The day that many of us have been waiting for arrived yesterday: a new season of The Crown appeared on Netflix. Normally that would be a fairly big occasion in and of itself. However, when we are all stuck inside and can’t leave, it is even more so. While I admire those of you that are limiting yourselves with a few episodes, I have binged the lot of them. Today I’m going to share my thoughts on The Crown S4, and what to look out for! (No spoilers, not to worry there)
Before I go any further, it is crucial to remember that this is a fictional telling of the past. Yes, it is the recent past, and with actual people, but it is fiction. We cannot take what we see on The Crown and assume it is what actually happened (or how it happened) as fact. It is one writer’s opinion, and that does not make it true. Much of what happens in The Crown is behind closed doors, and we will simply never know what happened. (We all deserve our privacy, right?) Onto The Crown S4!
Charles and Diana
This is absolutely the most talked about element of the show- it seems like everyone is waiting to see Charles and Diana’s relationship. I have to admit, I don’t follow the royals for their personal relationships. I can understand why people are fascinated, but it feels a bit like prying to me. In any case, I think that the newest season of The Crown does show that every relationship has its complexities. Both the Prince and Princess of Wales are shown as real people with good and bad qualities, coming at life from very different places and experiences. I do think that Josh O’Connor and Emma Corrin have nailed their roles perfectly. I also think that the Charles and Diana pieces will land differently, depending on whether or not you were alive and could remember these events happening.
Olivia Colman as the Queen
I’m going to go against the grain, and say that I think that Colman has done a wonderful job as Queen Elizabeth II. Obviously she is going to give a different performance than Claire Foy did. (That’s true of all of the actors.) We change and evolve in our lives, and I can only guess that Her Majesty has as well. She portrays different aspects of Elizabeth, but I don’t think that one is better or worse than the other. It is a different royal family, and a different Britain for her Elizabeth, and no one’s performance should the earlier versions.
She plays particularly well against Gillian Anderson’s Margaret Thatcher. I’ll admit that I know very little specifics about Thatcher’s tenure as Prime Minister. (I’ve got the coal miner’s strikes in the 80s, and council flats, and that is about it.) Thatcher was a presence and so is Anderson- Colman’s understated Queen plays perfectly against that. My only qualm is that I would have liked more time with QEII this season, but alas alack!
Missing Margaret?
Yes, Margaret Thatcher is very present in this season. (As appropriate) However, Princess Margaret is largely missing/in the background. I completely understand that the royal family is growing throughout the series and there are more people to follow. I do miss seeing what Margaret was up to, though. We did get one episode, but I think that rather proves Margaret’s point- she was shoved to the side for the younger generation. Helena Bonham-Carter does a spectacular job at playing the complicated but glamorous Margaret, and I will miss her.
British Politics…
Not only in regards to Margaret Thatcher, but this season of The Crown is really underscoring that I don’t know much about Britain in the 1980s. I don’t tend to study a lot of political history, and I don’t study a lot of modern history. As a Canadian, I do have a fairly solid grasp of the 1980s in Canada, but certainly not in Britain. (And being born at the tail end of the 1980s didn’t help, either- my earliest memories are the mid-90s.) Not ashamed to admit I spent quite a bit of time Googling today! I am sincerely hoping that Robert Lacey puts out another companion volume to this season- the first two were incredibly helpful at giving political and social context to the show as a whole. (Also, I feel like I will now be reading a Thatcher biography, because she seems to be an iceberg of a subject…)
Note: I do know a fair amount about the IRA and the British/Irish relationship, but that is only covered in the first episode.
Overall Thoughts and Review
This was a wonderful season of The Crown, as usual. This season spent a lot of focused on the politics of the time, but given the turmoil and changes in Britain (and the Commonwealth) it worked well. There weren’t as many “splashy” moments as there have been in past seasons. However, the crown exists to provide stability and continuity, not only glitz and glamour. My one qualm is that Diana seemed to be the only person with notable fashion moments included, unfortunately. I will be rewatching this again in the next few weeks to come, and seeing what else I pick up!
Want More?
What to Read After You Watch The Crown– My favourite picks for books that cover the first three seasons of The Crown. (If you want a refresher before you watch this new season, these will help! It can be overwhelming and difficult to pick when it comes to royal biographies; these are my top choices.
The Best Books To Read Before You Watch Season 4 of The Crown– You can read these before or after you watch The Crown S4, but they absolutely give more context to who the royals were and what they were actually doing! (No one knows everything for certain, but these will get you closer to the truth.)
Have you watched The Crown S4?
Cheers,
The Historian
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I’m currently three episodes in and loving it!!! The whole Diana/Charles thing has sucked me in, but in my defense, I love the character they created for Charles from the beginning. And, I’m sorry, but Diana’s clothes are awful. Just awful. So is her hair. I’ve never seen anything lovely or beautiful about her fashion sense, and the costumes in this season reflect that accurately, haha. I’m cringing at everything she wears, going, “How did this woman manage to land herself a royal title??” I wonder if this series will ever touch upon the Will and Kate years. Kate has saved them all, in terms of ensembles, haha.
Can’t wait to watch more episodes tonight! I do agree, though — so far, not much Elizabeth. Margaret Thatcher is really interesting, too. I love the scenes at Balmoral in episode 2, hahaha. Poor thing. And Gillian Anderson…I almost didn’t recognize her!! What a change from Scully, haha. Love it!
I don’t personally love a lot of Diana’s fashion, because it is VERY 80s for me. (And being born at the end of the decade, the trends don’t have any meaning for me.) She was a typical Sloane Ranger, which I think appealed to the royals, if not the rest of us haha. And I believe it is meant to end in the early 2000s with the deaths of Princess Margaret and the Queen Mother (though I could be wrong). I think it would hit far too close to home to go that far haha!