The biggest success ofThe Crownthus far is how it’s able to work from a pro-monarchist standpoint and have its audience take the standpoint completely seriously. The monarchy, as it exists post-war, is a completely ridiculous institution, but in its first three seasons, showrunnerPeter Morganwas able to use it as a way to tell a story of personal desire running up against public responsibility and use that as a lens on Britain’s postwar history. That approach was largely successful, but in its fourth season, the show introduces the monarchy’s biggest challenge in the form of Princess Diana (Emma Corrin), and a show that has always been able to provide a sense of real stakes now starts to play as melodramatic. Its focus has become scattered, and there’s no longer a strong center asThe Crownstrains to find relevancy for leads that are now supporting players.
The CrownSeason 4, the show presents two new major players whose modernity challenges the tradition of the monarchy. The first is Margaret Thatcher (Gillian Anderson), a neoliberal conservative whose austerity policies and warmongering tendencies offend the more diplomatic sensibilities of Queen Elizabeth II (Olivia Colman). The other is Princess Diana, who weds Prince Charles (Josh O’Connor) even though he’s love with the married Camilla Parker Bowles (Emerald Fennell), which takes a serious toll on Diana. As England moves through the 1980s, Elizabeth begins to see that the traditions she’s based her life on may no longer hold as the 20th century begins to close.
From a technical standpoint,The Crownremains one of Netflix’s finest dramas. The production design is unparalleled, the cast is outstanding, and it puts the “prestige” into “prestige TV.” There’s been no drop off in the quality of the production, which makes the wobbly writing even more apparent. Since the season is largely divided between Thatcher and Diana, you have some terrific Thatcher episodes and some really shaky Diana episodes, and unlike Season 2, which has been the show’s strongest thus far, there’s no major arc that ties everything together.The Crownhas always been somewhat episodic, but in previous seasons each episode was stunningly strong, and in Season 4, that’s no longer the case.
Season 4 is at its best with Anderson’s Thatcher, and the show delicately threads the needle between showing her as a formidable political force while also making no bones about her coldhearted and myopic policies that clash with Elizabeth’s more generous (if somewhat naïve) tendencies. This leads to terrific episodes like “Favourites” and especially “Fagan”, which is based on the true story of a desperate man who broke into Buckingham Palace just to have a chat with the Queen.The Crownshines when it explores Elizabeth’s relationship with the political realm, and Season 4 is no different.
But the show seriously falters with Diana. The issue with Diana is that she was, to be blunt, treated quite cruelly by the Royal Family, and since the show is pro-monarchy, it struggles to relate that cruelty as anything more than being merely misguided. That leaves Diana in an awkward position as both a tragic figure but also somewhat childish and naïve. The show seems hesitant to provide a strong take on her character, so you get rough episodes like “Terra Nullius” where a royal employee is lecturing Diana about her duties or Diana is going to the Queen for a hug, and that explodes the bounds of not only real-world credulity, but also the reality the show has set for itself.The Crownprides itself on verisimilitude and that starts to fall away in Season 4.
To be fair, Season 4 exists in an awkward middle ground for the series. It’s a time when Charles and Diana’s marriage is rocky but hasn’t completely imploded.The Crownneeded to cover this time period, but it also feels more like a bridge to the show’s endgame. The focus is moving away from Elizabeth (it’s called “The Crown”, not “The Queen”, after all) and onto how Charles and Diana’s marriage and eventual divorced rocked the monarchy, but that drama feels like it’s being stored for the final two seasons when you have more established actors likeDominic WestandElizabeth Debickitaking over the roles. Season 4 ofThe Crowndoesn’t signal a downturn for the series (and the rough construction of some of the episodes makes me feel like COVID may have been a factor as filming wrapped in February), but hopefully the show will rebound in its final two seasons.
