There’s also an interesting twist with Marial. Just prior to Catherine arriving in Russia, Marial was actually a noblewoman and member of the court herself. However, as she explains to Catherine in the very first episode of The Great, her father recently ticked off Peter III, and as punishment now she and her dad find themselves servants in the palace (as for her mother, we later learn she died of smallpox and the Archbishop — aka “Archie” — stepped in to help her, which is why they’re so close on the show).