The Crown – Season Four Review (Netflix)

This will be a full season review of The Crown. If you have not watched the full season, come back when you have so as not to be spoiled!

The Crown has been an unbelievably amazing show from the very beginning. Anyone who is a fan of historical fiction, would be missing out on one of the greatest historical fiction shows of all time if they have not jumped on board with The Crown. Needless to say, fans anxiously await every new season with the anticipation of young child on Christmas Eve. But I think it’s fair to say, this season’s arrival had a bit more enthusiasm due to the subject of Season Four’s covered decade. This is the season we get Margaret Thatcher (Gillian Anderson) and Diana, Princess of Wales (Emma Corrin). It’s also the final season of this iteration of Queen Elizabeth (Olivia Colman), Prince Phillip (Tobias Menzies), Prince Charles (Josh O’Connor), Princess Anne (Erin Doherty), Camilla Parker Bowles (Emerald Fennell), and Princess Margaret (Helena Bonham Carter). Next season, we already know we will be seeing Imelda Staunton (Queen Elizabeth), Johnathan Pryce (Prince Phillip) Lesley Manville (Princess Margaret), and Elizabeth Debicki (Princess Diana) in the title roles. It will be interesting to see how far the next two seasons will go since Peter Morgan’s Academy Award nominated film, “The Queen,” dealt directly with the Crown’s reaction to the death of Princess Diana. So will he go there again in The Crown or will he brush over it and address other matters during the 90s-2000 and then 2000-present? For those unfamiliar, The Crown typically covers roughly one decade for each of it’s seasons. But before we get to prognosticating Seasons Five and Six, let’s dive into Season Four!

I know you all want to get to the Charles and Diana piece. But I’m going to start with Margaret Thatcher and the brilliant performance by Gillian Anderson. One of the hardest parts of playing a real person who is extremely distinctive, is coming across as either outright mimicking them or mocking them. Anderson does a remarkable job of paying tribute to Thatcher with her voice, mannerisms, and fiery spirit and yet still manages to make her, her own. The Iron Lady, as she was famously called, was the most dynamic presence in this entire season of the Crown. I could have watched an entire season of audiences with the Queen between her and Colman’s Queen Elizabeth. Their scenes were the most mesmerizing. You can feel an astonishing amount of respect for each other while at the same time, confusion and, at some points, contempt. These are two vastly different women in their upbringing and views on life, government, and the role the monarchy has in the modern world. You see it clear as day in two specific instances….Thatcher’s visit to Balmoral and their “discussion” over whether or not to join other Commonwealth countries in levying sections against South Africa regarding apartheid.

Thatcher is all about her work. It drives everything she does. She defines herself by it. So when she goes to Scotland to see the royal family hunting and playing with dogs and playing parlor games, it unnerves her. She’s already uncertain just how the monarchy can help bring Great Britain back to it’s previous economic glory and political standing in the world. Instead of spending this weekend (which is a long standing tradition of the new Prime Minister spending the weekend at Balmoral with the royal family) working and brain-storming on building a better future with Queen, it’s spent trapsing around in the rain and mud to hunt a stag the family is obsessed over. This drives Thatcher insane. She tries to fit in and play the game but eventually, she leaves early.

Later in the season, the sanctioning of South Africa comes up. The Queen is for it and Thatcher is against it. Both have strong arguments…one on the humanitarian front and one on the economic front. You could also argue that Thatcher was very frustrated with having to deal with the Commonwealth counties. Even going as far as to say she could be dealing with Reagan or Gorbachev but instead has to deal with the President of Zambia who’s interests don’t align with hers and he couldn’t care less about what she has to say about anything. Meanwhile the Queen is all about the Commonwealth. Protecting the Commonwealth and the constitution are the main reasons the monarchy is still relevant. Because she felt Thatcher was damaging Britain’s reputation within the Commonwealth countries by holding out, she felt she had no other choice but to act and ask her directly for her to support the sanctions. This is what led to the scathing report that comes out in the Sunday London Times about the Queen thinking her Prime Minister is “uncaring.” Why is this a big deal? Because historically, the Queen NEVER exudes her personal thought about the PM. In a very tense audience session, the Queen tells Thatcher that she isn’t to blame for that coming out but that she is sorry it did. She also tells her that it would have been nice, since the Queen constantly supports her PMs, including Thatcher, that if the one time the Queen was pushing on an issue that was very important to her, that her PM would have supported her. But she just couldn’t do it. That was the beauty and the downfall of a woman as strong as Thatcher. A stubborn woman who didn’t play politics, was admired and respected for her strength of conviction but vilified for her unwillingness to bend even in the slightest.

I remember the July 1981 wedding. I was seven years old and we were at our summer home at the Jersey Shore. We got up very early to watch the “Wedding of the Century”. I remember thinking how excited she must have been that day, marrying her prince and what an extraordinary and wonderful life she was about to have. And that eventually, she’s going to be the Queen of England! What a love story. Again, (as my finger points to myself) seven years old in 1981. Little did I know, what had the appearance of the beginning of “happily ever after” was the prelude to a life of complete melancholy and mental anguish resulting in an all too early demise at the age of 36. I also find it interesting how my impressions over the Charles and Diana saga have changed over the years as I read and learn more about each of them individually. At the end of the day, none of us will really know what happened or who was to blame behind closed doors. You can argue a very sad picture on both sides. Which make the Queen’s comments later in the season to Charles about the fact that he and Diana need to quit their bitching and suck it up, very interesting. You’re rich, you’re beautiful, you’re the future King and Queen. To the outside world, you have everything handed to you and you both just complain and everyone is sick of it. My first response was to stand up and applaud and say “you go Lizzy!” But in thinking about it further, from Charles’ perspective, it’s exactly why he’s miserable. Let’s break this down more.

Starting with Charles, it’s easy to hate him on the surface. He cheated on the people’s princess over and over again with Camilla Parker Bowles, also a married woman. He was never full of personality and witty humor, at least not that we saw. And he had an air of uncaring and standoffishness that turned many people off. But what The Crown has done a terrific job of, is showing a much different side to Charles’ life. Because on the outside, the Queen’s comments of (in not so many words) suck it up you spoiled brat, rings true. But when you learn more about what makes Charles who he is and why he acts the way he does, you start to (at least I did) understand him a bit more. Of course in the show, The Crown is taking some dramatic liberties to heighten the storyline. But there is a basis of fact for which the drama is built…starting with Prince Phillip being extremely hard on Charles throughout his life. Phillip also had a difficult relationship with his father. It’s why his uncle, Lord Mountbatten (Charles Dance) was so important in his life in taking over that father figure role. Dickie did the same thing for Charles. Phillip pushed Charles. At school, at home, personal life, royal life, it didn’t matter. Phillip was struggling with his own insecurities at a younger age of being beholden to his wife. Those insecurities were projected onto Charles. By the time we see a more secure Phillip, the damage is done regarding his relationship with his son. He sees a weak, fragile boy who doesn’t have what it takes to be King. Charles knows this. As a human being, even one who is going to be King someday, that can’t help but affect you. This feeling that you are never good enough and will never be good enough. The fact that you are constantly shut down in terms of your feelings and opinions (like in Season Three when the Queen flat out “coaches” Charles in how as part of the monarchy you need to keep your opinions to yourself.) “No one cares what you have to say.” Ouch. True, but ouch. So he falls in love with a woman that his family doesn’t approve of in Camilla. She is the one place Charles feels safe and can be accepted for who he truly is not who he’s destined to become. Considering he has no other allies, except for Princess Anne and even then she’s beautifully tough as nails by telling him like it is, when the family wants to take Camilla away from him, it pushes him over the edge. This, among many areas, is where he and Queen Elizabeth are very different.

Duty trumps everything. No matter what you want, or how you feel, duty to the crown comes first. She didn’t want this. She also didn’t want a philandering husband either. But you know what, she figured it out. As a 27 year old monarch, and as a woman, dealing with men two and three times her age with many years more experience, Elizabeth had a tough road ahead of her. Not to mention, having the people she rules over to believe in her. But she did it. Why? Duty trumps everything. Charles hasn’t quite grasped that concept. He wants to be King, but not really sure he wants all that entails to be King. Is it fair? No. But there are people much worse off in the world than Charles, Prince of Wales. So if the worse thing that happens to him is he has to take another bride, so be it. I know it sucks, but guess what, do you want to be King or do you want Camilla? His great uncle made that very difficult choice years ago. King Edward chose Wallis Simpson and abdicated the throne. You can do that Chuck. So what do you want? He chose the throne. As such, now you need to comply. And as discussed above, this not a normal “I want to marry her not her” type of situation. Camilla is his safe space. She’s his rock. In a world where he had only two, Dickie and Camilla, with Dickie now gone, I can understand why he’s holding on so tight to Camilla.

The part where Charles still rubs me the wrong way, even knowing what I know now, he still didn’t have to be so horrible to Diana. And he was. I can imagine it must be very difficult being someone who feels no one likes them or gives them attention and love. So you marry this mousy, doe-eyed person that may help you on that front. The problem is, while she is someone who the people adore and love, none of that translates over to Charles. In fact, quite the opposite. People go crazy for Diana. They need to see her, touch her, talk to her, take pictures with her. Allegedly world leaders only withdraw their ideas for independence because of her. As Bob Hawke says to Charles, if only you came, it wouldn’t even be a discussion. But with her here, I’ve changed my mind. Yikes! This outpouring of emotion for Diana incenses Charles. Her yells at her, calls her an embarrassment. He finds anyway he can to demean her because of his self worth issues. What does this do? It drives Diana to becoming bulimic. The Crown does not shy away from showing the horrors of this disease. It’s quite painful to watch actually. The more she tries in the marriage, the more angry it makes him, the more she binges and purges. One of the worst examples of this, is when she realizes how upset she made him with her “Uptown Girl” dancing fiasco. She tells him she was trying to surprise him for his birthday but she understands that type of PDA doesn’t sit well with him. So she created something for him for just them to celebrate their anniversary. Diana loves theater, music, and dance. She re-created the scene from Phantom of the Opera by singing “All I Ask of You” in full costume. She sits there so proud of sharing this wonderful moment for him and he can barely look at her. It’s taking everything he has to smile at her and not want to get up and leave. I don’t care how rough you had it growing up. Your wife is trying to make your anniversary something very special and you make fun of her and laugh at her. What a jack ass. It’s no wonder Diana turns to a disease where she feels like it’s something in her life she can control when everything else is spiraling out of control.

There was a time where it felt things may have turned a corner. In Australia when they had it out about the difficulties in their marriage, they came to an understanding. She wants to feel appreciated, loved, and respected. He wants her to understand who he is and the pressure he’s under and also feel appreciated and loved. They promised to communicate with each other and be there for each other because they do love each other. But then Charles is giving a speech and when he talks about how lucky he is to have married Diana, she makes a funny face behind him when the audience laughs. This sets him off and the little time of reprieve and peace is now over. Then it gets to the point where you (mainly me) start to wonder how much Diana purposely starts pushing his buttons. She knows what damages his fragile ego and she doesn’t do much to avoid situations that would get him fired up. The one time I start to feel just the smallest (and I do mean smallest) bit bad for Charles. When he and Diana are riding back from an event where she showed him up again, he tells her how much it bothers him not because of the act itself but because it shows time and time again that she either still doesn’t know him or worse, doesn’t care. You can tell this lands with her. But the other side of that coin is the old adage of, you get what you give.

We all know how this story plays out and at the end of the season, we’re now in the 1990s and we’re only a year a two away from the separation, six years from the divorce, and seven years from her death. At this point, while Diana is broken inside, you start to see a strength emerge after her visit to the AIDS hospital, that she knows she can make a difference in the world. Regardless of how her marriage ends up, she can personally affect people’s lives in multiple positive ways and as the mother of William and Harry, she can mold their lives to be better. In these next seven years before the crash in Paris, that is exactly who you begin to see.

As I wrap up my commentary on Charles and Diana (which could go on for weeks) I need to give a special tip of the cap and curtsy to Josh O’Connor and Emma Corrin. Those roles are not easy to play and they were utterly fantastic! O’Connor was brilliant at taking an unlikeable person and giving you (however slight) a reason to root for him. He peeled back Charles’ humanity in a way that made you, almost, want to forgive him in his treatment of Diana. Corrin had the most difficult of all the roles in playing the beloved Diana. She did a tremendous job in having down her mannerisms, her coquettish stares, and like Anderson with Thatcher’s portrayal, paid great homage to an iconic historical figure.

It’s probably going to be FOREVER before we get Season Five on Netflix. I already can’t wait to see the new cast and how Peter Morgan finishes this whole series off. But a huge nod to Olivia Colman, Tobias Menzies, Gillian Anderson, Helena Bonham Carter, Josh O’Connor, Emma Corrin, Erin Doherty and the rest of the cast of these last two seasons of The Crown. I wasn’t sure how all the re-casting was going to play out but it’s been beautifully orchestraed and the show didn’t skip a beat. And hey, we even got a Claire Foy sighting in Season Four with a flashback! Oh I’ve missed her but you can’t deny Colman’s amazing portrayal of the Queen the last two years. Miss Imelda Staunton has big shoes to fill!

So what did you think of Season Four of The Crown? Love it? Hate it? Was this a new story for you if you are a younger viewer? Was it a time capsule moment for you viewers around during this time? Can’t wait to hear what you think!