"Better a fallen rocket than never a burst of light."
~ Tom Stoppard, The Invention of Love

Tuesday, June 9, 2020

Other Doctor Lives: The Crown: Season 1, Episode 8 – “Pride & Glory” (2016)


Okay, so with each passing episode, I lose a little more hope for Phillip. Matt Smith continues to play the role well, but still – oof. If I don’t see convincing signs of a turnaround by the end of season 1, I might stop hoping altogether.

As Elizabeth prepares to embark on an international tour of the commonwealth, she’s wary of her mother’s suggestion to let Margaret take on some of the appearances and duties needed in Elizabeth’s absence. She doesn’t trust her sister’s ability to show the level of decorum required of the crown, but Margaret is eager for a chance to put her own stamp on things. Meanwhile, Elizabeth’s mother gets away from the palace and spends a little time on herself.

I really like the storyline featuring Elizabeth’s mother (I’m not trying to diminish her individuality by not using her name, honest – it’s just that her name is also Elizabeth, so it makes it harder to distinguish between them in writing.) The series has already taken us some time from George VI’s death, but still feels very immediate for the late king’s widow, and Elizabeth’s ascension to the throne has left her mother feeling bereft of her duties/responsibilities at precisely the time she needs something to occupy her thoughts admidst her grief. I’m frequently a sucker for stories about older women realizing they need to make room for themselves, and this is a nice example of that theme.

The Margaret stuff is good too. There’s a fine tension between how everyone frets over what she’s going to do, how she performs her stand-in tasks, and how the people and the media react to it all. Margaret is determined not to be seen as incapable or a screw-up, but at the same time, she’s dead set on not being managed into doing things just like Elizabeth would. It gets at a theme pushed throughout the series, including elsewhere in this episode – the idea that, in being queen, Elizabeth ceases to be Elizabeth and becomes the crown. Important but nonspecified, opinionless, faultless, blank. Margaret’s very act of being herself, while adored by the masses, is seen as verboten by the officials around her, and they freak the hell out.

The commonwealth tour puts Elizabeth through her paces with a punishing schedule of travel, appearances, changes of clothes, and blistering heat. Phillip, to his credit, does recognize what kind of toll the trip is taking on his wife. Unfortunately, when she doesn’t take his advice to let up and/or slow down, he deals with this in the most unhelpful way possible (or the most Phillip way possible??) And I’m sure it doesn’t help that he spends the whole time complaining about how tired, hot, and uncomfortable he is while Elizabeth tries to maintain her stiff upper lip.

An episode like this, I’m finding, is the most frustrating in regards to Phillip, because it’s one where he sees what the matter is but responds in a completely-wrong manner. It’s like he’s perceptive enough – at times, anyway – to notice Elizabeth’s struggles but too self-involved to listen for how he can help in a way that she needs. Instead, if she doesn’t immediately come around to his way of thinking, he has a tantrum and just makes things worse. I know I’ve said this before, but how exhausting he must be for Elizabeth. Yeesh.

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