A poster of the Netflix series The Empress season 2 (Image via Instagram/@netflixde)

The Empress season 2 is a German historical drama series created by Katharina Eyssen and directed by Katrin Gebbe. It is written by Eyssen, Bernd Lange, and Janna Maria Nandzik. The show’s second season, featuring six episodes, premiered on Netflix on November 22, 2024. The series is executive produced by Jochen Laube and Fabian Maubach.

The Empress season 2 features Philip Froissant and Devrim Lingnau as the Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph and his wife, Empress Elisabeth respectively. The second season highlighted the events that led to the war between the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Piedmont.

In the finale of The Empress season 2, Franz decided to lead his troops on the battlefield against the Kingdom of Piedmont as the latter wanted to annex Lombardy-Venetia, one of the regions under his empire.

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The show’s official logline, as per Netflix, reads:

“When rebellious Elisabeth falls for Emperor Franz and becomes his unlikely bride, she enters a world of tension and intrigue at the Viennese court.”

Why did Franz go to war with the Kingdom of Piedmont in The Empress season 2?

Philip Froissant plays Franz Joseph in The Empress season 2 (Image via Instagram/@philipfroi)

Throughout The Empress season 2, Franz dealt with the growing unrest in Lombardy-Venetia as the region strived to gain independence from the Austrian empire. He traveled to the region with Elisabeth to help assuage the concerns of its locals and clashed with his headstrong wife, who felt great empathy for the plight of its citizens. However, he failed to make any substantive changes.

Franz was focused on stopping Lombardy-Venetia from being annexed by the Kingdom of Piedmont. The Kingdom of Piedmont intended to unite all the Italian-speaking regions, like Lombardy-Venetia, to form the nation of Italy.

However, after his daughter Sophie’s demise, Franz became less involved in political affairs, leaving important decisions to his military leader, General Gyulai. Meanwhile, the Kingdom of Piedmont laid the foundation of rebellion in Lombardy-Venetia. The situation escalated to the point that war seemed imminent.

In the season finale episode, Franz declared war on the Kingdom of Piedmont, unaware that it was backed by the formidable Napoleon III. His side suffered massive casualties in the war, losing thousands of soldiers on the battlefield, with many more seriously injured.

Franz, who favored peace over war, felt a strong obligation to guide his men through this ordeal. Thus, in the final moments of The Empress season 2, he decides to leave his family behind and lead his army on the battlefield.

Elisabeth suffers a mental crisis in The Empress season 2

Elisabeth and Franz as seen in The Empress season 2 (Image via Tudum by Netflix)

Elisabeth began The Empress season 2 pregnant with her second child. She was under immense pressure to produce a son and heir to the Austrian empire. Since she was popular with the masses, Elisabeth decided to visit Lombardy-Venetia to better understand the concerns of its citizens.

But when her first daughter, Fienchen (also named Sophie) suddenly died from typhoid, Elisabeth went into depression. She blamed Franz for ignoring their daughter in favor of his empire and went to live with her mother. There, she delivered another daughter named Gisele. Holding her newborn child gave Elisabeth a reason to live and helped her overcome depression. She eventually reconciled with Franz.

Before her husband left for battle at the end of season 2, Elisabeth fulfilled her duty to the throne and delivered the couple’s first son, Rudolf. Not long after his birth, baby Rudolf was declared the military head of the Austrian empire.

In Franz’s absence, Elisabeth and her mother-in-law, the Archduchess Sophie, were made in charge in case of an emergency.

Why did Maximilian leave the Austrian empire?

Maximilian as seen in The Empress season 2 (Image via Instagram/@johannesnussbaum)

After betraying Franz in The Empress season 1, Maximilian returned to make things right with his brother. Franz decided to give him another chance and leveraged Maximilian’s knowledge of Italian to connect with the people of Lombardy-Venetia.

Maximilian, who was distrusted for his liberal views, advocated for Lombardy-Venetia to have autonomy and self-governance so long as it remained faithful to the Austrian empire. But, Franz ignored his advice and instead asked him to get in the good graces of Napoleon III.

Franz saw Napoleon as a worthy adversary and worried for the future of his empire if the latter decided to support the Kingdom of Piedmont as it could potentially lead to a war with his empire.

Later, Maximilian was declared the Austrian viceroy of Lombardy-Venetia. However, his actions to improve the conditions of local citizens were opposed by General Gyulai. The latter mandated young men and children to get drafted against their wishes.

Following his daughter Sophie’s death, Franz took a step back and allowed Gyulai full control to make important decisions. However, this proved disastrous as his decisions made the possibility of war a foregone conclusion, an outcome Franz wanted to avoid at all costs.

When Maximilian confronted Franz, the latter stripped his brother of the viceroy title, calling it only a symbolic role. At that moment, he realized that Franz would never be able to trust him again and the empire with his wife Marie Charlotte.