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The Crown – Season Four – Episode 10 – War

The Crown – Season Four – Episode 10 – War

Plot: Amid growing challenge to her power, Thatcher fights for her position. Charles grows more determined to separate from Diana as their marriage unravels.


There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: War starts when prime minster Margaret Thatcher (Gillian Anderson) sees one of her closest follows turn on her in the houses of parliament, leaving her position of power in jeopardy, while Prince Charles (Josh O’Connor) is looking to finally end his marriage to Princess Diana (Emma Corrin) after it becomes clear Diana has started having an affair again. As Margaret Thatcher is shown the door, her respect from the Queen is finally earned, putting aside their differences which have plagued her time as Prime Minister, while Charles and Diana finally end their marriage showing their true colours, with Charles finally admitting he always wanted to be with Camila and never Diana.

Thoughts on The Crown – Season Four – Episode 10 – War

Thoughts – War brings the season four to a close by bringing everything full circle with the relationships between Prince Charles and Princess Diana falling apart, and Queen Elizabeth II and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s respect shining through their differences. We get the lead four stars of the season, Olivia Colman, Gillian Anderson, Emma Corrin and Josh O’Connor, giving the strongest performances of the season to date. This season has focused more heavily on relationships more than anything else, which will see how many of them have gone from strength to strength, while others have been shattered over time.

Final Thoughts – War completes a wonderful season giving the major players their final chance to shine in the season, reflecting the seasons theme of relationships. 5/5



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The Crown – Season Four – Episode 9 – Avalanche

The Crown – Season Four – Episode 9 – Avalanche

Plot: Charles is caught in a deadly avalanche, prompting both him and Diana to re-evaluate their commitment to their troubled marriage.


There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Avalanche starts on the birthday of Prince Charles (Josh O’Connor) who gets a surprise performances from Princess Diana (Emma Corrin), which gets the crowds approval, only leaving Charles angry, the marriage is starting to fall apart and after Prince Charles is a lucky survivor of a avalanche, it only highlights the problems the two were having. With Queen Elizabeth II (Olivia Colman) learning of the troubles the couple have been having, she and Philip Duke of Edinburgh (Tobias Menzies) look to address the problems of the affairs the two are both accused of being involved in, they do look to try and solve the problems they have been going through.

Thoughts on The Crown – Season Four – Episode 9 – Avalanche

Thoughts – Avalanche gets to put the spotlight back on the marriage of Prince Charles and Princess Diana, the pair have been struggling for a while, but a surprised event brings them closer hoping to fix their problems. Emma Corrin and Josh O’Connor step up to carry this episode showing just how the two would always be left in a position where they couldn’t be happy with the life they once dreamt of, the pairs real life actions were always questioned and it highlights how both might not have been as loyal as they once believed. We get to focus on Prince Charles and how he always seems to believe his family was against him, from his wife, mother or sister.

Final Thoughts – Avalanche shines the light on Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s struggling marriage seeing both Josh O’Connor and Emma Corrin give brilliant performances through the episode. 4/5



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The Crown – Season Four – Episode 8 – 48:1

The Crown – Season Four – Episode 8 – 48:1

Plot: As many nations condemn apartheid in South Africa, tension mounts between Thatcher and Elizabeth over their clashing opinions on applying sanctions.


There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: 48:1 starts as the apartheid authorities are causing civil unrest in South Africa which the world is appalled by, ready to make a move, but Great Britain and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (Gillian Anderson) hasn’t supported, leading to Queen Elizabeth II (Olivia Colman) needs to address to the rest of the United Nations. After Thatcher reluctantly agrees to the terms from the United Nations, the public rivalry between the Queen and Margaret Thatcher is taken centre stage, stealing the headlines from Prince Andrew’s wedding, with the nations wanting to know the truth and the Queen needing to sacrifice a member of her own team to make the story disappear.

Thoughts on The Crown – Season Four – Episode 48:1

Thoughts – 48:1 shows us how that the Queen and Prime Minister would clash on something, but for the first time, this would make headline news, leading to the uncertainty coming from the people of the nation that want to know the truth about what is happening. This is one of the more serious episodes, showing us how the royal family and the political family would often go head to head, but usually resolve the issues away from the spotlight. The episode is carried by Olivia Colman and Gillian Anderson’s stunning performances throughout, giving them the best outing to date, along with a welcome return from a familiar face.

Final Thoughts –48:1 is the most political episode of the season, giving the spotlight to the biggest names in the season Olivia Colman and Gillian Anderson. 4/5



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The Crown – Season Four – Episode 7 – The Hereditary Principle

The Crown – Season Four – Episode 7 – The Hereditary Principle

Plot: Grappling with mental health issues, Margaret seeks help and discovers an appalling secret about estranged relatives of the royal family.


There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: The Hereditary Principle starts as we see Princess Margaret (Helena Bonham Carter) sees her latest relationship fall apart and to make matters worse for Margaret she learns she is no longer able to represent the royal family now Prince Edward has hit the age of 21, with Queen Elizabeth II (Olivia Colman) needing to break the painful truth that Margaret can’t be involved anymore. Princess Margaret does struggle to cope with the newest blow, which will see her returning to therapy, learning about the truth about members of their own family being kept a secret.

Thoughts on The Crown – Season Four – Episode 7 – The Hereditary Principle

Thoughts – The Hereditary Principle will become the first Princess Margaret episode of the season where we see how she struggles with idea of losing her position of power in the family and learning the shocking truth that people had swept under the carpet for years, a secret that would make them look more untouchable instead of more human. Helena Bonham Carter does shine in this episode, that spotlights how difficult understand mental illness and differences in appearance would have been at one time, now they need to show how secrets shouldn’t be kept away from the people. This does end up feeling like the weakest episode of the season so far, with little going on within the main characters.

Final Thoughts –The Hereditary Principle is one of the weakest episodes to date, we do get a strong performance from Helena Bonham Carter, but not enough focus on any of the Royal Family. 2/5



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The Crown – Season Four – Episode 6 – Terra Nullius

The Crown – Season Four – Episode 6 – Terra Nullius

Plot: On a tour of Australia, Diana struggles to balance motherhood with her royal duties while both she and Charlie cope with their marriage difficulties.


There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Terra Nullius starts when Australia elects a new prime minister Bob Hawk (Richard Roxburgh) who is against the royal family, Queen Elizabeth II (Olivia Colman) needs Prince Charles (Josh O’Connor) and Princess Diana (Emma Corrin) will need to visit Australia, with their first baby William joining them, with Diana not wanting to leave William for a single moment on the tour, only to be forced into this. The trip gives Charles and Diana a chance to air their marriage problems with Charles still being overly connected to Camila, something that will need to change to help this tour become the success it ends up becoming.

Thoughts on The Crown – Season Four – Episode 6 – Terra Nullius

Thoughts – Terra Nullius is one of the most intimate episodes for Charles and Diana, highlighting their problems, Diana’s ability to bring the crowds with her, building bridges that might have started to fall apart between Great Britain and other nations in the world, this time Australia. We get wonderful performances from Josh O’Connor and Emma Corrin who carry this episode with their performances. On the grander picture we get to see how Princess Diana became the figure we might well all remember, with her natural performances of goodness on front of the camera, unlike any other member of the royal family, but behind the scenes Diana was suffering from her own eating disorders, ones she keeps to herself.

Final Thoughts – Terra Nullius shows a turning point in Princess Diana, one that sees her embraced by the public and finding herself exposed by the Royal Family. 4/5



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The Crown – Season Four – Episode 5 – Fagan

The Crown – Season Four – Episode 5 – Fagan

Plot: As Thatcher’s policies create rising unemployment, a desperate man breaks into the palace, where he finds Elizabeth’s bedroom and awakens her for a talk.


There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Fagan starts as Michael Fagan (Tom Brooke) has visited Queen Elizabeth II (Olivia Colman) to have an audience with the Queen, nonviolent visit, with the country in a state of panic about how easily a stranger got into the palace. We move back in time as we see how Michael has been struggling with Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s (Gillian Anderson) dealing with the nation, with her ideas of change not helping the unemployment levels, something Michael became a victim off. We get to see how Michael was stuck in a circle with little hope, where the people of power in his area failed to help him and even encouraged him to visit the Queen, something he does, showing how easily he got into the palace, for a conversation the Queen hasn’t had in years.

Thoughts on The Crown – Season Four – Episode 5 – Fagan

Thoughts – Fagan takes a very different approach, showing us how one everyday person in this era was suffering from the new ideas of the country, forced into taking a drastic step to get his message across. Tom Brooke is amazing in this role, bring the common man to life, with his performance, where the conversation with the Queen, is what the audience is waiting for, knowing hit will be the most important sequence in the whole episode, with the panic of trying to cover the palace during the break in being a tension affair. This episode might not have as much going on when it comes to the royal family outside of the Queen, we do get to see how people are going to react to a major incident in the palace.

Final Thoughts – Fagan is one of the more unique episodes, one you could watch outside of the series that is anchored by Tom Brooke brilliant performance. 5/5



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The Crown – Season Four – Episode 4 – Favourites

The Crown – Season Four – Episode 4 – Favourites

Plot: While Margaret Thatcher struggles with the disappearance of her favourite child, Elizabeth re-examines her relationship with her four children.


There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Favourites starts when Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (Gillian Anderson) learns her son Mark (Freddie Fox) has gone missing in the Dakar Rally, with people helping her search the Sahara for him, she is given her own public problem of the Falklands, as Great Britain and Argentina start their dispute over an island, which soon starts to escalate. Queen Elizabeth II (Olivia Colman) finds herself confused by the concept that a parent would have a favourite child, with Philip Duke of Edinburgh (Tobias Menzies) knowing his Princess Anne (Erin Doherty), Elizabeth calls for meetings with all four of their children, to figure out if she in fact has her own favourite.

Thoughts on The Crown – Season Four – Episode 4 – Favourites

Thoughts – Favourites will give us what could easily be described as a filler episode for the Queen side of everything, with this episode being more about her trying to figure which is her favourite child, given us the first couple of visits from Prince Edward and Prince Andrew. Where this episode shines is by putting the spotlight on the Margaret Thatcher dealing with her own problems, with her missing son and the impending conflict in the Falklands, learning that her own personal distractions, that will see her own cabinet not being able to step in through the problems. We get to see how the strong-minded Thatcher will wanting to make a difference, which will see her going against her own decisions when it comes to the conflict.

Final Thoughts – Favourites might well be the weakest episode so far, it does continue to show the excellent Gillian Anderson rising the levels of every scene she is in. 3/5



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The Crown – Season Four – Episode 3 – Fairytale

The Crown – Season Four – Episode 3 – Fairytale

Plot: After Charles proposes, Diana moves into Buckingham Palace and finds her life filled with princess training, loneliness and Camilla Parker Bowles


There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Fairytale starts in the aftermath of Prince Charles (Josh O’Connor) proposal to Lady Diana Spencer (Emma Corrin), Queen Elizabeth II (Olivia Colman) suggests Diana moving into Buckingham Palace to keep her out of the spotlight of the media and to help teach her the ways of being a princess, with the new duties and responsibilities she will be facing in the future. What Lady Diana slowly starts to learn is that this new engagement will mean she will have to move away from her friends, being left alone to train in a world she wasn’t completely prepared for, with one of her only friends turning out to be Camila Parker Bowles (Emerald Fennell).

Thoughts on The Crown – Season Four – Episode 3 – Fairytale

Thoughts – Fairytale puts the firm focus on Lady Diana and the sudden adjustment to her life, a young lady that was enjoying the social life with friends that gets thrown into isolation and loneliness because of her new engagement. Emma Corrin is the star of this episode, showing the change her character is going through, the suffering she goes through when dealing with a world she wasn’t prepared for, leading up to the big wedding. We do get to go through the training ideas that Lady Diana must through, which does reflect what the Queen herself went through, but doesn’t want to pass on her advice on the newest member of the family. We do get to see just how not everything is what Lady Diana thought it would be, but she starts to show her frustrations of not being able to do things her own way.

Final Thoughts – Fairytale is a career making performance from Emma Corrin that will show the transitions Lady Diana would go through. 4/5



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The Crown – Season Four – Episode 2 – The Balmoral Test

The Crown – Season Four – Episode 2 – The Balmoral Test

Plot: Margaret Thatcher visits Balmoral but has trouble fitting in with the royal family, while Charles finds himself torn between his heart and family duty.


There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: The Balmoral Test starts as Prince Charles (Josh O’Connor) gets his first date with Lady Diana Spencer (Emma Corrin) with them both facing the reality of the summer apart due to the commitments of the crown, while the Queen (Olivia Colman), Philip Duke Edinburgh (Tobias Menzies) and Princess Anne (Erin Doherty) are looking to finish off an injured prize stag on their property. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (Gillian Anderson) is looking to bring her own stamp of difference in the country, her ideas of change with see her taking opposition within her own party with her plans. Margaret Thatcher will have to face her own test, joining the Queen at Balmoral for a weekend, learning that she doesn’t fit in with the traditions of the royal family, always trying not to look out of place.

Thoughts on The Crown – Season Four – Episode 2 The Balmoral Test

Thoughts – The Balmoral Test focuses on the building relationship between Queen Elizabeth II and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, showing us how the two have come from different backgrounds, that reflects how they might want different things for the country in the future. We must address the fact that a large part of this story is focused on hunting, which isn’t putting the royal family in the best spotlight, showing them to be animals hunting innocent creatures. Gillian Anderson steals this episode with her ability to show just how out of place she is in the Balmoral Test. We are slowly building up to see how Margaret Thatcher is looking to make the drastic changes, with everyone around her questioning her decisions, wanting to bring the country closer, after seeing the upper classes always looking down on people with her own background. We do get to continue to see how Prince Charles is struggling with his relationships, with his desire to be with Camila needing to end, with his interest with the young Diana Spencer leaving him conflicted.

Final Thoughts – The Balmoral Test shows us two big relationships, one growing, one falling apart, bracing us for everything that is going to come in the future, but the needless obsession with hunting holds this episode back. 4/5