NETFLIX - ON DEMAND - SERIES
The first part of The Crown's sixth season, which went online on November 16, was nothing more than a long interlude, a kind of TV movie within a TV movie, in terms of both form and script. After four episodes devoted to Princess Diana's final summer and death, in its six final episodes (only five of which have been made available to the press), Peter Morgan's series has returned to a narrative structure close to that of the previous five seasons.
Queen Elizabeth once again takes center stage. Time, stretched to the extreme at the start of the season, is then tightened again to make the era resonate with the past, and the intimacy of the Windsors with the changes occurring in British society.
Following Diana's death and with the Queen about to celebrate half a century on the throne in 2002, The Crown turns its attention to the future and the heirs to the crown – especially William, Charles's eldest son, who has been the object of media attention since his mother's death in 1997. This shift, which stems from the monarchy's questioning of its relevance in the 21st century just as it begins, comes at the price of the erasure of politics. British current affairs are now no more than a backdrop. Gone are the duels with prime ministers and major international crises. Affairs of the state are reduced to a few scenes in which the reformer Tony Blair embodies the advent of a "plural" society, where royals have only a decorative function.
Despite her attachment to the presence of a "guardian of swans" in the kingdom (the brilliant fifth episode exposes some of the monarchy's most delicious archaic traditions), the Queen has no intention of being a wallflower. Her determination to enter old age with her head held high allows the series to rediscover a little humor, notably in the delightful scenes between the Queen and her sister, Margaret, an inveterate party girl who leaves the series with a certain panache. Following in the footsteps of Vanessa Kirby and Helena Bonham-Carter, Lesley Manville establishes herself in the role of the rebellious princess as one of the best choices in the cast.
But the tenderness with which The Crown films the "bitter" years following Diana's death doesn't prevent the season from appearing a bit less reverential than before. Unlike the first few episodes – torn between the soap opera of Diana's affair with Dodi and the imperative of staging the princess's immense popularity – the rest of the season is comfortable with being fictional and is a little bolder when it comes to showing the sovereign grappling with her times.
You have 25% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.