8 The Great Storylines That Will Never Be Resolved After The Show’s Cancellation

The Hulu original series, The Great, has been canceled after three seasons, leaving eight intriguing storylines unresolved in its wake. The show tells a mostly fictional account of Empress Catherine the Great of Russia, blending sharp satire with riveting drama to create a truly unique story. Though the series has been canceled, its three-season run on Hulu received abundant praise from critics, and it found a sizable niche audience, despite not achieving strong enough ratings to warrant a renewal for a fourth season.

The Great season 3’s ending is neat enough to serve as a series finale, but it’s still disappointing that the show won’t be getting a fourth season. The show may have wrapped up the main plot points of its third season, but there are plenty of minor storylines from season 3 and earlier that could have been explored in The Great season 4. Unfortunately, since season 4 won’t be happening, fans will have to live with eight unresolved storylines leftover from the show’s finale.

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8 Archie’s Life After Being Saved By Marial

Archie Was Temporarily Buried Alive

After betraying Catherine by ordering Pugachev to travel around Russia and incite anti-Catherine mobs, Archie is finally busted and buried alive by Catherine. Fortunately for Archie, Marial still cares for him, and she returns to the site of his execution and digs him up before he dies. It seems like Archie would have a bone to pick with Catherine after she buried him alive, but after The Great‘s cancelation, there’s no way of knowing what Archie’s next move would’ve been. Further, though some things in The Great are historically accurate, Archie is not based on a real figure, so history holds no answers either.

7 Catherine’s Attempts To Educate Russian Girls

Catherine launched a school for girls in The Great season 2

One of the biggest unanswered questions from The Great season 3 is: what happened to Catherine’s school for girls? Catherine begins her school in The Great season 2, and though it’s initially met with resentment by many of the nobles, she eventually manages to convince enough girls that being educated is in their best interest. The school begins to do much better, but it’s unclear how far she manages to spread the reform, as it begins to fade into the periphery of the story. This is a storyline The Great season 4 could have explored had the show not been canceled.

6 Russia’s Reaction To Peter’s Death

Peter drowned in a frozen lake in The Great Season 3

After Peter’s shocking death in The Great season 3, it would have been interesting to see how Russia reacted to Catherine’s rule without Peter there to legitimize her claim. There is a glimpse of this at the end of season 3 as Catherine manages to rally her support by saying the comet flying over Russia is a divine sign of her right to rule Russia. This strategy seems to work on the lower classes, but Catherine might have faced a sterner test from the Russian nobles, who would likely see Peter’s death as an opportunity to gain power. Unfortunately, this storyline won’t have a chance to play out either.

5 Orlo’s Shocking Death

Catherine accidentally killed Orlo in The Great Season 3

Orlo is a fan-favorite in The Great, and his abrupt death in season 3 leaves a gaping hole in the story. Orlo is shockingly killed when he sets out to stalk Peter and Catherine through the woods, planning to assassinate Peter. He makes a noise from behind them, startling Catherine and prompting her to shoot him in the head. However, Catherine doesn’t see him and therefore has no idea her bullet actually hit something.

Orlo’s body is then eaten by bears before anyone finds it, and he simply disappears from the story. Orlo’s death feels like a hammer blow waiting to fall on Catherine and crush her in grief, but she never ends up finding out that she killed him. It’s disappointing that such a great character disappears from the show without any of the other characters knowing what happened, and it’s one of the most frustratingly unresolved plot points leftover from The Great‘s conclusion.

4 The Fallout Of Joanna’s Death

Peter accidentally killed Joanna in The Great Season 2

Though Catherine finds out about Peter accidentally killing her mother, Joanna, her family still has no idea about her death and thinks she has simply gone missing. After Catherine receives a letter from her sister asking about their mother, she is unable to come up with a reply, and though Peter writes one for her, it’s unclear if she ever sends it. Catherine would have to deal with this situation eventually, and it seems like this was being set up as a future conflict for The Great to deal with in later seasons. Sadly, the show will no longer get a chance to explore the fallout with Catherine’s family.

3 Arkady Taking Over Pugachev’s Resistance

Pugachev was working under Archie’s direction

At the end of The Great season 3, Arkady vows to take over Pugachev’s resistance to Catherine’s rule. Arkady might not have been able to achieve as much as Pugachev and Archie did, but his attempts could have been interesting to watch. It seemed like Arkady was being set up as one of the antagonists of season 4, but after The Great‘s cancelation, that obviously won’t be happening. Arkady isn’t the most intelligent character in the show, but he is determined, so it’s a shame this storyline won’t get a chance to occur.

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2 Georgina Technically Marrying Paul

Georgina could technically be Empress as Paul’s wife

Although Georgina’s marriage ceremony with Paul, Catherine and Peter’s young son, is interrupted, Archie’s “amen” seemingly completes the marriage. This means Georgina and Paul are technically married, which would give her a chance to unseat Catherine and rule in her husband’s stead. Catherine is effectively ruling as Paul’s regent after Peter’s death, but Paul’s wife would likely have a stronger claim to the regency. This could have set up a fierce rivalry between Georgina and Catherine, which would’ve been fun to see if The Great season 4 were happening.

1 Hugo And Agnes’ Attempts To Regain Power

Hugo is the exiled King of Sweden

Hugo and Agnes are the exiled monarchs of Sweden, and though they convince Peter to invade the country for them in The Great season 3, Peter’s abrupt death ruins their scheme. They later join up with Georgina, planning to help her marry Paul and depose Catherine, but that plan fails as well. It seems unlikely that they would suddenly give up on their designs to retake control of Sweden, but it’s hard to know how they would go about it after their two best plans failed. Still, they could’ve carried on with their plans somehow if The Great hadn’t been canceled.