We would not recommend The Great as a point of reference for any history exam, but the "occasionally true" historical comedy has become a fan favorite for its alternate look at the reign of Russia's Catherine the Great. That continued with The Great season 3.
It was a big season that saw Catherine (Elle Fanning) and Peter (Nicholas Hoult) work on their relationship after she nearly killed him in the season 2 finale (instead stabbing his lookalike Pugachev), while members of the court equally try to advise or backstab Catherine.
With a lot to cover, let's break down the biggest questions from The Great season 3 ending right here. Fair warning, SPOILERS ahead if you are not caught up with The Great season 3.
What happens to Peter in The Great season 3?
Before we get to Catherine, we need to talk about Peter's journey this season. Despite Catherine attempting to kill him at the end of season 2, Peter remains in love with her and is happy to have her be the head of Russia while he continues to experiment with food and be a caring father to Paul. However, that doesn't mean he is without trouble.
Peter continues to see his father's ghost. In one particular vision, he also sees a future version of Paul questioning his legacy, which stirs Peter. After constant prodding by Hugo (Freddie Fox) to help him take back Sweden, Peter and Velementov (Douglas Hodge) steal the Russian army to do just that.
Catherine catches up with him in Sweden. But he tells her this is his destiny and he has to do it not just for him, but for the good of their relationship. He rides his horse across a frozen river to go back to his troops when he stops, is about to say something and then falls through the ice, drowning.
This all happens in episode 6 of the 10 episode season, but Peter's death and the void left by it reverberates throughout the rest of the season.
What happens with Catherine in The Great season 3?
Catherine is her usual optimistic self trying to implement her grand ideas for a new Russia early in season 3, but with minimal success. As a result, she begins to listen more to Elizabeth (Belinda Bromilow), Archie (Adam Godley) and even Georgina (Charity Wakefield) on how to play the political game better, but all of whom of course have their own agendas.
However, after Peter dies, Catherine is a shell of herself, eventually settling into a grief-laden depression and wondering if she is truly meant to rule Russia. This crisis of confidence comes as Pugachev (Hoult) has been set loose by Archie in the villages to pretend to be Peter and rally up dissenters to Catherine, which Archie hopes will bring her back under the control of the church.
Catherine begins to have three guns put on her desk each morning, with one being loaded; if she picks an unloaded one she may still be meant to lead Russia, if she picks the loaded one, well, apparently not. One morning, someone storms into her room trying to kill her. With one of the guns in her hand, she pulls the trigger, it fires and kills him. Catherine sees this as another sign of fate and reasserts control over everything — her court, her advisors and even her destiny.
She does the latter by telling people to spread the word that a comet a scientist told her about is actually a sign from God that she is meant to be the ruler of Russia. She also spreads multiple rumors about how Peter died so no one really knows the truth.
Later, Catherine returns to her quarters and finds the other two guns. She fires each and finds them both loaded. She laughs, perhaps now convinced this is her destiny as the would-be assassin saved her from what would have definitely been death by her own hand.
The final scene of the season sees Catherine (donning a new haircut) watch as people cheer her as they spot the comet. She says, "God didn't make this happen, I did." She then dances in her grand hall to ACDC's "You Shook Me All Night Long."
Who dies in The Great season 3?
To give a quick rundown of what happens with everyone else this season on The Great, let’s go over who is dead and who is still alive:
- Orlo (Sacha Dhawan) — After learning that Catherine did not kill Peter, Orlo turns against Catherine and plans to kill her, but she unintentionally shoots and kills him in the forest.
- Velementov: Velementov believed he was going to die from a fatal disease, which led him to betray Catherine and try and affirm his legacy by taking Sweden. However, he finds out he can be cured, and then tries to work his way back into the good graces of Catherine.
- Marial (Phoebe Fox): Marial has a complicated relationship with Catherine throughout the season, but she fights for her way back as one of her key advisors by the end. However, she still is not able to give Catherine all of her loyalty, as shown with what she does with Archie.
- Archie: After his plan for Pugachev is discovered, Catherine ends up playing Archie, getting him to free the serfs owned by the church and cede land for them to live on. She still orders to have him buried alive though. However, Marial goes to dig him up and saves Archie just in time.
- Elizabeth: With Catherine unable to think straight, Elizabeth faces the question of whether she should step in to try to protect Peter the Great's legacy. She is about to do just that when Catherine snaps out of her funk and shows what kind of ruler she will be. Elizabeth, impressed, concedes that Catherine is the right ruler for Russia.
- Grigor (Gwilyn Lee): Grigor takes Peter's death just as hard as Catherine, but finds a new purpose in protecting Paul, developing plans to take Paul away and raise him as his own.
- Georgina: Georgina attempts to seize on a plan to become empress herself — having Paul ordained by Archie (which does happen) and then marrying the baby (Archie is captured before that part of the ceremony can take place).
- Pugachev: Pugachev ends up being an incredibly effective speaker to the people as a fake Peter, so much so his power grows beyond anyone's control. Catherine and the army are able to capture him, but this allows Archie to have Maxim (Henry Meredith) kill Pugachev in an attempt to cover his tracks.
- Hugo & Agnes (Grace Molony): The overthrown Swedish rulers spend the entire season trying to get their country back but never do. Despite stealing Catherine's army, she holds off on killing them as she deals with Peter's death. This allows Hugo and Agnes to continue scheming how they can keep themselves alive and possibly regain power.
- Maxim: Maxim is sent away to a military academy with orders from Catherine to be trained as a general with the goal of eventually taking over the Russian army.
- Katya (Jane Mahady): After becoming skeptical of the lack of things Catherine has done in her reign, Katya writes a play criticizing her and performs it at Georgina's encouragement. Catherine ends up exiling her to Siberia as punishment.
- Arkady (Bayo Gbadamosi) & Tatyana (Florence Keith-Roach): Arkady and Tatyana attempt to use Pugachev's rebellion to take Catherine down and improve their own position. However, after Pugachev is killed, they are left on the wrong side of things. It's unclear if they survive to try and make amends with Catherine.
Is The Great season 4 happening?
As of right now, Hulu has not announced whether or not The Great season 4 is happening or if the series is going to be another show ending in 2023.
There is definitely an argument for it to be over, as Nicholas Hoult would no longer be a regular and his and Elle Fanning's performances have been two of the defining elements of the series. Also, Catherine certainly has reached a satisfying point of growth, as she seems to have finally settled into what she needs to do to be a ruler.
However, there are many lingering plot threads that could be addressed with another season. What did Grigor do with Paul? How will Georgina continue to enact her plan? Is Archie going to come for revenge? And how will Marial get out of betraying Catherine's orders?
Catherine the Great ruled Russia for more than 30 years, so there's certainly plenty more history to have some fun with.
Watch all episodes of The Great on Hulu in the US, Lionsgate Plus in the UK.
