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When the court reacts with outrage to her ideas, Catherine impulsively decrees the immediate freedom of all serfs .

Peter originally plans a coup to retake the throne during the chaos. However, upon finding Catherine in a state of emotional breakdown, he chooses to comfort her rather than seize power, telling her "not today". Key Themes

This "snap decision" leads to a violent uprising within the palace as nobles and serfs turn on each other. The noblewoman Lady Svenska brutally murders Shakey, leading a devastated Marial to later exact revenge by shooting Svenska in the head.

Catherine learns the hard lesson that sudden, radical change can be more destructive than no change at all.

Catherine attempts to prove that social class is arbitrary by disguising a serf named Shakey as a noblewoman, "Lady Anastasia".