As I’m sure you are aware, The Crown is a series based on historical events. In the case of season four, the series covers events that occurred between roughly 1979 and 1990. While I will refrain from discussing specific elements of the season’s plot, there will be some elements that it’s impossible to refrain from spoiling due to the historical storytelling model used – for example, the fact that Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales get married during the course of this season (although, if that’s news to you, this might not be the show for you). So, if you want to go in wholly blind to what might occur within the season, best to skip this and all over reviews.
The fourth season of Netflix’s The Crown is decidedly different than the past three installments. In those seasons, while the focus would occasionally shift to a supporting character (be it Margaret’s continual struggles with love or her role in the royal family hierarchy or Philip’s difficulties finding his own path from under his wife’s all-encompassing shadow), the central focus of the series was on Queen Elizabeth II (played this season once again by the excellent Olivia Colman) as she attempted to balance her duty, her family, and her own hopes and fears, with varying levels of success. Not so with season four, where the focus shifts to a split between Elizabeth’s continuing role as queen and the tumultuous relationship between her son and heir Charles (Josh O’Connor, who relishes his expanded role and character with a great performance) and his new wife Diana (Emma Corrin, one of the standouts of the season with an inspired and complex portrayal of an equally complex woman) – with very little time given to any of the other senior royals (more on that choice later). Now, for those in the States who only really took notice of the British royal family when Princess Diana entered the mix, I suspect this narrative shift won’t be all that concerning. In fact, it might be welcomed. But as someone who has particularly enjoyed seeing how the titular crown has impacted the entire royal family (and, who has found the show’s episodes that pulled focus to those who are less visible in today’s alignment of the family, such as the late Princess Margaret and Princess Anne) it was a bit of a disappointment.
The season’s arc is split between two key battles: Charles vs. Diana (a battle that will continue into season five and possibly season six, depending on where Peter Morgan and his writing team opt to cut off the upcoming penultimate season) and Elizabeth vs. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (Gillian Anderson, so good in the role). The p0litical (and, eventually, personal) fight between the Queen and her Prime Minister does not dominate the series in the way past confrontations between the government and the crown have. The series opts to take a similar route with Thatcher that it did with Churchill back in season one, allowing us to follow her into her personal life and fleshing out the character through her relationships with her family. Similarly, while we are allowed a handful of tete-a-tetes between the formidable women (and formidable actresses), we spend more time with Elizabeth as she tries to figure out Thatcher’s game plan by talking things over with Philip (which provides Tobias Menzies some lovely opportunities to show how far Philip has come as a man and husband since season one). This change in structure works fairly well, even if it does mean that Anderson, aside from a brief stop at Balmoral, only really interacts with Colman (and Thatcher’s assorted Cabinet members and family), and we rarely get a look at how Thatcher’s rise in Britain impacted the rest of the royals*. For someone who was so influential for such an extended period of time, I would have liked to see a bit more on how this change in economic and social policy was felt by others within The Firm.
*In one of the best episodes of the season, we are provided with a look at how Thatcher’s policies impacted normal working people. While I won’t give too much away surrounding exactly what happens (although, again, it is a fairly well-known historical moment for the Queen), we are allowed to follow a normal, down on his luck citizen as he attempts to navigate the economic depression engulfing England. It’s an eye-opening juxtaposition to how isolated the royals can be from their average subject – something Morgan captured beautifully in his film, The Queen, and some key foreshadowing for what’s to come with the death of Diana and the royal family’s inability to understand the seismic shift it brought upon their subjects.
While the political climate of 80s Britain gets its fair shake in season four, the real story is focused on the tumultuous marriage between Charles and Diana – for good and for ill. Is it an engaging arc with strong performances? Absolutely. O’Connor, as we saw in season three, is superb at conveying Charles’ internal struggle and broken little boy tendencies. And, as it turns out, he’s also great at showing how a man who firmly believes he was bullied and forced into choices he didn’t want to make by those with more power than him is wholly capable of taking the intense rage kept inside for so long out on a woman who didn’t realize the depths of anger and resentment her husband had. In case you were wondering if The Crown takes a side in the future divorce, yes, it absolutely does. I would be shocked if Peter Morgan ever received a knighthood after this season of television.
While the series makes it clear it sees Charles as the villain in this fractured fairy tale, it doesn’t let Diana off scot-free. We see her affairs and we get some sense that she understands her broad appeal with the press and the public – and how that insulates her from further chastisement from the royals when they are in need of a likeable face for the new generation. That being said, the writing never makes it clear how much Diana is aware of her growing power – and you can see that Corrin isn’t sure just how much savvy she should inject into her performance. Yes, crowds around the world fete her upon her arrival, but so much of this Diana is wrapped up in her insecurities – as a woman, as a wife, as a mother, and as a public figure – that there’s still too much left up for our interpretation. Corrin does her absolute best with she’s given, and brings out deep feelings of empathy for what Diana endured at the hands of a very unforgiving introduction to a very public life and the rules and regulations of being a royal. However, The Crown is a series that loves to make its point of view crystal clear (one of its most notable flaws is its penchant for speechifying awkwardly), and here we are robbed of the full picture when it comes to Diana’s own understanding of who she is becoming.
But if I have one bone to pick with season four of The Crown it’s how much of the season is centered around Charles and Diana. Yes, we all know that they will remain the focus of the remaining two seasons (as even in death, Diana’s specter continues to loom large over the royal family today), but their arc in this season is less of an arc than a circle that we continue traveling around and around. They fight (usually viciously), they spend time apart, someone pontificates about their duty to crown and country, they get back together/stop fighting. Lather, rinse, repeat. While the is likely an accurate portrayal – on some level – of their relationship (after all, they weren’t allowed to divorce until 1996), it doesn’t make for the best structure within a television series. Especially when this storyline sucks up so much of the oxygen in the series, meaning we get far too little time with supporting characters (and their actors – in their final appearance in the series).
The breakout star of season three, Erin Doherty as Princess Anne, has far less screen time this go round, but makes the absolute most of the time she’s given. Along with Helena Bonham Carter’s Princess Margaret (who does get a standalone episode, but is relegated to the background for much of the season), the writers deploy these sharp tongued, but extremely astute characters at the perfect moments to serve as a moral compass of sorts for Elizabeth and Charles. While the nature of a show about the crown is that it will shift its focus to those destined to wear it, the series makes it clear that even those who are deemed spares exert influence over those above them in the line of succession. Elizabeth continues to harbor guilt over her past treatment of Margaret and occasionally turns to her for counsel (although she rarely listens). Anne, on the other hand, is the voice of reason for both Charles and Elizabeth at various points in the season, serving as almost an audience surrogate by highlighting key points for both to take under advisement. Even Philip gets a crack at offering sage advice in the season finale that cuts to the core of his character – this is a man who still sees himself as an outsider, but he’s also a man who will do whatever it takes to protect the monarchy.
The Mountbatten-Windsor clan in season four is a sharper, nastier lot (we even meet a young Prince Andrew, whose future scandals are strongly foreshadowed through his nonchalant, playboy attitude and lax focus on his public reputation). But, for those of us who have watched the series from the outset (and for those who have watched the actual royal family over the past few decades), this shouldn’t be a surprise. While I remain excited to see where the series goes with its next set of actors (particularly as the next series should see three major divorces – something that would have been unthinkable to the characters back in season one), I’m sad to see this lot go. But they certainly go out with a bang – and a heavy does of foreshadowing regarding what is yet to come.
Netflix’s The Crown releases its 10-episode fourth season on Sunday, November 15. All ten episodes were provided for review.
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