The God Who Us Has Freedom Sent is the sixth episode of the first season of the Netflix series The Empress.
Synopsis[]
Elisabeth spends her time partying with Maximilian while Franz is desperate to reconcile with her. Leontine gets herself into a precarious situation.
Plot[]
Since the incident at the iron foundry, Elisabeth felt unwanted and her relationship with the emperor became distant. She spent most of her nights partying with Maximilian and would turn up drunk for breakfast. In an effort to make the relationship better, Franz gifted Elisabeth a horse.
There was growing anger among the public and people began gathering outside the palace gates. Sophie asked Franz to keep Elisabeth in line. Sophie had palace guards block Elisabeth from leaving the palace courtyard. While sitting in church, Sophie asked Elisabeth what the most valuable virtue in a ruler was, and Elisabeth replied "compassion". Sophie told Elisabeth the story of her daughter Anna, who had a rare nerve disease. Doctors attempted to treat Anna by drawing blood from her arm and putting leeches on her head. Anna screamed in pain, and Sophie could not take it, so she sent the doctors away. Anna died 4 days later. As a result, Sophie learned to be strong and that compassion is not always the right choice.
Sophie felt that Elisabeth was distracting Franz and gave her two choices: to return to Bavaria and let Franz remarry or to stay at the palace but face even stricter rules. Elisabeth wanted to discuss this with Franz, but he refused to see her.
Elisabeth felt dizzy on the way back and almost fell but Maximilian arrived to help her. Again, Maximilian told Elisabeth that she would be better off with him. In the heat of the moment, the two shared a kiss but Elisabeth pulled away. When Elisabeth returned to her room, Ava confirmed that Elisabeth was pregnant.
Maximilian received news that the Russian borders might be retreating, which meant that Franz's strategy might have worked. Pressured that the window of opportunity to overthrow Franz was closing, Maxi went to Sophie to bring her to his side. However, Sophie instead said that she was surrounded by weak men, and that none of her sons were fit to rule.
Maximilian later talked to Franz about a peaceful transfer of power. Maxi claimed that he had the support of the army, the church and most importantly, the empress. When Maximilian implied that he and Elisabeth had a physical connection, Franz punched Maximilian and asked him to get out or he would have him hanged.
Later, when Elisabeth went to tell Franz about her pregnancy, he was upset by what Maxi had told him. He relaexed after Elisabeth reassured Franz that she only loved him, buthe agreed with Sophie that Elisabeth couldn't continue behaving the way she did. Elisabeth said if he wanted someone to follow rules, he should've married Helene, and Franz replied that maybe he should have. This hurt Elisabeth and so she decided to leave the palace for Bavaria. She didn't tell Franz about the pregnancy.
At night, Egon snuck into the palace and dug a knife out of the ground, ready to assassinate Franz, but Leontine had ratted him out. Police officers caught him and presumably, shot him dead. Leontine was devastated by the loss of her lover. Elsa, another conspirator in the palace learned of this betrayal and warned Leontine that she would never make it back to Vienna, and threatened that they would kill her.
Charlotte came into the room and told her that Amalia had been sharing photos of the Apafi family. Leontine chased down Amalia and after an argument, pushed Amalia down over the railings of the second floor to the ground, in an attempt to kill her. Charlotte witnessed this.
While Elisabeth packed her bags, she gifted the necklace that she received from Sophie to Leontine. She also made sure to give a dress to Luziwuzi. Theo implored Franz to rethink about his decision to let the empress go. He gave Franz Puck's hair that Elisabeth gifted him and Franz had a change of heart. When Franz was at the door, he saw that Elisabeth was at the gate, but Kempen wouldn't let Elisabeth go due to the protestors outside the palace gates.
Nevertheless, Elisabeth demanded that they open the gates. She talked to the people and embraced them. She told them of her pregnancy. This news reached Sophie who was watching by the window. She claimed that it was great news.
Theo and a guard went to Maxi's room and asked him to follow them.
Cast[]
Main Cast[]
- Devrim Lingnau as Empress Elisabeth of Austria / Princess Elisabeth of Bavaria
- Philip Froissant as Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungary
- Melika Foroutan as Archduchess Sophie
- Johannes Nussbaum as Archduke Maximilian
- Almila Bagriacik as Leontine von Apafi
- Wiebke Puls as Countess Esterházy
- Elisa Schlott as Duchess Helene
- Jördis Triebel as Princess Ludovika
Additional Cast[]
- Alexander Finkenwirth as Baron Alexander von Bach
- Hanna Hilsdorf as Countess Amalia von Salm-Reifferscheidt
- Rauand Taleb as Theo
- Runa Greiner as Countess Charlotte von Stubenberg
- Felix Nölle as Archduke Luziwuzi
- Erol Nowak as Baron von Kempen
- Andreas Döhler as Duke Maximilian
- Noëmi Emily Krausz as Margarete
- Anna Böttcher as Elsa
- Lola du Bled as Hedi
- Leopold Hornung as Count von Buol
- Merlin Rose as Egon
- Benjamin Jorns as Palace Guard Castle Park
- Marc Rose as Angry Citizen #1 Foundry
- Felix Auer as Sophie's Servant
- Dominik Hermanns as Envoy in Riding Uniform
- Silva Bieler as Elisabeth's Chambermaid #1
- Jakob Nienhaus as Sophie's servant #2
- Bernhard Bozian as Servant Grotto
Music[]
Quotes[]
- "You married a spoiled child, and that weakens you as Emperor. You need to command some respect. Something has to change, Franz, and you know it. If you don't do it, I will."
- —Sophie speaks to Franz
- "I've spent my life in the shadow of weak men. And you, Maximilian, are one. Not one of my sons is fit for the throne. Including you."
- —Sophie does not support Maximilian's plan to overthrow Franz
- "I'm here to protect the Empress and the whole court because it's my calling! I've laboured to protect it all my life. It's a duty I fulfil. And you want to destroy it all. You are vile scum."
- —Amalia confronts Leontine
Gallery[]
