Spoiler Alert: The Great Season 3As season three ofThe Greatreturned to Hulu, with it came the return of our favorite Russian Empress Catherine the Great. Loosely based on historical events, the new season brought shocking twists and turns in the story, includinga number of unexpected deaths. In season two, we saw Catherine plot to assassinate her husband, Peter III, for his role in the death of her mother. We find out, however, that Peter has his own plan of protection and places a body double, which is who Catherine ends up stabbing repeatedly. Immediately after, however, Catherine is relieved to discover that she has not killed her husband.
And so that begins the events of season three as Catherine and her co-conspirators face the repercussions of Peter’s failed assassination. As fate would have it, though,Peter III meets his end in season threein a rather sudden and unexpected manner. What we want to look at here is how his death inThe Greatdiffers from that of his death in real life because although the show is based on the real-life of Catherine the Great, we know that many creative liberties were taken in the telling of this story.
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How Does Peter Die in The Great?
Throughout the beginning of the first season, Catherine expresses herregret for attempting to kill Peterwhile simultaneously trying to keep him from exerting his influence on the nobility. Despite their convoluted expressions of love, the two continue their power struggle, with Peter especially trying to undermine Catherine’s progress in her rise to the throne.
But Catherine’s support is dwindling between Orlo’s sudden disappearance, Velementov’s illness, and her feud with Marial. On the other hand, Peter has friends who remain loyal to him, including Hugo, the former King of Sweden who was forced to flee his country and seek refuge in Russia.
Hugo’s loyalty, however, unbeknownst to Peter, came with strings attached, and the friendship Hugo offered was for his own gain. First, to exact his own plot to regain Sweden, he needed Peter’s assistance. Eventually, he convinces Peter that they can take back Sweden, which will give Peter a chance to redeem himself to Catherine for his mistakes and prove himself useful. Despite Catherine’s refusal to instate Peter as head of the army, Peter takes it upon himself to steal the Russian military and invade Sweden.
On the way there, Catherine catches up to Peter, where they have yet another fight mixed with declarations of love for each other, and Catherine tries to persuade Peter to return with her. But Peter refuses to back down and give in to Catherine’s demands. Instead, he gets back on his horse and walks across a lake frozen over with ice. Halfway across, Peter turns to say something to Catherine, but we will never know what he was going to say as the ice breaks andboth horse and king fall through. Peter becomes entangled in the stirrup, and the horse drags him down, where they both die.
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How Does Peter Die in Real Life?
In real life, however, there are a fewtheories about the death of Peter III. While the official cause of his death was reported to be severe hemorrhoidal colic and a stroke, there was so much conspiracy surrounding the circumstances of his death at that time that it remains a mystery if that is how he actually died. The real Peter III, unlike his fictional counterpart, was widely unpopular and was only on the throne for a very short period of time. For six months after the death of his aunt Empress Elizabeth he held the throne of Russia before Catherine the Great overthrew him.
In fact, there are a few thingsThe Greatchanges, including the war that Peter was planning. Rather than planning an invasion of Sweden, Peter III was planning a war against Denmark and never managed to take the Russian military. Instead, Peter was arrested after the coup held by Catherine, and eight days after he abdicated the throne,he died suddenly. Many believed his death to be suspicious, especially given the timing, and thought he had indeed been assassinated by a co-conspirator of Catherine’s, Alexei Orlov.
Whatever it may have been, whether natural causes or assassination,The Greattakes on many creative liberties in the story of Catherine and Peter. But of course, this comes as no surprise as the show is only loosely based on real-life events. And because we can never know the true cause of Peter III’s death, the show brings an added layer of uncertainty to the situation when following Peter’s accidental death, Catherine returns to Russia and pretends for a time that he is alive and well. But in the end, Catherine the Great is triumphant in gaining control of the throne of Russia.
