Looking forward to this show and the new cast. Lots of brilliant actors coming on to replace the brilliant ones going off. This is one of the few episodic tv shows that my husband might watch and stay awake for. (That is high praise.)
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Also looking forward to season 3, and the new cast, which sounds amazing. But the show is not strictly biographical and some of the plots diverge from what really took place -- the episode where Prince Philip's older sister dies in a plane crash being the worst example. The part where Philip is blamed by the father for his sister's death never happened; indeed Philip played no part in his sister's decision to travel to England in the first place.
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It's hard to feel sympathy for the Royals though it is as always the theme of their story. They had a choice. They could have abdicated. They could have changed the tradition instead of reveled in it as a means to control everything and everyone around them. They come with a family tradition of ignoring their great wealth and power that could have been used to such a better outcome than to be known as this "stuffy" exploiter of tradition who is merely a tourist attraction in reality.
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@jcs What do you mean "they" could have abdicated? There is only one sovereign. If one sovereign abdicates, the throne passes along to another, as it did from Edward VIII to George VI. Control everything? The institution controls them.
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This proves what the royalty really are...great tv and so a sponge off the British people in real life
Time to made the UK a republic
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@Paul :
Yes and you're on topic too! (Sarcasm).
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Now that we have exchanged well-merited words of praise for the actors portraying the royals, I think a few kinds words about one of the characters being portrayed is merited. As Helen Mirren said when she accepted the Oscar for her leading role in The Queen:
"For fifty years and more [now sixty-seven years], Elizabeth Windsor has maintained her dignity, her sense of duty,and her hairstyle. She's kept her feet firmly on the ground, her hat on head, and her handbag on her arm. She had weathered many storms and I salute her consistency."
Portraying a character such as Elizabeth II and writing the script for those who do portray her must a positive and pleasant experience - so much nicer than the biography of a recent Prime Minister or President.
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Going to be difficult to top the work of Claire Foy who IMO had the most difficult acting job as she was the actor who had to transform the young Elizabeth from young wife and mother and queen finding her way in all of those roles into the woman who had to literally transform herself from those other roles into the one to which she had to conform -- monarch. Others will be missed too -- Alex Jennings as Edward VIII who was perfection, Matthew Goode as the extremely louche and quite cruel Antony Armstrong Jones, Vanessa Kirby as a wickedly wild yet imperious and sad Princess Margaret and Matt Smith as the sullen, exasperating, and quite difficult DOE.
However, I'm very much looking forward to Josh O'Connor as Prince Charles having enjoyed his performance for four years as Lawrence Durrell in the series "The Durrells of Corfu."
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Having watched the first two seasons twice, I'm eagerly awaiting the third season. I think it's sheer genius to change the cast, since the monarchy itself had to change in the face of the societal upheavals of the 1960s, which included Queen Elizabeth's first Labour government, the Beatles, the sexual revolution, and the growing presence of West Indian immigrants. It will be interesting to see if the producers include a royal reaction to Enoch Powell's 20 April 1968 "Rivers of the Blood" speech .
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First, I want to compliment the reviewer, James Poniewozik, on his writing. I especially loved his referring to Queen Elizabeth as a koan! Or a a haiku. He also taps into the sympathy we should have for Elizabeth:
"She took a job she didn’t want, killed a part of herself to do it, and now finds that self-injury held against her."
This is indeed a story that arouses conflicted feelings about the royals. They are cast into these predetermined roles and given a script for life. One day, perhaps, they'll have a king or queen who tosses that script--if the people allow it.
I was going to cancel Netflix this month, but, darn it!, every time I vow to quit, they pull me back in. The Crown is one of the best series they have and a favorite of mine. Guess I'll have to stick with them awhile longer.
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"Antithesister" is the most brilliant thing I've read in a long time."
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@Ann
Agree! Thenkyou, Mr Poniewozik.
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This review is beautifully, stirringly literate and fair.
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I want to know if Olivia Colman is paid more than Tobias Menzies.
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@annabelle I decided not to continue watching after I heard how Claire Foy was underpaid.
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@annabelle The producers announced that the actor who plays the Queen would always be the highest paid going forward.
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The one I shall especially miss (along with all others mentioned in the review) is Alex Jennings and his brilliant turn as the Duke of Windsor -- far more lively and interesting than the vacant-eyed personage I recall. Indeed the 2nd season episode, "Vergangenheit" was not only fascinating history (concluding with astonishingly photographs of the Windsors in Nazi Germany), but a tour de force for all involved. Also, for those who watch it as documentary, rather than creative dramatization, I recommend Hugo Vickers' "Truth & Fiction: An Expert Analysis of the Netflix Series, The Crown."
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@Bella Wilfer Do we know that there will be no more Duke or Windsor stories this year? (Or that another actor is playing the role?) I think the Duke died in the 70s.
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@10034 Derek Jacobi will be playing the Duke of Windsor in season 3. The duke died in 1972, so I assume that his final illness and death will be part of the storyline this season.
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It will take a little adjustment to the new cast. I am pretty sure after the first episode everything will be back to normal. I binge watched Season 2 last week in preparation for Season 3.
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@Sunsetlive To coin a phrase: We are not amused by binge watching. A really good TV episode (and that is that is what these are) deserves a period of reflection, as does a good book or play. Otherwise, it is just time-filling images, soon forgotten.
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Eagerly awaiting the start of Season 3, especially to see how and whether Olivia Colman can duplicate, if not surpass, Claire Foy's brilliantly restrained portrayal of the young Queen Elizabeth.
Foy's acting was to me a singular achievement: portraying restraint and intentional deference to symbolism can not have been easy to pull off. But Foy's performance set a benchmark of quality for Colman to follow and embrace.
I'm sure she's up to it, as one of Britain's finest current actors, and my hope is that the transition from Foy to Colman will further enrich our understanding of the complex role of the royals in English culture and society.
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Awesome is always misused but not if you’re describing Olivia Colman.
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@Mike M
Do we know if The Crown will debut in Canada on Sunday as it will in America? Sometimes there is a time delay factor in these things.
Do wish Netflix would do a series on the Mitfords. Now there is a keen series story, eh?
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@On a Small Island I'm sure you have, but if you haven't LOVE IN A COLD CLIMATE is a terrific story about this literary family with Alan Bates.
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@Mike M
quite right if you saw her in "The Favorite"
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I love actor Helena Bonham Carter, but Vanessa Kirby will be hard to top as Princess Margaret in Seasons 1 and 2. I’m also a bit devastated that Matthew Goode will not return with his perfect portrayal of the attractively louche Anthony Armstrong-Jones. Maybe Mr. Goode now prefers playing a sexy vampire rather than a reticent royal.
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@Susan
Also, Ms Bonham carter is a bit long of tooth to play a Margaret some 20 years her junior when season 3 opens.
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I was hesitant to watch the first season of The Crown. I thought it would be boring. I was incredibly wrong. It's one of the best series I've seen about the royals.
And, I must admit, is a bit alarming to have an entire cast replaced with new actors, since we bonded to the last set so well. But I do love Olivia Colman and everything she does is simply excellent, so I'm tuning in to the 3rd season with high expectations that I have no double will be met, if not exceeded.
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@Valerie It id risky to replace an entire cast, but I believe they've picked right. These are fascinating, top rate actors who can represent the aging royals. As the reviewer quotes Elizabeth in this season:
“Age is rarely kind to anyone,” she says. “Nothing one can do about it. One just has to get on with it.” One has to respect that attitude. One might even call that respect a kind of love.
Truer words never spoken.
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“This show can be, like a distant monarch, easier to revere than to feel passion for.” The most engaging, interesting character in the first season was Princess Margaret, and “passion” was the reason for that. Vanessa Kirby played her as a real person, full of life and full of flaws. Vulnerable. As much as I enjoy this series, I think the other “royals” too often come across as impersonators rather than flesh and blood people.
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If the new set of "royals" and their attendants offer anywhere near the fine production and performances given by all the actors in Seasons 1 & 2 we're in for a real treat of historically based watching.
The interesting and riveting stories presented so far are just absolutely stunning offering a deep and fascinating inner view of the life of British royalty during a time when the notion of such was beginning to be seriously questioned--the loss of much of the British Empire globally as well as a shift in public sentiment towards the necessity of "The Crown".
The time period coming up will no doubt offer more story lines dealing with the "questioning of authority" in Britain (along w/ much of the Western world) and how the monarchy handles such a disruptive challenge to tradition.
Looking forward to Sunday!
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So delighted to hear there is a third season, but disappointed that none of the original cast remain? I find it doubtful that this cast, however talented can carry on the mantle from Claire Voy et al.
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@marx it can. No worries.
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@marx Have you ever seen Olivia Colman or Tobias Menzies act? The show is in excellent hands.
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@marx
...are you kidding?...are you not familiar with Charles Dance? ( Tywin Lannister from "Game of Thrones"... ) - ...more than just the prince of cats. I tell you...(Mercutio, Romeo and Juliet)...
7
I think James is objecting to what is essentially British about The Crown, that lack of "wildness."
Another word for that is "sovereignty," and it's the best part of the show.
Like the institution it's portraying, The Crown isn't going to thrash about for the cheap emotional gratification of the crowd, or a few gentlemen of the press.
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@Mike in MA
Spot on.
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Margaret as “antithesister”! Brilliant, Mr. Poniewozk!
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@Gwyn Barry
Loved that line too.
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@Gwyn Barry I thought the same and had posted earlier on FB about that reference... Can't wait to watch this third season!
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I can't wait!
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"Antithesister"? I don't think I've ever been more in love with a new word. Your amalgam is positively Shakespearean.
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@Danny K - My feelings exactly!
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@Danny K Speaking as an "antithesister" myself, I couldn't agree more.
10
this series alone is worth the price of Netflix
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I am presently watching season 2 (episode 8) of 'The Crown' and love Peter Morgan's marvelous creation!
However, there's a detail regarding historical accuracy that troubles me about his depiction of Queen Elizabeth II: In real life, was/is she the cold-hearted Ice Queen we see episode after episode?
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@Robert J. Wlkinson I think you might need to watch a bit more closely: Foy never stops projecting that her persona is an effort and often a construct - and that there is a person behind the facade, forced to restrain herself by the choice she's made (and that has been thrust upon her).
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@Robert J. Wlkinson: Enjoyed your comment here! I, too, am engaged w/ season 2 (epidode 6) of "The Crown" but to my mind Ms. Foy's Queen being restrained represents the actual Queen's removed countenance and studied duty to the historical office of the monarchy that rests on the depth of the sacred obligation. The transformation of the monarch during the coronation in being anointed by holy oil places the monarch in a more solemn position and perhaps is part of the reason for Elizabeth's appearance as "removed".
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@Mark
Lovely observation!
Obviously, the queen's robotic demeanor has loosened substantially, now that she's in her 90's. The recent foto of her (shared in The Times article about her dresser/adviser, Angela Kelly), wearing the tweed dress with hands in pockets, is the best! Such a radiant smile - - and heart - - in that image.
I had enormous difficulty with the scene from 'The Crown,' in which the impetuous Duke of Windsor is banished from England by QE2 (after learning of his Nazi ties), all while being told that it is impossible to forgive him.
5
Looking forward to this season!
13
Can't wait for the first episode with this all star cast. This period had so many historical moments and I'll looking forward to enjoying them from a different perspective. What makes this series a delight, besides the magnificent attention to detail in the characters and their surroundings, is the high quality of all the actors. It's like actually being there! Thank you all.
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