MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!
The biggest spoiler of The Great’s third season is addressed in this story. If you aren’t caught up, you can watch the period comedy with a Hulu subscription.
Can you believe they did that? I can’t. I can’t even begin to fathom that they killed off one of the two leads in the middle of The Great’s third season. Just right in the middle of the Hulu show’s season on the 2023 TV schedule, they decided it was time for Nicholas Hoult’s character Peter to die, and it was brutally underplayed, profoundly moving and overall impressive.
The Great: 10 Movies And Shows To Watch If You Like The Hulu Original
In Episode 6, “Ice,” Peter is on his way to invade Sweden with King Hugo and Velementov. Catherine and Grigor follow him to try and stop said invasion. The two end up finding each other near a frozen lake, and discuss why the emperor of Russia feels the need to take over the Scandinavian country, and why the empress wants him to head back to Russia. It’s a heartfelt, painful and romantic scene, that ends in a disagreement. However, as Peter is crossing the ice he turns around and says “Actually, I…” as if he’s going to come back. Then, the ice cracks…AND HE DIES!
He falls through the ice and dies, just like that.
Before that moment, Catherine and Peter had a profound conversation about legacy, parenting and toxic masculinity. The funky couple kind of comes to a peaceful disagreement that they both need to do what they need to do. In a rare moment of maturity, the emperor is surprisingly empathetic while also being steadfast, standing up for himself. However, this newfound maturity doesn't last long after he and his horse fall into the frozen lake.
Nicholas Hoult opened up about the buildup to his character’s death, and why he thought it was perfect, telling EW:
And then right at the end of all that and once it's all laid out, there's this moment where we think perhaps Peter has come to his senses and realized that all the things that he's built up, and people have made important to him, aren't important. And life can be simple and happiness can be simple. And you think maybe he's just figured that out. Then boom, nature gets in the way, and fate changes the course of that. So my first reaction reading was that it was perfectly timed, and beautifully written.
He went on to say that he “was upset by it,” and honestly so was I. But, like Hoult, I also recognize how “fantastic” it was, because the scene is so poorly timed, it was actually well timed. Plus, as the actor put it “transformed everything from the show then on.” To have him die in the literal moment he seemed to truly change his mind for the best is not only tragic, but a brilliant creative decision, showing once again why this show is so great, pardon the pun.
What Hoult commented on is the exact reason why I was both baffled and impressed by Peter’s death. This entire show there’s been a lot of talk about and attempts at killing the emporer or Russia, so when he dies because of a freak accident you can’t help but feel flustered and a bit betrayed. However, that’s the genius of it, it’s so unexpected, and comes at the most inconvenient time that it makes it more real, heartwrenching and impactful on the rest of the season.
While I missed the loveable and terrifying Peter, his death was the crux of all the conflict that comes in the final act of Season 3. Elle Fanning, who plays his wife and Empress Catherine, gives a beautifully broken and insane performance as a woman grieving her husband's death. Throughout the series, we’ve seen these two go from hating each other to loving one another in their own very weird way, so as you’d expect when one dies, the other grieves them in an equally loving but simultaneously bonkers manner, and Fanning portrays it perfectly. Not only did The Great shock us by killing off one of the main characters in the middle of the season, it also helped the show tell a story it hadn’t yet, and as always, it continued to shock audiences.
While both Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult have marvelous movies to watch, there is something really special about The Great. Peter is single-handedly one of Hoult’s craziest roles, and he gave a brilliant performance as him, all the way up to his final moments. To see the emperor finally come to his senses, in a way, and be a good person, or as good as you can be in this twisted show, and then to have it ripped away unexpectedly was baffling and infuriating. However, it was also genius, and I’m sincerely impressed by how they killed off Peter, and how his death impacted the rest of The Great’s latest season.
