The Great season 2 episode 9 recap: Will Georgina take Catherine down?

In this episode of The Great season 2, Paul’s disappearance sends Peter and Catherine into a panic. Meanwhile, Marial faces challenges on multiple fronts, and Archie reveals a shocking secret about Orlo.

Read on to find out what happened in The Great season 2 episode 9, “Walnut Season.”

The Great season 2 episode 9 recap: Where did Paul go?

Peter breaks tradition in order to watch Catherine give birth, but after Paul is born, the two don’t get a chance to spend much time together. Elizabeth thinks Catherine is avoiding him, as she is trying to deny her true feelings for him, but Peter is slightly relieved, plagued by the secret of what happened to Joanna.

While telling Elizabeth about this, he accidentally lets a different secret slip — the truth about how his mother killed her son Igor. This affects Elizabeth deeply, and she starts to go a bit mad, stealing Paul and fleeing to the country house.

When Catherine and Peter realize what has happened, they panic, agreeing to drive the six hours to the country house together. Though Catherine tries to work on the journey, Peter keeps distracting her with games. She gives up trying to be productive and instead attempts to coax him into telling her the worst thing he’s ever done. If she forgives him, it’ll be proof she really does love him; if it’s unforgivable, she may finally get the strength to kill him. Peter fabricates a lie about killing a loon — one Catherine sees right through.

Their conversation is interrupted by some bandits stopping them on the street, though Catherine is more offended by them saying they think the empress is simply leading them into another pointless war than the fact they’re trying to steal from them.

After Peter handles the bandits with ease, the two continue their deep conversation. Catherine admits she sometimes feels Peter is the only one who really knows her, and he tells her he believes deep down she truly loves him. Their relationship, however, is impossible.

When they arrive at the country house, they are relieved to find that Elizabeth and Paul are both safe and comfort Elizabeth. Peter apologizes to Elizabeth for not protecting her and Igor, saying he had no idea how much pain she could have been in before Paul was born.

Later that night, Catherine tells Peter she loves him, and the two have sex in the kitchen. At the end of the episode, they walk into the palace hand-in-hand, shocking everyone.

The Great season 2 episode 9 recap: Can Orlo and Catherine’s relationship be repaired?

Catherine is frustrated by how long the war with the Ottomans is taking and how many casualties there are. She’s irritated Velementov convinced her to approve it despite it being against everything she stands for.

Archie is also still struggling with his sexual urges, and Marial tells him to do whatever it is he needs to do to get it under control. He finally sucks up his shame and goes to the woods to meet with God. While hearing a confession, he hears a secret from the treasury: Orlo is stealing money.

Archie tells Catherine this, which makes Catherine furious. She orders Orlo to get out immediately, even though Velementov tries to convince her Orlo is a good man. Orlo attempts to explain how poor his community is and how much good the money is doing, but it’s no use. He tells the teacher he’s been seeing he’s not sure anymore why he helped put Catherine in power.

The Great season 2 episode 9 recap: Will Grigory and Marial last?

Georgina makes her return from France, shaking up from Grigroy’s life and Catherine’s future. She tells Catherine she has met a female philosopher in France who inspired her to want to change Russia for the better, and Catherine believes her, inviting her to stay and help her. However, she tells Tatyana it was all a ruse and that France taught her enlightenment sucks. She’s actually back to take Catherine down.

She also attempts to make up with Grigory, who is torn between her and Marial. To make things even more complicated, Marial needs him to officially commit to her, as her father has died, and there is a male heir (a young child named Maxim) that she didn’t know about threatening to take her entire inheritance.

Because Grigory cannot commit one way or the other and Catherine doesn’t have time to repeal inheritance laws at the moment, Marial decides to marry Maxim so she can keep her things. She is adamant they won’t do anything sexual — she’ll just look after him and give him treats sometimes.

Despite the odd situation, Grigory still wants to be with Marial. However, things get a bit dicey when Grigory lets it slip that Elizabeth wasn’t the one who killed Joanna as she thought — Peter was. She’s torn on whether to tell Catherine the truth.

Hugo and Agnes also arrive at the palace, angry at having been forced out from Sweden in the name of democracy. They try to get Catherine to lend them the Russian army to take their land back, but she refuses. Instead, they devise a plan to overthrow her and get Peter to do their bidding.

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