S1, E2: The loss of her firstborn daughter drives Sisi into a severe depression. She is sent to recuperate in her brother-in-law Max's Castle Miramare. Her daughter Gisela finally gives her the strength to face her duties once again. Back in Vienna, Max presents her with his fiancée, Charlotte of Belgium. The political situation is more critical than ever. Franz Joseph hopes for support against the rebelling Italian provinces from Napoleon III. Although Sisi doubts the French Emperor's sincerity, she hopes for peace: She is pregnant again. When Rudolf, the heir to the throne, is born, all Vienna celebrates with unbridled joy. But war is inevitable. Franz Joseph simply brushes his brother Max's objections aside and instead anticipates victory with France by his side. But he has miscalculated: Napoleon III sides with Lombardy. Sisi is treating the wounded in a military hospital when Count Andrassy once again approaches the Empress and prophesies that the Empire will break apart. When a defeated Franz Joseph returns to Vienna, Sisi demands he allow a Parliament to win back his people's trust in him. During a vacation in Possenhofen, the Imperial couple finds peace and relaxation. Back at the court in Vienna, though, there is an upset concerning the education of Rudolf, the heir. Backed by Franz Joseph, Sisi's mother-in-law Sophie plans a military education in the Hapsburg tradition for the boy. Meanwhile, Max leaves for Mexico, which has offered him the Imperial crown. He, too, had been brought up to reign, but now is constantly overshadowed by Franz Joseph, whose views he doesn't share. In the face of this sad farewell, Sisi demands from her mother-in-law to leave the education of her children to herself. But Sophie refuses: The Empire's future demands sticking to the principles. When Rudolf becomes estranged from her, Sisi herself fetches the delicate boy from the military academy, where he had been brutally disciplined; but Franz Joseph takes sides against her. Sisi collapses in a faint, her Physician diagnoses a severe pneumonia. The worst seems to be over soon, but Sisi has lost her will to live. In Venice she slowly recovers, but she won't answer Franz Joseph's passionate letters, as long as Rudolf has to stay at the military academy. Sisi's recovery progresses, so that she can attend a masked ball. Count Andrassy flirts with the young woman whose identity he doesn't know. When Sisi takes off her mask, he uses the opportunity for a confidential conversation: He doesn't feel this kind of trust to any other person besides the Austrian Empress. Sisi reminds him that her place is by her husband's side, even if, or particularly when, he is in error. Back in Vienna, Franz Joseph has finally realized that the harsh military education is threatening to break Rudolf. When Sisi begins her homeward journey, Franz Joseph and the children set out to meet her. The family celebrates a happy reunion.