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"The Great" star Nicholas Hoult reacted to his character Peter's shocking moment on season three, episode six of the hit Hulu satire series.
On the episode, titled "Ice," Peter met his untimely death after stealing Catherine's (Elle Fanning) army to help Hugo (Freddie Fox) reclaim Sweden.
"We knew that he would die before the season even started," Hoult recently told Insider while joined by Elle Fanning for a virtual press junket for season three. "And we knew roughly around episode six."
Hoult recalled that Fanning "had an inkling" regarding how exactly Peter would die, while he would "occasionally get murmurs."
"I didn't know until reading the script that it was through falling through the ice on a horse," the Emmy-nominated actor said. "But I think the thing that was even more powerful than that was the buildup to it — the scene that Catherine and Peter have together, which is the combination of their relationship and all these years they've spent together."
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In typical "Great" fashion, Peter's death scene was tragic, while still in line with the show's dark humor.
Prior to his death, Hoult's character had been struggling with his failure to live up to the reputation of his late father, Peter the Great.
This fear that history won't remember him, combined with ongoing feelings of inadequacy, became heightened this season as he began frequently hallucinating his dad.
The pressure of Peter's legacy also weighed heavier once Catherine gave birth to their first child, a son named Paul.
During episode six, Catherine confronted Peter near an ice lake, as he was en route to invade Sweden.
Despite Catherine's protesting, Peter refused to turn back and felt that he had to contribute to the invasion because, "Me, as I am, is not enough."
Catherine tried to assure Peter that he was sufficient as he was and reminded him that he wouldn't be able to undo the consequence of his latest defiance of her reign.
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But Peter, firm in his stance, said that he needed to do this. Before parting ways, Peter told Catherine that he loved her with everything.
Then, while riding a horse and crossing the ice lake, Peter suddenly had a change of heart and said, "Actually..."
But before he could turn around fully, his horse fell through the ice and Peter drowned in the lake. Meanwhile, Catherine saw the whole situation unravel in the distance, stunned and heartbroken at the loss of the complicated love of her life.
Hoult praised "The Great" creator and executive producer Tony McNamara for his writing of that pivotal scene.
"You think things are going one way and suddenly, perhaps Peter's about to change his mind, but then the unexpected happens, and it's all over," he said. "So it was really beautiful writing and very emotional. But yeah, I was surprised that that was how he went."
All episodes of season three of "The Great" are now streaming on Hulu.
