"The Crown" Year Three

The third season of Netflix's "The Crown" brings many changes. Nearly the entire cast has been replaced as the series barrels forward in time several years from the end of season two. These latest ten episodes cover roughly 1964 to 1976, the period of British history when Harold Wilson (Jason Watkins) served as Prime Minister. A more mature Queen Elizabeth II is now played by Olivia Colman, Prince Philip by Tobias Menzies, and Princess Margaret by Helena Bonham Carter. Also making their debuts as they become prominent in public life are Princess Anne (Erin Doherty) and Prince Charles (Josh O'Connor). Series creator Peter Morgan, however, still has writing credits on every single episode.

So, when you get past the cast list, it's business as usual at "The Crown." Moments from history are used as entry points into the heads of the royal family. Each new crisis and occasion becomes an opportunity for further character study, whether it's the moon landing giving Prince Philip an existential crisis or Charles' investiture as Prince of Wales sparking a confrontation with his mother. The interpersonal drama is almost wholly invented fiction, but still contains well-observed grains of truth that are fascinating to examine. There's ample material for Morgan to work with here, including the romance of Charles and the future Duchess Camilla (Emerald Fennell), Margaret's highly publicized tour of America, and conspiracy theories about a governmental coup lead by Lord Mountbatten (Charles Dance). At times the speculative nature of the plotting feels like it's crossing a few too many lines, but at other times it manages to present some fresh insights and points of view. Phillip's deeply uncomfortable encounter with the Apollo 11 astronauts is just a delight.

The high point of the season, however, is the dramatization of the Aberfan disaster, where a mining waste tip collapsed and buried a school, killing dozens of children. Similar to the recent "Chernobyl" miniseries, it is a clear-eyed view of a horrific national tragedy. However, it also provides the opportunity for us to see characters like Margaret and Philip in a new context, and ends with Elizabeth musing over whether her role as queen may be eroding her humanity. It's one of several recent examples of television drama being used to bring attention to a largely forgotten corner of history. However, it's also emblematic of the season being a fairly glum and harrowing one. Everyone is unhappy, the country seems to be perpetually in a state of crisis, and the Royals rarely score any wins, either public or personal. One of the lighter episodes is spent chronicling the production of a notoriously tone-deaf documentary about the Royal family.

And yet, I found it difficult to stop watching. And that shouldn't be a surprise, with all these world class actors playing all these larger than life characters. Colman is very different than Claire Foy, and operates in a more subdued register, but she can summon the ice and fire when she needs them. I prefer Menzies to Matt Smith as Philip, partially because the character seem to have mellowed with age. His frustrations manifest differently, and his relationship with Elizabeth has changed. Some of the best surprises are the smaller performances, like Clancy Brown as a boisterous Lyndon B. Johnson and Lane Lapotaire as Princess Alice, Philip's estranged mother. Doherty and O'Conner are both fantastic as Anne and Charles, and I look forward to their further appearances in the next season.

"The Crown" retains its high production values and prestige treatment, but I still found it very accessible and entertaining television. I'm going to miss the previous cast, but it was the right decision to recast and regroup. My only worry is that the weaker episodes have been centered around rocky romantic relationships, notably Charles and Margaret's, and there's a lot more material in this vein inevitably coming our way. Oddly, the show has backed off from Elizabeth and Philip's marital troubles, which were so central to the past seasons. And that's a shame, because I was looking forward to seeing Colman and Menzies really clash.

On the other hand, there's plenty to look forward to. I can't wait to see Gillian Anderson next year as Margaret Thatcher.
---