The Empress – Season 2 Episode 4 Recap & Review

The Stars During The Day

Episode 4 of The Empress season 2 starts with Fienchen playing teatime with her parents but her dad is distracted. When the empress asks what’s wrong, he says he is worried about Maximilian and whether he will quell the revolution in Lombardy-Venetia.

He shares he is also worried about Hungary and wants to travel there. Elisabeth suggests they travel with the children, but Sophie is against it, more so after learning they plan to take Fienchen. Sophie tries to trick Fienchen into refusing to go by buying her kittens and Elisabeth confronts her for it.

Simultaneously, Leontine opts to stay behind, claiming she has the flu, but in truth, she is pregnant. Charlotte realises this and subtly asks her what her plans are. Elisabeth, unaware of the real reason, gladly lets Leontine remain behind to get better.

The trip to Hungary is long, but uneventful. When they get there, Fienchen says she has a stomach-ache and Elisabeth assumes she is car-sick. She asks Franz to accompany them for a walk, and he agrees. The family takes a walk by the river and watches Fienchen play with the water. She innocently asks why there are no stars during the day, so Franz gets a river stone and says it is a fallen star.

Back in Vienna, Sophie is troubled by Luiwizi’s attraction to a young baron. She asks for the Cardinal’s help, and the man forces Luiwizi to get on his knees and repent repeatedly. In the same spirit, Sophie cancels Luiwizi’s piano lessons so he will have no reason to see the baron again.

On the other side of the place, Leontine tries to convince Alexander to leave the palace and lead a quiet life in a small village. Alexander is confused, since she keeps changing her mind about what she wants. She keeps her pregnancy a secret and visits an orphanage pretending to be on an errand for the empress. She asks whether the orphanage accepts infants, to which the nun says yes.

After getting back from their walk, Fienchen’s condition gets worse. The nanny tells her that before their journey, Fienchen had a touch of diarrhoea. They summon Doctor Seeburger, who came with them. Upon examination, the doctor says the princess is teething and there is no course for worry.

Elisabeth insists that there is something wrong, but the doctor suggests she is being a paranoid mom. Nonetheless, Elisabeth chooses to stay with Fienchen and leave Franz to talk with the new justice minister, Count Nadasdy by himself.

The next morning, Fienchen wakes up feeling better, and they assume the worst has passed. Elisabeth decides to join Franz on his three-day trip to the Great Hungarian Plain to meet with the landowners. The trip is successful but short since Doctor Seeburger summons the royals back. Unfortunately, he was wrong about her ailment. According to the local paediatrician, Fienchen has typhoid fever. The empress spends the night taking care of Fienchen, hoping she will get better. Franz stays by their side, too.

Meanwhile, in Vienna, Alexander learns the truth about his beloved Leontine when he gets an impromptu visit from the real Leontine’s dad. He is shocked and tries to find more evidence by talking to Margarete. However, she has been misusing the drug Doctor Seeburger gave her and is quite drunk. Ultimately, Alexander confronts Leontine and gives her an ultimatum to leave the palace quietly by the following morning. As expected, Leontine flees in the morning, and he watches her from afar as his heart breaks.

In Hungary, Sophie’s condition worsens through the night. When morning comes, Elisabeth wakes up from her short nap to find her daughter dead.

The Episode Review

To lose a child is one of the biggest parents most parents have. Fienchen’s death won’t be easy for Franz and Elisabeth. It is a nightmare coming true for them. Based on their conversation on the ride back to Fienchen, it feels like Elisabeth blames Franz for convincing her to join him in the Hungarian Plains.

This episode also touches on Ludwig’s sexuality. We know about the scandal he caused right before World War 1, but that is a few chapters to come. I wonder if Alexander would have chosen differently if he knew Leontine was pregnant. It breaks his heart that she lied to him to where he was not even moved when she confessed her love for him.

In hindsight, Leontine got away with so much since coming to the palace. It was only right that she was caught before they got married.