As we are hours away from The Crown's newest season, we can't help but to be excited for which historical 90's events will make it to the cut this season. As we saw in the trailer, with the beautiful Bittersweet Symphony playing in the background (which was a very clever choice) I can see that the Windsor Castle Fire is definitely taking place in one of the episodes, the iconic Martin Bashir Interview with Princess Diana is being recreated, and last but not least Di's Revenge Dress continues to be one of the most popular & iconic moments even in the trailer.
I'm very excited to welcome the new cast into the series, since season 6 is the last and will also be revolving around them. Elizabeth Debicki will be playing Diana, and when I tell you how shocked I was about the similarity between Di and Debicki when I saw the first official stills, I wasn't overreacting. As you can tell, I love Diana and her philanthropy and bravery, so I have to talk about her first, before I move on to the Queen herself. Diana in the 90's gains her confidence and defies the rules once again. We saw her hugging the AIDS patient in the previous season, now we will see her back in the dating game as a divorced former royal, some stylish moments from her that can be considered "too much" at that time for a royal, her desire to spend quality time with her sons and make sure they have a normal childhood while still being in the spotlight and as always, her philanthropy. She will reveal lots of information about her personal life; like her eating disorder, "crowded" marriage and self harm. She's a trailblazer for revealing such people like the Royals can have these disorders. And I love that she will wear that dress to get back at Charles, so fearless and bold. PS. I hope they will include the song "New Dress" by Depeche Mode in the series somehow. It's about how people are paying attention to Diana's dresses rather than world problems. (Thanks Papa for teaching me the song)
The only concern I have is the Martin Bashir Interview scene. I'm sure it will be the exact same as the real one, but from what I saw on the internet, people were concerned about Diana's stance in the scene. She always has had this sad and calm nature, but people were saying Debicki's Diana looked too confident in that particular scene. I did get what they were saying, you can see the gif below. But it's just a 2 second scene from the trailer, we don't know how the entire scene is going to play out. I'm pretty sure Debicki did a wonderful job, we can see the essence of Diana in her voice & body language. So I'm very excited to see her.
"I do things differently because I don't go by a rule book, because I lead from the heart, not the head" -Princess Diana,1995
Now, let's talk about our Queen. Imelda Staunton, who some of you may know her as the wonderfully horrible Dolores Umbridge from Harry Potter, but cinephiles may recognize her instantly. She is a brilliant actress, as well as Claire Foy and Olivia Colman. Every actress who has been cast as her, have been nailing it. As we see it from the trailer, we're in for a ride once again. One scene in particular, that I'm very excited to watch is her "Annus Horribilis" scene. As her children were going through divorces (a very unusual word for the Church) & after the Windsor fire, she declared that 1992 was the worst year for her. I'm also excited how she will react to Princess Diana's bold statements and her sons' ongoing affair with Camilla Parker-Bowles. Now that she's older & wiser, I'm ready to see a stronger Queen opposed to Prime Ministers as well.
“1992 is not a year on which I shall look back with undiluted pleasure. In the words of one of my more sympathetic correspondents, it has turned out to be an Annus Horribilis” -The Queen, 40th Anniversary of her Reign, 1992
I'm not that ready for seeing Prince Charles and Camilla though. They got on on my nerves most of the time when I was watching the previous season, and based on the trailer and historical data, I'm afraid I have to sit through them again. But, here's the thing, they were brilliant as actors and they're just doing their jobs. Plus, Josh O'Connor almost made me sympathize with Prince Charles, so I wonder if Dominic West will do the same for me. I don't really know why, but I like Prince Philip, seeing him is a delight as well. What I'm also looking forward to, is seeing Peter Townsend (Princess Margaret's lover from Season 1) whose name was on the list for the cast,Princess Margaret herself, Dodi Fayed (Diana's lover) and more screen time for the Queen's other kids.
As we come closer to the present, I wonder how far they are willing to go to show some events, like Diana's tragic death. We know it's coming since Netflix has already cast its William and Kate. I think it's the right decision, to end the series after season 6, because as we get closer and closer datewise, I feel like it's too soon ; it doesn't give the same nostalgic feel & doesn't feel like it's history. However, I would love to see some rebellious Prince Harry and his scandals. So I hope it's there when we come to Season 6. Back when the show first began, it was supposed to end after season 5. So I guess we're lucky that we are getting more storylines. As for the Di's death part, it should be done very carefully. Nobody but the Royals themselves know the real truth, so I'm sending my prayers to the Writer's Room for the next season. But I wonder how it's going to work out with respecting both parties on the matter. Anyway, it's The Crown, they have shown some controversial scenes, they will be fine.
Last but not least, I don't care if the show is portraying the truth or not, and I don't care if the number of meetings between Charles and Camilla were 2 instead of 40. It's entertainment, and I'm consuming & enjoying it. Some people love the historical part of it, some love the drama. It's the portrayal of real people, I know that. But if they were doing horrible stuff while being on the public eye, then I guess you have nothing to do for. Again, it's entertainment and we love drama.
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