Article first published as TV Review: THE CROWN Season 2 on Seat42F.
Netflix’s
THE CROWN has returned for a second season. The series follows the
reign of Queen Elizabeth II, and the latest batch of episodes focuses on
the mid-1950s into the 1960s. This will be the last season with the
original cast, as the producers have said they will be switching
performers every two seasons (which cover roughly twenty years of time).
In general, season two seems to have mostly maintained the good quality
of season one.
Picking up near where last year left
off, things have gotten more complicated for Elizabeth (Claire Foy) in
both the personal and professional realms. Concerning the latter, she no
longer has Winston Churchil (John Lithgow) to rely on. Difficult as he
could be, the new prime minister, Anthony Eden (Jeremy Northam), doesn’t
have the same wisdom or competence. This almost immediately puts
Elizabeth in a complicated place as tensions erupt in Egypt.
At the same time, Elizabeth fears her
husband, Philip (Matt Smith), may be cheating on her. This is not helped
at all by his louse of an assistant, Mike (Daniel Ings). Their
relationship has been rocky ever since she was made queen, but this
concern is new. In the first hour of season two alone, we see Elizabeth
and Philip at their highest and their lowest points, as they continue to
try to figure out how her official role fits into their marriage.
While I like seeing the contrast, I am
going to take a moment to complain about the opening scene of season
two, which takes place five months after the rest of the hour. It has
become a far-too-common crutch for television shows to do a flash
forward to try to hook the viewers before jumping back to the more
‘mundane’ parts of the story. It’s especially bad here because I feel
the narrative would be far more powerful if we saw Elizabeth start on a
high note and watched things fall apart, rather than knowing with
certainty (for those not super familiar with her history) where it’s
going before it takes a turn.
But that is my only real gripe about
what I’ve seen so far of season two. Yes, there’s a bit of a hole
without Lithgow’s constant presence. However, at this point viewers
should be suitably invested in Elizabeth, Philip, and Princess Margaret
(Vanessa Kirby) enough that the story remains compelling. With terrific
performances and wonderful sets, props, and costumes, it’s still a very
impressive production.
I am most intrigued by what role Dickie,
also known as Lord Mountbatten (Greg Wise), may play in this season.
The first year found him often an antagonist, though not a particularly
diabolical one, while the premiere of season two already casts him in a
more positive light. Complex characters like Dickie, and ones who aren’t
as famous as Elizabeth and Churchill, provide a good hook to the drama.
There is a fair amount of speculation as
to how accurate THE CROWN is. While the major sweeps of plot can be
fact-checked, this royal family is notoriously private, and it’s hard to
know for sure if, for example, Philip really did cheat on Elizabeth. I
feel THE CROWN handles this delicately, though, hinting when it isn’t
sure, and leaving enough open to interpretation to avoid going too far
off the rails, while still preserving the drama.
I very much enjoyed THE CROWN’s first
season. While I’m not far into year two yet, I can tell I am going to
enjoy this run, too. It’s a feat to bring history to life so vividly and
interestingly, especially when the story revolves around characters who
might not scream drama themselves. The raw, layered portrait painted
manages to make for a fascinating series.
THE CROWN season two is available now on Netflix.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.