It is 1956, and the British
Empire is in turmoil. Nassar's seizing of the Suez
Canal has led Prime Minister Anthony Eden (Jeremy Northam) to call
for an invasion of Egypt .
The resulting turmoil has greatly reduced England 's
standing in the world, led to an oil crisis, and created economic disaster.
With so much in wreckage, and Eden
in desperately poor health, he has been forced to resign in favor of Harold MacMillan.
The monarchy in itself is in even
more turmoil. Queen Elizabeth II (Claire Foy, perhaps the best demonstration of
how underplaying is as brilliant as overplaying) is still recovering from
having been forced to keep her sister Margaret from marrying the man she loved.
Her relationship with Philip (Matt Smith, continuing to amaze) has reached a
similar breaking point. Having sent him on the Royal Tour, ostensibly to open
the Olympics but hoping that the absence will heal the gap in her marriage, things
have continued to simmer. Philip's relationship with his private secretary has
led to its own source of scandal, as his marriage, already in freefall, finally
heads toward divorce when his wife learns not only of her husband's
infidelities, but how he reports him to an upper class men's club. The outright
scandal has now fallen over Philip as well, forcing him to fire him. Now, with
the marriage still in turmoil, Elizabeth
has a confrontation with her husband in which they reach a sort of agreement.
He will be given the official title of Prince Philip, and she will be allowed
to have more children. It is clear, however, that just like the Empire she
rules, there are definite signs of rot within.
Having only seen the first three
episodes of Season 2 of The Crown, I
continue to be in awe of Peter Morgan's masterful command of the corridors of
power. Watching the manipulation between the backbenches of Parliament is
fascinating even for those of us who know only what we see on C-SPAN .
And it is still astonishing to watch these vital and youthful actors play the
royal figures we see as doddering old people with very real problems. (How the
hell did Morgan learn this much?) Foy remains one of the pillars of this
series, and knowing that this will be here and most of the casts last season (
as the main characters age, Morgan has said that Golden Globe nominees Olivia
Coleman and Tobias Menzies will replaced the royal couple, starting next
season), she continues to make a strong argument to be the frontrunner for this
year's Emmy.
The scenery and atmosphere of the
changing times are prevalent (and I still haven't gotten to the visit of the
Kennedys which is scheduled to come soon), and knowing just how much has
changed in the world since this era makes The
Crown work as a period piece. And considering how much a mask the monarchy
remains even now (even given the amount of change that has come), we should be
grateful to this series, even if it wasn't one of the best things of any
server.
Note:
For reasons which boggle the mind, The Crown is rated TV-MA, even though is no violence, no real sex scenes to speak
off, and less foul language than you would find in your typical FX series. Much
like Stranger Things, this series
would be viewable for teenagers who have an interest in history. And more to
the point, what the hell Netflix? How can this series and Black Mirror have the same rating?
My
score: 4.75 stars.
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