SEASON 4 INDIVIDUAL REVIEWS:
Episode 7: THE HEREDITARY PRINCIPLE
I’m pretty impressed at how THE CROWN continues to top itself as each season comes and goes. SEASON 4 so far is the best when it comes to its production, filming and acting. Though I initially had some reservations when we began with this new cast in Season 3, Season 4 completely won me over, and I am so bummed that they are done and we have to get used to a new cast all over again for Seasons 5 & 6. Olivia Colman (ELIZABETH) and Josh O’Connor (CHARLES) in particular did great, and that’s in part because of the newcomers they had to play off of.
Gillian Anderson (THATCHER) and Emma Corrin (DIANA) were exemplary, giving depth, weight and dimension to these two famous/controversial British figures. Regardless of how one feels about them historically, I feel to not give credit to these performances greatly diminishes Season 4. Corrin’s Diana is most definitely a highlight, as we are given a new interpretation of the her we could only have imagined behind the scenes and pomp & circumstance. I’m again bummed that Corrin is only in this season, as the role of Diana will also be passed to another for the remainder of the show.
Diana’s strength & presence however is a double-edged sword, and leads to my only criticism of the season: the writing. Whatever feelings & leanings creator Peter Morgan has on the Royal Family, I appreciated how a sense of objectivity was maintained throughout the show since it started. If there was any conflict with two parties on issues, the show frames itself to understand both and ultimately leave it to the viewer who to decide with or be in the middle. That objectivity was steadily lost by the end of the season to the point of siding with Diana against the Royal Family, and I wonder if that could be because of the media martyrdom of her built up since 1997.
Despite that, I still greatly enjoyed this season. My highlights are THE BALMORAL TEST, FAIRYTALE, THE HEREDITARY PRINCIPLE, and 48:1.
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