Ekaterina

Unbelievable great! Fascinating,the details,the costumes,the action...and Ecaterina is HUGE! Thank You Russia for this amazing series!

Many negative reviews have nothing to do with the series but with hatred of Russians per say. As a native Russian speaker and a fluent English speaker, I can tell you that a lot of words in Russian can not be translated into English with the presice translation, for a mere reason that they don't exist in English. The series being set in Saint Petersburg, Russia, founded by Peter the Great in 1711, and while being one of the youngest European capitals is still older then the whole country of United States of America. So before giving negative comments and low scores, read the history of Russian empire, and perhaps then you will comprehend the series.

Its basic gift - it is different. And use the differences in smart manner episode by episode. It is not a pledge but a precise and realistic portrait. The acting is solide, the atmosphere is seductive, the familiar manicheism is absent. A film about power and about a young woman leaning to obtain and manage it. For the admirers of Russian historical series from the last decade - nothing surprising. For the other- beautiful nuances of portraits and the vulnerability of characters. Short, an admirable work.

I'm a Englishman that loves the European royal family stories. This one is a fantastic Intoduction to the romanovs. It's cracks along at a good pace which works along the game of thrones theme treachery scheming, torture etc. Some licence with the truth as all these shows like the white queen or the Tudors, but helps the story lines. The second series has more money spent on it and looks like they have tried to use the original palaces, which gives it an authentic look. An advert to visit st Petersburg really rather than Russian propaganda...

I have long been a student of Russian history and have seen a few Catherine II projects over the years. Catching Ekaterina on Amazon Prime was an incredible treat. My husband loved it as well and knows nothing of Russian history.

It's gripping, haunting, and some scenes will just stick with you (namely, in Season 3). The casting is fantastic: Catherine's many lovers are appropriately, sublimely sexy and Yuliya Aug is FANTASTIC as Empress Elizaveta. She really sets the tone as this powerful, intense presence throughout Catherine's introduction to Russia.

Season 2 features Sergei Kotalkov as advisor Nikita Panin who is the powerhouse of the season. Less scenery chewing than Elizaveta but engrossing. The world expands beyond Catherine to include others such as her illegitimate child, Alexei; Catherine's Lady in Waiting, Sofia Stepanova (played by Lyubava Greshnova) is the other MVP.

The problem with Season 2 is it covers a VERY large part of Catherine's reign, so much so Season 3 is actually a flashback which is very jarring at first.

Season 3 takes some strong historical liberties to expand our characters and humanize them. Nikita Panin has another stellar season with a softer side, Catherine has a couple of stellar(!) scenes, Alexei Orlov gets his time to shine, and they try to retcon Paul's wife (hideous villain in S2!) which makes no sense with how they portrayed her in S2, but I'll take it.

The most powerful performance is that of the "second" Elizaveta Peteovna, played by Angelina Strechina. Incredible. The finale of S3 will leave you feeling something, that's for sure.

I also liked how they would dub the actors in different languages appropriate for the ___location: Frederick II of Prussia would speak German. In Naples it's dubbed in Italian. The Poles in Polish, et cet. It adds a bit of immersion and I enjoyed it; in fact there is a funny and heartwarming scene between a Russian and German character in S3 that plays on this fact. So you're watching it subtitled one English but can hear the two different languages.

Only criticisms are that the special effects/fighting scenes are pretty weak, even by S3 when you can tell they got a better budget. Also, the Potemkin+Catherine love theme is waaaaay overused. They needed a second theme in S2. :)

You'll learn a lot and enjoy the show along the way. If you enjoyed the intrigue of Game of Thrones, you'll enjoy Ekaterina.