“Sleep, Dearie Sleep”

• Creator: Peter Morgan
• Starring: Imelda Staunton, Leslie Manville, Jonathan Pryce, Dominic West, Ed McVey, Luther Ford

Grade: B+

Warning: Reviews of The Crown season 6 will contain spoilers.

There’s many reasons why I’ll never be the show runner of a television series, but one major factor is the anxiety of crafting a series finale. The show runner has to balance a great number of things when making a series finale: fan expectations, lingering plot threads, and providing a sense of finality that fits the overall tone of the show. Thankfully Peter Morgan was given the leg room to end The Crown on his own terms, as opposed to any number of shows that end prematurely. That he had real-life events to fall back on doesn’t hurt either. 

“Hope Street”

• Creator: Peter Morgan
• Starring: Imelda Staunton, Leslie Manville, Jonathan Pryce, Dominic West, Ed McVey, Luther Ford

Grade: C+

Warning: Reviews of The Crown season 6 will contain spoilers.

The Crown has made its reputation with its use of juxtapositions. How Peter Morgan has taken seemingly disconnected stories and finding a thematic connective tissue has paid off tremendously throughout its run. This batch of episodes hasn’t utilized the stylistic choice so explicitly yet, so it’s a bit curious to see the juxtaposition within Hope Street, as the results don’t always work.

“Ritz”

• Creator: Peter Morgan
• Starring: Imelda Staunton, Leslie Manville, Jonathan Pryce, Dominic West, Ed McVey, Luther Ford

Grade: B+

Warning: Reviews of The Crown season 6 will contain spoilers.

You had to wonder when The Crown would ever give Leslie Manville’s Princess Margaret the spotlight. You don’t cast a celebrated actor like Manville and have her sit in the background, occasionally delivering a line or two. And, given the show’s fondness for stories of Margaret, you had to wonder if there would be one final send-off for her before the finale. Thankfully we have Ritz, which examines Margaret’s still exorbitant lifestyle as she struggles with her health, and gives Manville the runway to deliver some Emmy-worthy moments.

“Alma Mater”

• Creator: Peter Morgan
• Starring: Imelda Staunton, Leslie Manville, Jonathan Pryce, Dominic West, Ed McVey, Luther Ford

Grade: B-

Warning: Reviews of The Crown season 6 will contain spoilers.

How did Kate Middleton and Prince William become entangled? I can only speak for myself, as someone who tuned out much of the royal family tabloid fodder of the early 2000s, so it’s been a bit of a curious mystery. What Alma Mater posits is that, as with many machinations throughout the course of the show, their meeting was never really something left up to chance.

“Ruritania”

• Creator: Peter Morgan
• Starring: Imelda Staunton, Leslie Manville, Jonathan Pryce, Dominic West, Ed McVey, Luther Ford

Grade: C+

Warning: Reviews of The Crown season 6 will contain spoilers.

Two episodes into the final stretch and it kind of feels like The Crown is playing the hits. Willsmania dealt with classic familial conflicts, albeit from an entirely new perspective. With Ruritania, the show returns to Elizabeth’s ever-evolving relationship with a new Prime Minister, this time in Tony Blair (Bertie Carvel). The head of state rightfully hasn’t factored into the show much lately, so when it became clear early on that Blair would dominate this episode, a flood of memories came rushing back. The Crown has mined great material out of Elizabeth’s dealings with the various Prime Ministers over the years, and Blair is an important historical figure, so hopefully Ruritania won’t be a one-off affair.

“Willsmania”

• Creator: Peter Morgan
• Starring: Imelda Staunton, Leslie Manville, Jonathan Pryce, Dominic West, Ed McVey, Luther Ford

Grade: B

Warning: Reviews of The Crown season 6 will contain spoilers.

Sounds plays an unexpected, minor role in Willsmania in getting into Prince William’s (Ed McVey) head space. In the opening moments, it comes as William drowns out the morning noise with music, followed by the ambient clicks and clacks as his father makes and eats his breakfast. But it’s all quickly eclipsed by the maniacal screams of William’s female fans, which dominates the episode.

“Aftermath”

• Creator: Peter Morgan
• Starring: Imelda Staunton, Leslie Manville, Jonathan Pryce, Dominic West, Elizabeth Debicki, Olivia Williams, Salim Daw

Grade: B

Warning: Reviews of The Crown season 6 will contain spoilers.

To my recollection – and I’m willing to be corrected if necessary – The Crown has never dipped into supernatural matters. There may have been some moments of unnatural coincidence or fabrication, but nothing comes to mind that was as explicit as what we see in Aftermath. I suppose that now is as good a time as any, when two central figures have passed away. But is it necessary? Could the show have conveyed what the spirits of Diana and Dodi are communicating otherwise, without them making appearances beyond the grave?

“Dis-Moi Oui”

• Creator: Peter Morgan
• Starring: Imelda Staunton, Leslie Manville, Jonathan Pryce, Dominic West, Elizabeth Debicki, Olivia Williams, Salim Daw

Grade: B-

Warning: Reviews of The Crown season 6 will contain spoilers.

Does The Crown need a villain? The early proceedings of each of these episodes in season 6 so far show that Peter Morgan is choosing to show Mohamed Fayed as the puppet master of Diana and Dodi’s fateful night in Paris. I said previously that I don’t necessarily have a problem with this, and generally like the Greek tragedy angle of the show in this regard, but I can’t deny the optics of the show’s only non-white characters being portrayed so negatively.

“Two Photographs”

• Creator: Peter Morgan
• Starring: Imelda Staunton, Leslie Manville, Jonathan Pryce, Dominic West, Elizabeth Debicki, Olivia Williams, Salim Daw

Grade: B+

Warning: Reviews of The Crown season 6 will contain spoilers.

What was it that killed Princess Diana? Yes, the official cause of death was a car accident, but there were so many contributing factors that seem insignificant at first. Conspiracy theories have swirled since 1997 about the myriad ways that the paparazzi, and even the royal family itself, were responsible, and Two Photographs provides enough evidence to make them all plausible.

“Persona Non Grata”

• Creator: Peter Morgan
• Starring: Imelda Staunton, Leslie Manville, Jonathan Pryce, Dominic West, Elizabeth Debicki, Olivia Williams, Salim Daw

Grade: B+

Warning: Reviews of The Crown season 6 will contain spoilers.

“Seems like another lifetime.” “And if it were yesterday, too.” This exchange comes early on in Persona Non Grata, the season premiere of The Crown, Netflix’s last gasp at prestige television. It occurs between Queen Elizabeth II (Imelda Staunton) and Prince Charles (Dominic West), as he espouses the fond memories he had of the precious few moments he had with his mother in his youth, but it doubles as a cheekily meta jab from series creator Peter Morgan. Theoretically, you could start The Crown from the beginning when each of these characters were decades younger – and played by entirely different actors – and, a day or two later, watch this very episode.