Last year, for Snark Week, I suffered through season one of Netflix’s The Empress (2022-), allegedly set in the 1860s and purportedly about Austria-Hungary’s Empress Elisabeth aka Sissi. It was painful. I refuse to fall on that grenade again, and have serious doubts that Trystan or Sarah will either, so let’s snark the preview for season two (coming Nov. 22, 2024) and call it good.
According to Netflix’s site, the same costume designer is responsible for season 2, although previously she was listed as Gabrielle Reumer and now Netflix is spelling it Gabriela.
Now, my thoughts:
If you’re excited about season 2 of The Empress, well, feel free to share your excitement in the comments!
Why is Empress Elisabeth doing a shitty cosplay of Empress Josephine? 1860s doesn’t equal the Regency period, people!
OMG this is some of the worst clothes I think I’ve ever seen in a historical production. Wow! This is really bad!
I’m sticking with Piero Tosi’s vision.
…and don’t get me started on the actual historical stuff. Sissi was the most beautiful and stylish woman of her time, her REAL gowns were amazing. What the heck????
Brilliant comments! This makes me so furious! How does this designer keep getting hired??
I cackled at “WHAT THE HIGH HOLY PRINCESS MARGARET IS THIS?”!!!
Relevance, FrockFlickers, relevance! (And thanks for the warning, Kendra.)
I liked the first season and will view it for myself (thank you) before I pass judgement or take your opinion on it.
Just what I needed in the post election depression!
If you think this is bad, the series “Sisi: Austrian Empress” streaming on PBS Passport is worse. Costumes, writing, girl power angle, invented characters/histories/incidents. I will give props to Giovanni Funiati, who played the Hungarian Count Andrassy – he is easy on the eyes. Definitely a frock horror show – I just wanted to bang my head against the wall, but having read multiple biographies of Elisabeth, I kept watching this train wreck. The most egregious fiction they added was depicting the Empress as being kidnapped along with Andrassy by Hungarian nationalists. Never happened, but no – let’s invent some additional drama. They also depict her as a far more involved young mother than she actually was, along with far more political than she was. Why not just give the protagonists and antagonists different names, fictional locations, and make it obvious it’s all made up? After watching “Sisi” I don’t think I can stomach the Netflix version based on those funky prints. I’m beginning to think that if the producers don’t have the budget to create authentic new costumes or rent authentic from stock, forget it. Crappy costumes pull me out of the narrative, but then again, imposing fictional delusions onto a historical person also pull me out of the narrative.
I’m waiting for it!
I do have to admit that costumes where a weakness in the first season, and they did not represent fashion of the period, any series is much more than just Clothes and I enjoyed it, of course, acknowledging that many of the events presented as regards to. I’ll definitely watch the second season. too
I watched the 1st season starting as late night idc it’s background noise but I really like historical stuff for the history Versailles I thought was pretty damn good but the history is really interesting to me. I think the actors are not bad in Empress and what is the question is this costume designer was rehired so whoever makes that decision showed favor apparently to the actors and others who have worked hard for this and it’s now all shadowed by a not so educated costume team and that’s what someone should look into like a journalist who is supposed to investigate stuff and stuff 😉
I don’t care one way or the other I love the story line so I’m all in people really need to get a grip always complaining & nagging about simple B’S I loved everything about the Empress
Wow. I remember thinking the fashion in the first episode was so interesting. When I saw the initial preview of her wedding dress, I was hooked.
I always think Sisi (2021) and The Empress are both racing each other to the bottom but while Sisi has embraced that it’s camp, The Empress is still taking itself way too serious.
Wonder Woman’s bracelets of submission, I didn’t think ANYONE remembered those things!!!! Thanks for the smile amongst the smirks.
Stupid pointless comments.
Can I also complain about the scenic painting in your photo about her hairdo? The actual stone wall, then what appears to be a photograph of a wall of stone blocks, that doesn’t follow the perspective of the actual stone wall. ???
Im looking forward to it. I think of all the other things to watch on Netflix and often most of the choices are either too stupid or too violent. Im enjoying the architecture , I think it’s beautiful. Also I like the idea that a woman can keep the essence of who she is and not completely become what society tells her to become. And not only that, in her “wildness” and her retaining a strong sense of intuition, she becomes very powerful. That to me is more important than her clothing. There aren’t that many empowering movies specifically about women if you think about it, one really has to search for it.
I agree with you, Kimberly. I loved the series and I do hope they do a third. I’m not really a movie critic; but I do have a Masters degree in Theater Arts. Ricard Creel
Oh good God!
It’s not the 1860’s.
If