I'm never quite sure how much the series recognizes August going from protesting at the mere idea of capturing an enemy leader who's currently occupying his country because of the royal bro code to okaying his mistress being imprisoned for life just because she didn't hand over his pledge to marry her when he demanded it, i.e. on the one hand, sure, it's the plot, but then again August after his death keeps getting praised as a great man, when what you see on screen isn't morally different from Brühl, whom the narrator chides for his "selfish" politics that brought the wrath of Fritz on Saxony. So who knows.
Middle-aged, overweight Glasow: I see several possibilities:
a) It's in the original novel this thing is based on. And a Polish 19th century novelist wouldn't necessarily know what Glasow looked like. Lehndorff's diaries - where such details are mentioned, thank you, Lehndorff! - haven't been published yet. I have no idea whether Preuß or Carlyle, either of whom could have been the author's source material, would have mentioned this. If all the author knew was "Fritz' valet accused of trying to poison him", he might have made an honest mistake.
b) It wasn't in the original novel, but the casting of the tv series saw no reason this guy should be young and good looking. They already had two young and good looking guys playing the OCs of the last two eps, and Glasow could be played by a much cheaper older character actor. One had to save budget money somewhere!
c) It was a deliberate decision because no one wanted the viewers to wonder why Fritz had hired him in the first place. Yes, the script has Countess Brühl make an insinuation as to why Fritz wants Simoni around him, but that can be dismissed as idle enemy gossip.
Do we know if he gave these orders during the Seven Years' War? I recognize them from 1741, definitely, but am not sure if that was an order he repeated.
I don't know for sure, honestly. We do have the letter to Heinrich he wrote before the battle of Zorndorf which is basically "if I'm killed, you're regent - make sure everyone takes the oath to our nephew, and battle on in my name, and definetely do not go for a cheap peace!", but I don't recall instructions about what to do when he gets captured in it. Then again, during the 7 Years War he told everybody and their Catt that he wouldn't get captured because he'd kill himself first, so....
Well, that's...one way to tell the Seven Years' War.
I know, right? I mean, on the one hand, I get it. The emphasis in this overall story is on Saxony, and once it's obvious the Prussian occupation is there to last for the war, that's that. Saxony will never be seen as a rival power again. But it still feels like a weird, hasty wrap up compared to what came before, and like I said - the handling of several characters, including Brühl who is a main character, is just odd, with the off screen end of their story and not even a proper exit.
Re: Sachsens Glanz und Preußens Gloria: A Miniseries in six parts (B)
Middle-aged, overweight Glasow: I see several possibilities:
a) It's in the original novel this thing is based on. And a Polish 19th century novelist wouldn't necessarily know what Glasow looked like. Lehndorff's diaries - where such details are mentioned, thank you, Lehndorff! - haven't been published yet. I have no idea whether Preuß or Carlyle, either of whom could have been the author's source material, would have mentioned this. If all the author knew was "Fritz' valet accused of trying to poison him", he might have made an honest mistake.
b) It wasn't in the original novel, but the casting of the tv series saw no reason this guy should be young and good looking. They already had two young and good looking guys playing the OCs of the last two eps, and Glasow could be played by a much cheaper older character actor. One had to save budget money somewhere!
c) It was a deliberate decision because no one wanted the viewers to wonder why Fritz had hired him in the first place. Yes, the script has Countess Brühl make an insinuation as to why Fritz wants Simoni around him, but that can be dismissed as idle enemy gossip.
Do we know if he gave these orders during the Seven Years' War? I recognize them from 1741, definitely, but am not sure if that was an order he repeated.
I don't know for sure, honestly. We do have the letter to Heinrich he wrote before the battle of Zorndorf which is basically "if I'm killed, you're regent - make sure everyone takes the oath to our nephew, and battle on in my name, and definetely do not go for a cheap peace!", but I don't recall instructions about what to do when he gets captured in it. Then again, during the 7 Years War he told everybody and their Catt that he wouldn't get captured because he'd kill himself first, so....
Well, that's...one way to tell the Seven Years' War.
I know, right? I mean, on the one hand, I get it. The emphasis in this overall story is on Saxony, and once it's obvious the Prussian occupation is there to last for the war, that's that. Saxony will never be seen as a rival power again. But it still feels like a weird, hasty wrap up compared to what came before, and like I said - the handling of several characters, including Brühl who is a main character, is just odd, with the off screen end of their story and not even a proper exit.