morreischl

Without much prior knowledge about Sissi and the Austrian state of affairs in the middle of the 19th century, thus little understanding or need for historical accuracy, this series has a great casting, production design and, most importantly, storyline.

The directing is for the most part nuanced and exquisite. Especially the emotional state of Elizabeth ("Sissi") is captured pointedly by diverse and conscious camera movements, perspective, distance and editing.

From extreme close-ups to landscape shots, the well-picked cast knows how to express their emotions and lines through minor changes in eye-movement in extreme close-ups to big gestures. Overall, the cast encapsulates each of their roles quite well, from the boisterous Empress Elizabeth "Sissi" (Devrim Lingnau), the thoughtful Emperor Franz Joseph (Philip Froissant), his envious brother Maximilian (Johannes Nussbaum), stepmother Sophia (Melika Foroutan) to the revolutionary Leontine von Apafi (Almila Bagriacik).

Of course, not all acting was perfect. As usual in many German-speaking productions, some lines and emotions are "over-acted" which probably stems from theatre-acting, where emotions, rhetoric and non-verbal communication are usually exaggerated to reach the audience even in the last rows. This leads to some scenes or lines jumping from a polite and calm conversation to sudden outbursts of rage, which subside equally swiftly.

The Empress was for the most part spared from the most common weakness of high-budget productions: Weak storylines. Instead, The Empress is a slow-burn where most character actions and dramatic developments feel organic and create constant, yet growing suspense of what's happening next. The last, too-soon arriving 6th episode is a perfect culmination of each major character's storyline. Throughout the series there are multiple key conflicts both on a personal level and on a macro-level, involving major political events. This way, there is a refreshing amount of simultaneous developments that keep the viewer hooked. Add to this characters that are multidimensional for the most part and have both likeable and dislikeable sides, and you have a good mix of surprising new developments, while being compassionate for most characters and genuinely caring for their future.

The storyline has, of course, also room for improvement. The macro-scale gets generally less screen-time than the personal relationships and conflicts. The prospect of war, balancing of political interests and capital is only scratched on the surface to the points where it feels as if Emperor Franz wields in fact very little political power. In this respect, it's by no means comparable to political drama television series like Borgen or House of Cards. The political agenda and influence of Emperor Franz Joseph seems to only be the construction of a rail line or mobilization of troops. The repeated theme of the suffering Austrian-Hungarian-people is never addressed in detail. The revolutionary groups seem to have no constructive demands, other than killing all nobles, while Emperor Franz is unable to build a single rail line - which seems to be the only piece of his political agenda. Instead of covering a whole range of political issues, like famines, working conditions, democratic demands, industrialization, civil reforms or discrimination against minorities in the huge empire, the macro-conflicts focus entirely on a rail line and potential war with Russia over 6-hours of storyline.

This is nowhere as prevalent as with Elizabeth. She is very compassionate to the people of his empire and mentions in multiple instances how bad the living conditions are, making her a key identification figure for the viewer. Yet, until the very end, she does not have a concrete political vision and doesn't actively try to involve herself and advocate reforms. Her role and problems remain almost entirely on a personal and individual level. She feels entrapped and wants more freedom. She feels not always heard. She doesn't want to be treated like a child. But she doesn't use her relationships and influence, as her stepmother does, to solve the problems of the masses.

Next to this, the production design is on an extremely high-standard, especially the costume design. The intro is amazing and music perfectly fitting to the current emotional state of most scenes, while immersing the viewer in the time period and creating a unique atmosphere.

The main actress carries the series from start to finish on her shoulders and does it magnificently! The story takes some time to build momentum but creates a very unique, insightful and heartbreaking conflict between the love for a partner and love for a child.

I am only 19 years old and children are still beyond my horizon but this series gives a great glimpse into the (future) responsibility of parenthood and the difficult choices of women at the end of their 30s, early 40s, who have to decide if they want kids now or never. While I am slowly becoming a young adult this series helped me to understand where I am going to be in 20 years and make present and future decisions accordingly. While the decision of the protagonist to impregnate herself in the last 6 months of being fertile is reckles and morally wrong, the viewer can identify with her and understands her motivation fully.

The resolution of the conflict and collaps of her lies in the last two episodes were long coming. They offer a great opportunity for the protagonist to redeem herself, but also to show the dilemma she is in. Either way she could only lose. Just like most women she was looking for a partner while the clock of her body was clicking. So she had to either rely on fate and fortune to find a partner at the right time, or to take her fate in her own hands while risking the career of a friend and losing her true love.

The music is very subtle, yet fits the overall mood of the series and theme. The characters are believable and storyline builds steadily and slowly. The cinematography, lighting and mood is both scandinavian due to the subdued colors and intimate through the constant focus on the protagonist's struggle.

Loved the storyline and characters from early on. I played Dota many years ago, so I had almost no prior knowledge of the characters and their background stories. But the series delivers perfectly. The characters are original, plausible motivs and complex struggles. The second season was very fast passed, so much so that I was somewhat lost in the storyline from time to time. But other than that, there was a perfect balance between action and plot progression. Looking very much forward to season 3 (lets hope for the best)!