The Empress

Beware! Spoilers ahead for Netflix’s The Empress. If you’re assigned to my blog and do not want any spoilers…I’m really sorry. I would still say the show is worth the watch and very interesting.

   If anyone is looking for any new Netflix shows to watch, look no further than The Empress. Think Brigerton but if the show was in German and there was significantly less bright lighting. I absolutely devoured this show (despite having numerous other pressing things I could have attended to) because it had some of my favorite things. Good outfits, a bit of conflict, love triangles, female leads, etc. The characters were pretty standard in terms of the stereotypical roles they played, but the actors and actresses’ performances in these roles made them seem a tad bit more nuanced. 

   The protagonist, Elisabeth, is a free-spirited girl from the countryside that is unlike the other girls as she enjoys reading poetry, riding her horse, and scaring off potential suitors in her free time. And obviously she has brown hair. Which not only differentiates her from her blonde-haired, blue-eyed sister  but signifies her undesirability as a wife, as if her overbearing and judgmental mother wasn’t doing a good enough job of doing that already. 

   Now her love interest, Franz, is not as likable as the other characters (in my opinion) . He is the emperor of Vienna and is expectedly undergoing a lot of stress. But I don’t think that’s an excuse to take said stress out on your wife. It also annoys me that he was attracted to Elisabeth for her strong will and independent nature, something he cannot handle when things in his territory aren’t going his way. What I will say about Franz is that he is not the puppet others see him to be. He listens to his advisors and mother, but will remain firm in his belief and approach of how to avoid war that seems to be enclosing in on the nation, via the construction of a railroad. But for someone so strong willed, he is not immune to weakness and the power others may hold over him. The most memorable example being having to choose between cheating on his wife with his ex-mistress that so happens to be engaged to the man in charge of constructing the railroad or remaining faithful to his marriage, sacrificing the railroad in the process. 

   Franz’s brother, Max, adds to the tension existing between the couple as he persistently has flirtatious banter with Elisabeth. He is a partier who knows how to have a good time and get what he wants, with Elisabeth being the major exception (for the most part). He is also exceptionally skilled at sabotaging his own brother so he alone can benefit. 

   Franz and Max’s mother, Sophia, is another character who fulfills the evil mother, puppet master stereotype of this story. She has a killer wardrobe as well as some awe-inspiring manipulation tactics. She’s the type of person who’s smart, cold, confident, and occasionally tormented by nightmares. 

   The plot only gets better from here as the love triangle escalates, tensions rise between the civilians and the emperor, a war looms over the nation, and Elisabeth figures out what exactly her role is in the court. Her relationship with her subjects evolves a lot over the course of the show. There’s something about a rich person (whether they were born into it or found their way to it) actually viewing the masses as people instead of scum that always feels revolutionary to me. Or maybe it was just the song selection in the background, paired with the tired, determined faces of the public. Whatever the case is, I’m very entertained by this character becoming the ultimate champion of the people, even if the only thing they actually did was walk amongst the lower class instead of viewing them from behind iron gates and an ivory tower.     

   My main complaint about this show is how short it is. It’s only 6 episodes total, and even though each episode is approximately an hour long, the time goes by fast for an expert binger like myself. But this show’s ranking as a Top 10 show demonstrates a lot of promise for it returning for season 2, something I and I now hope you anticipate greatly.