WiC Watches: Catherine the Great

Helen Mirren, Rory Kinnear and Joseph Quinn in Catherine the Great

Catherine the Great: Episode One

RECAP

Catherine’s rule begins in 1762 after she successfully enacts a military coup and seizes power from her husband, Emperor Peter III. He dies soon afterward, mysteriously, as Catherine (Helen Mirren) navigates the enemies and rivals surrounding her throne. While rejecting the speech prepared by Minister Panin (Rory Kinnear), the headstrong Catherine is introduced to Gregory Potemkin (Jason Clarke), the charming officer who joined them in the coup.

The Prussian-born Catherine reads her own speech to the Russian court, claiming love for her adopted homeland of Russia … but her desire to abolish serfdom as a state institution causes a negative stir. Her current lover, Count Grigory Orlov (Richard Roxburg) is unhappy with the current state of affairs. With conspiracies whirling, Catherine is joined by her friend, Countess Praskovya Bruce (Gina McKee), and they dally with the handsome Potemkin.

Jason Clarke as Potemkin in Catherine the Great HBO

Grigory Orlov and his General brother Alexi (Kevin McNally) seek high rewards in return for their support for Catherine’s coup. Her son, Prince Paul (Joseph Quinn), is bitter and angry about his father’s dethroning and murder. Bruce beds Potemkin, but she knows he has his eye on Catherine. The vengeful Lt. Mirovich (Lucas Englander) tries to stir up mutinous feelings among the troops, informing them that “Prisoner #1” (Ivan VI, played by Ellis Howard) in the Schlüsselburg prison has a greater claim to the throne.

Lt. Mirovich leads a troop of soldiers to break Ivan IV out of prison but are foiled when he is killed. Paul has reached his majority (age) but Catherine refuses to step aside or serve as regent; she brooks no talk of succession. Catherine soon pushes Orlov aside to favor the politically clever and loyal Potemkin. The Orlov brothers invite Potemkin to a game of billiards and end up brutally beating him. Catherine has Lt. Mirovich executed, then pursues her ideas of equality under the law. Catherine and the battered Potemkin finalize their partnership at a masquerade ball.

Helen Mirren in Catherine the Great HBO

REVIEW

Sexy, brash and gorgeously filmed in sweeping rainbows of brilliant silken color, HBO’s Catherine the Great hits the ball out of the period piece ballpark right from the get-go. With performances and writing sparkling enough to hold their own without being overwhelmed by the relentless grandeur, the effect is pure entertainment. Mirren’s Catherine is equally confident and vulnerable, and its engrossing to watch her negotiate her first great task: to decide whom she can trust and whom she cannot.

One of the great things about Catherine the Great is how effusively it welcomes the viewer into the beyond-luxurious world of the entitled and hedonistic nobility of 18th century Russia. The quest for power is a dangerous game everybody plays here, but there’s no harm in having as much gold-dripping fun as possible along the way. And we’re all along for the ride.