The Empress Season 2 (2024)

Foreign Drama

Review

The Empress or Die Kaiserin is a German historical drama based on the life of Empress Elisabeth of Austria that was released on Netflix on 29 September 2022 and was the seventh most popular non-English series of 2022. The second season began airing on 22 November 2024 with Elisabeth giving birth to her second daughter and Franz Joseph having to deal with growing turbulence from the Italian-speaking states of the empire which are calling for independence. Seen as politically weak, Franz Joseph finds himself being manipulated by Napoleon III in a move that will precipitate the beginning of the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire.

As the season begins, it is 1856 and Elisabeth is heavily pregnant with her second child who everyone hopes will be the long awaited male heir. Charlotte has taken over as the Chief Court Mistress and is blackmailing Ava who was responsible for the death of Amalia in the previous season. Elisabeth organises a grand event to host delegates from across the empire but a revolutionary, Adolfo Tadini, who is part of the Lombardy-Venetia delegation causes consternation when he presents the empress with a cow’s tongue to symbolise his region’s desire for independence. Elisabeth is upset when he is subsequently gunned down and killed.

Afterwards, Karl Ferdinand von Buol informs Franz Joseph that the kingdom of Piedmont has been instigating rebellion by enticing the Italian regions of the empire to become part of the unification of Italy. Realising Austria is isolated from the other European powers, Franz Joseph decides it is time to forge a new alliance with France and to flatter Napoleon III with a royal visit. Later that evening, Elisabeth goes into premature labour but the birth is fraught with complications and Elisabeth is left critically ill from severe blood loss. As Dr. Fritsch battles to save Elisabeth, Franz Joseph and Sophie are both disappointed the child is another girl.

While Elisabeth is fragile, Sophie takes advantage of the situation and takes over the care of the children. Melika Foroutan is very good at playing the manipulative Sophie who relishes being back in a position of control at the court. As much as he claims to love Elisabeth, Franz Joseph is still really weak when it comes to taking a stance against his mother and he really needs to find his backbone. In reality, Sophie took away Elisabeth’s children much earlier than as portrayed as she didn’t believe Elisabeth was mentally fit to be a mother.

In the meantime, Franz Joseph summons his brother, Maximilian, from exile and sends him on a mission of peace to Napoleon III. En route, Maximilian encounters Princess Marie, the daughter of Leopold I of Belgium and Louise of Orléans, when her train breaks down and she complains at length to Maximilian about the state of the railways. Marie tells Maximilian that she is heading to Paris to meet her future husband, Pedro V of Portugal, but it soon becomes obvious she has grown attached to Maximilian. Princess Charlotte of Belgium was never known as Marie as she was named after her father’s first wife, Charlotte of Wales, who died in childbirth. Presumably, she is being called Marie in the series to avoid confusion with Elisabeth’s lady-in-waiting.

Once Elisabeth had recovered from childbirth, she and Franz Joseph embark on a tour of the empire in an attempt to stifle talk of independence from the Italian speaking regions. The tour proves to be a great success and the people are soon under Elisabeth’s spell, however the couple are rattled when they receive a muted welcome in Milan where the locals drop their flags and flowers in silent protest. The following morning, the royal couple pose as officials to secretly visit Adolfo Tadini’s family who prove to be loyal to the empire despite the actions of their son. The visit has a profound effect on Franz Joseph who later appoints Maximilian as the new Viceroy of Lombardy-Venetia. It’s an unlikely visit but it serves to open Franz Joseph’s eyes to the plight of the people he governs.

The following year, the emperor and empress decided to visit Hungary where Elisabeth seems to find a renewed purpose amongst the people but the visit takes a tragic turn when their eldest daughter, Fienchen, falls ill with typhoid and eventually dies. At the start of the visit, Franz Joseph and Elisabeth were able to spend some rare time with their children without all the court protocol so the scenes when Fienchen falls ill are particularly harrowing as the anxiety over her condition increases. Fienchen seems to rally at one point but it proves to be false hope as her condition deteriorates rapidly until her death. Both Devrim Lingnau and Philip Froissant play the grieving parents to perfection here.

Grief-stricken, Elisabeth heads back to her childhood home in Bavaria where she falls into a state of depression despite her mother’s best efforts. Meanwhile, Franz Joseph, consumed by his own sorrow, begins to make rash decisions as the trouble within the Italian states escalate. When Count Karl Ferdinand von Buol confronts Maximilian for throwing money away on lavish parties, he retorts that he knows what he doing and what is best for the empire. However, Buol tells Franz Joseph that his brother is frittering away the money while the rebellion grows stronger, so the emperor appoints Buol to oversee military operations and cuts off Maximilian’s funds which makes Marie furious.

Moving forward to 1858, Elisabeth gives birth to a son, Rudolf, which finally earns her respect within the court and she makes it clear to Sophie that Rudolf is her son so she will be making decisions about his upbringing. As the court celebrates the boy’s baptism, Buol interrupts proceedings to inform Franz Joseph that the number of rebels are increasing in Lombardy and the emperor devises a plan to marry Elisabeth’s younger sister, Mimi, to Prince Francesco of Sicily to solidify a political alliance. However, Elisabeth begins to have doubts about the match when Mimi confesses that she has not started to menstruate yet despite being sixteen. When Elisabeth tries to intervene, Sophie maintains the match must happen.

When Franz Joseph issues an ultimatum to Piedmont to put down their arms or face war, he discovers that Napoleon has been secretly supplying weapons to the rebels in Milan. In retaliation, Franz Joseph fires Buol and demotes Maximilian from his position as viceroy. As the conflict escalates into war, the emperor decides to join his soldiers at the front and Elisabeth fully supports him despite her fears. A bereft Sophie blames Elisabeth for Franz Joseph’s decision to go to the front, but Elisabeth simply comforts her and tells her that the best they can do is hope. For once it is Elisabeth who is showing her strength as Sophie becomes increasing vulnerable when the emperor is dragged into a disastrous war which will culminate in the loss of the Italian states from the Austrian Empire.

Further Reading

Explore the characters and books that inspired the series

  • Empress Elisabeth of Austria (Devrim Lingnau)
  • Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria (Philip Froissant)
  • Archduchess Sophie of Austria (Melika Foroutan)
  • Archduke Maximilian of Austria (Johannes Nussbaum)
  • Princess Charlotte Marie of Belgium (Josephine Thiesen)
  • Archduchess Sophie (Fienchen) of Austria (Marlene Spakarowski)
  • Archduke Ludwig Viktor of Austria (Felix Nölle)
  • Ava aka Countess Leontine (Almila Bagriacik)
  • Countess Charlotte (Runa Greiner)
  • Baron Alexander von Bach (Alexander Finkenwirth)
  • Count Karl Ludwig von Grünne (Rainer Haustein)
  • Count Karl Ferdinand von Buol (Leopold Hornung)
  • Dr. Fritsch (Eric Bouwer)
  • Dr. Johann Seeburger (Cornelius Schwalm)
  • Napoleon III (Christophe Favre)
  • Duchess Maria Sophie (Mimi) of Bavaria (Lena Geiseler)
  • Duke Maximilian Joseph in Bavaria (Alexander Beyer)
  • Archduchess Ludovika of Bavaria (Jördis Triebel)
  • Adolfo Tadini (Alberto Vecchiato)
  • 2.01 An Heir to the Throne
  • 2.02 The Dream
  • 2.03 A Letter From The Empress
  • 2.04 The Stars During The Day
  • 2.05 The Forest Inside Us
  • 2.06 All We Can Do
  • ELISABETH, EMPRESS OF AUSTRIA was born on 24 December 1837 in Munich, Bavaria, and was the second daughter of Duke Maximilian Joseph in Bavaria and Ludovika of Bavaria. She married Franz Joseph I on 24 April 1854 and they had four children. Elisabeth died, aged 60 years, on 10 September 1898.
  • FRANZ JOSEPH I, EMPEROR OF AUSTRIA was born on 18 August 1830 in Vienna, Austria, and was the eldest son of Archduke Franz Karl of Austria and Sophie of Bavaria. He married Elisabeth of Bavaria on 24 April 1854 and they had four children. Franz Joseph died, aged 86 years, on 21 November 1916.
  • SOPHIE, ARCHDUCHESS OF AUSTRIA was born in Laxenburg, Austria, on 5 March 1855 and was the eldest daughter of Franz Joseph I of Austria and Elisabeth of Bavaria. She died of typhoid, aged 2 years, on 29 May 1857.
  • GISELA, ARCHDUCHESS OF AUSTRIA was born in Laxenburg, Austria, on 12 July 1856 and was the second daughter of Franz Joseph I of Austria and Elisabeth of Bavaria. She married Prince Leopold of Bavaria on 20 April 1873 and they had four children. Gisela died, aged 76 years, on 27 July 1932.
  • RUDOLF, CROWN PRINCE OF AUSTRIA was born in Laxenburg, Austria, on 21 August 1858 and was the only son of Franz Joseph I of Austria and Elisabeth of Bavaria. Rudolf married Stephanie of Belgium on 10 May 1881 and they had one daughter. Rudolf died, aged 30 years, on 30 January 1889 in an apparent murder-suicide pact.
  • SOPHIE, ARCHDUCHESS OF AUSTRIA was born on 27 January 1805 in Munich, Bavaria, and was the daughter of Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria and Caroline of Baden. She married Archduke Franz Karl of Austria on 4 November 1824 and they had five children. Sophie died, aged 67 years, on 28 May 1872.
  • MAXIMILIAN, ARCHDUKE OF AUSTRIA was born on 6 July 1832 in Vienna, Austria, and was the second son of Archduke Franz Karl of Austria and Sophie of Bavaria. He married Charlotte of Belgium on 27 July 1857 but they had no children. Maximilian became Emperor of Mexico on 10 April 1864 and was executed, aged 34 years, on 19 June 1867.
  • CHARLOTTE OF BELGIUM was born in Brussels on 7 June 1840 and was the daughter of Leopold I of Belgium and Louise of Orléans. Charlotte married Maximilian of Austria on 27 July 1857 but they had no children. After Maximilian was executed on 19 June 1867, Charlotte returned to Belgium where she lived in seclusion until her death, aged 86 years, on 19 January 1927.
  • LUDWIG VIKTOR, ARCHDUKE OF AUSTRIA was born on 15 May 1842 in Vienna, Austria, and was the youngest son of Archduke Franz Karl of Austria and Sophie of Bavaria. He never married and was openly homosexual. Ludwig Viktor died, aged 76 years, on 18 January 1919.

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