I agree, but I guess her desire to become a lady again was greater than her love for Catherine

I think Marial can see just how terrible Catherine’s current plan is (in the show, not in history, obviously). Frankly, I would have lost faith in Catherine as a leader, when she started showing more interest in her boy-toy than planning a proper coup, too. To my mind, there are at least three possible reasons for Marial’s betrayal other than her simply wishing to return to her former status. 1) THE HAIL MARY With the botched attempted assassination of Archie, the secret of the coup is out. If this part of the plan went so wrong, how much else of the plan is destined to falter? If Peter doesn’t already know, he will soon. With their societal positions, even if Catherine and the other cohorts aren’t safe from Peter’s wrath, they’re at least the tiniest bit safer than Marial. (Also, Catherine’s pregnancy acts as an additional safety net for her.) Not only is Marial a servant, who could be much easier disposed of than the others without much consequence, she is also already part of a family that Peter hates. If she tells Peter what he is bound to find out before the day’s end anyway, she can save her own life, and if she gets her position back as a reward, so much the better. 2) TRY TO CONTROL PETER’S KNOWLEDGE OF THE COUP This coup is being terribly executed. (Or it, at least, appears that way. To be fair, I haven’t watched the show again since it first premiered, so I can’t remember whether or not it’s actually established that Marial’s betrayal is actually a betrayal and not a possible part of Catherine’s plan. I don’t think that it is part of Catherine’s plan, however, simply based on how she’s seemingly being so reckless with foregoing a meticulously planned coup in favor of giving herself Russia as a birthday present via an impulsive coup.) Marial may have seen one of the many red flags that this off-the-cuff style coup is in trouble and is not going as smoothly as it could have gone. But no use crying over spilled milk. Marial is a fast thinker. If she informs Peter of the coup, she can tell Peter what and exactly how much of the plan that she wants him to know. Worst case scenario, Peter knows about the coup slightly sooner than he would have (the man would still have known about the coup through some means or other by the end of the day). Best case scenario, Marial has taken control of the situation and can manipulate Peter, either to further the success of the coup or, if the coup fails (as it looks to be doing from her POV), to protect Catherine and the rest. She’s told Peter that Catherine’s pregnant with his child, so that should (to Marial’s mind) keep Catherine safe. As for the others, she may not have the power to do much for them, but as a lady, she’s in a better position to do something than she would be as a maid (or a dead maid, had she said nothing). 3) SECOND THOUGHTS CAUSE SECOND BETRAYAL Marial did want to stop Catherine’s coup, after learning that Catherine arranged for Marial’s own father-figure to be killed, even after promising that she wouldn’t. Not only would she be upset (and possibly impulsively vengeful) upon learning of Catherine’s betrayal (Yes, let’s remember that Catherine betrayed Marial first!), but she also may have come to question whether Catherine would actually be a good leader of Russia. After all, she went back on her word in regards to, what is to Marial, a very important promise of keeping Archie alive. If Marial can’t trust Catherine to keep her word on this, what else can’t she trust Catherine about? Her promise to restore Marial’s title? Her promise to open a school for women? The plans she told Marial she had to improve Russia? Marial may be asking herself if Catherine really is the person she thought she knew, and if she’s not, then who, exactly, is Marial helping to take over Russia? ANYWAY, those are my current theories. With season two, they may very well all be proven false. Maybe my character preference of Marial to Catherine is clouding my judgement. But there you go. Apologies for the obnoxiously long comment. If you made it through to the end, reward yourself with a cookie! Thanks for reading!

@@theliteraryspinster this gorl really made a whole biography just to proof something that hasn't been read😭😭

@@theliteraryspinster You took some effort! I hope that you are correct with 2) or that they will atleast be able to reconcile later. Their chemistry is just to great to be lost

@@jakobschoning7355 There's a season 2 trailer of them walking side by side so I'm inclined to say yes.

Ya untill marial betrayed her

@@marilisalvarado9522 Don't remind me :(

@@SilentAssassin927 Lol sorry