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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