Elizabeth Debicki as Princess Diana, Rufus Kampa as Prince William and Fflyn Edwards as Prince Harry … [+]
Is there a problem with the first part of the sixth and final season of The Crown, the fictionalized Netflix drama inspired by the lives of the British royal family? As reviewed by the British media, there are many, indeed.
The show seems to be nothing less than a “disaster,” as a recent headline in The Guardian huffs: “‘Royally lost the plot’: How The Crown went from prestige drama to TV disaster.”
Among other epithets, the paper describes it as “trashy…soapy…unwittingly comical… bordering on the exploitative.” One of the paper’s reviewers, Lucy Mangan, “found it so excruciating to watch” that she felt like she was having an “out-of-body experience.”
A Disappointing New Low?
Princess Diana at a fund raising gala dinner for the American Red Cross in Washington, wearing a … [+]
Other critics have called it “clumsy and crass,” “ill-judged and outrageous,” “pointless and sad,” “a disappointing new low” and “a very pretty bore.”
The Guardian concludes its verdict: “Let’s call them ‘mixed reviews,’ shall we?”
The BBC is equally critical, dismissing it in a headline as a “clumsy, predictable end to the Royal Family drama.” The article complains that “the show, once ‘a joy,’ has failed to right the terrible flaws of the last season.”
For the broadcaster, the problems start with the very first scene of a man walking his dog in Paris, near the Eiffel Tower. “We know what’s coming. A black car speeds into a tunnel, followed by more cars and motorcycles, and the sound of a deadly crash.”
For the critic, “that scene, with a trajectory so familiar, points to what’s weakest about this new season. Instead of righting the near-disaster of last season, it leans into its flaws, including the miscasting of the earthy Dominic West as Prince Charles and the endless, unenlightening reconstructions of the real images and videos that have become part of the culture, recognizable around the world even to viewers too young to remember the 1990s or Diana’s death first-hand.”
The Ghost Of Diana
Princess Diana, and her sons, during the last summer of her life at the property of Mohamad Al Fayed … [+]
One of the swimsuits that Lady Diana wears during her last summer, creted by the same company that … [+]
Princess Diana in St. Tropez in the summer of 1997, shortly before she and boyfriend Dodi Fayed were … [+]
Another major debilitating factor for the media has come with the appearances several times of Princess Diana’s ghost. “After her death, Princess Diana is seen returning to Prince Charles and Queen Elizabeth II as a ghost—which has infuriated some viewers,” writes The Mirror in an article entitled “Netflix The Crown slammed as Princess Diana’s ghost makes an appearance in bizarre scenes.”
With the headline “The Crown, season 6, review: The show reaches a creative dead end with Diana’s ghostly return,” The Telegraph finds the first four episodes “intrusive and clumsy.” The criticism emphasizes that the “Netflix jewel hits a dead end” as the new season is “haunted by Princess Diana’s bizarre ghost” appearing to comfort the then-Prince of Wales (now king) and to give advice to the late Queen Elizabeth.
By the way, Dodi al-Fayed’s ghost also makes an appearance to comfort his grieving father.
The first three episodes of the season deal mainly with the last two months before the death of Princess Diana (played by Elizabeth Debicki) in a car crash in Paris, along with her boyfriend, the Egyptian film producer Dodi al-Fayed (played by Khalid Abdalla) and their driver.
The fourth episode focuses on the crash and the funeral and all are recreated with, as The Guardian complains, “a truly punishing level of detail.”
While the first four episodes are already streaming on Netflix, the final six episodes will be released on December 14, Netflix has said.
The second part of the season will get into happier times in the lives of the royal family with events like the Queen’s Golden Jubilee, Prince Charles and Camilla’s wedding and the university romance of Prince William with Kate Middleton.
“In the final six episodes, we’ll see Queen Elizabeth II (Imelda Staunton) reflect on her reign and look ahead to a time when her successors will take the throne,” Netflix said in a press release.
Never Alone
Rufus Kampa, Elizabeth Debicki, and Fflyn Edwards at the Los Angeles premiere of Netflix’s “The … [+]
William, Harry and Diana at the Hyde Park celebration of the 50th anniversary of the end of World … [+]
Divorced from Prince Charles, the princess has moved away from the royal family, is involved in a number of charities and has become an iconic international figure beset by press and public attention. Charles, for his part, is “scrambling to bolster his and Camilla’s (Olivia Williams) public image, using royal ‘spin doctor’ Mark Bolland (Ben Lloyd-Hughes) to make him a ‘broadsheet prince’ in contrast to Diana’s ‘tabloid princess,’” The New York Times writes.
But the first part of the season really belongs to Diana and Dodi and their budding summer romance orchestrated by his father, Mohamed Al-Fayed (with all the opulence that his riches can offer the beleaguered princess). The relationship is destined to end in tragedy amid the endless cycle of harassment from the paparazzi that follow her everywhere—including to Al-Fayed’s private yacht, the Jonikal, where she’s trying to escape for a “private” vacation and her new idyll.
The ex-royal couple, as portrayed by Debicki and West
A Very Emblematic Photo
With the horde of paparazzi boats surrounding the Jonikal off the coasts of St. Tropez and Portofino, Diana, as played by Debicki, is at the top of her more mature beauty and glamor. As described by Mashable, she “shines in her brightly hued, flawless ’90s wardrobe of neon swimsuits and oversized Adidas tees on the sparkling seas.”
The photo in the poster to promote the final season is emblematic of what ails the new season:
The poster for season 6 of The Crown
Only a week before Diana’s untimely death in Paris, paparazzi captured her sitting on the diving board of the yacht. “What was intended to be a private vacation,” explains British Vogue, “quickly turned into a media circus after the British tabloids published photos of her kissing Dodi on board. Bids for those photos went up to £500,000. Although Diana always had a de-facto bounty on her head, it was now at an eye-watering and dangerous sum—especially as rumors that the Princess was pregnant, or engaged, began to swirl.”
Diana after a swim boards the Jonikal in July, 1997.
As a result, more paparazzi swarmed her entire trip, desperate to capture the princess and her new love interest. Far from shore, seating on that board, she seems isolated, when the reality was that she was never alone. The prying eyes of paparazzi lenses and the public’s fascination were always on her.
Until now, the historical drama has portrayed events and people long gone. Many of the protagonists were already dead and their circumstances history. But as the series progressed, viewers came closer and closer to real events happening in present time.
“The Crown has steadily caught up with modern times and this has become a mounting problem,” argues The Guardian. “Suddenly, most of its characters are alive, vocal and consulting their lawyers. Viewers now have vivid memories and their own takes. The closer The Crown creeps to the present, the more historical distance is lost and the more contentious it becomes.”
Despite the sixth season’s events happening 26 years ago, they still feel resonant in the present. Diana is still a very remembered and popular figure.
“The death of Diana, the tragedy of Diana, has been so well documented in so many different forms. It’s part of our mythology and it’s part of that story,” Netflix’s (producer of the series), Stephen Daldry said.
Diana and Dodi
The evolution of Diana’s and Dodi’s relationship as the show builds to the tragedy to come.
And that seems to be the root of the problem: what Mashable calls “the uncomfortable truth hiding within these episodes.”
This season of The Crown puts the audience in the place of the chasing paparazzi, then goes even further: inside the yacht, inside the rooms, inside the car in Paris.
“It feels like we’ve become the villains, elbowing our way into the final moments of a couple who tried desperately to escape such brutal attention. For six seasons we’ve happily been these voyeurs, keen for a glimpse inside Princess Margaret’s doomed relationship, the early courtship of the Queen and Prince Philip, and the awkward mechanics of Charles and Camilla’s affair, but in this final season, the need to be in the room where it happened suddenly feels wrong.”
