‘The Great’ director Jaffar Mahmood on the shocking twist in ‘Ice’ [Exclusive Video Interview]

“The talent is all there. Every person is hitting that rhythm. It’s almost like we’re doing a play with some cool camera moves here and there,” reveals Jaffar Mahmood about directing “The Great.” Watch our exclusive video interview above. Warning: This interview and article contain large spoilers for the third season.

“The Great” is billed as “an occasional true story” about the rise of Catherine the Great (played by Elle Fanning) in Russia during the 18th century. The third season of the comedy was released on Hulu a few weeks ago. It is created by the Oscar-nominated writer of “The Favourite,” Tony McNamara. Mahmood says, “I was blown away by the tonal balance the show achieves. The fact it can be as hysterical as it can be heartbreaking. It’s constantly balancing these high stakes with levity. Not a lot of shows can pull that off. It’s Tony McNamara’s genius writing.”

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SEEElle Fanning interview: ‘The Great’

Manhood joined the series to direct the fifth and sixth episode of the recent third season. He admits, “I chased the show. I was such a fan when I discovered it during the pandemic that I fought to get into it.” He later says, “you’d be surprised how many directors direct a show they have barely even seen. I came from a place of passion and wanted to share what I think is important. I’m an aide. My job as a director is to help the actors navigate the scenes. Knowing the characters so well, and genuinely loving the world so much, only helped make that more organic.”

The sixth episode, titled ‘Ice,’ contains the most shocking twist of the series. After Peter takes the Russian army to invade Sweden, Catherine meets him at a frozen river to dissuade the scheme. As he returns across the river, his horse falls through the ice. Catherine is heartbroken as she stands, transfixed on the spot her husband was moments earlier. The director explains, “306 is arguably as important as the pilot. It almost sets the show in a new direction. It wasn’t your typical random episode. It’s almost its own stand-alone thing that we had to all find collectively.” He adds, “When I read the script I was shocked. I firstly was heartbroken that Peter has just died. Then I had to come to terms that I’m the director that’s killing him. I had to actually shoot this.”

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