While I think this season was as good as the previous one, the finale pretty much summed up every doubts I have about the show and of how does it end. As long as Peter was alive, there was an ambigousness and ambivalence about Catherine's progressive ideas, something she constantly had to fight inside and outside to get closer to her goals. With Peter's death everything he embodied becomes scattered amongst the people of the court and Russia. It was easier to point out the problem earlier because we had Peter, now it's elusive and less palpable, but it also makes me question if there is a definitive end to the story at all or not. Archie is just not dead, but Marial's clock is ticking and she again sided with someone who wanted to kill her only relative. Velementov did not get a glorious death and instead he's just overshadowed by Petrov, maybe fading into obscurity. Grigor and Georgina are not done, and Elizabeth, while I think it's a mistake on Catherine's part, is not dead, but still absolutely capable of rebelling. Is the show going to be endless plotting from now on? Because I don't know if this is perpetual and keeps going around about a story of how noone's capable of change, especially when it comes to Catherine becoming the Great either because she will actually make changes or because she will just force her ideas upon everyone else with little to show for, but will still - falsely - be remembered as the Great. I think the creators know that power is relative and elusive, but this season I desperately started to ask and search for whether they have a definitve answer for Catherine's journey or not, and I also think if Peter would still be alive I would ask the same thing: how long can they go with this show? There are lots of nuances creating an atmosphere (even with a ridiculously conceptless and structureless episodes and seasons) and characterwork, but by the end - compared to other episodes, especially the beginning of the season - things got blurred about what needs to be done. They made absolutely sure for Nicholas Hoult's absence to not leave a void, so that's fine, but I hate how unsure I am about where this show can go from this ending which was just very indecisive.
((Note to self: Debating whether this is a 6 or 7 and am I going to regret it for giving it a plus one for my love for the season))
Review by EdrickBlockedParent2023-06-20T08:22:19Z
While I think this season was as good as the previous one, the finale pretty much summed up every doubts I have about the show and of how does it end. As long as Peter was alive, there was an ambigousness and ambivalence about Catherine's progressive ideas, something she constantly had to fight inside and outside to get closer to her goals. With Peter's death everything he embodied becomes scattered amongst the people of the court and Russia. It was easier to point out the problem earlier because we had Peter, now it's elusive and less palpable, but it also makes me question if there is a definitive end to the story at all or not. Archie is just not dead, but Marial's clock is ticking and she again sided with someone who wanted to kill her only relative. Velementov did not get a glorious death and instead he's just overshadowed by Petrov, maybe fading into obscurity. Grigor and Georgina are not done, and Elizabeth, while I think it's a mistake on Catherine's part, is not dead, but still absolutely capable of rebelling. Is the show going to be endless plotting from now on?
Because I don't know if this is perpetual and keeps going around about a story of how noone's capable of change, especially when it comes to Catherine becoming the Great either because she will actually make changes or because she will just force her ideas upon everyone else with little to show for, but will still - falsely - be remembered as the Great. I think the creators know that power is relative and elusive, but this season I desperately started to ask and search for whether they have a definitve answer for Catherine's journey or not, and I also think if Peter would still be alive I would ask the same thing: how long can they go with this show? There are lots of nuances creating an atmosphere (even with a ridiculously conceptless and structureless episodes and seasons) and characterwork, but by the end - compared to other episodes, especially the beginning of the season - things got blurred about what needs to be done.
They made absolutely sure for Nicholas Hoult's absence to not leave a void, so that's fine, but I hate how unsure I am about where this show can go from this ending which was just very indecisive.
((Note to self: Debating whether this is a 6 or 7 and am I going to regret it for giving it a plus one for my love for the season))