Susan Granger’s review of “The Crown – Season 6, Part 2” (Netflix)
Season 6 of “The Crown” focuses on the aftermath of death of Princess Diana (Elizabeth Debicki), the demise of Princess Margaret (Lesley Manville), the Prince William (Ed McVey)/Kate Middleton (Meg Bellamy) college courtship, Prince Charles (Dominic West)/Camilla Parker Bowles’ (Olivia Williams) marriage, and the growing resentment/rebellion of Prince Harry (Luther Ford), including his Nazi costume scandal.
The first couple of episodes of Part 2 – which premiered mid-December – border on tedious. Ever-popular Queen Elizabeth (Imelda Staunton) is stunned by backlash over her silence after Diana’s fateful car crash – in contrast with Prime Minister Tony Blair’s (Bertie Carvel) increasingly high approval ratings. A dream sequence in which Blair is crowned King is beyond bizarre.
As her reign draws to a close, the Queen is visited by incarnations of her former self (Claire Foy, Olivia Colman, Viola Prettejohn), and she poignantly reminisces about her youthful jubilation on V.E. Day in 1945 after W.W. II ended – sneaking out of Buckingham Palace to join other celebrants at the Ritz.
After dwelling on the Monarch’s legendary devotion to duty, series creator/showrunner Peter Morgan envisions a dialogue between the elderly Queen and aging Prince Philip (Jonathan Pryce), who conclude that the British Royal Family is doomed after they die.
“Those that come after you are not remotely ready to take over,” Prince Philip rants. “You were born ready. You are one of a kind.” He goes on: “The system makes no sense anymore to those outside it, nor to those inside it.”
Considering that these final episodes were filmed during the transition of power from Queen Elizabeth II to Prince Charles – now Charles III – its tone is surprisingly anti-royalist. Which is not surprising since the Prince of Wales’ longtime mistress is now Queen Consort and Windsor family antics have assumed tabloid soap opera status.
On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Crown – Season 6, Part 2” is a rather disappointing 6, streaming on Netflix – and look for it to be a strong Emmy contender.
