Here we are at the end of this historic television series. We all knew where this story was headed. As a viewer, I have to admit that my stomach was in knots watching the entire Part 1 of this final season of The Crown. I'm not a rabid BRF junkie but I do love history. And I remember when a lot of this all went down in the press, as I'm sure many of us do. Such a sad, nuanced, tragic story. Here we go. Episode 1.
The Crown, Season 6 Part 1, EPISODE 1 recap
(One important note: this is a fictionalized version/retelling. We must remember that this is first and foremost TELEVISION. Stay tuned for a series of posts on the historical accuracy of key events portrayed in the series.)
Well, we are starting right where I thought we would. The crash in the Paris tunnel. From a distance, from the vantage point of a man walking his dog and witnessing the chase/crash.
Credits. I never skip these! That theme music gets me every time.
Flashback to Diana and William in that convertible 8 weeks earlier, rocking it out. I get knocked down, but I get up again!
There seem to be a LOT of intercuts this season. This could be to keep momentum going with such a complicated and tangled timeline. There are many reasons to use intercuts. Still, I have a theory that we fragment and compartmentalize when we need some emotional distance from a topic...and creator Peter Morgan may be incentivized to also distance himself from the negativity aimed at Charles now that he's king. Who knows. But keep all that in mind. This is fiction based on real people.
We get her visit with Tony Blair intercut with his meeting with The Queen. (Is that Dalgliesh? It is!) Blair reports that Diana wants to do some good in the world and needs advice on how to manage being the mother of the future heir to the throne but divorced from the immediate heir. It's tricky.
“Mou Mou” keeps pushing his son Dodi to have some connection with Diana and has invited her and the boys to Saint-Tropez for a vacation. We saw his motivations in the last season. All the while, Dodi is planning his upcoming marriage to a woman that his father fervently deems unsuitable.
Charles is getting PR advice about marrying Camilla while he tries to get SOMEONE in the royal fam to come to Camilla’s 50th bday celebration.
Dodi argues with his fiancee because she has seen the media reports about Princess Diana. He’s rather cold to her and we see how much he craves his father’s approval above all else.
Diana speeds over in a boat to talk to the photographers who are bothering William and Harry. She bargains with them so they will back off while the boys have a vacation.
Meanwhile, we see Charles (Dominic West) and Camilla (Greta Scacchi) at her celebration. The only royal fam member who came to the party is of course Princess Margaret, played here by the goddess Lesley Manville. Charles gives a big speech about her heroism in the face of bad press. He does seem to really love her and, overall, I think they are better suited. He never should have married Diana. Both of them would have been better off with other partners. It’s sad, really. But that's another story! Margaret sees this and reports back to her sister, The Queen. She gently suggests that The Queen begin to support her son, who will be king one day. Elizabeth talks with Philip about it and he is against it but Elizabeth holds strong.
The PR war (War of the Waleses, remember?) continues with more pics of Diana in Saint- Tropez. This was a crazy time, if you recall, dear reader, and it's difficult to choose a dog in this fight. Again, we witness Charles’ jealousy of Diana’s coverage and ease with staying in the news. He pushes his team to get Camilla more positive press and find ways for her not to be eclipsed by Diana. And that, I believe, is the key word there: eclipse. You get the feeling that he himself has always felt eclipsed by Diana.
Dodi’s fiancee, Kelly Fisher, shows up and is sailed to the smaller yacht. Ouch. Diana overhears William being friendly with Dodi and she playfully tosses ice over them and waits to be chased. Classic Diana. She was a playful mother and courted attention even as she claimed to be hounded and overwhelmed by it. It’s a complex situation and she was a complex person.
Dodi’s fiancee Kelly is pissy that he isn’t spending enough time with her while she’s in Saint-Tropez. On the smaller yacht, we see them arguing violently about him being alone with Diana whom she calls, “the most beautiful woman in the world.” But they seem to lose steam. The door is then closed to us, suggesting they are having make-up sex.
Remember the lovely cinematic piano shots of Diana in the trailer? Here we get her playing the piano for Dodi while he tells her how complicated things are because his father does not want him to marry Kelly. He tells Diana that he is moving between two people who are constantly angry and disappointed by him. She gets vulnerable and reveals how little attention her father gave her and how she did anything she could to get him to notice her. She also defends Mou Mou.
Dodi tells her that the wedding is in three weeks. She says it’s obvious he loves his fiancee very much. Then says she promised the boys a film on their last night there. He lists films but she turns them down except Jumanji. They all gather around the pool and watch on a big screen. I liked Jumanji but do people really laugh out loud at this movie? Dodi and Diana share some looks. It’s on, folks. We know what’s coming.
Elizabeth rings Charles asking when William and Harry will return. As they talk about schedules, she asks about the party. Staunton does good work here because you can see Elizabeth put on her "I wasn't wrong but I want to smooth things over because I have the power to do so" look. We've seen that look often. She finally tells him she is happy he’s happy. This is just what he and Camilla wanted, right?
As Diana talks with Dodi before leaving, he asks her about the upcoming summer plans and finds out she will be alone when the boys go with Charles to Balmoral. He says, “I don’t like the sound of that.” He tells her she’s welcome to come back any time to use the yacht. She replies, “Your fiancee is lucky girl.” He adds, “Well, all that is…well, never mind.” Hmmm, change of heart, Dodi? He’s hooked already, as we well know, whether it be True Love or Opportunity to gain favor with his father. We see Mohamed overlooking the scene as they leave. William seems pensive.
They return home to a room filled with roses, a snazzy watch, and a note asking her to meet in Paris the following week.
Thus ends the first episode of this final season. What did you think? How does it compare with previous seasons? As always, we're interested in your thoughts! Stay tuned for accuracy posts and more The Crown recaps here on Big and Small Screen Blog.