Marial tries to get Catherine excited about the daily agenda. Catherine’s lost faith in Russia, however. She believes everyone has failed her: the court, her team, the serfs. Even Marial’s promise of an international science competition doesn’t cheer her. ..
Russia’s submissions for the competition impress her with their model roller coaster, but it has a nasty side effect that kills anyone who tries to ride it. She reluctantly selects a stapler to represent the country.
Peter has been preventing Grigor from telling him what he wants to hear. Finally, he lets him in to tell him that he doesn’t want to be emperor. Grigor storms out, angry that he’s ruined their plan.
Peter tells Catherine he no longer desires to be emperor. She thanks him for being kind to her, and he tells her he desires her happiness more than his own. He even offers to help her with the science competition. She knows he would fumble an invention, but the idea of him trying cheers her up. ..
Catherine accuses Elizabeth of abandoning her, something she half-expected from the men but not from her. Elizabeth insists she was trying to save her when protesting her plan to free the serfs. “Perhaps I know my country better than you,” she says. Catherine then forces her out of her room. ..
When her mother arrives in town, the young girl goes into a frenzy trying to make sure everything is perfect for her arrival. She becomes overwhelmed with excitement when she learns her mother is coming and spends hours ensuring everything is ready.
Arkady, the man behind the recent attempts on Catherine’s life, has been missing intentionally but Grigor encourages him to miss by less in order to scare her into submission. ..
Orlo and Velementov return to their duties after a few days of processing what happened in the last episode. Velementov begins to doubt Catherine, though.
Orlo’s uncle threatens him, wanting him to procure gold for their region. After the debacle with the serfs, Uncle Varnya worries Orlo’s position might slip. Orlo does later steal gold from Catherine, feeling awful about what he’s done.
Russia is a country with a long history of tyranny and oppression. Joana doesn’t believe that Catherine can be a good ruler, because she’s been too busy following her other daughters around. Russia is a country where the people are oppressed and there’s no freedom or democracy.
Catherine the Great, ruler of Russia from 1762 to 1796, had a deal with King Louis XV of France to marry one of his sisters. However, when rumors spread that Catherine was taking over Russia, Louis backed out. ..
Joanna doesn’t like that Catherine kept so many people alive after the coup: Peter, Marial, and especially Elizabeth. She believes Elizabeth to be more invested in the child in Catherine’s belly than the empress herself.
Peter steals a refrigerated box from a Norwegian scientist to impress Catherine. She sees through his plot, but chooses the device to represent Russia anyway. It’s better than a stapler, after all.
Joana finds out about the stolen device, making Catherine feel embarrassed about her country. ..
Elizabeth takes Catherine to a memorial for the dead in an effort to resolve their differences. There, Russians are honoring Shakey, Lady Svenska, and others who fell during the uproar. ..
This is an article about how Russia may be brutal, but Catherine shows that everyone tries to heal and put their grudges behind them. Catherine can teach Russia something, but Russia can also teach Catherine. The empress admits that she is also at fault for the uprising, and not just her people.
Joanna meets Peter and attempts to seduce him. Elizabeth emphasizes that he can not do anything with her. If Catherine found out, she would end both of them.
Archie confesses to Marial that he kissed Father Basil. Ever since, he’s been tempted to return to his old way of life. Now, he turns to inflicting pain on himself as a distraction.
Catherine is still without a viable entry to the science competition, but a servant has an idea. The model roller coaster killed people, but it could work with some adjustments. Catherine’s servant suggests that modifications be made to the coaster in order to make it more safe for people.
Orlo and his team of engineers come up with a model that works, but they need only one night to build one to scale. They’re Russian engineers, so they know how to get the job done.
The Roll and Coast is an incredible device that astounds everyone except for Catherine’s mother. ..
The Episode Review
I was worried that the freeing of the serfs would have serious consequences for Catherine. She has to deal with shakier relationships and some gossip, but I wasn’t sure how much of that was due to the serfs themselves and how much to the new government.
Gillian Anderson is an excellent addition to the cast as Joanna. Her mother’s visit throws things into a spiral, however! Gillian’s portrayal of Joanna is very believable and adds a lot of depth to the role.
The flirtation between Peter and Catherine is comical but also threatening. While we don’t know exactly what her intent is, it doesn’t seem good for Catherine’s rule.
