Netflix’s ‘The Last Czars’ sets out to examine the reign of Nicholas II, who was Tsar of Russia from 1894 to 1917 when he was forced to abdicate by revolutionaries. The series explores the entirety of Nicholas’ reign, starting in episode one with the death of his father and his subsequent coronation and concluding in episode six with his and his family’s murder at the hands of Bolshevik Revolutionaries in 1918 at the ‘House of special purpose’ in Ekaterinburg.
(From episode six, 'The House of special purpose')
Each episode interweaves the dramatized scenes of the Tsar, his family, his advisers, and the legendary mystic preacher Rasputin with expert opinion on the events. The experts are well selected and include scholars whose specialisms span across the late Imperial and Early Soviet period. Their expert commentary adds depth to the dramatized scenes, although their inclusion does interrupt pacing at times, particularly in later episodes.
There is also narration from the old tutor of the Tsar’s children in 1925 Berlin, investigating a woman who claims to be Anastasia, the youngest daughter of Tsar Nicholas. The inclusion of this extra ‘storyline’ seems unnecessary as without it, the show would follow a purely chronological approach to the reign of Nicholas II, and in adding a third thread, some episodes do skip between the three sections more often than others.
The dramatized scenes are fairly well-executed for the most part and the series covers many of the key events of Nicholas’ reign, from the tragedy of his Coronation festivities where hundreds of peasants were crushed to death in a mass stampede; to his inept management of the Russo-Japanese war; to the disastrous response to the 1905 worker’s uprising.
The costume department has done an excellent job at reproducing the extravagance of the Imperial family, particularly in the funeral and coronation sequences of episode one, ‘The Chosen One’.
Use of archival footage and photographs in later episodes aids the viewer in understanding the scope of some events discussed within the show, particularly episode five, ‘Revolution’.
While ‘The Last Czars’ is a great watch for anyone interested in Russian History, the use of three different strands can make the episodes feel disjointed. The dramatized scenes don’t quite reach the same standard as Netflix’s popular series ‘The Crown’ nor would the expert discussions stand up independently of the show. Despite this, I highly recommend it for anyone curious about the end of Imperial Russia & the Russian Revolution.
Overall rating: 3.5/5
Note on the title: the show uses the American spelling of 'Czar' rather than the more typical 'Tsar'.
~Sophie Bourne
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