THE CROWN: SEASON TWO - Blu-ray (Netflix, BBC, Sony, 2017-18) Sony Home Entertainment
Claire Foy exits
the role of a lifetime, as Her Royal Highness, Queen Elizabeth II in The Crown: Season Two (2017-18). I am
still trying to figure out the executive logic behind recasting an entire
series – particularly a runaway smash like The
Crown – midway through storytelling, simply to update the roles for Season Three with actors more
sufficiently suited in age to reflect the events in the historical timeline.
Isn’t this precisely why ‘age makeup’
was invented? Genuinely, I am going to miss Foy in Netflix’s award-winning
drama as she is nothing short of superb. Point blank, the actress has nailed
Elizabeth’s strength of character, her regal and restrained charisma, pigeon-toed
poise and stately stature as a public figurehead who “does not wish to be known” to the outside world. Nevertheless, for
our benefit, Foy counterbalances this public façade with little nuggets of introspection
and glimmers of anxiety, disappointment and other emotional responses, revealed
behind closed doors and dramatized effectively in Peter Morgan’s fictionalized backstory.
Even after the seismic shift in transparency that occurred within the House of
Windsor in the mid-fifties (thanks to the more progressive views put forth by Lord
Altrincham), steadily to declassify (some might argue, demystify) the monarchy,
from centuries-old dynastic empire shrouded in secrecy, to just another English
family, albeit with above average pay grade and problems, the Queen herself would
never have dared expose as much of herself as we get in this series; lest she
be revealed as mere flesh and blood, however divinely inspired.
Despite being jam-packed
with enough intrigues to fill at least two dramas, masterfully reconstituted by
creator, Peter Morgan and his minor entourage of writers (Edward Hemming, Tom
Edge Nick Payne, Duncan Macmillan and Amy Jenkins), The Crown: Season Two struggles from a minor dearth: the absence of
John Lithgow’s enigmatic presence as Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Lithgow
does briefly reappear in a flashback for episode 16, ‘Vergangenheit’, but otherwise is replaced (as all figures of state
must ebb and flow with the times), herein, briefly by Jeremy Northam’s rather
ineffectual successor, Anthony Eden – a morphine addict – and Anton Lesser’s
even more invisible follow-up, Harold Macmillan, who conspires to oust Eden
from his God spot after the Suez crisis and disastrous war against the Egyptian
stronghold. Churchill’s involvement, not only in WWII, but virtually all
intimate matters of state during those terrible years of war, and his
influential advice to the then young and inexperienced Queen, loomed larger
than life during The Crown’s first
season.
As such, Lithgow’s
reincarnation of this invested politico is as missed as the man himself in
today’s thoroughly abysmal spate of forgettable statesmen. The Crown: Season Two is more disquieting, situated on probing the
foibles of the Royal house from the inside – a backstage pass into the Queen’s
faltering marriage, as Philip – the Duke of Edenborough (Matt Smith)
momentarily wavers in his marital commitments, finds himself at the epicenter
of two public scandals, presents his ultimatums for consideration, but eventually
comes to the realization he is in this marriage for the long haul. While Season One concentrated on a hearty
sense of history to anchor its timeline and characters, Season Two periodically dithers into speculative explorations, playing
fast and loose with the decades: world history, taking the proverbial backseat
to more privileged accounts of Princess Margaret’s (Vanessa Kirby) willful
pursuit of the bisexual photographer, Antony Armstrong-Jones (Matthew Goode),
whom she later regrets marrying, and, the sincerely strained father/son
relationship between Philip and a prepubescent, Prince Charles (Julian Baring).
The Crown: Season Two is mostly
compelling viewing, although intermittently, it has acquired the tinny veneer
of a daytime soap opera, not altogether flattering or, perhaps, even in keeping
with Morgan’s original intent. Somehow, it also lacks the overall arc of
inclusive story-telling satisfaction that propelled Season One to its epic heights. There are arguably, two high water marks
for drama in Season Two: the
aforementioned, Vergangenheit – begun
in a moodily lit forest in Germany during WWII, to unearth a
series of war-time correspondences between the Duke of Windsor (Alex Jennings)
and Adolf Hitler, illustrating the exiled monarch and his paramour, Wallace
Simpson’s (Lia Williams) conspiracy with Nazi Germany to leverage their return to
England as Nazi-appointed regents. The other ‘revelation’ comes late in the
season: Paterfamilias – an episode comparing
a young Philip’s (superbly realized by Finn Elliot) brutal education at
Gordonstoun Academy with the adult Duke’s rather heartless demand his son should
suffer the same severity, as it will ‘build character’ and ‘make a man’ of the
more sensitive Prince Charles. This episode concludes with the death of Philip’s
favorite sister, the Nazi-sympathizing Princess Cecile of Greece and Denmark (Leonie
Benesch), killed – along with her entire family - in a plane crash. Arguably, the best episode in Season Two is ‘Dear Mrs. Kennedy’ – despite a rather lackluster turn from Jodi Belfour,
as a perpetually kitten-faced and leering Jacqueline Kennedy, and, a thoroughly
horrendous performance by Michael C. Hall (everyone’s favorite serial
killer/cop – Dexter) as her doomed
hubby, J.F.K. Hall neither looks, acts nor sounds like John Kennedy. Exactly
why he was cast herein is frankly beyond me.
Nevertheless,
the writing in this episode manages to capture the giddy excitement of this ‘Camelot’
couple who, in private were never quite as enigmatic nor as genuine as they first
appeared. This episode also resurrects the Queen’s specter of jealousy, first
revealed to us in Season One’s fouled
up love affair between Princess Margaret and Group Captain Peter Townsend (Ben
Miles); also, to briefly reappear in Season
Two, penning a ‘Dear Margaret’
letter from Brussels after having fallen in love with his nineteen-year-old
secretary. There is little to contradict the sibling rivalry that existed
between Elizabeth, who, at least in her early years as sovereign, saw herself
as being chronically upstaged by her more spontaneous sister, and Margaret, who
likely held onto her resentment over being denied this one true love –
especially since the nation was in favor of their love match. Hence, the Crown’s
only basis for rejecting Margaret’s plans to wed Townsend was tradition (a
Royal could not marry a divorcee). Yet, even this remains a fairly flimsy
excuse, since the same scrutiny was then never applied to Tony Armstrong-Jones’
checkered sexual escapades, despite the Queen openly knowing the particulars
about his laissez faire lifestyle. Thus, Elizabeth’s acquiescence to Margaret’s
wedding, at least in hindsight, plays rather ruthlessly with a twisted
satisfaction for seeing the Princess clearly walking into a trap, destined to
lead her into an unhappy life.
As the age of
deference grows fainter still in the annals of mid-20th century history,
The Crown: Season Two concentrates on
the steady decline of England’s sovereignty around the world and the Queen’s own
troubled marriage. This, Philip openly refers to as ‘a prison’. The second
season begins with a ‘misadventure’ in Lisbon. It is Feb. 1957, and the Queen
has arrived on the Britannia to confront Philip’s philandering head-on after
discovering a photograph of a Russian ballerina, Galina Ulanova (Aliya
Tanikpaeva), among his personal possessions. Meanwhile, Chancellor of the Exchequer Harold
Macmillan questions Prime Minister Anthony Eden’s (Jeremy Northam) proposed war
against the Egyptian government after a rebel faction has taken over the Suez
Canal with its complicity. Philip’s
uncle, Earl Mountbatten (Greg Wise) attempts to do damage control, forewarning the
Queen of Eden’s secret arrangement for the Israeli invasion of Sinai. Too late,
the invasion proves a disaster, further weakening Britain’s financial resolve
and reputation around the world. A disgraced Eden retreats to Jamaica ‘for his
health’, leaving Macmillan to stage his coup, gaining favor within the cabinet and
ousting Eden from power upon his return home. Meanwhile, to alleviate concerns
about her crumbling marriage, Elizabeth sends Philip, along with his private
secretary, Michael Parker (Daniel Ings) on a trip to the Antarctic. Michael’s carousing
has rubbed off on the Duke, who prefers the company of men to ‘home life’. Philip
is briefly enamored with a female reporter who incurs his wrath when she begins
probing into his past.
As absence makes
the heart grow fonder, Philip misses his wife and family and desires to return
to England. Alas, Parker’s spouse, Eileen (Chloe Pirrie) has had quite enough
of her husband’s job, and his philandering. She files for divorce, igniting a
powder keg of speculation about the Duke’s wayward behavior. Unable to quell
these reports, the Queen’s private secretary, Michael Adeane (Will Keen) engages
the man whom he replaced, Tommy Lascelles (Pip Torrens). Recognizing the
precariousness of the situation, Philip demands Parker’s resignation, effective
immediately. He is let off their ship before the end of the journey to face the
press alone as Philip sails for England. To reassure the nation of the fidelity
in her own marriage, Elizabeth makes Philip a prince; His Royal Highness, Prince
Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Season Two’s
focus shifts to the other Royal sister’s foibles and flubs. Cynical to a fault,
Margaret briefly accepts a proposal of marriage from Billy Wallace (Nick
Hendrix) – a long-time friend, favored by the Queen, who is seemingly the safe
bet for a happy marriage. Alas, his newfound popularity goes to his head, and
Wallace quickly makes an ass of himself, incurring Margaret’s disgust. She
breaks off their engagement but quickly becomes enamored with the photographer,
Antony Armstrong-Jones. He invites her to his studio for a sitting. The photo,
inferring nudity, is then circulated to the newspapers, who have a field day
with it. Meanwhile, at Number Ten Downing Street, Prime Minister Macmillan’s
wife, Dorothy (Sylvestra Le Touzel) promises her husband she will end her own
extramarital affair. Alas, sometime later, he overhears her on the telephone to
her lover, clearly with no intension of ending this romance.
The House of
Windsor is rocked again; this time by the aggressive authorship of Lord
Altrincham, a failed politico and publisher of his own magazine, who claims the
Queen and the monarchy are outdated relics who fail to comprehend how the world
has swiftly morphed with no real place or purpose for them. Altrincham is
briefly despised for these political views. However, a public appearance on a
popular TV show illustrates Altrincham’s fervent support of a sovereign that
can keep up with the times. His no-nonsense approach to ‘updating’ the monarchy
makes a lot of sense and his sudden flourish of popularity with the average
Englander causes the Queen to secretly – and rather begrudgingly – engage Altrincham
in a conversation. Following Altrincham’s suggestions, the Queen broadcasts her
first Christmas Blessing – a bitter pill to swallow. Six months later, the
Queen Mother (Victoria Hamilton) laments the Crown’s steady decline in
authority, resentful, even for having to co-host a garden party with her
daughter, welcoming ‘commoners’ to the palace. Meanwhile, the Queen receives a
request from her uncle, the exiled Edward, to briefly return to England,
presumably to conduct research on a book. In reality, Edward is plotting to
garner support from long-time friends in the hopes of being reinstated to some
political position by the Queen that will benefit the Crown. Elizabeth allows
Edward some latitude here. She has, in fact, always harbored a soft spot for
her father’s brother, who stepped aside to wed Wallace Simpson.
Alas, Edward and
Wallace’s life abroad, living handsomely in France, has degenerated since into
a passionless and superficial existence that has bored them both to the brink
of separation. The Queen, along with the rest of the nation, becomes spellbound
by the preaching of a young American evangelist, Billy Graham (Paul Sparks),
whom she invites to the palace for a private tête à tête after learning of
secret files that reveal Edward conspired with the Nazi High Command to
undermine England’s chances for survival during WWII in exchange for a possible
reinstatement to palace life. While Graham advises the Queen on forgiveness, Elizabeth
instead denies Edward any hope of pursuing his political ambitions now, and
furthermore reinstates his exile in perpetuity. Learning of her former lover’s
intent to wed his teenage secretary, Margaret willfully throws herself at Tony
Armstrong-Jones’ head. He resists at first, much preferring the company of his
male friend, Jeremy Fry (Ed Cooper) and his wife, Camilla (Yolanda Kettle); the
trio engaging regularly in ménage à trois, during which Camilla becomes
pregnant with Tony’s love child. Suspecting something, but never imagining the
depth of Tony’s depravity, the Queen has him investigated by Adeane and
Lascelles. Their findings cause Elizabeth to go into premature labor. Nevertheless,
she grants Margaret’s request to wed Tony; the marriage taking place with pomp
and flourish at Westminster Abbey.
The Queen next
invites newly-inaugurated U.S. President John F. Kennedy and his wife Jacqueline
Bouvier to a state dinner at Buckingham Palace; quite taken aback by everyone’s
giddy excitement over meeting the First Lady.
Elizabeth is marginally envious of Jackie. Nevertheless, the women bond
over their mutual shyness in public and their love of dogs. This friendship is
tested when Jackie later becomes inebriated at another house party and
grotesquely makes fun of the Crown as lacking substance or style to weather the
storm of changing times. The Queen feels this sting when Ghana’s President
Kwame Nkrumah (Danny Sepani) threatens to sever all ties with England in favor
of an alliance with Soviet Russia. Applying her considerable charm, Elizabeth
engages Nkrumah in a spirited fox trot during their planned state dinner. The
picture makes it into all the papers. Moreover, it illustrates the Queen’s
ability to ‘progress’ with the times. Embarrassed by her loose tongue, Jackie apologizes
to Elizabeth and allows for insight into her own troubled marriage to J.F.K.
The Queen is sympathetic. When John Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas, Elizabeth
orders the flags flown at half-staff and Big Ben to strike every minute on the
hour as a sign of tribute to the fallen President. She also sends Jackie a
personal letter of sympathy.
Determined Prince
Charles should be stirred from his sensitive strain, Philip orders him to
attend the Scottish Gordonstoun School for Boys. This forced pilgrimage will
not go smoothly. Charles, like his father before him, is put upon by his
classmates. While Charles endures the slings and arrows of his contemporaries,
Philip recalls a painful episode from his own past; the death of his beloved
sister, Cecile and her entire family in a horrific plane wreck. The funeral, held
in Nazi Germany is blamed on Philip by his embittered stepfather. Meanwhile,
Charles fails to complete a test of endurance at Gordonstoun, causing Philip
considerable humiliation. Upon his trip home for the summer holidays, Philip admonishes
Charles as ‘bloody weak’. Deeply wounded, Charles retreats into his shell; the
epitaph to this episode acknowledging how deeply traumatizing those five long
years at Gordonstoun were for the impressionable future King. Season
Two rounds out with yet another public scandal embroiling the House of
Windsor. It seems the government’s Secretary of State for War, John Profumo
(Tim Steed) and model, Christine Keeler (Gala Gordon) have been carrying on;
not, entirely shocking, except that both have been linked to wild parties given
by London
osteopath, Stephen Ward (Richard Lintern), also attended by KGB agents, and, a
mystery man, bearing an uncanny resemblance – at least, from the back – to Prince
Philip.
Early, Ward had
successfully treated His Royal Highness for a stiff neck. But now, he may well
have encouraged a liaison between Philip and Christine – at least, as suspected
by the Queen. At the same instance, Elizabeth and Margaret both discover they
are pregnant. Margaret has since become invested in overhauling the residence
she shares with Tony, who is frequently away on business for his publisher. It seems Margaret’s passion for her
husband has already cooled; the couple, experiencing the pang of mutual regret.
Ward is charged with ‘immorality offences’ and put on trial. Unable to
reconcile his past with his present, Ward quietly commits suicide. In
investigating his death, police unearth a hand-drawn portrait of Philip among Ward’s
private effects. An embarrassed Macmillan begs Elizabeth to accept his
resignation. She, at first, resists, demanding the Prime Minister face up to
his duties to the Crown. Macmillan, instead, suffers a medical emergency. Wheeled
out on a stretcher before Her Majesty, Macmillan resigns – to be succeeded by
Alec Douglas-Home. Now, the Queen confronts her husband about his past – the photograph
of Ulanova. She further demands to know
if he is the ‘mystery man’ in the published photograph. Although Philip admits
to his casual acquaintance with Ward, he emphatically denies ever having
attended any of Ward’s parties. Philip reaffirms his love and support, and
Elizabeth gives birth to their fourth child; the family photograph, staged by
imminent photographer, Cecil Beaton (Mark Tandy), yet never to reveal beyond
the public façade of a seemingly contented Royal household.
The Crown: Season Two is entertaining
but uneven. Martin Childs’ production design is peerless, the art direction
duties handed over to Eddy Andres, Renátó Cseh, Kirk Doman and Hedvig Kiraly,
with exemplary period costuming by Jane Petrie; all of it beautifully
photographed by Adriano Goldman and Stuart Howell, lending a genuine air of stateliness to these proceedings. You need not be a devout ‘Royal watcher’ to appreciate what the
show’s creator, Peter Morgan has achieved herein. But it will be interesting to
see if Morgan is able to sustain his franchise following the seismic shift in
casting, shortly to follow for Season
Three. Early glimpses of Olivia Colman as an elder Queen Elizabeth are not
very reassuring, especially since Claire Foy’s high-caliber performance has put
a personal imprint on Elizabeth’s mastery, both in deportment and mannerisms befitting
England’s longest ruling monarch. Most important of all, Foy has found the core
of the character – layering the heart and soul of the woman wearing the tiara, in
spite of Elizabeth’s outward austerity. Aside: I sincerely wonder what the real
Elizabeth must think of seeing her family’s foibles and triumphs played out in
dumb show. The Crown, while blessed
with insight and drawing on a plethora of source materials to create its
content (some embellished, purely for entertainment purposes), is nevertheless,
not all-together a flattering portrait of either the Queen or the monarchy. In
another time, Morgan would have been tried for heresy for some of these
opinions and conjecture put forth herein. Alas, in an age where constitutional
republics are the norm and monarchies the exception, The Crown compels our enduring fascination with those who dwell at
Buckingham Palace.
The rest of the
show’s cast are solidly situated, particularly Matt Smith’s poignantly played
Philip and Vanessa Kirby’s bubbly/oft volcanic, Princess Margaret. Matthew
Goode is a welcomed addition to Season
Two – a genuine presence amidst the ebb and flow of many accomplished
English talents who, nevertheless, lack the enigmatic presence to stand in
relief from the ever-evolving cavalcade of faces. Still, nothing quite fills
the void left behind by John Lithgow’s Winston Churchill: Jeremy Northam, a
very fine actor, nonetheless eclipsed, and Anton Lesser – not quite up to snuff
– are unable to capture the essential quality of being memorable as Churchill’s
short-lived successors. Unlike the intrigues that played out in Season One – simultaneously as independently
plotted episodes, yet dove-tailing into an overall more grandly constructed arc,
building into the full season’s narrative storytelling, the vignettes on
display in Season Two have a curious
episodic quality, lacking the necessary connective tissue to glue all of the
pieces together in the mind for binge-watchers. In the final analysis, Season Two is not as good as Season One, and that’s a pity. Even the
penultimate ‘farewell’ family photograph finale seems more perfunctorily ‘an ending’ then a fitting goodbye to a
roster of talents who will not be returning for the rest of the franchise. Pity
that too.
The Crown: Season Two arrives on
Blu-ray via Sony Home Entertainment. The Season premiered in hi-def in the U.K.
nearly three weeks prior to its release in North America. Both sets are region
free, so the delay on this side of the pond, as it were, is really odd and just
plain silly. As with all home video product made and released via Sony Inc. The Crown: Season Two is a quality
affair with virtually no complaints. Aside: I detected one fleeting instance of
edge effects on the front grill of a car. Otherwise, the image here is
rock-solid and utterly gorgeous. Colors are rich and vibrant. Flesh tones are
accurate. Contrast is bang-on. The Crown
was shot digitally, so grain structure is not an issue. This looks superb and
will surely not disappoint. The 5.1 DTS audio is as engaging with good solid
spread across all channels – dialogue, mostly front and center. Extras are
confined to a few very brief featurettes with Brit-born historian/author,
Robert Lacey – basic junket material that never digs deep into the ‘making of’ this incredibly nuanced
series. We also get a stills gallery. Bottom line: while Season Two is not as good as Season
One, it’s still above virtually 99% of what passes in today’s television
programming for quality fare. Foy has made The
Crown her own and a genuine winner, even when the story lines momentarily blather
on and secondary characters fail to make much of a splash. The Blu-ray is reference
quality with minor caveats. Highly recommended.
FILM RATING (out of 5 – 5 being the best)
4
VIDEO/AUDIO
4.5
EXTRAS
2
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