Timely Stuff: "The Crown" Hates The Monarchy, Actually

In Timely Stuff, Hayley reviews period dramas currently available for streaming and decides whether they’re worth your time or not. 

Yes, my original plan was to dedicate this column to the lesser-known period dramas available on Netflix. HOWEVER….who cares. I just revisited season one of The Crown with my parents who had never seen it before and coincidentally I have some new thoughts. Some “timely stuff,” if you will.

I have previously argued that they made The Crown too soon, and I stand by it. But this particular re-watch made me realize that the crux of The Crown, and why it is so compelling, is that it simultaneously dehumanizes the monarchy while humanizing everyone it affects. Upon this viewing of the first season in its totality (probably my third) I came to one very specific conclusion: The Crown hates the monarchy, actually, and is showing you just how insidious it is. 

The figurative, monolithic Crown in The Crown is the constant against which all its characters are measured. They ebb and flow but ultimately get smacked back down by the Crown every time. Each season spins a deeper, darker web of what the monarchy is hiding and how far its players will go to maintain its reputation. I’d argue that each subsequent season only makes a deeper case for it to dissolve completely.

We watch Elizabeth (Claire Foy) constantly unable to keep promises and make her own choices because she has to be both a mother and the Crown, a wife and the Crown, a sister and the Crown, a real human and the fake Crown. Yes, the Crown is an imperialist stain on history and its atrocities will never be forgotten. But, it’s clear that the show is taking the stance that this all-consuming abuse also applies to the very people it represents. There are no winners under the Crown, something that some characters understand in their bones (Margaret) and something that others spend their lives trying to navigate (Elizabeth). 

Everyone in this show gets to be a multidimensional, flawed character. The reason why I love period dramas is because when done well, they’re just intensive character studies. And this show in particular is obsessed with hitting you over the head with the complexity of its characters and it works because every single performance is a banger. Philip, in particular, played with a sneering insecurity by Matt Smith, lets us see all the ways that intergenerational trauma is a very real and very dangerous thing (something that is unpacked in more detail in season two). His progressive attitudes only apply to a handful of things, otherwise he is woefully regressive, a man trapped by the patriarchy and the Crown in ways he never envisioned. 

All of the performances are incredible. I love Jared Harris so much, and I am glad that this show utilizes time jumps effectively so that we get more of him after King George dies. Vanessa Kirby is just perfect as Princess Margaret, stitching together a performance that is both petulant and tender. It’s clear that of all the people in this stodgy Crown soup, Margaret has the most realistic grip on how awful this existence is while trying to cling to whatever fleeting moments of hope and comfort she can find. Pip Torrens is a perfectly stuffy Tommy Lascelles, your favorite royal family fixer/man who has never smiled in his life, even as a child. He frustrates you endlessly and he is very good at it. (Pip Torrens is also in Versailles, where he is incredibly compelling although it is not hard to outshine most of those performances.) 

The Crown also does something tricky incredibly well: Showing the ways in which different generations have been affected by the Crown, and how they all worship it even though they all have contempt for the many ways it has destroyed their families. People have died or been killed, family members have been thrown into exile, and relationships have been torn apart, but they just can’t quit the Crown. 

Quick nerdy historical side note: Elizabeth’s grandmother, the Queen Mary, was married to King George V, who was the first cousin of Czar Nicholas of Russia (aka Anastasia’s dad). Nicholas asked George if his family could seek asylum in England when political tensions were rising in Russia. King George denied Nicholas’ request because it wasn’t seen as prudent to associate with the Czar and his family or Russia in general at that point in time and they worried about the reputation of the Crown. Then as I am sure you know, the Czar and his family were executed by firing squad, but the bullets ricocheted off of the jewels sewn into his daughters’ coats, so they were also stabbed to death. A whole family murdered by their own countrymen, and their only escape ticket out was denied because of *Toy Story Alien voice* THE CROWN!!!!

Anyway, Queen Mary (Eileen Atkins) encapsulates her unwavering loyalty to the Crown perfectly in her letter to Elizabeth, where she states that upholding the Crown is the only thing that matters. Queen Mary watched the royal family navigate two world wars plus an abdication, as well as the premature death of her son, the King who never should have been King. And yet she firmly stands by the Crown because she believes that it is an institution greater than any human trifles. And this is how the cycle of abuse continues. When institutions are held in higher regard than human lives, it, uh, never goes well (see also: the Catholic Church).

In real life, I don’t think there is any amount of reparations that can be made to lessen the damage made by the Crown around the world. (Which isn’t to say they shouldn’t even try.) Every day, as political frustrations come to a head and people continue to organize and fight and resist against their oppressors, I feel hope, dread, exhaustion, and promise. The outlet that The Crown gives me right now is a reminder that systemic oppression will always come in a glamorous and glossy little package to distract you from what’s inside. I find that kind of realism comforting. The Crown lets us peek into an enormous glass castle where each person is trapped inside, flicking pebbles at the walls and wondering if anyone is actually going to pick up a stone. 

The Crown (2016-)

The first season of Netflix’s The Crown has ten 52-minute episodes. 

Pros: It’s a top-tier period drama with all the appropriate fixings: costume, makeup, set design, decoration…the gang’s all here. Incredible performances. Great score.

Cons: Will make you want to smoke a cigarette. Also, #whitepeopleproblems, but I think that’s implied.

Do I recommend it? If you somehow haven’t seen The Crown yet, then yes, I recommend! Duh!

If you missed Hayley’s review of “Medici: Masters of Florence” you can read it here. If you have a show in mind that you want covered on Timely Stuff email goldplatedgirls@gmail.com and let Hayley know!

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