Somewhere during season 2 of The Great (2020-) I lost interest or got distracted. Not sure why I stopped watching, really, but then season 3 came along and folks were telling me how good it was, so I made a point of catching up.
I’ll admit that the hot and cold romance between Catherine and Peter wasn’t my thing, so getting through all these eps wasn’t totally entertaining. And then, spoiler warning, in S3, things go dark, and again, it was hard to watch for me. Episode 8, in particular, is all about loss and grief, which must have been well written and well acted because it was just too much for me, having gone through my own loss and grief in the past few years (if for different reasons). Then the final episodes became increasingly bitter, sad, and nihilistic — quite the turn from the period romp that the show started out as.
Maybe this was showrunner Tony McNamara’s idea all along, to invert the storyline, and his writing does a clever job of turning everything inside out. I probably should have seen it coming after Orlo’s treatment in the first episode of this season, when the character had been such a key player for the first two! Still, after the end, the feeling I’m left with is cold and heartless, in spite of the sharp and often funny dialog. Everything doesn’t have to be sunshine and roses, but damn, this dark comedy leaned hard into the “dark” and sacrificed much that I found appealing about the characters.
At least the costumes are often gorgeously odd and fabulous, so it’s worth looking at on that account. Designer Sharon Long continues her work from S2 through S3, repeating a few costumes here and there, and creating some wonderful new ones. Here are some of my faves…
Catherine’s Costumes in Season 3 of The Great:
Other Women’s Costumes in Season 3 of The Great:
Men’s Costumes in Season 3 of The Great:
Have you watched season 3 of The Great?
Oh my! Those are just about the loveliest costumes I’ve ever seen for that century! The peachy first gowns are charming.
Gorgeous! I adore the simple lines, trim and cuffs on the red patterned toile, especially with the pop of that blue sash and the tricorn hat is cute. The fur ensemble is beautiful and is really lifted by the well crafted embroidery around the top of the bodice and sleeves – it must surely be hand done to get anything like that, almost, 17th Century stump-work effect. I also really love her flushed cheeks in that pic as well. Not sure if it’s makeup or not, but it really helps to make it look cold.