The Great: Season Two Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.5

The Great: Season Two Blu-ray Movie Review

Now with even more Greatness.

'The Great: Season Two' arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Paramount. The ten episodes are spread over three discs, with deleted scenes found on the same disc as the episodes from which they were excised. A blooper reel is found on Disc Three. No other special features are included. The 1080p transfer is very good, as is the English 5.1 DTS HD-Master Audio track. Neither a slipcover nor a Digital Copy are included.

If you have not yet seen The Great: Season One please click here to catch up on what has come before. Those of you who have, I'm sure, are more than a little excited to find out what happens next to Catherine, Peter, Orlo, Marial, and the rest, in the wake of the tumultuous events that brought The Great: Season One to a close.

Picking up four months after the events of Season One, Season Two finds a very pregnant Catherine (Elle Fanning) discussing the current state of the coup to overthrow Peter (Nicholas Hoult), which has unfortunately dragged on for far too long, with her trusted military advisor, General Velementov (Douglas Hodge). Peter and his supporters, including Marial (Phoebe Fox) and Archie (Adam Godley) are holed up in the East Wing of the palace, with dwindling resources and fewer options, yet they remain intractable. Season Two quickly and wisely resolves that impasse, turning its attention to more important and interesting matters; namely, being a pregnant woman in a treacherous and dangerous environment, and the constant struggle for a new leader to forge alliances and remain in power. While allegiances and partnerships may shift in this season, the witty scripts, talented cast, and impeccable production values remain ever-constant.

The single greatest and most entertaining surprise in a show that delights in surprising its viewers, is the guest appearance of Gillian Anderson (Sex Education, The X-Files) as Catherine's mother, Joanna, who is visiting from Germany. As Catherine is pregnant and far from home, it makes sense for her mother to visit as her due date draws near. However, in The Great few things can ever be taken at face value and it soon becomes apparent that Joanna's motives are neither as pure nor progressive as one would hope them to be. With a twinkle in her eye and obvious zeal for the role, Anderson delivers many a cutting and withering remark to a great many members of the court. Likewise, her ribald, unabashed, and unrelenting sexual behavior provides an additional level of interest and danger to the character. Despite that, she is perfectly able to provide some very maternal comfort to her daughter when the situation warrants.

The Great: Season Two also provides quite a bit of character development and growth for the principals in the series. Marial is able to grow into her position as a noble, standing toe-to-toe with Catherine on key issues and showing that she is every bit as cunning and ruthless as the other women at court. Orlo, initially drunk with the wine of the coup's success quickly proves that no matter how smart he may be, he still finds it difficult to find love and is more than capable of making mistakes. Archie, potentially the most menacing and inscrutable character, is humanized in such a ridiculous manner that it somehow manages to amplify those two characteristics in the process. Depth of emotion, wisdom, and bravery are added to the lake of disarming madness that is Elizabeth. And Peter displays such a willingness to change and be a good father that we almost forget about the violent, philandering madman that is still there bubbling just below the surface. Not to worry. He reminds us of that when appropriate.

It's Catherine who goes through the most change and feels the weight of the stakes being raised in The Great: Season Two. She is going through her pregnancy at a time when medicine wasn't exactly the science is today, and what is presented as wisdom is often laughable. How did we ever survive as a species? Still, she soldiers on month after month, managing to drive her agenda, justify her position again and again, and do so with measurable grace. Joanna's visit, though brief, also affords her the ability to finally be viewed as an adult by her mother, who was keen to keep her as the child she molded and could so easily control. Being a wife, a mother, and the Empress of Russia raises the stakes for her limitlessly. Even in the happiest of moments, Peter is at best a distraction and at worst a threat to her. Without any real positional power, he reminds us that he is a risk, that for now, she seems willing to take. As a new mother, her child is a risk as well. Not only could Catherine have died during childbirth, but now the little one is an added responsibility and vulnerability for a woman who needs neither. As her position increases, so too does the breadth of the impact of her decisions. When she was merely planning the coup, the risk to her was small. It was only her life and the lives of those who had joined her that were initially at stake. Although she made some missteps, the overall cost of them was low. As Empress of Russia, Catherine, while great, is still human. She is as capable of making very calculated and wise decisions, and she is capable of making incredibly rash decisions that can cost the lives of many. In her position, she falls victim to those around her undermining her decisions in a way that puts the empire at risk, increasing her burden and costing more lives, and victim to the personal failings of those around her that erode her confidence and take away vital support. Further, her life is now constantly in danger from all manner of enemies both foreign and domestic. "This is Russia", is a common refrain used by those around her when they explain why things can't change, won't work, or be the way she envisions. But she is Catherine, and despite the heartache, loss, and disappointment, she always finds a way.

The following episodes comprise The Great: Season Two. The very abbreviated summaries are intended to provide a general summary of each episode without spoiling anything that cannot be discerned or deduced from the cover art or the official synopsis:

Disc One:

The Great: Season Two Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Those who were pleased with the transfer that The Great: Season One received will be happy to know that The Great: Season Two receives very similar treatment. Detail levels are very high, allowing the viewer to pick out environmental particulars in both interior sets a outside locations, from the debris and carnage-strewn palace at the beginning of the season to the colorful woodland setting where Catherine has a meeting at the end of the season. Even dimly lit scenes, such as Marial's wedding celebration, provide ample opportunity to examine fabric textures, makeup, perfectly coifed wigs, and more. Throughout season two's episodes, colors are nicely saturated, and black levels are very good. As with season one, skin tones are universally excellent, and the image is free from damage or defect.

The Great: Season Two Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

As with the video, so goes the audio, as The Great: Season Two receives another English 5.1 DTS HD-Master Audio track that rivals what we heard on season one. Dialogue is again crisp and clean and properly prioritized. Most of what we hear is front-focused, but directionality is very good, and the rear channels are utilized with reasonable effect to drop us in the middle of parties and battles. Sound effects are handled very well and with such authenticity that at one point the off-screen sound of a closing door made my wife briefly wonder if there wasn't someone else in the house. Gunshots thunder, fabric rustles, and screams of both pleasure and pain are all handled with ease. Music is again rendered with great precision, and the song selection for the closing credits always keeps me around until the very end, with the Velvet Underground song that closes out the final episode being a particular favorite. English and English SDH subtitles are both available.

The Great: Season Two Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The special features are spread across discs One, Two, and Three and are as follows:

Disc One:

The Great: Season Two Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Unabashed, bawdy, heartbreaking, tragic, and hilarious, The Great: Season Two continues its reign as one of the very best historical dramadies out there, not only by virtue of what it does but also by how it does it. With incredible scripts and a message of female empowerment at its core and excellent actors inhabiting every corner of its world, it's a series where I wouldn't change a thing even as Catherine seeks to change all of Russia. Season two leaves Catherine in a position that is both thrilling and nerve-wracking, and I'm anxious to see what season three has in store for her and her court. Until that release materializes, I will spend some time revisiting these two seasons. While the special features are a bit lacking, the technical merits of the release are very good. The Great: Season Two comes Highly recommended. Huzzah!