The Crown

[icepixie]

I'm a season into The Crown and am enjoying it a lot. However, I have a bone to pick. Namely, that Philip Is A Sexist Dick is not compelling drama. It is especially irksome when the much more compelling conflict of Establishment Monarchy vs. My Family Got Couped Out of Our Throne and I Want to Not Be Hanged in a Another Revolution, So Let's Modernize This Institution exists. The hint of that conflict in the coronation episode? Awesome! More, please! Wait, no...back to Whiny Sexist Dick. Okay.

By the end of the season it did get somewhat more nuanced, at least. I'm not unsympathetic to Philip getting bored because he doesn't really have a defined job like Elizabeth does, and it's more interesting than "My kids should have my last name because I'm a man!" and "I shouldn't have to kneel to the queen because I'm a man (whereas if the situation were reversed I would totally expect her to kneel to me)!" Yeah, yeah, historically accurate. Telling an interesting story trumps historical accuracy, IMO. Or make him a sexist asshole, but don't make plots pivot around it.

It would help if Matt Smith had any expressions beyond sneering from under his eyebrows. That is getting reeeeally old.

But by and large, that's the only thing I dislike about it. I wouldn't mind seeing the ratio of political to Windsor family drama shift more to the political--though, yes, technically Elizabeth can't actually do anything--but it's not bad the way it is. It's fun seeing Elizabeth come into her power but still think of herself as a regular, albeit upper class, person, like the scene where she asks the butler(?) if she can borrow the crown to practice with and he asks who she'd be borrowing it from. My favorite episode was "Scientia Potentia Est," since she was a girl after my own heart who recognized her lack of education, got pissed off about it, and got herself a tutor! I hope he sticks around. He was fun.

Comments

[wendelah1]

Telling an interesting story trumps historical accuracy, IMO.

See, I feel exactly the opposite about that plot. I loved that Peter Morgan portrayed their marriage realistically, complete with sexism and infidelity. The best thing about the series is how negatively it portrays the monarchy itself. I get why you find it offensive and I can see why you don't want to watch it but wanting a writer to change the character of a living person because you don't think it's...entertaining enough?

I always want the true story in a historical drama; otherwise I feel like I'm being lied to. The first thing we did after watching each episode was check the history books for accuracy. If a writer thinks history has to be changed to make it a "better story," maybe that writer should turn to straight fiction. Change the names, write what they want.

We have months and months to go before we'll get to see season two (wait for the dvd release--very slow since this is Netflix, wait for the library to be able to order it--they only use one supplier, wait in the queue) so I envy you.

[icepixie]

I don't find it offensive, per se, I'm just sort of bewildered why, when they have a story about someone with rather an exceptional lot of history, being aged 90 and change, they would focus on what to me seem like the parts that are less interesting to an audience in 2018, rather than the parts that have what seem, again to me, to have more universal appeal. It's not that I want them to change Philip's character, but they've got 60+ years of character to work with. Of necessity they have to leave things out. I'd rather they left these things out rather than what they have left out. YMMV.

If a writer thinks history has to be changed to make it a "better story," maybe that writer should turn to straight fiction.

I feel like they've done this with Churchill! :)

[wendelah1]

I had no idea there were fictional renditions of Churchill, but then I know so little about him to begin with, I might not have known what I was watching.

For better or worse, Morgan is fixated on the romantic travails of the royal family: Edward's affair with Wallis Simpson and Princess Margaret's affair with Peter Townsend both get a lot of screen time. A focus on the Queen's marital woes is thematically consistent, at least. And all of these romantic dilemmas derive much of their impetus from the monarchy itself, "The Crown."

I'm arguing in Morgan's favor because I think he made the right choices dramatically to appeal to a broad, international audience. I missed out on the historical nuance of "Establishment Monarchy vs. My Family Got Couped Out of Our Throne and I Want to Not Be Hanged in a Another Revolution, So Let's Modernize This Institution," probably because I know almost nothing about European history, and even less about European monarchies.

Normally I pass over historical dramas but I found "The Crown" to be utterly captivating.

[icepixie]

I had no idea there were fictional renditions of Churchill, but then I know so little about him to begin with, I might not have known what I was watching.

It's mostly a.) Venetia Scott's existence and her death, and Churchill's reaction to it, and b.) the idea he suggested holding Elizabeth's coronation so far out because he wanted to stay in power rather than because it's a massive event that takes more than five months to plan. (George IV just got slotted into Edward VIII's planned coronation.) To be honest, I haven't read much about Churchill either, and even less about his second time around in Parliament, which gets glossed over.

I missed out on the historical nuance of "Establishment Monarchy vs. My Family Got Couped Out of Our Throne and I Want to Not Be Hanged in a Another Revolution, So Let's Modernize This Institution," probably because I know almost nothing about European history, and even less about European monarchies.

That one's in the episode--Philip says he was shipped out of Greece in an orange crate during a revolution, and they're courting revolution here if they don't modernize the coronation/monarchy. I was sad they didn't follow up on that after dangling it so tantalizingly. (Although, hopefully without spoiling anything, I was happy to see Philip's past acknowledged more in season two.)