dhawan early, but we do get Jacob Fortune-Lloyd joining the cast as capable military leader Petrov. Jason Isaacs returns also, with some ghostly cameos as Peter The Great. There's also a bigger and more central plot for Freddie Fox's King Hugo and Grace Molony as his Queen Agnes.

Again, though the star is the script, that is, at the same time, both foul mouthed & vulgar and witty & charming. It feels like, from the way the season ends - that they knew that this was going to be it and it does feel like we leave the characters at a suitable end point. A great final season of what became one of my all-time favourites.

Wow this show went massively downhill. So many of these episodes were just all over the place and had just random crap happening.

I had a few laughs here and there throughout the season, but overall, it pales in comparison to S1 and S2.

There was no overarching main storyline that was actually interesting/intriguing to keep to captivated and caring about the characters.

It's almost like a completely different show.

Also nice one completely ripping off the dumb Wednesday dance at the end of the final ep. I guess the writers were like oh that weird quirky dance was really well received, lets also do that. It was just extremely lame and cringe.

"The Great" Season 3 Review:

Positive: There were more shocking deaths, twists and turns than in seasons 1 and 2. Elle was super cool in the season finale, especially the ending. It's definitely binge-worthy, and I am glad that they released all the episodes on the same day. Even in its third season, it still feels like the creators are overflowing with stories, with too much to tell, and not a single second of this show feels stretched. Nicholas is amazing as always. He played the role of Pugachev so well that I was once confused if it was really Nicholas or another actor. Also, I loved the three gun-luck check scenes. The ex-Sweden emperor (who reminds me a bit of Peter), his wife, and Maxim are really great additions to the show.

Negative: This season is not better than Seasons 1 and 2, but for Elle Fanning, it is. The ending of the 6th episode was really shocking, and it will be hard for me to watch season 4 because of that. But I don't blame the creators because they made it look so real that I kind of believe it. Episode 7 felt a bit boring because of too much mourning. Did the creators forget to mention Orlo after that scene?

Overall, this show is still great, and it's super hard not to binge-watch it. I have watched so many shows, and "The Great" is still in my top 10. Huzzah!