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Her Royal Highness Olivia Colman returns for her second and final run as the middle-aged Queen Elizabeth II. In this fourth season of The Crown, the Queen sees the trials and tribulations erupting outside of her household with the notorious Margeret Thatcher, and inside due to the rifts caused by Diana, the Princess of Wales, and the positive public attention she receives.
From the get-go, the current season is superior to the third, which I felt was largely a hit-and-miss affair. This season ramps-up the drama as it dramatizes roughly a decade of famous British events from the Falklands War to Thatcher’s indifference to South African Apartheid.
Colman gives a worthy final performance as a Queen who has become very comfortable as the reigning monarch, much like Colman who seemed a little out of place last season through no fault of her own, as I believe it was due to the slightly jarring cast change. Along with Colman is Tobias Menzies as Prince Philip, Josh O’Connor as Prince Charles, and Helena Bonham Carter as Princess Margaret.
Menzies and Bonham Carter aren’t given too much to do this season, which is a shame since it’ll be their last. It’s especially a great shame for the latter, who often stole the show last season as the rebellion Princess Margaret, although it is understandable that their roles be somewhat reduced due to the focus this season takes.
At some point in this season, you may forget that this is supposed to be Colman’s show, and while she remains the main star throughout, the moment Emma Corrin appears as Diana Spencer you will forget that you’re watching The Crown and not a miniseries about the late Princess Diana.
The Crown is such a grand-spectacle of a costume drama with a lot of stuffy characters that Corrin’s performance instantly becomes breath of fresh air. Many will fall in love with her version of Diana, just like they did the real one. The historical figure will appear again next season played by Elizabeth Debicki, but who knows if she will be in Season 6?
And if the real royal family was truly annoyed by the dramatic license the series took with the first three seasons, then they are going to hate where this fourth season goes, because I have never seen the royals portrayed in such an unlikable fashion. Obviously, The Crown is a dramatization of known events with scenes that have been completely fictionalized, but it’s well known that certain members of the royal family weren’t too keen on Diana and her relationship with Prince Charles. The show takes such dramatic liberty that audiences will question whether the real royals really disliked Diana as much as their Netflix counterparts. If the public didn’t feel sorry for the treatment Diana faced in the royal family, then they will now, especially when Charles’s infatuation with Camilla Parker-Bowles begins to take center stage. Even when Diana is doing her absolute best she seems to be doing her absolute worst (according to the royals that is).
Another new face to the series is that of Margeret Thatcher, played by Sex Education star and X-Files alum, Gillian Anderson, who gives a very interesting performance. She has the movements of a mannequin and the voice of a chainsmoking pensioner, but weirdly enough – I didn’t hate it. In fact, her performance was so unique compared to all of the other actors that she ended up standing-out along with Corrin. Emmy-Award worthy? No, but a bad performance it is not.
The fourth season of The Crown is a binge-worthy watch but royal purists may be put off by the hostility of the Windsor family as portrayed in this drama.
The Crown Season Four launches worldwide on Sunday, 15th November, exclusively on Netflix.
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