The Great season 3’s teaser has proven just how complicated The Great season 2’s ending turned out to be. The Great has been a hit with fans and critics alike since it was released in 2020. This dark satire loosely follows the rise of the famous Russian Empress, Catherine the Great, and her mercurial husband, Peter III of Russia.
The Great season 1 begins the complicated relationship between Peter and Catherine, which is a central aspect of the series. In the beginning, Peter doesn’t care a fig for Catherine, and she grows to resent his exceptional entitlement and proclivity for wanton violence. However, as Catherine grows into herself and begins to plot against him, Peter begins to fall in love with her. By the end of The Great season 2, Catherine and Peter have flitted in and out of love with each other several times until she dramatically tries to kill him, only to find she has shot Pugachev, Peter’s decoy.
The Great Season 3 Release Tease Could Be A Nod To A Lot Of Things
The teaser image of Peter and Catherine used to announce the release date for The Great season 3 – which pictures Peter and Catherine about to kiss while Peter holds a gun – could be a nod to their love for each other, or their desire to kill each other. Most likely, it is a nod to both of those things, meant to emphasize their complex relationship. Peter seems to do unforgivable thing after unforgivable thing to Catherine like sleeping with then accidentally killing her mother, but she struggles to turn on him completely. She is devastated when she thinks she’s killed him, despite the half of her heart that fiercely despises him.
Despite the worst things Peter does in The Great, his character retains a measure of likability because of his sheer naivety and passionate love for certain people and things. His character can show exceptional care or complete disregard for human life, all within a span of minutes. Catherine recognizes that, and it makes it difficult for her to condemn him entirely. This is why The Great season 3’s teaser shows them nearly kissing and nearly killing each other. Catherine could kill Peter, or she could have another child with him, and it could fit the story either way.
Catherine & Peter’s Relationship Needs To Be Even More Complex In Season 3
As complicated as Peter and Catherine’s relationship is, The Great season 3 should complicate it even more. Catherine and Peter are likely to be in closer proximity than ever in The Great season 3, after both losing close advisors and friends. They are likely to be forced to rely on each other more now that they have lost people, but Catherine’s attempted murder of Peter is sure to make it awkward. The two will have to reckon with their mutual love and hatred of each other – even if Peter seems to be mostly just in love at this point.
All of this is further complicated by their son, Paul. Peter’s obvious love for their son is one of his strongest redeeming qualities and part of why Catherine tolerates him for so long. If Catherine and Peter are to end up together in The Great season 3, they will have to reckon with all the death, hatred, frustration, love, passion, and duty that bind them together in such a complex and layered fashion.
