Diksha Sundriyal
The third season of Netflix’s ‘The Empress’ concludes the story of Empress Elisabeth, navigating one challenging turn after another for her country. The final season introduces some major new characters who not only change the course of Elisabeth’s journey, but also shape the future of Austria in decisive ways. The arrival of the new characters means some old characters are relegated to the background and receive less screen time. This includes Ava, also known as Leontine, who is a major character in the first two seasons of the show. Her departure in the Season 2 finale is made permanent in Season 3, opening the door for a new lady-in-waiting to join Elisabeth’s court. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Leontine Could Not Have Stayed in Court For Too Long
Ava enters the Austrian court in Season 1, infiltrating the palace as a member of the nobility. In reality, she is a revolutionary involved in the plot to assassinate Franz. She kills the real Leontine and takes her place in court to win Elisabeth’s trust and gain access to important information regarding the emperor. However, by the end of Season 1, she takes a U-turn and betrays her own people in favor of the royals. In Season 2, she is shown to be the most trusted friend and confidant of Empress Elisabeth. Still, her past cannot be erased, and the more important she becomes in court, the more vulnerable she is to getting exposed. In the middle of this, Leontine starts an affair with Franz’s minister of the interior, Alexander von Back.
He is head over heels in love and wants to marry her, but she refuses his proposals. She cannot marry him because that would mean inviting the real Leontine’s family to the court, which would expose her cover. Alexander doesn’t know this, but since he has no doubt she loves him, he becomes increasingly confused about why she is rejecting him. To get to the truth, he reaches out to the real Leontine’s family and eventually discovers that the Leontine he knows is an impostor. He breaks up with her and tells her to go away. At this time, he has no idea she is pregnant with his child and is already thinking about what to do once the baby is born. At the end of Season 2, Leontine packs her bags and leaves the palace for good.
After she’s gone, Alexander learns of her pregnancy and is encouraged to find the woman he loves and be with her. Refusing to let go of his chance at having a happy family, Alexander decides to leave Franz’s employ. By that time, the country is already suffering from war on multiple fronts, and his policies, in some ways, are held responsible for the damage. In real life, this was the major reason why Alexander left his position in 1859. In real life, he later served as the ambassador to the Holy See till 1867. He passed away in 1893 and is not believed to have had any wife or children. The show does not reveal whether the fictionalized version of Alexander finds Leontine.
But having him go after her offers hope that they found each other and might end up together, away from the court and its politics. In any case, Leontine couldn’t have stayed at court for too long. Even if Alexander didn’t discover her secret, or if he chose not to expose her, the threat of her true nature coming to light would have remained. If her connection to the rebels were to be discovered, she would have been hanged for it. Thus, it makes sense for her not to tempt fate and leave while she can without raising any more suspicion. Her departure also opens a space in Elisabeth’s party, paving the way for the arrival of Ida, who has her own part to play in the Empress’ story.
Read More: The Empress Season 4: Why Was It Cancelled?
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