SiftPop

by Mike Hilty, Contributing Writer 

When I was young, I woke up one morning to see my mom crying in front of the TV. She told me that someone died in a car crash, and I was worried that it was someone that we knew, like a family member or a friend. At the time, I didn’t understand what the implications of the situation were — I didn’t get why it was such a big deal that someone died in a car accident, let alone someone to whom we didn’t even have a direct line. It wasn’t until the footage of the funeral where Elton John was crying that I sort of got the gravity of the situation. His new version of “Candle in the Wind” is a CD single I still have to this day.

I didn’t realize that Princess Diana’s death had such strong implications for the British Crown, even if she wasn’t royal anymore.

Part One of the sixth and final season of The Crown is only four episodes, but it packs a punch in terms of furiously building off everything set up in Season Five, which I wasn’t so high on. Although I found its story depicting Diana (Elizabeth Debicki) and Charles’ (Dominic West) divorce interesting, I didn’t see the usual prestige storytelling and performances from previous seasons of the anthology series. But Season Five sets the stage for an outstanding Part One of Season Six. Because of these four episodes, I find myself returning to Season Five, and rating it more highly than I initially had.

Everyone’s performance this season is outstanding. Debicki comes into her own as Diana — she manages to make her a tragic character during the first half of the season. She feels more comfortable playing the role, which I think is intentional because of how distant Diana feels during Season Five. Her relationship with Dodi Fayed (Khalid Abdalla) is one of short timing, but we can tell they care for one another. Dodi is a forgotten character in the whole real world saga behind Diana’s death. How this is addressed in the final episode of Part One is gripping. Dodi’s father, Mohamed Al Fayed (Salim Daw), is seen as a haunted figure whose son’s death he knows will be an earmark in history. He won’t be known as Dodi, but rather the person who died with Diana.

I’ve been critical of Season Five’s reliance on showing more of the drama behind the scenes of the royal family rather than an actual story that shows how they take care of a situation, and Season Six shares this problem. It can sometimes feel very catty between Diana and Queen Elizabeth (Imelda Staunton). Prince Philip (Jonathan Pryce) isn’t much better, as he struggles with Prince Charles and Camilla’s (Olivia Williams) new and open relationship with one another. The royal family cares about the perception of his relationship with Camilla as well as how the public views Diana. There is tradition that needs to be adhered to, but the current situation also needs to be respected. The latter becomes a major problem upon hearing of Diana’s death.

The fourth episode of this season will go down as one of the show’s best. It’s a devastating look at how Diana’s death affects everyone around the world, but no group is shaken more than the British crown. I never knew the story behind the scenes of how the royal family reacted to the situation, which helped bring into focus the need for Elizabeth to step in and help the world grieve the people’s princess. The news of the deaths spread rather quickly in the pre-internet age, where it travels mainly by television and radio. I appreciated how tasteful The Crown treated the death. Not only were none of the carnage or bodies at the crash site shown, but the reactions were silent, and spoke for themselves with how devastating the news was to everyone around the world.

However…

I can’t help but wonder how many liberties The Crown took with the portrayals of everyone during this episode, particularly for Prince William (Rufus Kampa), Prince Philip, and Mohamed. The performers do the best they can with the material they’re given, but the material is the problem. The way that some of the people are portrayed following the deaths of Diana and Dodi feels overly heightened and played up. At times, it feels a little voyeuristic and unflattering.

Part One of the final season of The Crown sets the stage for a clash between the traditional values of the British royal family and the need for a different kind of leadership moving into the 21st century. I’m curious to see how far into the future the show will go, knowing that Queen Elizabeth’s death recently happened. Until then, this first chunk is a great start to another fantastic show that we have to say goodbye to in 2023. 

Rating: Loved It

The Crown is currently streaming on Netflix

---

You can read more from Mike Hilty, and follow him on Instagram, Letterboxd, and Serializd